advent... a preparation

My mom and I recently led a workshop on raising the next generation of environmentalists and in preparation for that presentation, I realized that much of my childhood had prepared me to go to seminary and study earth care and God. 

When I was in seminary, I got to study with a variety of professors and mentors who let me love God and creation in my studies. My mom worried about whether I'd ever find a job that let me linger on the parts of life I love the most: earth, people, God. 

But it was all preparation. It was my own personal advent.

This summer and fall, I convinced one of those professors, Ted Hiebert to help me think about an Advent Resource for our community on the South Coast, the community that I now serve. My colleagues and supervisors at Puente have helped me dream about what speaks to and about our work. I'm reminded that my mom never had to worry. 

It's October, still too early in our ordinary time to really prepare ourselves for the extraordinary event that will come in a couple of months, when God breaks into our world and welcomes us with love. 

But here is my own love letter back to the community and to those who have prepared me: Waiting for the Extraordinary.