Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A Circle in the Dark: Daily Meditations for Advent
    A Circle in the Dark: Daily Meditations for Advent
    A Circle in the Dark: Daily Meditations for Advent
    Ebook86 pages59 minutes

    A Circle in the Dark: Daily Meditations for Advent

    By Rachael A. Keefe

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This book invites the reader to experience Advent as a spiritual journey to Bethlehem, a journey from darkness to light. Each week explores the traditional themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love that are present throughout the season. It begins on the first Sunday of Advent inviting the reader to be open to new or unexpected encounters with God, to find the mystery and wonder so often missed in day-to-day life. Each daily meditation offers a poetic, insightful reflection on scripture verses that voice the human spirit's longing for the Holy Spirit--the continued struggle to find light in a dark world. As the journey unfolds, the reader will walk through the cold bleakness of the winter season and the bitterness of despair, guided by the hope, peace, joy, and love promised in Christ, fulfilled on Christmas Day.
    Those familiar with biblical texts will be drawn in by the vivid images and relevant messages of the poems. Similarly, those for whom biblical texts are less well known will find intriguing and accessible images that might prompt a desire to learn more. Laypeople and clergy across denominations will find comfort and challenge in the familiar being made new should they accept the invitation to seek the Light of Christ on the long, often difficult, journey to Bethlehem.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWipf and Stock
    Release dateJul 22, 2011
    ISBN9781630877750
    A Circle in the Dark: Daily Meditations for Advent
    Author

    Rachael A. Keefe

    Rachael A. Keefe is the pastor of Living Table United Church of Christ (UCC) in the Twin Cities and a former clinical chaplain. Since being ordained by the UCC in 1992, Rachael has served in many different ministry settings both traditional and decidedly nontraditional, in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Minnesota. She has a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological School, another Masters degree (ThM) from Princeton, in Christian Education and Counseling, and a doctoral degree (DMin) from Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School. Rachael is a pastor, an author, a painter, and a poet. On sunny afternoons you might see her with her easel at a local park or river walkway.

    Related to A Circle in the Dark

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Prayer Consists of Attention: On Reading as a Spiritual Practice

      May 9, 2022

      I realized that all words, even those contained in secular literature, have the potential to become prayers. The post Prayer Consists of Attention: On Reading as a Spiritual Practice appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      An Apex of Babble

      Mar 6, 2019

      An Apex of Babble
      13 min read

    • Article

      Editor’s Hello

      Mar 18, 2022

      Editor’s Hello
      2 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The EDITOR

      Apr 5, 2024

      D ear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to k

      10 min read

    • Article

      Now and Zen

      Oct 12, 2019

      Now and Zen
      1 min read

    • Article

      Love Born

      Sep 4, 2020

      Love Born
      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Nov 27, 2020

      I I believe b that we are living in the end times as we read about in all the books of the Gospel and listen to what Jesus had said. He warned of pestilences and famines. I believe that Covid-19 is one of the pestilences, as well as all the locusts t

      7 min read

    • Article

      Ask The Teachers

      Sep 20, 2023

      ROSHI JOAN HALIFAX is the abbot and head teacher of Upaya Institute and Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her most recent book is Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet, which explores how we can face the challenges of ou

      6 min read

    • Article

      Man of Science, Man of Faith

      Sep 22, 2017

      Man of Science, Man of Faith
      14 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Apr 22, 2019

      The Bible in a Nutshell is amazing! I have just received a ‘Bible in a Nutshell’ book as a gift from my mom. Wow, wow, wow – what a treat. I can’t put it down and have learned so much from it. What a treasure. Thank you for producing such a valuable

      5 min read

    • Article

      My Pastor Saved Me From Suicide

      Nov 5, 2018

      Today’s contributor shares how the spiritual, healing ideas in the Bible and the Christian Science textbook freed her from despair and the temptation to commit suicide.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The EDITOR

      Jun 16, 2023

      Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to ke

      7 min read

    • Article

      A New Day Of Pentecost The Spirit Of Prayer

      Dec 1, 2023

      Over the last few issues, I have shared guiding principles that the early Church lived by (Acts 2:42). This included apostolic doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. Last month, we looked at the Christocentric prayer of Paul and the

      2 min read

    • Article

      August July

      Jun 15, 2021

      August July
      34 min read

    • Article

      Easter

      Apr 3, 2023

      Easter
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Guest At The Table

      Aug 7, 2018

      The 3-year-old son of a rabbi who's visiting this obscure corner of the diaspora already stands tall and straight -- like the proper mensch he is becoming, complete with skullcap, earlocks and a blue-and-white fringed garment in accordance with the b

      2 min read

    • Article

      A Pained Intuition and a Palpable Longing: Katie Ford on Theology, Poetry, and the Unknowable

      Sep 13, 2018

      If You Have to Go, the new collection of poems by Katie Ford, is a book that conjures powers of possession. I feel that way about all of her books: Her poems bring me to a mystical plane somewhere between language and life. I’m left shaken. Her willi

      17 min read

    • Article

      Ride The Waves

      Mar 21, 2023

      Ride The Waves
      4 min read

    • Article

      Rooted IN Compassion

      Dec 17, 2019

      Rooted IN Compassion
      7 min read

    • Article

      Divine Wake-up Call

      Nov 26, 2020

      Divine Wake-up Call
      5 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The EDITOR

      Sep 23, 2022

      D ear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to k

      7 min read

    • Article

      Prayer Is Poetry

      Jan 29, 2020

      Prayer is a narrative into which one must descend; if it is a poem, it is one where the words themselves become indistinguishable from the reader. The post Prayer Is Poetry appeared first on The Millions.

      14 min read

    • Article

      CeCe Winans

      Dec 29, 2023

      CeCe Winans
      6 min read

    • Article

      Invite An Evangelist To Your Church

      Jul 22, 2019

      The next few months are busy ones for our team. Our conference for evangelists takes place at the end of August. Visit esnetwork.org for more information and to register, if space allows. Three more crusades lie ahead of us for this year. We will be

      3 min read

    • Article

      Made With Love

      Dec 13, 2023

      Made With Love
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for A Circle in the Dark

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      A Circle in the Dark - Rachael A. Keefe

      9781610973397.kindle.jpg

      A Circle in the Dark

      Daily Meditations for Advent

      Rachael A. Keefe

      18142.png

      A Circle in the Dark

      Daily Meditations for Advent

      Copyright © 2011 Rachael A. Keefe. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

      All biblical quotations are NRSV. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Wipf & Stock

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      isbn 13: 978-1-61097-339-7

      eisbn 13: 978-1-63087-775-0

      Manufactured in the U.S.A.

      For Erika

      who reminds me that there is always light no matter the depth of the darkness.

      Acknowledgments

      This book is the result of my Doctor of Ministry work at Andover Newton Theological School. Thank you Merle Jordan for strongly encouraging me to go back to school and for all your support through the writing process. This book might not have been written if Beth Nordbeck had not suggested it. Thank you. I also thank Beth for her patience and encouragement especially in my reluctance with the less poetic aspects of the work. I must also thank Mary Luti for her reminders to step beyond where I am most comfortable. I am also grateful to Jed Rardin for his unfailing collegial support and encouragement and willingness to use some of the poems in worship early on. Of course there are many others to whom I owe much gratitude—Sharon Thornton for her unbridled enthusiasm; Tim Thomas for his assurances that I have a gift worthy of sharing; for Erika Sanborne for her patience and company along the way; and for the numerous friends and colleagues who have offered encouragement, requests for more, and prayers throughout the writing process.

      Introduction

      We live in a world full of noise and busyness. It is easy to forget that the church has a different message to offer to the overburdened, overtired individual and to get lost in the chaos of secular living. This feeling of being overwhelmed can be magnified during Advent. The lights and sounds, memories and longings, traditions and ritual—all vying for our attention. As we begin the liturgical year, we may feel the effects of Advent’s long history. It stretches back to its penitential roots and carries a somber weight while reaching toward joyous anticipation of Christmas. There are hints of darkness as we explore the areas of our personal lives or aspects of our faith communities that are not quite ready for Christ to come again. On the other hand, the Light of Christ shines, invitingly, a beacon for all who seek it.

      From my early days in ministry, through community, parish, and healthcare settings, one question has been repeatedly asked of me: I have everything I thought I would ever want—good job, great spouse, healthy kids, nice house, etc.—why do I feel so empty? The people who have uttered these words in the privacy of my office, have almost always been the leaders of the church, the women and men who make things happen in the church and in the wider community. They have come with such a deep longing for meaning and purpose in their lives. It is for them as much as for those whose needs seem closer to the surface, that I offer a way of carrying an intentional Advent practice out of the worship service into everyday living.

      The following pages may seem different from some more familiar Advent devotional material. It is divided into four weeks, each with one of the traditional themes for Advent—Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love—with the addition of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Each day has a scripture reading or two which is found somewhere within the Daily Lectionary Readings for Advent. Since the Daily Lectionary has a two-year cycle and I have written for one Advent season, I chose the readings that spoke to me. Sometimes the link between the scripture and the poem is clear and other times there is only a common theme, or maybe both the scripture verses and the poem point the reader toward the same truth. But I encourage you to attend to the scriptures; it is through them that we are tied to the community of faith with its long history of loving and yearning for God and being loved, forgiven, and shaped by God. So read them as closely as you read the poems.

      You might also notice that a closing or summarizing prayer (often a predictable part of a daily devotional) is absent. This was an intentional choice. Sometimes, the poems themselves are prayers, deeply personal desires to communicate and connect

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1