Let’s make room this Advent: a peer support group

Advent asks us to wait. December rarely lets us.

Between the parties, the travel, the family dynamics, and the pressure to feel merry on schedule, a season that’s supposed to be about expectant waiting usually turns into a sprint.

And if your faith has shifted, the old Advent devotionals may not fit anymore. They might feel too certain, too male, or too far from where you are now.

This year, I want to try something different.

This Advent, I’m gathering a small group of women to read Gifts of the Mother: An Advent Journey with the Sacred Feminine by Sabra Engelbrecht together. It’s a five-week devotional that follows the themes of the season: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and Christ in the World. It invites us to enter Christmas alongside Mary as an image of the Sacred Feminine. Sabra grounds it in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, so this is a practice of prayer and sacred imagination, not only reading.

This group is for you if:

• You want to observe Advent, but the devotionals you grew up with don’t fit anymore
• You’re curious about God as Mother, or already drawn to her
• You’d love company through the season without adding another weekly meeting to your calendar
• You need permission to rest when December gets full

Here’s what’s included:

• A kickoff Zoom call to meet and set intentions: Monday, Nov 23, 5pm PT / 8pm ET
• A private Marco Polo group for reflection and connection on your own time
• Prompts and check-ins from me as we move through the book
• The December women’s circle, Monday, Dec 14 at 5pm PT, centered on Mary’s song, the Magnificat
• A planned holiday Sabbath, Dec 21–Jan 3. Holiday groups usually fade out once the week of Christmas arrives. This time we’ll rest on purpose, then reconnect Jan 4–6 and close together at Epiphany.

During our active weeks, I’ll respond to your Marco Polo messages within 24 hours with encouragement, reflections, and space to notice what the Mother might be birthing in you this season.

Details:

• Sliding scale, $30–50. Pay what fits your budget. You don’t need to explain.
• Paid subscribers join free. Email me (hit reply!) and I’ll add you. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to paid, this is a good month for it. Your subscription covers this group, the monthly book club, and every seasonal group through the year.
• Small on purpose. The group is capped at 8 so the Marco Polo space stays connected. If it fills, email me to join the waitlist.
• Get your copy of Gifts of the Mother, if you're reading along with me.
• Registration closes Friday, Nov 20.

You don’t have to do Advent perfectly. You just have to make a little room. Let’s make room together.