Online Advent devotions offer college faculty and student voices

GOSHEN, Ind. – As churches and individual Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth, Goshen College is again offering an online spiritual resource to help believers make time and space in their hearts and minds to welcome Advent and celebrate Christmas.

Beginning Nov. 26 and culminating Dec. 28, students, faculty and staff will provide weekday reflections based on the Sunday’s upcoming lectionary Scripture passages, available online at www.goshen.edu/devotions or by daily e-mail. Organizers said the devotions are contemporary reflections on the Scriptures, offering assurances of faith during a time of uncertainty and fear across the nation and the world. Many writers will reflect on the Advent theme: “The world is about to turn!”

Organizers intend the devotions to provide a moment of pause and peace, sharing the thoughts of individual believers to enhance the personal reflections of readers. The short reflections could be used as a centering tool at the start of a day or a way to wind down in the evening. Either way, the writings and Scripture passages can help Christians concentrate specifically on the meaning and mystery of the Advent season.

The popularity of the devotions continues to grow each year and there are now nearly 4,000 online subscribers, representing many different denominational backgrounds and countries. In three and a half years, there has been a 523 percent growth in subscribers. And when “Advent devotions” is searched on Google, Goshen College devotions are listed as number four.

One subscriber wrote, “I have also used them in preparing services for the Sundays of Advent. Thanks for the help!” Another wrote, “Thank you so much for the pertinent Advent devotionals. I read them each morning when I came into the office. It puts the work I do and world events in perspective for me.”

Since 2001, Goshen College annually celebrates special seasons of the church calendar, particularly Advent and Lent, with online devotions. To access the devotions or sign-up to receive them daily in your inbox, go to: www.goshen.edu/devotions.

Editors: For more information about this release, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.