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In this fourth session of our eco-spiritual series, we will consider the most basic Advent theme of all: Incarnation. Christianity promises that God became flesh; yet for many of us, our longing for God feels unrequited because God remains ethereal, intangible, even out of reach. Eco-spirituality is profoundly incarnational and offers us an opportunity to reflect on God as the one we yearn, physically, to embrace. In this session, we will consider images of God, explore the theological notion of “cosmic Christology,” and draw on an array of insights from both dualistic and non-dualistic conceptions of the divine as we approach a theme that animates both Advent spirituality and eco-spirituality: mysticism. Let us celebrate Christmas this year as mystics, with eyes that are open to the presence of God even in a world that is still yearning for salvation.

The Waiting Earth Series

This year’s observation of Advent comes at a time unlike any other in history: we are reckoning not only with the legacy of a traumatic global pandemic but with a climate crisis that is calling into question the future of the planet and its fragile web of life. Yet Madeleine L’Engle suggests, in a poem, that “it was a time like this” that Jesus was born, a time of the uncanny and the uncertain. What wisdom might we gain for our contemporary existence by meditating on this ancient Christian story? This four-part series will explore connections between traditional Advent themes and eco-spiritual concepts, through which this seemingly idle season of winter cold and spiritual waiting can become the nourishing ground for a greater reverence for, and connectedness to, the earth and the Incarnate One.

• November 29 – Deep Time: Cosmic History and Advent Waiting
• December 6 – Birth Pains: The Vulnerable Child and the Fragile Web of Life
• December 13 – And Ransom Captive Israel: Active Hope and Eco-Justice
• December 20 – The Cosmic Christ: Seeing Creation, Seeing God

Each session stands independently, so come to as few or as many sessions as you wish.