Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Julie Hoke

Location: 5720 Ridge Ave.

Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Ben White

Location: 3800 Marlton Pike

About Talk: Mary received this strange news of God being born in her. She humbly receives the favor of God from the blinding, almost unbearably bright, Gabriel. We know that exposure—it is elemental to the human experience. It can feel lonely to be your own peculiar self. But we are not alone if God is with us and God demonstrates are anti-alone-ness by giving us others. God gave Mary, Elizabeth, and Joseph and they became a lot like the nucleus of a cell, which is the basic unit of togetherness in Circle of Hope. We share this wonderful news and we receive Gabriel’s “do not be afraid” in community. God unstrangers us all the time and sees our ability together.

Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Ben White in conversation with Pat McGown

Location: 3800 Marlton Pike

About: The church is much older and diverse than we often realize. There is a rich embodied tradition of tradition and ritual that has been buried in some sectors of the church by a more academic faith. Pat grew up suspicious of non-biblical tradition (especially Catholics) so the season of Advent is new for him. He discovered how useful it was, as an antidote to his chronic boredom and an outlet for his imagination. It is still a challenge but one he has accepted because he has learned that the BIG community of faith is better than his personal experience alone.

Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Rachel Sensenig

Location: 2212 S. Broad St.

Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Rod White

Location: 2007 Frankford Ave.

Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Julie Hoke

Location: 5720 Ridge Ave.

Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Ben White

Location: 3800 Marlton Pike

About Talk: We live in an age of elevation of the artificial—from flavoring to virtual avatars. Advent is a time for embracing the really real. Jesus came to earth as a human to be really real with us. We can respond by getting real with ourselves and seeing all the clutter and fakeness that shapes our lives. Let’s strip it back and see what real connection looks like.

Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Rachel Sensenig

Location: 2212 S. Broad St.

Talk is based on Matthew 3.

Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Jonny Rashid

Location: 2007 Frankford Ave.

About Talk: As we welcome each other this Advent season, may we be humble enough to listen to each other and know each other. Receive your commission from God. Be welcomed into God’s fold. It is a gift freely given to you, the fruit of your acceptance of it, is your life-altering humility. Life is complicated, but grace is free. You aren’t entitled to it because of your upbringing, because of your background, your skin color, your gender. Freely accept it, and then freely give it away. Welcome someone else as they are. Let their humble inclusion lead to their transformation.

Season: Advent - Welcoming the Stranger

Speaker: Julie Hoke

Location: 5720 Ridge Ave.