On October 29, 2024, we hosted an Advent Planning Webinar for anyone using (or interesting in using) our Advent series, Words for the Beginning: Advent reminders for new seasons. In this time, we dove into our theme and why we created this series. We shared some tips about how to use the materials, and talked through ideas for implementation. Below is the recording. We hope this can be helpful to you as you plan and prepare.

We’ve also summarized much of the conversation that occurred in the chat. We are amazed by and grateful for the wealth of knowledge and inspiration within the larger Sanctified Art community. Be sure to read through the Q/A’s and crowdsourcing ideas at the bottom of this page.

In the webinar, we shared a Quick Links PDF with links to all the resources and materials discussed. If that document might be helpful to you, you can download it here:

00:00:00—00:16:46 Welcome and introductions

Welcome and introductions from the Sanctified Art creative team alongside participants’ introductions shared in the chat. Introducing all the guest contributors who helped create the Words for the Beginning resources. In the chat, participants shared the words they live by (see those responses at the bottom of this post).

00:16:46—00:24:45 How we developed the “Words for the Beginning” theme & series

Telling the story behind the way this theme emerged for us and what reminders we need to hear again and again.

00:24:45—00:48:57 an overview of all the materials

An overview of all the resources in the bundle as well as bonuses and supplements, with comments and ideas for how to use each component. Consider this an “insider’s guide” to all the resources. If you would like to share just this segment with staff, colleagues, or volunteer leaders, below is a link to the overview video:

00:48:57—1:01:11 Experiencing the resources

A short segment in which we share a poem from the series, guest writer Kayla reads an excerpt from her commentary and leads us in a breath prayer, and guest artist Nic engages us in a visio divina practice using her artwork, “Binding Braids.” This practice of visio divina drew out an abundance of responses. Below is a word cloud of the dozens of responses we received to the questions: What do you see in the image? How does it make you feel? What were you thinking about as I guided you through the prompts?

1:01:11—1:25:32 crowdsourcing ideas, Q/A, & premiering our theme song

In this final segment, we engaged with the conversation in the chat and responded to the questions in the Q/A box. While you can’t see that discussion in the video recording, we verbalize many of the ideas in the chat, and much of our conversation is summarized in the section below. We concluded by playing our theme song for the series. We invite you to join our Facebook Group to continue to collaborate with other pastors and ministry leaders.

Q: Where do we order the paraments & banners for altar display?

A: We have two printed-to-order banners that feature the Words for the Beginning branding. The small banner is printed on a weather-resistant material and includes grommets. It could be displayed outdoors or indoors. This size might work well as a parament for the pulpit. The table tapestry is printed on a blanket fabric and it is hemmed along the edge. It’s not best for outdoor display, but could be displayed as a cloth for your Communion Table.