When Mary finds out that she is pregnant, she goes to spend her first trimester with her elderly cousin Elizabeth who is in her last trimester. It is likely they are both, given their ages, in the midst of the most challenging parts of their respective pregnancies. It is from this place that they enter into community. We might expect Elizabeth, who has waited her whole life for a child, might approach her cousin with scorn, jealousy, suspicion, or a spirit of competition. But not so. When Mary arrives, Elizabeth literally cries out loudly to bless Mary and the thing that God is doing in her. These women, absent the voices of men in their lives, have a holy moment of honoring the thing that God is doing in both of them. This is an opportunity for them to share their stories, believe each other, and be together. This community between the women is a gift from God to them for their health, their joy, and their belief in what God is doing in them. Our spirituality may be tied up in finding God in specific ways – reading the bible, praying, and going to church. We have been taught a lie that all things spiritual happen separate from community. But one of the greatest “joy gifts” in your life are the people who make you think, laugh, and celebrate your life with you. Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. Our vision is to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did so that we may love all people in Jesus' name. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

The consumerism, romanticism, and hallmark-ness of our Christmas season can often leave us feeling less than fulfilled. We, in light of the “season”, often force ourselves to live outside of the present realties in favor of performing a merry or joyful Christmas. This does violence to our souls. It prevents us from moving through pain in favor of moving around it. As we disconnect from ourselves, whether by platitudes or coping mechanisms, we reinforce the need to perform a “spirit of Christmas.” The advent is an invitation to be real and human. It is an invitation to feel the full range of complex and conflicting feelings that may come and, in moving through them, discover a peace that goes deeper than anything we can manufacture. The advent is an invitation to be real and human. As Jesus comes, he doesn’t erase the stories of our past, nor does he immediately reveal where everything is going. Instead, he invites us to hold onto an everlasting peace found only in him. An invitation to live as though a better and good world is yet to come, even when all hope seems silent. Jesus wants to give you peace, but it only comes when you journey with him through the emotions and struggles that are robbing you of peace. Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. Our vision is to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did so that we may love all people in Jesus' name. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. Our vision is to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did so that we may love all people in Jesus' name. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org