How are we talking about Advent when Thanksgiving hasn’t even happened yet? If Advent feels early to you (it starts this Sunday, November 30!) it does to me too. Let’s prepare ourselves to enter into Advent with intention. What is Advent, you ask? Click here to learn more.

December can feel so very full. Maybe it comes with extra social or family gatherings, maybe it comes with fresh waves of grief or loneliness, maybe it comes with extra financial stress, or maybe it comes as quickly as it goes and the month feels like a blur. However you find yourself as Advent approaches, know that Christ wants to come to you, right where you are.

For many of us, 2025 has had its fair share of personal challenges, triumphs, and losses. It has also been a year when we have witnessed particularly evil forms of oppression, violence, and suffering in our country and world. It is evil we often feel powerless to stop. My therapist calls this secondhand trauma.

As I’ve gotten to know this community in the last few months, I’ve found that you are a people who do not give up when it appears as though evil is winning. You are a people of compassion who extend your arms, wallets, and homes in love. There is a special perseverance and compassion that marks the people of Ann Arbor Community Church. It is a remarkable light in the dark.

My earnest hope for all of us this Advent is that, no matter how worn down and weary we are from this year, we would choose to devote time to prayerfully reflect on the circumstances surrounding Christ’s birth and the very real hope we have as we anticipate Christ's second Advent (arrival).

Advent Resources

• Advent Kits – We will pass out Advent kits this Sunday, November 30! The kit includes 4 Advent candles, ideas for prayer and reflection, creative practices, and Christmas Eve invites for your neighbors. You can email me (hannah.witte@a2communitychurch.org) if you want to stop by the church and pick one up a different day.
• Receive Daily Reflections via Email – Many fantastic organizations create materials to guide us in reflecting on Jesus' story during Advent. Here are links to two we like: Living Compass and Biola University.
• Family Devotionals – This magazine has been fun for families with tweens and teens. This interactive devotional has worked beautifully for families with kids in elementary school.

Advent Events

• Pack Lunches for Hope Clinic – If you'd like to make serving a part of your Advent practice, join us on Sunday, December 7 in the cafe after the service to pack lunches for Hope Clinic. Hope hands out 600+ lunches a week! You can also take a look at Hope's Christmas List.
• Craft Sale and Cookie Exchange – On Sunday, December 14 we will have our annual craft sale and cookie exchange after the service! It will be a sweet time to be together, support local artists and enjoy tasty treats. Questions? Contact Sheeba Powell (734-223-4065)
• Intercession – If you want to spend more time in prayer during Advent and have daytime flexibility, you're invited to come to the church to pray on Thursday, December 4th, 11th, and 18th from 10-11:30am. Just show up! Questions? Email Adrienne Royce (adrienne.h.royce@gmail.com)
• Christmas Eve Service – Our candlelight Christmas Eve service will be on Wednesday, December 24 at 6 p.m. This is a beautiful night to stand in awe of Jesus' incarnation and perhaps invite someone rattled by the world and aching for hope to come and see how incredible Jesus is.

with hope and care,

Pastor Hannah