gather: Annunciation waffle bar

Waffle bar & floating Paschal candles

Hi folks! My name is Kristin - I’m a Pacific Northwest artist, farmer, & mom sharing art and reflections inspired by the sacred & the seasonal, place & past. I explore the agrarian heritage of the liturgical calendar and how our varied homes, landscapes, & lives reflect it.

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For the past few years, I’ve hosted a Liturgical Life group. We’re a diverse gathering - of all ages, from a variety of denominations, learning alongside each other and working to graft the traditions of the liturgical calendar into our own varied circumstances.

The Annunciation (March 25)¹ is one of my favorite holidays. It’s absolutely chock-full of symbolism & paradox, and it challenges me to my core…which I love, since that’s where the real difficult growth edges are hidden.

I was just telling some friends this the other day: that what I write here, and the liturgical art I share to illustrate my writing, is aspirational. I don’t have all the answers (I have very few, really), I certainly don’t have things “figured out,” I fall short daily (often, heartbreakingly so), and I struggle through grief & trauma…but I do have a lot of curiosity, a desire to form myself in the patterns of Christ that the calendar weaves, and a realization that I can’t daily re-form my life on my own steam. I need God, and I need people.

Our Liturgical Life gatherings were borne from all these meandering thoughts…I’m an introvert, too easily caught up in my own head², and it’s easy to let the liturgical calendar fall into that intellectual space - where it can exist safely & in theory alone, not embodied…an idol, rather than a scaffolding toward Christ. I wanted to give feet to these ancient practices so that they can actually be the tool of heart-conversion they’re meant to be. It’s an ongoing process, but what a relief it is to have people alongside us who are sharing in the journey, trying to fill our perennially-forgetful hearts with reminders of our path.

In other words, I don’t host these gatherings out of a space of abundant margin - I host them because I need help…and others do, too. These gatherings feel like affirmations of that needfulness…regular reminders to turn back toward the pole-star that, left to my own devices, I turn away from so quickly.

We tried to gather for the Annunciation last year, but got thrown off-course by spring colds…and this year, with the Annunciation falling during Holy Week, we also wove some Easter-preparation into our evening together.

Here’s a peek into our Annunciation gathering! We celebrated a few days early so that we could all have time to gather before the busy-ness of Holy Week.

I hope you find some inspiration here, or that it prompts some ideas for your own community. If you have questions, pop them in the comment box!