Advent: From a closet fertilized by hope

“Advent wreath, First Advent Sunday” by Micha L. Rieser

Today marks the first day of Advent, a time of expectant waiting for Christ’s birth.

This Advent season a coalition of progressive Catholics has some great ideas for creating an “Equally Blessed Advent.” They invite people to wear a rainbow ribbon to church during Advent as a public symbol of support for LGBT youth.

Perhaps their most astonishing idea is to “adopt a bishop” for Advent! The adoption procedure is simple: “Make a contribution in his name to an LGBT rights organization and then send a letter to the bishop letting him know of your gift.” Hey, maybe a bishop will even donate to the Jesus in Love Blog!

Visit DignityUSA.org for the full list of Equally Blessed Advent ideas. Other groups in the coalition are Call To Action, Fortunate Families and New Ways Ministry. I love their picture of a dove with a rainbow beneath its wing.

We celebrate the first Sunday of Advent with an excerpt from “Rite for Advent” by Chris Glaser, published in Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations:

One: The closet may be a fertile place:
creativity bursts out of a lonely hell,
and from a closet fertilized with hope,
the spirit leaps from a monastic cell.

Many: Those born in darkness
have seen life.

One: Out of dark soil sprouts new life,
from darkness springs embodied hope.
Both stretch for the illumination
of the cosmic landscape.

Many: Those born in darkness
have seen life.

One: Dear God,

Many: We seek your Word embodied
in life rooted in fertile darkness.
In life stretching for illumination,
we await your transforming Word.

______
Chris Glaser is a gay Christian author and activist. His newest book, The Final Deadline: What Death Has Taught Me About Life, was released by Morehouse Publishing (New York) in September 2010.