It’s beginning to look—and feel—a lot like Christmas! Here we are, midway through Advent, with an eye to the star that will lead us to the Christ child. Our newest class can help with that journey: Stephen Smith, an Episcopal priest and author, explores the biblical foundations and history of Christmas along with family-favorite traditions like the Christmas tree and Santa Claus. He offers encouragement to celebrate Christ’s birth by living out the values of compassion, love, forgiveness, and generosity. The course is available for individuals and for groups.
Click here to watch the first class. You can also listen to the class on our podcast.
Have some downtown during the holidays — or want to feed your soul? We have some other fantastic offerings, including:
- Mary in the Anglican Tradition: This course is a primer on the traditions of prayer and devotion to Mary, mother of Jesus, in the Anglican Tradition. Learn about how Episcopalians, not just Catholics, devote time in their prayer lives and their congregations to revering Mary and the love and healing she engenders.
- Praying with Mystics: What makes mystics … mystics? Often it’s their deep connection to God through prayer and ecstatic experiences. Presenter Dan London knows a lot about that—he’s taught a course on English Mystics for years. In this course, he’ll explore some of the mystics and help you deepen your connection with God by learning to pray like some of the prayer warriors of the Christian faith.
- Introduction to Epiphany: If you want to get a head start on the liturgical year, check out this class by Sharon Ely Pearson. Epiphany is more than just a season to return Christmas presents. It’s a time to discover the ways God is revealing truth in our lives and a time for us to find the various ways God reveals God’s self in our lives.
The Nativity, from a 14th-century missal
A Prayer for Christmas
Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to
take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure
virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made
your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed
by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom
with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and
for ever. Amen.
Formation 