The 2023 Advent at Home worship guide is now available from Mennonite Education Agency (MEA). Taken from Leader magazine’s theme, “How will we know?” the worship guide accompanies individuals and families through the days and weeks of Advent through Epiphany with scriptures, prayers, worship rituals, suggested activities, and contextual information. It is intended for all ages and life stages to deepen the experience of the season.
The guide is available for free download in English and Spanish for all congregations, individuals, and families of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada from the MEA website: https://www.mennoniteeducation.org/resources/advent-at-home/.
Talashia Keim Yoder from Goshen, Ind., wrote the Advent at Home resource. Keim Yoder is a graduate of Hesston (Kan.) College and Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kan., and is currently attending Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind. She is the pastor for Christian formation and worship at College Mennonite Church in Goshen, and the theater director at Bethany Christian Schools, Goshen. She is the content writer for Building Faith, a website ministry of the Mennonite Early Childhood Network, and developed past editions of Advent at Home and Lent at Home.
“In the midst of all the busyness of December, Advent gives us an invitation to take a breath,” Keim Yoder said. “In this year’s Advent at Home resource, we pause to wonder and wander. With ideas that can work for a variety of ages and stages, we hope that this Advent is a time for people across MC USA and beyond to exercise the muscles of curiosity, waiting, and awe.”
Erin Ramer from Parnell, Iowa, designed the guide. She is a graduate of Bethany Christian Schools and Goshen (Ind.) College. She is a freelance graphic designer and a manager at her local MCC Thrift Store, Crowded Closet, in Iowa City, Iowa.
Ubaldo Rodriguez, Philippines, was the translator, and MEA’s Michael Danner and Jolene VonGunten were co-editors.
The Advent at Home and Lent at Home series was originally created by Mennonite Church Canada (MC Canada) in 2002. In 2016, MC Canada entrusted the resource to MC USA, who published the guides as part of its Faith Formation emphasis. MC USA transferred production of the resource to MEA in 2022.
Mennonite Education Agency is headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana, and partners with Anabaptist Mennonite educational institutions and programs affiliated with Mennonite Church USA to provide resources, networking, and dedication to an Anabaptist educational vision. As the education agency of MC USA, MEA connects church and school together in a complementary and cooperative way to strengthen the church through education.