Gathering Community Around Your Advent Wreath

Join Lisa Hendey for a weekly series designed to prepare you to celebrate Advent this year.

I invite you to join me for a moment of daily prayer around the Advent wreath beginning on Sunday, November 27 at 5 pm ET/2 pm PT. I’ll be live on my Facebook profile and sharing the video each day at Youtube and Instagram as well. We’ll be praying with my new Advent devotional 5 Minute Prayers Around the Advent Wreath. Be sure to download my FREE companion resources (Praying with the Saints and Advent Reflections for Families with Children) at Ave Maria Press. I can’t wait to pray with you this Advent season! 

A few weeks ago, we discussed the fact that prayer around our Advent wreaths can sometimes lead to unfortunate feelings of isolation or sadness. As we grow ever closer to the start of Advent, now is a great time to begin thinking about how we might use our simple tradition of praying around the Advent wreath to build community in our neighborhoods and parishes.  

I recently answered a volunteer plea to lead an Advent “small faith sharing group” at my parish. All of the materials are being supplied by the parish and our little group will meet immediately after our evening Mass on Tuesdays. My hope is that we will begin our time together with a few quiet moments (five, to be precise!) around the parish Advent wreath. I hesitated to make this commitment, but then realized the good news that I was really only saying yes to four weeks of meetings.

Believe it or not, though I lead retreats and speak all the time, this time of parish activity makes me nervous. I’m hoping that by stepping up in this way, I will not only find extra prayer time during Advent but will also be a part of a greatly needed renewal effort in my faith community. 

Here are a few thoughts about gathering community around your Advent wreath: 

Gather your parish family.

Please remember that most parishes prominently display beautiful Advent wreaths in their sanctuaries. You might actually consider a new tradition of praying quietly for a few moments after Mass around this wreath. Typically, your presiding priest will begin Advent Masses with a blessing of or prayers around the wreath. But you might consider casually inviting those who sit around you to join you again by the wreath after Mass or on a weekday for a few quiet moments.

I encourage you to be bold, but also to speak with your pastor about the possibility of incorporating community Advent wreath prayers if this is not already a tradition at your church.

Consider virtual options.

As I’ve mentioned a few times, I will be offering a daily live Advent wreath prayer on Facebook. But I also hope to gather a few times during Advent with smaller “Zoom communities” to share our family wreath and prayer time. You might consider gathering with other families at your school or parish one night a week to pray by Zoom. How wonderful would it be to see everyone’s individual wreaths ablaze and to have a little peek into the craziness of one another’s domestic churches?

Be a good neighbor.

My younger sister has built a beautiful lifelong friendship with a Jewish family in her city. For years, part of their holiday traditions has included visiting one another's homes and places of worship. This isn’t honestly an effort to convert anyone. Both families simply enjoy the gift of sharing their faith traditions with each other.

Is there a family in your neighborhood who might welcome a few moments of quiet time, a little explanation of what your wreath means, and a nice cup of hot cocoa? Popular radio host and Catholic Mom Katie Prejean McGrady recently shared an experience of welcoming families into her home for a simple All Saints Day celebration. As she wisely shared, “You don’t have to have the prettiest house, the biggest budget, the best crafts, or even the most time to host others in your home. You just need a spirit of welcome. And a couple spare bags of pizza rolls.”

How might we use our simple tradition of praying around the Advent wreath to build community in our neighborhoods and parishes? #catholicmom

Questions for you: What ideas do you have for gathering community around your Advent wreath? What obstacles prevent you from doing this? What small step might you take to start something new this year? 

Copyright 2022 Lisa M. Hendey
Images: Ave Maria Press
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