🤫 Today! A simple secret to facing fear, .

Published: Mon, 12/15/25

Updated: Mon, 12/15/25

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Green garland framing text, four candles

Hello, !

Have you noticed how much fear creeps into so much of our lives this time of year? If you are a church leader you may see it in your parishioners' stories or in the end-of-year budget discussions. If you are a professor you are likely to see it in your students or possibly in your colleagues as well. Fear has many useful and protective purposes, yet it also has a way of putting people into a defensive posture.

Fear hides in many behaviors and sometimes beneath other feelings... like anger, sadness, or stuckness.

How do we face fears or help the people we are leading to face fears in their lives?

There are many ways to face fear with courage and hope, but there is one little word, an open secret, that helps us every time. You'll find that word, with all its encouragement in this week's blessing between joy and love.

The blessing I wrote and want to share with you, , is available to download for free at the link below. (We did not attach the PDF to your email this week - it prevents our message from getting delivered to some of you!)

Advent 3: Blessing Between Joy and Love

Keep reading below (and at the link) for more Advent resources to support you as you lead through the season. We keep adding new links and resources each week of the season.

Planning a Longest Night or Blue Christmas service? We have a resource for you. We hope it will support the work you are doing! "Deep Peace: A prayer for loss and longing and love" has been prayed in many December services that attend to grief. Please get your copy. We only ask you to attribute credit.

Free Download: "Deep Peace" prayer

Mini Writing Retreats

January 5 and February 6

Our beloved mini writing retreats for all writers are back for January 5 and February 6. Explore them now and save your place to write with us in 2026.

Members of the Writing Table receive a 50% discount.

Mini Writing Retreats | Register Here

Advent is here!

As we continue our journey through Advent, we focus on themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. We need glimpses of hope when the world around us holds so much despair. Peace feels elusive when fear and injustice continue to mount. We want to hold onto joy in the midst of the gloominess. We want to believe in the power of love to overcome hate and indifference. In this season of waiting and anticipation, we hold onto hope, peace, joy, and love not as trite themes for lighting our Advent candles. We work toward them or rest in them, depending on the moment, letting them guide us. Just as we light an additional candle each week in our Advent wreath, the light around and within us keeps growing as we move toward hope, peace, joy, and love.

How can our practices of prayer and reflection help us journey through this season in ways that feel hopeful? What do we need to find peace within? What is bringing us joy right now? How might we notice and practice acts of love?

Advent resources and reflections:

An Advent devotional and worship guide, Melodies of Faith, compiled by Charisse J. Gillett and edited by Tanya L. Tyler with contributions from African American pastors, poets, professors, and composers, may be just the resource you need for reflecting on the ways music captures the seasons of Advent and Christmas.
Here are some Advent reflections and stories I shared in 2021 that continue to speak to our social climate today.
Read this reflection on all that Advent requires and how we might find peace within.
Go back to an early episode of 3MMM where we think about seeing holy depths in ministry in this season.
Ten years ago I shared about engaging in the prayer practice of an Advent word a day.
This poem calls us to awaken to the Advent journey, and this reflection inspires us to be present to this moment.
We also love "Following the Star" an Advent devotional sponsored by our friends at Passport and d365. Follow the star to pause, listen, think, pray, and go each day of the Advent season and all year long.

I'm grateful for you, , and may hope, peace, joy, and love grasp you in surprising ways this season of Advent waiting. Watch for our email each week bringing you prayers and blessings to accompany you in this season.

Blessings and peace,

Eileen

New State of Clergy Report

As you are opening this email, I'm just home from AAR where I had some really great conversations with people interested and eager to see the new State of Clergy report. I also attended the Louisville Institute reception. They have funded my work on the report, and I am so grateful!

Here is a question for schools and denominations from the 2018 SoC Report. Maybe it will give you something to consider this week:

How are you training men and women for the work of dismantling gender barriers and related justice issues of racism, classism, discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity?

I've already been having so many interesting conversations on Threads and Facebook about what questions people want answered in the revised and expanded report. What do you hope will be included?