An Advent Reflection for Uncertain Times

What this episode covers

Father Shannon kicks off the Advent season with a solo episode where he reflects on the meaning of Advent as both a spiritual and practical season of preparation. During this time of rising threats for trans, non-binary folks, and immigrants, uncertainty and fear hangs over us. Fr. Shannon offers some grounding reflections about community, care, safety, resistance, and showing up for one another. You’re encouraged to bring your journal to this one! The Christian story calls us to co-create a more just and compassionate world, and we encourage listeners not only to reflect, but to take action in their communities. Takeaways: We’re asking this question not out of a sense of doomsday prepper. What do I need to do right now, right where I am? Creating the kind of community I long to live in. Building a world that will protect the most at risk. The importance of personal responsibility in community building. Resilience is key in facing challenges. Safe spaces are essential for vulnerable populations. Community building requires active participation. We must think about our actions in the present moment. Creating supportive environments is a collective effort. Resources: Join us and be part of Queering Advent! Find more info here. This transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors or omissions. Amazon Music (1s): Ever notice how ads always pop up at the worst moments when the killer’s identity is about to be revealed? During that perfect meditation flow on Amazon music, we believe in keeping you in the moment. That’s why we’ve got millions of ad-free podcast episodes, so you can stay completely immersed in every story, every reveal, every breath. Download the Amazon music app and start listening to your favorite podcast, ad free, included with Prime. 2 (43s): Welcome to the Queer Theology podcast. I’m Brian G. Murphy. 3 (46s): And I’m Father Shannon TL Kerns. We’re the co-founders of queer theology.com and your hosts 2 (51s): From Genesis, revelation. The Bible declares good news to LGBTQ plus people, and we want to show you how tuning 3 (57s): Each week on Sunday for conversations about Christianity, queerness and transness, and how they can enrich one another. We’re glad you’re here. Hello. Hello and welcome back to the Queer Theology Podcast Today, you’ve got a solo Father Shannon episode. It is the beginning of Advent, and I just have a couple of thoughts and reflections that I wanted to share with you as we get this Christian season started. Advent has arrived. I kind of can’t believe that we are already at this point in the year. Hopefully you are already ready to go with your advent practice and that you’re raring to, to kick it off. 3 (1m 39s): I know for me, it sometimes takes me a bit to, to get into the season, but I, I find that advent is a, is a really important and reflective time. A time when we prepare, not only for Christmas of course, but also we reenter the Christian story. You know, advent is the beginning of the Christian calendar, and we begin anew to replay this ancient story, the story of Jesus, the story of the Christian people, a story that still resonates and resounds today, and, and whether or not you still consider yourself a Christian, whether or not you’ve ever celebrated or observed Advent before. 3 (2m 25s): I think that there’s a lot that we can get out of the themes of Advent and thinking through kind of this cycle of the Christian life, the cycle of the spiritual life, the cycle of the stories that we tell about ourselves and our communities. And I’ve been thinking a lot about the themes of advent, particularly in these days. You know, advent is often thought of as a time of preparation. And you know, right now, as I am recording this, we’re, we’re getting ready to enter into this season. And, you know, the threats against trans and non-binary people in particula