Seeking Home Advent 2025
Pastor’s Note
Rev. Jenny Smith Walz
Dear Beloved Princeton UMC Community,
Advent is a season of yearning—for hope, for healing, for a home in which we can belong and flourish. And this year, perhaps more than most, we recognize how many in our world are still on the move—displaced by violence, poverty, or climate catastrophe, or caught in the complex web of global migration policies. Even here in New Jersey, often considered one of the most welcoming states, immigrant communities live with real fear: of ICE raids, legal uncertainty, and the dismantling of systems meant to offer refuge. This is not new— but it is urgent. And our faith invites us not to turn away.
God’s people have always been migratory. From Abraham’s call to leave, to Ruth’s search for welcome, to Mary’s revolutionary song, and to Jesus, God-with-us, fleeing political violence, scripture is full of sacred stories of displacement and divine presence. These are not just ancient accounts. Their sacred echoes are still being lived today.
In our Advent worship series Seeking Home, we journey with the migrants of Scripture and the immigrants of today. Through their stories, we listen more deeply—to God, to each other, and to those still on the move. Immigration and incarnation meet in a God who moves toward us, who crosses every border to dwell with us, and who calls us to do the same.
This devotional is an invitation to pray and reflect through that lens. This devotional offers five short reflections—one for each week of Advent and one for Christmas—each grounded in Scripture and paired with a story, quote, or statistic that connects our faith to the lived realities of immigrants today. You’ll also find a few questions for reflection and a suggested action to help you move from contemplation to faithful response.
If you are stirred to go deeper, you’ll find an expanded list of resources—books, films, podcasts, websites, and ways to get involved—on the Discipleship Tools page on our church website. There, you’ll also discover a range of actions you can take, from micropractices of welcome to larger efforts for justice and systemic change.
May this season be a journey of listening—deep, sacred, transformational listening—to God, to one another, and to all who are still seeking home. May this Advent be one of holy listening—and faithful response as we Seek Home together.
1 “Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt…” ~Matthew 2:14
Peace and love, Pastor Jenny
Seeking Home
Advent Schedule 2025
Sunday Morning Worship
Every Sunday | 10 a.m. | Sanctuary
Advent Coffee House
November 30 | 5 p.m. | Sanctuary & Sanford Davis Room
Advent Lovefeast
December 7 | 5 p.m. | Sanctuary & Sanford Davis Room
Children’s Pageant
“The Christmas Story - Through the Eyes of Friendly Beasts”
December 14 | 5 p.m. | Sanctuary & Sanford Davis Room
Christmas Concert
“How Great is our Joy!”
December 21 | 5 p.m. | Sanctuary & Sanford Davis Room
Longest Night Service
December 22 | 7 p.m. | Sanford Davis Room
Christmas Eve Services
December 24 | 4 p.m. | Sanctuary | Family Service
December 24 | 8 p.m. | Sanctuary | Candlelight Service
God’s Migrant People
Week 1 - November 30
Migration is a sacred thread woven throughout our story. God calls Abraham to go. Advent calls us to hear once again the movement inherent in our faith journey and our spiritual longing for home. Our ancestors were migrants; so are we—spiritually and literally.
Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9
Immigrant Story
“My name is Leticia. When I came from Guatemala, I didn’t know what to expect. I only knew I couldn’t stay where I was. I left everything. I was a mother and a daughter, a teacher and a neighbor. But here, I was just ‘the immigrant.’ What helped me survive were the people who saw me not as a problem to solve, but as a person to welcome.”
— Leticia’s story, Sanctuary DMV
Reflection
Advent opens with movement. Long before inns and mangers, before Mary and Joseph’s journey, there was another call: Go. Leave what is known. Step out toward a promise that hasn’t yet taken shape.
God doesn’t just welcome migrants—God calls them. Abram and Sarai’s story is not one of exile, but of invitation. God sends them into the unknown with a promise to be with them, and to bless others through them.
Leticia’s story reminds us that migration is not only an act of survival but also an act of hope. To move is to trust that somewhere ahead, there is blessing—and maybe even home. Advent invites us to listen deeply: Where might God be calling us to move? Inwardly? Outwardly? Toward someone? Away from what no longer gives life?
We all carry stories of movement. But some among us carry them with trembling hands and weary feet. May our hearts make room this season—for God’s migrant people, and for the God who migrates with them. What is one place in your life where God may be saying, “Go”?
When have you been welcomed in a time of transition?
How might your own journey help you practice hospitality toward others?
Action
This week, take one small step toward someone who may feel out of place: Introduce yourself to a newcomer at church or other spaces in which you find yourself. Read about local organizations that support immigrants through legal help, practical help, advocacy, policy work, education, and more. You can find a partial list on our website. Pray: “God of the journey, help me welcome the ones you love.”
Together We Sing
Barbara Figge Fox
Together in the sanctuary, we will be served a sweetbread (Moravian sugarcake) and a warm drink.
Together in the sanctuary we will spend time with God. At the Lovefeast there will be Scripture reading and prayer. No sermon, no conversation. We will praise God and look forward to the birth of Christ as we join our voices in song.
This year we begin what could be a new tradition, to serve a Lovefeast on the second Sunday in Advent, December 7 at 5 p.m. It will be a devotional service that fosters spiritual unity and community.
Sometimes Lovefeasts are called agape meals, from the Greek word for love, the highest type of spiritual love. They originated in the first gathering of Christians after Pentecost. Early believers met and broke bread together, signifying their union and equality, and then they observed the Lord’s Supper, holy communion. Gradually the agape meal lost its devotional character, and toward the end of the fourth century the Church gave it up.
The Apostolic agape meal was resuscitated in its original simplicity by the Moravian Church in 1727. Fleeing religious persecution, Moravians emigrated from what is now the Czech Republic to live on the estate of a Lutheran nobleman, Count Zinzendorf, in Herrnhut, Germany. After a memorable celebration of holy communion, they continued to talk over the great spiritual blessing which they had experienced; they were reluctant to separate and return to their homes for the noonday meal. Zinzendorf sent them food from his manor house, and they partook together, continuing in prayer, religious conversation, and the singing of hymns.
This incident reminded Zinzendorf of the Apostolic agape, and the idea was fostered until lovefeasts became a custom in Moravian life. In the 1740s Moravians settled in Pennsylvania in Bethlehem and Nazareth and brough the tradition of lovefeasts with them. When Moravians hold lovefeasts on Christmas Eve, a highlight is when, during the responsive hymn “Morning Star,” ushers enter with trays of lighted, decorated beeswax candles.
Ever since 1736, when John Wesley was deeply impressed by Moravian missionaries’ calm assurance of faith during a storm at sea, Methodists have been strongly influenced by Moravian emphasis on personal conversion and “heart religion.” Wesley first experienced it among the Moravians in Savannah, Georgia. His
MoravianLovefeast | by Marie b. Nifong
Finding a New Home
Week 2 - December 7
Hospitality is holy. Ruth’s vulnerable journey reminds us that belonging is not automatic, but a gift extended and received. God's people are called to welcome the stranger because we’ve all been strangers.
Scripture: Ruth 2:1-13
Immigrant Story
When the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, thousands of Afghan families were evacuated in haste and arrived in the U.S. under temporary humanitarian parole. One woman, Fatima, fled with her children but without her husband, who had been unable to leave in time. When she arrived in New Jersey, a local congregation helped her find housing and navigate resettlement. Through broken English and tears, she described her fears—but also her hope: “Here, my children sleep without bombs. We don’t have everything, but we have peace. That is shelter.”
Reflection
Ruth arrives in Bethlehem with nothing guaranteed—not safety, not livelihood, not belonging. As a Moabite woman, she carries the weight of both gender and ethnic vulnerability. Yet in the fields of Boaz, she encounters something unexpected: hospitality that restores dignity. Boaz sees her, honors her story, and goes beyond what the law requires. His welcome doesn’t erase Ruth’s grief or struggle, but it creates a safe place for hope to grow.
Hospitality in Scripture is never merely politeness; it is an act of holy boldness. It is the choice to see someone’s full humanity when it would be easier not to. It is the willingness to make space—at the table, in the field, in our lives—because God has made space for us. In Ruth and Boaz we witness a truth woven throughout Scripture: belonging is something offered, received, and stewarded.
As we reflect on Ruth’s journey, we are invited to remember the times we have been strangers—new, unsure, or needing welcome. And we’re invited to consider what it looks like today to extend the same kind of courageous, generous welcome that Boaz extends, and that Christ extends to each of us. When have you experienced genuine welcome—hospitality that honored your story and helped you feel at home?
Where in your life might God be asking you to notice someone who is new, vulnerable, or unheard? What does “holy hospitality” look like in your daily rhythms, relationships, or community?
Action
This week, receive those who are on the move. Offer a gesture of sanctuary: Invite someone to dinner or coffee who may be new to the community. Make a donation to a local refugee resettlement, advocacy, or legal aid group. Practice “listening without fixing” with someone who needs to be heard.
Welcoming Blessing
by Abby Gillette
Education and Formation program. But the journey that has led her here to PUMC has been much longer than a master’s program.
Blessing was raised in Makurdi, a city in the North Central region of Nigeria. Her family - she was the third of five children - was a deeply religious Christian household. Her parents emphasized faith, service, and community as foundations of their household, and encouraged Blessing and her siblings in their own faith journey and development.
Growing up she learned the value of community. “Our neighborhood functioned like an extended family,” she says. “Everyone looked out for one another, shared meals, and shaped the rhythms of daily life.” Blessing lost her father at a young age and was acutely aware of the ways that the community around her stepped up to help care for her family. “My community helped shape my early understanding of belonging, responsibility, and what it means to care for those around you,” she says.
Her faith took on a deeper understanding when she was in Senior Secondary School. “I began to experience God, not only as the one my parents taught me about, but as someone forming and guiding my own life.” As she grew older, she says there were clear moments throughout her experiences teaching and while volunteering in the National Youth Service Corp that led her towards ministry. “I sensed a clearer call toward ministry, particularly ministry with vulnerable people,” she says. She witnessed firsthand how faith can be a healing presence while working with children affected by violent crises in Jos, Nigeria. “That journey gradually shaped my call to serve migrants and internally displaced persons in my immediate environment affected by the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria and hence furthering my studies in the seminary.”
When asked what draws her to children’s ministry specifically, she says “My work with children affected by violence, displacement, and forced migration deeply shaped my love for children’s ministry. I saw firsthand how children wrestle with loss, belonging, and identity, and how faith mixed with education can become a powerful tool for healing, formation, and hope. Children have an authentic and profound way of encountering God, even in difficult circumstances. It brings me joy to create spaces where they feel known, supported, and spiritually nurtured. Their resilience and openness inspire me, and I feel called to walk alongside them as they grow in faith, identity, and purpose.”
Moving to Princeton was a bittersweet experience. Blessing was able to further her academic goals, experience diverse gatherings and foods of people from across the world, and stretch her understanding of what it means to follow God. But it came at a cost. “I had to leave behind everything familiar: my family, my
Blessing Gwatana Director of Children’s Ministries
Old Land, New People
Week 3 - December 14
We have to confront some unsavory stories about immigration/relationships with foreigners in the Bible too. Ways to engage with this text: learn the historical context, hear our own fears in the story, put it in context with other voices from Scripture.
Scripture: Ezra 9:1-4, 10:1-5 and Luke 1:46-55
Immigrant Quote
In her testimony before Congress, Greisa Martinez Rosas, Executive Director of United We Dream, shared: “I was brought to this country as a child. I am undocumented, unafraid, and unapologetic. But I carry more than my own story—I carry the grief of a broken immigration system that divides families, and the hope that we can build something better.”
Reflection
Ezra tears his garment in grief at the tangled web of disobedience and exclusion in Israel’s past. He owns the brokenness. Mary, in contrast, sings a revolutionary song of divine reversal and justice. Both texts are honest. Both are holy.
To be God’s people is to wrestle with a complicated inheritance—one that includes hope and harm, beauty and betrayal.
In the immigration story of this country, we find the same tension. Some ancestors came seeking refuge; others came colonizing. Some were welcomed; others enslaved. Some built new lives; others were never given the chance.
The invitation of Advent is not to rush past this discomfort, but to listen—to the stories we’d rather not tell, and to the voices that have been pushed to the margins. In that listening, healing begins. What parts of your own story—or your community’s story—feel complicated or painful to tell? How do you hear Mary’s song (Luke 1:46-55) in a world still filled with injustice? What stories do we need to unlearn in order to hear the truth?
Action
This week, take time to learn a story of immigration or displacement you weren’t taught in school. Watch a short documentary. (see some suggested resources on our website) Read a first-person account.
Share what you learn with someone else—and listen to their response.
Together We Sing (cont.)
diary notes: "After evening prayers, we joined with the Germans in one of their love–feasts. It was begun and ended with thanksgiving and prayer, and celebrated in so decent and solemn a manner as a Christian of the apostolic age would have allowed to be worthy of Christ." In the 18th century – and in this century –some United Methodist congregations served the agape meal, the Lovefeast, in their sanctuaries. Often they followed it with a “real dinner” in their fellowship halls.
Servers, known as “Dieners,” pour coffee to serve to congregants gathered to participate in a Lovefeast. Photo by Denise Hunt | Flickr
Years ago, PUMC had the tradition of, on the second Sunday in Advent, serving dinners for friends and families in our Fellowship Hall, followed by carol-singing in the Sanford Davis Room. This year, we will have the joy of singing carols as we partake of a symbolic Lovefeast meal.
Come! If you have not been here in a while, this may be the time to return. Invite your friends, especially those who might not join you at morning worship. They may be interested out of curiosity, perhaps amused by the idea of “eating in church.” Likely they will yield to the spirit of devotion which pervades this hour and change in a very few moments from visitor to reverent worshipper. The
December 7 Lovefeast is an opportunity for us to offer hospitality to others and – for ourselves – to be enfolded in the spirit of hope.
During the service, an offering will be received for Interfaith Rise (I-Rise) to support efforts assisting new immigrant families establishing roots here in New Jersey. The December 7 Lovefeast is a new opportunity for our congregation to be enfolded in the spirit of reverence and Christian love.
Welcome Blessing (cont.)
culture, my weather, and the sense of rootedness I had known all my life.” She found it challenging to adapt to so many new facets of life all at once. Still, coming to Princeton has been worth the challenges. Her husband is a PhD student at the seminary, so moving here meant reuniting their family of (now) fourIsrael, Blessing, Kulana, and Timeni (born here in Princeton). “It has been a meaningful and stretching journey for both of us,” Blessing says. “Studying and serving in ministry at the same time requires balance, communication, and grace, but it has also brought us closer. We understand each other’s passions, challenges, and spiritual growth in a unique way. Supporting one another through school, ministry, and parenting has been both a blessing and a testimony to God’s sustaining grace.”
I asked her if there was anything else she would like to add, and she replied, “I would like to end with a prayer for Nigeria. My home country continues to face religious and ethnic violence, and many people, especially women and children, are being displaced. My prayer is that God will bring peace, healing, and justice to Nigeria; that communities will learn to reconcile; and that those who are suffering or uprooted will find safety, dignity, and hope.”
Blessing may have left her communities in Nigeria, but she brings that sense of community with her here to New Jersey, and serves as a bridge between worlds. She celebrates the diversity that can be found in God’s family, mourns and works to heal the pain that can be felt through life, and is avid in her search for bringing God’s justice and mercy to those around her. Welcome, Blessing, Israel, Kulana, and Timeni. We are excited and thankful for your presence, witness, and perspective here at PUMC.
Seeking Refuge
Week 4 - December 21
Incarnation means God becomes vulnerable. Jesus’ family flees political violence. The Word made flesh becomes a refugee. When we see immigrants today, we glimpse the Holy Family.
Scripture: Matthew 2:13-23
Immigrant Story
In 2018, Carlos, a father from Honduras, fled violence with his wife and young daughter. At the U.S. border, they were separated under the “zero tolerance” policy. Carlos was detained for weeks without knowing where his daughter had been taken. Later reunited and granted temporary asylum, he said: “I had to trust that even when I couldn’t see her or protect her, God was with her.”
Reflection
After the joy of the nativity, danger follows swiftly. An angel warns Joseph: Flee to Egypt. Herod is searching for the child to destroy him. And so, the holy family becomes a refugee family.
They cross a border under threat. They seek safety in a foreign land. They carry a promise not yet fulfilled.
This part of the Christmas story is often left in the shadows—yet it is essential. Jesus' earliest identity is that of a displaced child. Vulnerable. Unwanted by those in power. Dependent on the hospitality of strangers.
In our own time, countless families make this same journey—fleeing violence, persecution, war. Like Joseph and Mary, they act not out of recklessness, but out of desperate love.
To honor the Christ child is to honor these children. To listen to their stories. To ask how we, like Egypt once did, might become a place of refuge.
What does it mean to call Jesus a refugee?
How might this story shape our response to families in danger today?
Where is God calling you to offer sanctuary?
Action
Write a letter or card of encouragement to someone seeking refuge: A local immigrant family, asylum seeker, or ministry.
Organizations like Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) or Church World Service often deliver these messages directly.
You can also use this moment to pray specifically for families in transit, detention, or reunification.
God Is on the Move... Towards Us
Christmas - December 25
God’s movement becomes our movement. The Christmas story expands outward. As we remember how God has moved toward us, we are sent to move toward others with love, justice, and solidarity.
Scripture: Luke 2:1-14
Immigrant Story
In an interview with The New York Times, a Syrian refugee mother named Amira recalled giving birth in a refugee camp after fleeing war: “I wrapped my baby in my only scarf. There were no doctors, only women helping women. I prayed she would be safe... I told her, ‘You are not forgotten.’”
Reflection
The birth of Jesus happens far from home.
Mary gives birth while displaced. Joseph finds no room. The baby is laid in a feeding trough. This is not just a humble setting—it’s a vulnerable one. An unsettling one.
Yet this is the place God chooses to enter the world.
The Incarnation is not a story of comfort and control—it’s a story of divine solidarity. God does not wait for the world to be safe or settled. God shows up in the margins, in transit, in uncertainty.
And that night, angels declare good news not to emperors or priests, but to shepherds on the night shift— workers with no power, no prestige, no place at the palace. They are the first to hear: Unto you is born this day... a Savior.
On this Feast of the Incarnation, we remember: God is still drawing near to those who feel far from home. Still coming among us in places of vulnerability. Still choosing love. What does it mean that Jesus was born while his family was in transit? Who might feel far from home this Christmas—and how might we show up for them? Where in your life do you long to hear: You are not forgotten?
Action
Show up.
Reach out to someone spending Christmas alone or away from loved ones. Invite a neighbor to join your celebration or service. Support an organization providing housing, food, or care to those without a home this season.
Created in collaboration with SARAH (Spiritually Attuned Resource for Awakening and Hope), Pastor Jenny’s personal AI ministry assistant developed by OpenAI.
Advent Special Communion Offering
PUMC’s Special Communion Offering for Advent will benefit a community partner, Interfaith Rise and the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund.
Interfaith Rise (I-Rise). Created in 2016 by the Reformed Church of Highland Park NJ Affordable Housing Corporation, Interfaith Rise partners with the US Committee on Refugees and Immigrants to resettle refugees from around the world in central New Jersey. Interfaith Rise support services are many. In addition to coordinating housing, furnishing homes, and providing culturally appropriate food, Interfaith Rise “provides case management and connects families with social services, ELL, and employment training” (website).
Four years ago, the organization grew dramatically, helping hundreds of Afghani refugees relocate and build lives in NJ. Recently, I-Rise has seen a significant increase in enrollments for Ukrainians, Haitians, and most recently an increase in newly arrived Haitian and Venezuelan Humanitarian Parolees (individuals outside the U.S. who enter temporarily for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, such as a life-threatening medical emergency).
Recent government policies and the increase in ICE raids underscore the importance of the work Interfaith Rise does, so please support their work by donating to the Special Communion Offering.
(For other ways to support I-Rise, visit them at https://interfaithrise.org/).
SpecialthankstoourNewsletterContributors
We are a diverse faith community, engaged in enlivening spiritually thirsty people to joyfully respond to God’s love and grow as disciples of Christ, so that together we may experience the fullness of life.
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