To view the What Do You Fear?

Advent Devotional Booklet, click here. ​

Weekly Themes

About our Advent Theme

What do you fear?

As we discussed our Advent theme and how hope and fear are interwoven in our lives, a vision emerged: hands gently cupped around candles at a vigil. When we gather at a vigil, fear is often present, weighing on us like a heavy fog. The candle in our hands can feel fragile, insignificant, the flame easily extinguished. But when we turn to our neighbors to spread the light, it multiplies, wrapping the whole community in warmth. The darkness is not eradicated; if anything, it further illuminates the flicker of the candles. In these vigil spaces, grief and fear dance with gratitude and hope. In these spaces, we find courage and unity. We are reminded that God is near. This vision captures our prayer for this Advent series: that it will illuminate both our hopes and our fears and remind us that God is near.

As we developed the branding, we thought that the image of a lantern could similarly hold these ideas together. Lanterns are often used to light the way as we gently step forward into unseen or unknown territory. The lantern, like hope, steadies our hands and eyes as we walk forward through the night. In the logo, a lantern contains the swirl of a flame—it’s active and powerful, like the Holy Spirit, and like the hope that burns inside us. The candlelight cannot be contained, and so, like hope, it grows, emanating into our guiding question for the season, “What do you fear?” The branding photography captures the beauty of both dark and light by focusing on the patterned shadows cast from a lantern. From this ethereal space where our greatest fears greet our most palpable hopes, possibility emerges.