The stories, scriptures, and traditions of the Christmas season have been passed down to us throughout the generations.
Many of us enter this season with a swell of memories and emotions as vast as the cultural and religious rituals this holiday holds. Like a tapestry woven throughout time, the Christmas story weaves us in—to remember how God has shown up in the past, to continue the work of collective liberation, to behold the presence of God in flesh and bone.
Through these four studies, we invite you to take a closer look at how the Christmas story unfolds. We encourage you to pay attention to each of the characters in these familiar narratives and ask:
- What did each person pass on or contribute?
- How did they either participate in God’s liberation and love—or try to thwart God’s justice?
- What can we learn from them and what is our role now?
- What will we pass on to the next generation?
The creatives from the Sanctified Art Team, have contemplated these questions and themes while revisiting the stories surrounding Christ’s birth. In response, they have created visual art, written reflections, poems, hymns, and journaling prompts. We invite you to journey through the reflections and prompts in these studies with wonder and curiosity for the ways God is speaking to you.
From Generation to Generation… reminds us of the ways our lives, histories, actions, and stories are interconnected and woven together. The work of God is always unfolding—in and through us.
This Advent, may you remember that you belong—to a story etched into the wrinkles of time, to generations that have come before and will come after, to a love that won’t let you go.
You can purchase your own copy of the full devotional resource From Generation to Generation from https://sanctifiedart.org/adventchristmas-resources
Zoom link to all studies:
ID: 898 9489 2992
Passcode: PNEV2022
Join in as a group or an individual
Study Leaders and Facilitation
Beth Donnelly Bear
is the minister at St David’s Uniting Church in Albury. Beth was ordained in 2015, after working in children and youth ministry and studying Arts and Theology in Melbourne. She moved to Albury in 2016 to be the chaplain at The Scots School Albury, and has made the Border her home with her husband Josh, and two young children, Hugo and Zoe. She likes tennis, singing, and pop culture trivia.
Brian Spencer
is the minister of the Waranga Cluster of Uniting Churches at Colbinabbin, Murchison, Rushworth, and Tatura. He is also the Education, Innovation and Resource Minister for the Presbytery. Brian also runs the Cornella Brewery and Shiraz Republic, a 25 acre vineyard, winery and grape supply business. In his spare time he likes spend time with his wife, Cynthia Page, his children and grandchildren and to play pool, write, talk and share a drink with friends. Brian contributes a regular column, “Living the Good Life”, to the Waranga News and the Tatura Bulletin.