The Power of Yes – A Q&A with Shawna Berg, At-Home Activities Creator
As the Church Anew team launches our third Advent To Go series, The Power of Yes, we invited series collaborator Shawna Berg (creator of the At-Home Activities) to reflect on the season and our theme this year.
What still compels or excites you about Advent and Christmas this year?
Advent doesn’t grow old, because it is about hope being born into a weary world. We return to the story, each and every year, and need to hear it in new ways, not because the story changes, but because we do, and so we need to hear it from different vantage points and from we are now. This season of waiting and hope is something we need every year, but it feels like even more so this year, when a lot of things feel heavy and hard. In a season that is filled with consumerism and rushing, Advent’s invitation to slow down and watch and wonder feels more radical than ever. The idea that God still chooses to enter into our world, to become love incarnate, in the midst of a world that is so uncertain, is deeply relevant.
This series reframes Advent not just as a countdown to Christmas, but also as an invitation for us to say yes to what God is calling us to do in our own lives, even if that means there is something we may have to say no to.
Why the power of yes?
Yes is the heartbeat of the incarnation story. Mary’s yes allows God’s promise to take flesh, Joseph’s yes protects and provides for their family, the shepherds’ yes leads them to the manger, and the magi’s yes draws them out in search of the divine mystery. There are so many points in this story where someone, or a group of someones, give a very significant yes. Each yes was an act of courage and faith, a willingness to trust God more than fear and to lean into the unknown. The power of yes reminds us that God’s work in the world depends on human participation – we are called to take part.
As I have gotten older, I am much more careful about what it is I say yes to, and I am also much more aware of what a yes means when I am asking for something from someone. There is a lot of power, intention and purpose behind my yes, and that may mean there is something that I intentionally say no to.
When we were dreaming about this series and this idea came up, it really resonated with me, because it is about being intentional in our own lives and about the many different characters in the traditional Christmas narrative that had to say yes – and conversely, that also means they may have had to say no to something else. I think it is really interesting to think about how the story would have been different if the characters had a different answer.
This series reframes Advent not just as a countdown to Christmas, but also as an invitation for us to say yes to what God is calling us to do in our own lives, even if that means there is something we may have to say no to. It is about being intentional. It is about helping others see what the yes moments are in their own lives, that have helped shape their own faith journeys.
Where do you see the power of yes showing up in your own life?
I see the power of yes showing up when I say yes to community, when isolation would be easier. I see the power of yes showing up when I say yes to healing and forgiveness, even when it is hard. I see the power of yes showing up when I say yes to generosity, even when I worry about having enough. I see the power of yes showing up when I say yes to joy, even when I want to be a cynic. Choosing my yes, and conversely my no, carefully, means that I am living with intention and purpose.
View the rich and transformative resources available for this year’s Advent To Go!
