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A Season of Gracious Gifts

Advent Retreat Kitby Janet Schaeffler, OP

OverviewThis retreat offers a prayerful opportunity to slow down in the midst of this busy season and reflect on the gracious gifts of Advent. What is offered to us? How might we respond?

This guide includes three sessions, each exploring a different gracious gift of God during the Advent season (and beyond). These sessions can be used in one of the following ways:

A full-day retreat. For this case, you will want to exclude opening and closing portions of some of the sessions.

A series of shorter, retreat-like events. For example, you could offer one session per week for three weeks, or three consecutive mornings or evenings.

A single morning or evening event. In this case, you would use only one of the three enclosed sessions and save the others for subsequent years.

Adapt for other uses. You can also use these materials as a personal retreat, or as source material for preaching, presentation, or other gatherings. This kit is well suited for gatherings of RCIA participants, parents, parish ministers (e.g. catechists, liturgical ministers, parish pastoral council and commissions, etc.), members of the parish staff, or anyone else in the parish.

This kit has been designed as a guide for parish leaders – with all the components prepared for you (talking points, prayers, handouts, etc.). You will not necessarily need all of the included options, so feel free to exclude whatever does not fit in the time you have available.

Thank you for your ministry and your role in helping your people prepare for Advent!

A Season of Gracious Gifts: Advent Retreat Kit Copyright © 2016 Janet Schaeffler, OPAll rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. Published by The Pastoral Center / PastoralCenter.com

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_Advanced PlanningRoom setup A hospitable room with round tables (if possible), each seating six participants.

Podium and microphone.

Small table for a prayer setting – candle, Scripture, Advent symbol(s).

Table for refreshments and lunch (if provided).

Leaders One or more leaders who will provide the reflections and lead the sharing and prayer. There are easy

opportunities for participants to lead portions of the prayer or proclaim from Scripture.

A hospitality team to provide a welcoming atmosphere, refreshments, general set-up, and cleanup.

Materials needed A prayer center with Scripture, candle, and symbols of Advent (purple cloth, Advent Wreath, etc.)

Copies of the handouts provided within this packet

Name tags

3 x 5 cards

Music player (if desired for music during prayer and/or quiet times)

Paper and pens (for taking notes)

Thin magic markers

Small pots with dirt

A few fast-growing seeds for each participant (marigolds, zinnias, nasturtiums, etc.)


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The Gracious Gift of

Never-Ending PresenceWelcome & IntroductionThe leader welcomes everyone and explains organizational details, such as the location of restrooms, schedule for the gathering, etc.

Explain that retreat includes three components:

Reflective talk

Time for personal reflection or journaling (with an optional handout)

Group conversations

If you wish to invite participants to use different locations for their quiet times, point out these spaces (outside, church, chapel, adjoining rooms, etc.)

Opening Prayer & Reflection

Opening SongChoose an Advent song with which your parishioners are familiar.

Scripture ReadingMark 13:33-37

Prayer of PetitionHave one or several leaders (one for each petition) pray each of the following petitions aloud. The response to each is: “Never-ending Presence of God, comfort and challenge us.”


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1. Never-ending Presence of God, wake us so that we may prepare the way of the Lord.

2. Unceasing Presence of God, excite our wonder at your wisdom that has given us the Word made flesh.

3. Boundless Presence of God, deepen our generosity so that we may give to others the gift of ourselves.

4. Never-ending Presence of God, prepare us for your constant coming into our hearts and our lives.

5. Unceasing Presence of God, plant the seeds of compassion within us so we may live as Jesus did.

6. Boundless Presence of God, intensify joy in us, the joy of experiencing your Presence, the joy of bringing your love to others.

SongChoose another Advent song with which your parishioners are familiar. “Open My Eyes” by Jesse Manibusan (OCP) is one good possibility.

Main Reflection

Leader’s Talking PointsA Blessed Time

Lyrics to a song by Susan Werner read: “May I suggest to you… this is the best part of your life. This time is blessed for you…. Just turn your head and you'll begin to see the thousand reasons that were just beyond your sight: the reasons why I suggest to you this is the best part of your life.” (Listen on Youtube: https://youtu.be/4E_tho7E0WQ)

These words can have several different meanings; they can take us to new realizations and new challenges.

In one way, we could say that for each of us – these next few hours “are blessed for us” - amid the hurry of this season, we have chosen to slow down, to be uniquely blessed in these moments.

In another way, many of the Advent Scripture readings declare that this day – each day – is the best part of our lives – if we take the time to be aware.


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https://youtu.be/4E_tho7E0WQ


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Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Often people think of the past and/or the future when they reflect on Advent:

The past: because we’re remembering the Old Testament times which led to the coming of Jesus

The future: because often during Advent homilists and various readings focus us on the second coming of Jesus – sometime in the future

In reality, perhaps the most important part of Advent is about today. The message of Advent is about never-ending Presence, here, now, always. Theologically we call it in the Incarnation: God becoming human.

Believing the Incarnation

There is a story about Benedictine Fr. Godfrey Diekmann (1908-2002), a well-known liturgist at the time of the Second Vatican Council.

One day in the student dining room at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., in a conversation with some colleagues, he got worked up about the key to Christian theology and life. He shouted, “It’s not the Resurrection, damn it! It’s the Incarnation!”

Then, as students slipped away, he continued, “But we don’t really believe it. We don’t believe we are invited to become the very life of God!”

Advent’s message exclaims to us that God is Never-Ending Presence, always and everywhere.

God became one of us; therefore, God is constantly with us in everything imaginable in our lives.

God as Unceasing Presence with us has many ramifications for our lives and for our world.

Discussion QuestionsInvite the participants to talk in groups of about three about what they think might be some of the ramifications of the reality and mystery of God’s Unceasing Presence with us. If there is time, invite some of the groups to share their thoughts with the full group.


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Leader’s Talking PointsLet’s look at three (other) ramifications of God’s unceasing presence:

1. We are never without God.

We don’t need to wait until heaven to be with God; God is with us constantly. This, of course, leads us to another consideration: how do we experience God? What are our names, our images for God?

2. God becoming human means God pervades our world.

We can find God in everything that happens, in every person that we meet in our 24/7 days which makes all the moments of our everyday lives holy.

Advent summons us to be watchful for the many ways God’s Boundless Presence is alive in the ordinary:

the kindness of a stranger, the love of family and friends, a phone call when we need it

the older person who has trouble hearing and is difficult to converse with

the young mother with the restless toddlers behind us in the grocery line

the inconsiderate driver who cuts us off on the freeway

the telephone solicitor who calls at mealtime

the friend who disappoints us

The Advent and Christmas seasons are a call to see God everywhere, and especially in those places we would not expect to find glory and grace.

Advent-Christmas is the obligation to see that everything leads us directly to God, to realize that there is no one, nothing on earth that is not the presence of God for us.

Everyone – everything is a revelation of God. If everyone realized that, what might our world look like? Would racism cease to exist? Would war be no more? Would hunger disappear? Would we cease to hear about (and experience) violence? Would everyone be treated respectfully for who they are: holy and sacred?

3. God’s coming should change us.

God became human, one of us, but that Benedictine Diekman reminded us about our too-often response. “But we don’t really believe it. We don’t really believe we are invited to become the very life of God! ”


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God became human, not simply that God might be with us, but so that we might be with God. In other words, the incarnation is the starting point of who we are. One with God, we are capable of working with Christ to rebuild the world.

We are not passive bystanders in the Incarnation. The incarnation radically transforms the history of the world and the personal history of each of us. Because of the incarnation, each of us must measure up to God's plan and play our role in it.

Meister Eckhart (13th century mystic) said, “What good is it to me if the eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to the Son of God if I do not also give birth to Him in my time and my culture?”

Usually it’s easy to believe in God, but do we believe in God-in-me?

We believe in God in heaven, but do we believe in God-on-earth?

We believe in God out there, but do we believe in God-with-us?

Advent reminds us that each day is always the best part of our lives because

There are thousands of reasons, thousands of ways God is with us

There are thousands of ways we can give birth to God – we can be the very life of God in our world

Quiet Journaling TimeInvite the participants to take some quiet time to reflect on one (or more) of the questions on the handout (“The Gracious Gift of Never-Ending Presence”).

DiscussionInvite small groups (groups of about three or table groupings) to share some of their thoughts from the quiet time. If time allows, invite some people to share something of their group’s discussion with the full group.

Closing Prayer & Reflection

Leader’s Talking PointsDuring this Advent/Christmas season we often reflect on this name for God - Emmanuel: God-with-us. The Incarnation, the mystery that we celebrate on Christmas – God becoming one of us


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- summons us to be constantly aware of the many ways of God’s Never-Ending Presence always and everywhere in our ordinary lives.

I invite you to take a moment of quiet and then write on your 3 x 5 card three ways that God has been with you within the last two weeks. When did you experience God? Where did you see God? When did you know that God’s love, presence and care were with you?

SongChoose an Advent song with which the participants are familiar. You may want to use the same song used in the opening prayer.

Scripture ReadingPsalm 139:1-12

Prayer of Thanksgiving Invite the participants – if they wish to – to name one of the ways they have experienced God-with-them in recent weeks.

Response after each one: We give you thanks, Gracious God, for your never-ending presence.

Conclude the prayer by inviting participants to share the sign of peace with each other.

Prayerful CommitmentInvite the participants to think about our call to see God everywhere, especially in those places we would not expect to find glory and grace. Who/where might that be for you? On the reverse side of the 3 x 5 card, write down two places/two settings/two people where you don’t usually expect to see God. During this Advent season watch for God in these people/these settings/these places.

Closing SongClose with a song with which the participants are familiar. “Open My Eyes, Lord” or “We Have Been Told” might be appropriate.


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Expectant WaitingWelcome & IntroductionIf this session stands alone (rather than the second session of a full day), the leader welcomes everyone and explains organizational details, such as the location of restrooms, schedule for the gathering, etc.


Reflective talk


Group conversations



Opening SongChoose an Advent song with which the participants are familiar. “Waiting in Silence” or “My Soul in Stillness Waits” might be appropriate.

Scripture ReadingIsaiah 40:31

Litany of Commitment Have one or several leaders (one for each petition) pray each of the following petitions aloud. The response to each is: “We wait, Ever-Present God, knowing You are always near.”


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In our hurting world, we wait – in a new, deepened way – for the Light of the World

In our hurting world, we wait– in a new, deepened way– for the God of Life

In our hurting world, we wait– in a new, deepened way– for the Prince of Peace

In our hurting world, we wait– in a new, deepened way– for the God of Compassion

In our hurting world, we wait– in a new, deepened way– for the Way, the Truth and the Life

In our hurting world, we wait– in a new, deepened way– for the God of faithfulness

In our hurting world, we wait– in a new, deepened way– for the Good Shepherd

In our hurting world, we wait– in a new, deepened way– for the God of comfort, the God of Challenge

Leader: God of waiting, You are here with us. Yet, we know – because of your promises – that you always desire to come to us in new ways. Within our searching today, within our wondering and pondering, guide us to see your presence, to realize that something new is always around the corner. We wait, knowing that with you, something new can come to birth. Help us to listen, help us to see, help us to act because of your promises. We ask this, with Jesus your Son and our brother. Amen.

SongChoose another Advent song with which your parishioners are familiar. “Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is one possibility.

Main Reflection

Leader’s Talking PointsWaiting as a Gift

Waiting is one of the themes we hear most often in relation to the celebration of Advent. Some people, perhaps many, might not see the theme of waiting as a gracious gift.

During the Advent season, what are we waiting for? Christmas day? Often we say we’re waiting for the coming of Jesus. Yes, there will be a second coming (and we need to think about that), but the reality is that Jesus is already here.

When we think about our experiences of daily waiting, many are often bothersome: lines in stores, slow traffic on the roads, computers starting up, etc. Researchers tell us that the average person will spend five years of his or her life waiting in line, two years playing


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telephone tag, and six months sitting at red lights. That is over seven and a half years of waiting.

For many, in today’s fast-food society, waiting is not a very popular or welcome reality. Most people consider it a waste of time. Perhaps that is due to the continual message of our culture: Get going. Do something. Don’t just sit there and wait.

All the figures that appear on the first pages of Luke’s Gospel are waiting: Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon and Anna. The entire opening scene of the good news is filled with waiting people.

Right at the beginning of their waiting, all these people, in one way or another, hear the words: “Do not be afraid. I have something good to say to you.” Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon and Anna are waiting for something new and good to happen to them.

The Nature of Waiting

Let’s explore some realities on the nature and practice of waiting.

1. Advent waiting anticipates that a promise will be fulfilled.

The New Testament people are waiting because of a promise: “Zechariah, your wife Elizabeth is to bear a son;” “Mary – listen. You are to conceive and bear a son.”

People who wait have received a promise which, then, allows them to wait. They have received news of something that is at work in them, like a seed that has started to grow. This is the foundation of Advent waiting: we can truly wait only if what we are waiting for has already begun for/within us.

Waiting is never a movement from nothing to something. It is always a journey from something to something more.

Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon and Anna were living with a promise that nurtured them, that led them, and that enabled them to wait. The promise would realize itself within them and through them.

2. Waiting is active.

Often we think of waiting as something very passive, a hopeless state determined by events which are wholly beyond our control.

Yet, in Scripture waiting is not passive. Those who are waiting wait very actively. They know that what they are waiting for is growing from the very place where they are standing. The secret of waiting lies in the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has wondrously begun.

Active waiting means to be present fully to and within the moment, with the confidence that something is happening where we are and we want to be present to it.


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A waiting person is someone who believes that this moment is the moment, that this moment is graced and holy.

Waiting involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her womb.

Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon and Anna were present to the moment. Their attentive waiting enabled them to hear the angel: “Don’t be afraid. Something is happening to you. Pay attention.”

3. Waiting is open-ended.

Open-ended waiting might be hard for us because we tend to always desire something very specific and concrete; wishing for something that we do not have.

Much of our waiting is filled with wishes: I wish the weather were better; I wish the pain would go away; I wish I knew the answer right now. We each have wishes and our waiting easily gets entangled in those wishes.

Thus, a lot of our waiting is our attempt to control the future. We want the future to go in a very specific direction, and if it doesn’t happen that way, we are disappointed. That’s what can make waiting so difficult. We want to be in control; to do the things that will make the desired events take place.

Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon and Anna were not filled with wishes. They were filled with hope.

Hope is trusting that something will be fulfilled, but fulfilled according to the promises, not just according to our wishes. Hoping, when we let go of our wishes, enables something incredibly new, something beyond our own expectations.

Imagine what Mary was actually saying in the words: “Let what you have said be done to me.” She was saying, “I don’t know what this all means, but I trust that good things will happen.” She trusted so deeply that her waiting was open to all possibilities.

Discussion QuestionsInvite participants to take a few moments of quiet to reflect on the reality that people who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait. What promise(s) have you received from God? From others? Do these promises influence your waiting?

If time allows, invite a few people to mention their thoughts.


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Leader’s Talking PointsThe Practice of Waiting

We’ve explored some ideas about the nature of waiting. What might the practice of waiting include? What do the New Testament figures teach us about waiting; how are we called to wait today?

1. Waiting is a waiting together.

What happened when Mary received the words of promise? She went to Elizabeth (Luke 1: 39-56). Something was happening to Elizabeth as well as to Mary. How could they live with these new – and astounding - happenings?

Elizabeth and Mary came together and enabled each other to wait. Mary’s visit enabled Elizabeth to be aware of what she was waiting for: the child leapt for joy in her. Mary affirmed Elizabeth’s waiting.

Then Elizabeth said to Mary, “Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Mary responded, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” Mary, too, bursts into joy.

These two women created a holy place for each other to wait. They affirmed for each other that something worth waiting for was happening.

This is who we are as a Christian community. The visit of Elizabeth and Mary is one of Scripture’s most vibrant illustrations of what it means to be community, to be together gathered around a promise. The meaning of Christian community resides in offering to each other a space in which we wait for what we have begun to glimpse.

2. Our waiting is always shaped by attentiveness to the Word.

We wait in the awareness that someone wants to speak with us. The question is: are we listening?

We wait together to keep each other faithfully rooted so that when the word comes it can become real and alive in us.

Jesus, in speaking about waiting, challenges us to stand ready, stay awake, stay tuned to the word of God, so that we will be able to stand confidently in the presence of God together in community, even in the midst of a chaotic world.


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Quiet Journaling TimeInvite the participants to take some quiet time to reflect on one (or more) of the questions on the handout (“The Gracious Gift of Expectant Waiting”).

DiscussionInvite small groups (groups of about three or table groupings) to share some of their thoughts from the quiet time. If time allows, invite some people to share something of their group’s discussion with the full group.


Leader’s Talking Points The waiting – which Advent reminds us of – is a waiting that is active; a waiting that trusts in God’s promises, a waiting that roots us in where we are right now – with all its joys and sorrows, its expectations and challenges.

On your handout with the outline of a clock (“Time for Waiting and Hope”), within the clock itself write (or draw symbols for) a few things for which you are waiting right now – in your life, your family’s life, our church’s life, our nation’s/world’s life.


Scripture ReadingPsalm 130: 5-6


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Prayerful CommitmentInvite the participants to return to their “clock handouts” (“Time for Waiting and Hope”). With colored magic markers, around the outside of the clock, write ways you will wait, because you know God’s promises to you. Write what you will do – for yourself or another who might be waiting at the present time.

Litany for those who wait

Have one or several leaders (one for each petition) pray each of the following petitions aloud. The response to each is: “Bless our waiting, O God, with a commitment to bring your love to our world.”

For each of us here – and those we care about – who are waiting, waiting for something to begin, waiting for something to end

For those in our world who wait in fear, for those who wait in joy

For those in our world who wait for understanding, for respect, for compassion

For those in our cities, nation and world who wait for food, for shelter, for safety

For those who wait in worry, in grief

For those who wait, afraid to do something; for those who act before waiting for God’s guidance

For those who wait for peace

For all of creation which awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God

Closing SongClose with a song with which the participants are familiar. One of the songs from the Opening Prayer might be used.


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Unquenchable HopeWelcome & IntroductionIf this session stands alone (rather than the third session of a full day), the leader welcomes everyone and explains organizational details, such as the location of restrooms, schedule for the gathering, etc.


Reflective talk


Group conversations



Opening SongChoose an Advent song with which your parishioners are familiar. “Lord of all Hopefulness;” “You are Mine;” “A Time will Come for Singing” or “We are Called” might be appropriate.

Scripture ReadingJeremiah 29: 11

Prayer of PetitionHave one or several leaders (one for each petition) pray each of the following petitions aloud. The response to each is: “God of all Hopefulness, deepen in us the gift of hope.”

Remind us of the hopes of your people throughout history. Reawaken stories of how our ancestors held on to your promises, how hope sustained them in their journey.


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Re-energize the love in our hearts, always attentive to your encouragement and support. Deepen in us the experience of who you are, our hope.

Surround with care all those who are struggling, those filled with worry, those in pain, those overwhelmed with hopelessness. As your presence in this world, may we be hope for them.

During this Advent season, deepen in us the gifts of hope, of joy and of delight. Help us to fill our world with all the blessings that only your unquenchable hope can bring.

You have always been the Beacon of Hope for us, within us. You guide us and protect us. Nudge us to always make our lives a hope-filled oasis, reaching out to welcome, care for, and support others.

SongChoose an Advent song with which your parishioners are familiar.

Main Reflection

Discussion QuestionInvite small groups to discuss: When you hear the word “hope,” what do you think of?

Leader’s Talking PointsOften some people think only about hope when they’re going through hard times. But it’s a reality for each and every day (and certainly one of our predominant Advent themes).

What is Hope?

There have been many things written and said about hope. There are probably many lenses through which to understand and experience hope.

A few things that have been said:

Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turned out. (Vaclav Havel)

For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. (Psalm 71:5)

Hope is more than a word – it’s a state of being. It’s a firm belief that even if you don’t know how, even if you don’t know when, God will come through and better days are ahead. Life brings rain. Hope dances in the puddles until the sun comes out again. (Holley Gerth)


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…hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5)

Consult not your fears, but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. (St. John XXIII)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

The Virtue of Hope

These virtues are mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: “These three remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest is love.”

In some ways, hope is the Cinderella sister, the proverbial “middle child” sandwiched between the priority of faith and the excellence of love.

Yet in many ways, hope is the driving force of all human initiative and a central theme in Scripture and in our journey of faith.

Scriptural Hope

Many of our Advent Scripture readings are from the prophet Isaiah.

speaking of peace on earth and a life of justice and hope for all

emphasizing prophecy, visions, and dreams of what might exist

telling of the wonder, amazement and gracefulness that precede the birth of God on earth as a child in Bethlehem

All of the Advent readings shout to us that this is a season of hope.

The figures of Advent radiate hope: Isaiah, John the Baptist, Mary and Joseph, and, of course, Jesus, the long-awaited hope. All are intent on reminding us who we are and the promises that call us back to God’s dream for us.

In these Advent days, we’re called to pray with hope, live in hope, and be a source of hope for others who are in our lives.

The Advent season – and Advent Scripture readings – are the story of how hope becomes visible and takes on flesh. Our reason for hope is embodied in a person, Jesus our brother.


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Images of Hope

As we think about hope in our lives today, some people like to use images rather than words.

Certainly the predominant image for us is the image of God being born as a child in our midst which gives meaning – which brings hope – to all we are as humans.

Some other images and metaphors – from everyday life - that have been used for hope:

o Light: a ray, a beam, a glimmer of hope; the break in the clouds; the light at the end of the dark tunnel.

o Growing: planting: sowing, cultivating, harvesting, spreading, and watering seeds of hope.

Each of these images, and many more, can shed a new perspective, an additional insight into the gift and necessity of hope.

Hope, Not Optimism

Even though many things could be said to define hope, one crucial reality is that hope is not optimism.

Optimism says: “Keep hoping; things will get better.”

Christian hope is more realistic: “Things may well get worse, anything may happen, but God is still with us.”

Those who are hopeful experience as many frustrations and disappointments as anyone else, but they’re better equipped to withstand them and thus keep on for the long haul.

It’s because of God that we are hopeful. It’s been said that Hope means: Hold On; Possibilities Exist. Something is always possible – because of God.

Reflection QuestionsInvite participants to take a few moments of quiet to reflect on the question: What has helped hope to deepen in you? If time allows, invite a few people to mention their thoughts.


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Leader’s Talking PointsLet’s look at two possible ways to deepen hope.

1. An attitude of gratitude.

Gratitude increases hope. Hope increases our gratitude.

There is much written today about gratitude. In reality, gratitude is a virtue. In fact, it’s the essence of who we are as Catholic Christians. Eucharist, the core of our Catholic identity, is a Greek word that means “thanksgiving.”

When we celebrate Eucharist each week, does gratitude focus our prayer?

How often during the week do we say thank you to God?

How often during the week do we say thank you to the people in our lives, the people who cross our paths, even for a moment?

Gratitude helps us to recognize God in the mist of the hopeful times and God’s presence in what might seem like hopeless times.

2. Let go of worry and fear.

Worry and anxiety isolate us from hope.

The poet Hafiz said “Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.”

What’s the most frequent admonition in Scripture?

Some people would say: Shape up! Repent! Live more faithfully! Behave yourself! Pray diligently! Love God and one another.

We know – and it is reiterated in several ways throughout the Advent/Christmas readings – that it is, “Do not be afraid. Do not worry.”

Throughout Scripture God assures the people not to worry.

In the Old Testament, over and over God promised Israel that God would care for them and protect them. David spoke eloquently of God's loving care in Psalm 23, when he said that he would not want, that His shepherd would lead him in fruitful paths.

In the Gospels, Jesus told his listeners not to worry over what they would wear or eat -- your Father who knows your needs will provide all these things (Matthew 6:25-34).

Paul assured the early Christians: "Do not worry about anything, but in everything let your requests be made known to God ... And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6,19).


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Quiet Journaling TimeInvite the participants to take some quiet time to reflect on one (or more) of the questions on the handout (“The Gracious Gift of Unquenchable Hope”).

(During this quiet time, place on each table small pots (one for each person) and seeds.)

Reflection QuestionsInvite small groups (groups of about three or table groupings) to share some of their thoughts from the quiet time. If time allows, invite some people to share something of their group’s discussion with the full group.


Leader’s Talking PointsOne of the images many people have often used for hope is the metaphor of planting: growing, sowing, cultivating, harvesting, spreading, watering seeds of hope, etc.

On your tables are small pots and some seeds. You’re invited to choose a pot and take a few seeds, gently planting them in your pot.

I invite you to take a few moments of quiet, holding the pot in your hands. Does this pot – or what it might become – say anything to you about your hope(s)? Does it spark an idea in you about a hope you have for the coming days, how you will practically live in hope or bring hope to others?


Scripture ReadingHebrews 6: 17


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Prayerful CommitmentI invite you to take your pot and go find another person, possibly someone you don’t know. Give them your “plant” as a gift and receive their “plant” as a gift to you. As you exchange pots, share with them one thing about a hope you have for the coming days – and how you will practically live in hope or bring hope to others.

Prayer to be planters of hope

Leader: God of all hopefulness, make us planters of seeds of hope.

All: Where there is conflict, let us plant harmony.

Leader: Where there is loneliness, let us plant friendship.

All: Where there is misery, let us plant hope.

Leader: Where there is thanklessness, let us plant gratitude.

All: Where there is worry, let us plant comfort.

Leader: May the seeds we plant,

All: with your guidance and grace, grow to be a sheltering tree, one that provides hope that comes from following you. God of all hopefulness, make us planters of seeds of hope. Amen.

Closing SongClose with a song with which the participants are familiar. One of the songs from the Opening Prayer might be used. “Though the Mountains May Fall” or “Rain Down” might be appropriate.


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