There are a variety of ways to engage the Advent and Christmas seasons with Calvary and otherwise this year! Scroll down the page for more information, and click links where appropriate for full details.

ADVENT WREATHS
Do-it-yourself Advent wreaths (including candles and greens) are available for purchase through Calvary, for those interested in following the season at home. Cost is $12, but you don't have to pay when you order (cash or checks are preferable).

Contact Shakirah in the church office by November 30th to order your wreath. We plan to assemble the wreaths immediately following worship on Sunday, December 1. If you're not available then, contact Shakirah to arrange for an alternate pick-up.

ADVENT DEVOTIONAL
Click link above for online access to "The Poetry of Advent: An Advent Companion to Mary Oliver's 'Devotion'." PLEASE NOTE: Hard copies will also be available on Sundays during worship, beginning Sunday, November 24.

You're welcome to use the devotional as part of your own practice, and/or with the Spiritual Reflection Group, which will be using this same devotional for their Advent sessions. See details below.

BIBLE STUDY - MATTHEW & LUKE
Office - please use 48th Street entrance*
Sundays, 9:15-10:15 am / November 24 - December 22 (hybrid)
Five-week study focused on the gospels of Matthew & Luke, beginning with their differing accounts of Jesus' birth. Click link above for details to connect virtually.

SPIRITUAL REFLECTION GROUP
Sundays, 8-9 pm / December 1-22 (virtual)
Informal, online gathering reflecting on the poetry of Mary Oliver related to Advent themes (see ADVENT DEVOTIONAL above). Click link above for details to connect virtually.

WORSHIP
Chapel - please use 48th Street entrance* (click links below for details to connect virtually)

• Sunday, December 1, 11 am-12:30 pm: Hybrid Worship  (Communion / 1st Sunday of Advent)
  • guest preacher: Cara Blouin
  • annual hanging of the greens and decorating the tree
• Sunday, December 8, 11 am-12:30 pm: Hybrid Worship (2nd Sunday of Advent)
• Sunday, December 15
  • 11 am-12:30 pm: Hybrid Worship (3rd Sunday of Advent)
  • 12:45 -2 pm: 2nd Sunday Potluck - Christmas Party (Fellowship Hall - lower level)
    • featuring our annual white elephant gift exchange
• Sunday, December 22, 11 am-12:30 pm: Hybrid Worship (4th Sunday of Advent)
• Tuesday, December 24, 7 pm: Christmas Eve Candlelight Service of Lessons & Carols (hybrid)
• Sunday, December 29, 11 am-12 pm: Virtual Worship (1st Sunday after Christmas)
  • PLEASE NOTE: there will be no in-person option, and the service will be simpler and shorter than usual

CALVARY CHRISTMAS BENEFIT CONCERT (presented by Big Push)
Sunday, December 15, 6:30 pm
Chapel - please use the 48th Street entrance*

• suggested donation: $20 (but pay what you can afford - no one will be turned away)
• all proceeds to benefit ongoing restoration of the Calvary church building

BLUE CHRISTMAS SERVICE
Saturday, December 21, 7 pm (hybrid)
Chapel - please use the 48th Street entrance*
Quiet, contemplative service to hold sacred space for the grief and heaviness that so many experience this time of year. Click link above for details to connect virtually.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Calendar of Light (Interfaith Alignment)
  Online calendar for the month of December, with each day offering a five-minute practice of peace from a different tradition.
• Peace on Earth and the Politics of Christmas (virtual / Alternative Seminary)
  Saturday, December 7, 10:30 am-12:30 pm
  Special program exploring a liberating understanding of the biblical “nativity narratives.”

---

* ACCESSIBILITY: There is a wheelchair-accessible lift that takes guests from the ground level outside (the red door at the corner of 48th & Baltimore) up to our chapel and church office, and down to restrooms, classrooms and our Fellowship Hall (including kitchen).

The door requires a code so if you're coming and require use of the lift, please call (215-724-1702) or email the church office well before your visit so we can coordinate logistics.