liturgical calendar for worship. The lectionary is a prescribed
set of readings that churches around the globe have used for
hundreds of years to follow the life cycle of the birth, life,
death and resurrection of Christ.
A liturgical group of artists and writers formed a com-
munity called Sanctified Art. They create stories, songs, art,
and writings based on the church’s liturgical calendar. This
year for Advent they came with the theme, “Those Who
Dream…” One author from the group said, “the opening lines
from Psalm 126 jumped off the page in our Bible study while
searching for a theme, ‘When the Lord restored the fortunes
of Zion, we were like those who dream.’”
What does it look like to live as those who dream? The
prophets, the psalmists, John the Baptist, Mary, Elizabeth,
Joseph, Simeon, Anna, the shepherds and the Magi—they
were all dreamers. They received, discovered, and
responded to God’s dreams for the world. In Advent, we step
into the mystery and awe of God’s dreams and pray they
shape our reality.
This theme is for the dreamers in all of us—those who
dream of a deeper connection with God and those who
dream of a better world. It’s for those who dream of comfort
and for those who have given up on their dreams. It’s for
those whose dreams have been crushed and for those who
show us that dreams take time.
Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman, Director of Branding,
Founding Creative Partner of Sanctified Art shared the
following: When considering the theme of “Those Who
Dream….” the image that came to mind most presently was
the image of one eye open, and another eye shut. There is
something about this space between sleep and conscious-
ness that I think is important to pay attention to, and
something about this move toward awakening that feels
deeply relevant to our current context. This imagery can
symbolize many things: the bewildering narratives and
fragments of our dreams, our individual dreams taking on the
form of God's dream, and the collective movement of people
it takes to bring God's dream to life. How do we awaken to
join in God’s dream for the world revealed in Jesus? How
can join in making Christ’s dream a reality?
We will explore those questions with the traditional stories
of advent with Hope, Love, Joy and Peace! Join us this
Advent as we dream alongside prophets and angels, Mary
and the Magi. Join us as we seek and sow God’s dreams for
our world.
Blessings, Rev. Trey Hegar