Advent Series: Embodying Faith, Week 1
Week 1: Christianity & the Marketplace
In this season of “hustle and bustle,” our tradition calls us into a time of quiet reflection and contemplation. How are we supposed to embody our Christian faith in the midst of so many contradictory expectations and demands on our time and energy? This week we’ll look at the origins of some of our most beloved Christmas traditions, as a lens through which to begin to think about the relationship between our Christian religion and the holiday rituals of a supposedly “secular” capitalist culture.
Kristen Leigh Mitchell earned her M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University in NYC, where she spent four years researching the relationship between religion, spirituality, psychology, theology, and the arts. Her master’s thesis offered a cultural and historical analysis of how Western churches came to define the relationship between the “sacred” and the “secular.” She has published articles on early Christian music, liturgy, medieval church history, theology and film, artistic vocation, and Biblical interpretation. Kristen spent several years working as resident librarian and later Assistant Director for The Servant Leadership School, a spiritual formation program based in NC that teaches embodied faith through contemplative spiritual practices in the context of ecumenical Christian community. She also just so happens to be Joe’s wife!
You can learn more about Kristen’s writing and other work by visiting her website: www.kristenleighmitchell.com
