CHURCH SOCIAL TIPS
Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and as you read this you are probably already thinking about the day after — “Black Friday.” It is a mindset that has shifted the meaning of the holiday. We used to focus on this as an opportunity for coming together as a family around the dinner table to give thanks for the gifts of abundance we have received.
Now it has morphed into the race for the best deal to kick off the Christmas shopping season. In fact, retailers are cutting into the holiday by opening their doors late Thanksgiving Day or midnight the next day to liquidate more product.
Following “Black Friday” there is “Cyber Monday” another retailer bonanza for getting great deals on electronics. Then there is #GivingTuesday, celebrated this year on Dec. 3 and it seems to be gaining in popularity since it started in 2012. In fact, there is now an exclusive #igivecatholic website that allows you to give to Catholic organizations. The giving season has now been extended from Nov. 18 to Dec. 3 to give donors more opportunities to give. This year the Damien and Marianne Catholic Conference is listed as one of the organizations you can give to at https://nationalministries.igivecatholic.org/organizations/damien-and-marianne-catholic-conference.
For Catholics, Thanksgiving is the gateway to the Advent season. It is a time that is more about reflection and the anticipation of the coming of Christ into the world instead of the hurried pace that can consume us with focusing on shopping. There is no doubt that one can get caught up with all the distractions of things that are totally unrelated to the true meaning of the season, but there are ways that technology can help you fold meaningful reflection into your holy days.
From apps to online subscriptions, there are a plethora of ways to consume content to help you reflect on traditional Advent practices and convenient portable ones too. The most traditional practice is the lighting of the Advent wreath candles at meals during the season. Today, a new prayerful practice of reflecting on a weekly or daily theme of hope, joy, peace, love and faith shared through the 24 days of the season is becoming more popular.
My top five Advent tech tools to help you are:
Best Advent Ever — The daily videos sent via email will make it so easy to reflect on the Advent message and reshare it on social media: dynamiccatholic.com/best-advent-ever
Busted Halo — A daily message hashtagged #adventjolt along with a #microchallenge in the form of an Advent Calendar that calls you to reflect and or take action in response to the message: advent.bustedhalo.com
Hallow App — This app allows you to journey through the season with a variety of different prayer and reflective practices they are calling the journey #pray25. Download the app and take advantage of a free 30-day trial. Learn more about it here hallow.app
Advent Reflections from Bishop Barron — adventreflections.com
The Little Blue Book — This traditional book containing a daily Advent devotional is now downloadable: littlebooks.org/seasonal-books/advent-christmas-season
Now is the time to make sure you add to your to-do list a plan for how you will take time to reflect on this season of light and giving every day of Advent.
California-based freelancer Sherry Hayes-Peirce writes about issues of faith and social media.
