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THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR AT THE COTTAGE IS HERE!
The winter holidays — all of the celebrations from Thanksgiving through to Valentine’s Day are my favorite part of the year.
I’m not sure how I’d make it through the dark without them marking the time. Each holds gifts of magic and miracles. The spiritual wisdom of these special winter days never ceases to amaze me.
The next several weeks at The Cottage will closely follow the rhythm of both the secular celebrations and the Christian year. For the next ten days or so, Thanksgiving orients us toward gratitude. It might be difficult for many of us to feel thankful in these days.
On December 1, Advent begins its three week journey to Christmas. During those weeks, I invite you to seek out two of the promises of that anticipatory season — the hope for justice and the coming of joy.
Right now, those promises seem pretty elusive. I’m having trouble believing in either. Most everything seems weighed with dread.
And so, we’re going to remember gratitude — and seek justice and joy together.
Read on for the details. You’ll need to know the information below. Please do read the whole thing — especially regarding subscriptions and updates (the headlines and outline should provide ease in reading).
Here’s what you can expect in the coming weeks:
THANKSGIVING 🙏🦃
November 28
Below is a prayer I wrote for Thanksgiving 2016 (scroll down to find it beneath the picture of the family table).
The prayer was written about two weeks after the 2016 election, a time in which many people found it difficult to give thanks. Since then, a number of churches have adopted it for their Thanksgiving liturgies and friends use it for their home celebrations. I’ve modified it slightly this year.
Please use it as you like. No need to ask permission. I only ask that you give me credit as its author.
I’ll post a few special things in advance of American Thanksgiving next week — all Thanksgiving offerings will be free and open to the entire community.
ADVENT 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
December 1 -24
The Advent theme this year is: Advent, A Season of Justice and Joy?
There will be two tracks of Advent offerings at The Cottage, one for the entire community and the other only for paid subscribers.
Track 1 (All Cottage readers): Four special Sunday Musings for each Sunday in Advent with occasional additional reflections mid-week.
Track 2 (Paid subscribers at The Cottage): In addition to the Track 1 posts, there are TWO additional special offerings for paid subscribers, both included in your subscription.
Advent Online Retreat — Voices of Justice and Joy
On three consecutive days — December 4, 5, and 6 — special guests will visit The Cottage online and share their insights on the theme of justice and joy.
➡️ The guests will be: John Philip Newell on the wisdom of Celtic spirituality; Jemar Tisby, on the wisdom of the African-American tradition; Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul, and Mary who will treat us to an online mini-concert offering wisdom from American folk music and his experience from a lifetime of working for justice and joy in song.
📣 The live gatherings will be during the day. They will be recorded. If you can’t attend live — or want to watch them again — they will be made available for later viewing. You won’t miss anything. Think of this as a kind of DIY Advent retreat. 📣
Advent Calendar — Windows of Justice and Joy
On each Advent weekday (M-F, not Saturday and Sunday), you’ll get a short post with a minute (or two or three) video reflection from an author, preacher, musician, or teacher on the theme of justice and joy.
The participants will be a daily surprise — just like the little surprise pictures or candies in a real Advent calendar. You won’t know until you get the post who is going to encourage you along the Advent way. But trust me — you’re going to love them!
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Current Paid Subscribers
If you’ve been at The Cottage for a while, I do hope you’ll renew for another year. 2025 will be bumpy, discouraging, and uncertain. I’ll be here for and with you. This community will be here. All of us making it through week by week.
Make sure your credit card information is updated. If you’ve gotten a notice (usually from Substack) that a renewal didn’t go through, you can find your account information below (scroll all the way down) or read the support page HERE to correct any problems. You can always reach out to us via the email below as well.
Free Subscribers Who Want to Upgrade
A little seasonal treat — a discount on a paid subscription! 10% off a yearly subscription. Just click on the button for information and to sign-up (it is a multi-step process - don’t worry - you won’t be charged by just clicking!).
YOU MUST USE THIS BUTTON to receive the discount.
Give a Gift of The Cottage
Give a friend a gift of The Cottage for the same special discount. Click the button above ⬆️. Then, when the page appears, click on the third “bubble” option (not “individual” and not “group” but GIFT) and give someone a year of The Cottage! It is easy — and makes a great Christmas present.
Complimentary Subscriptions
If you’d like to be part of the Advent series and daily Advent calendar and can’t afford a paid subscription, just drop us a note. We’ve never refused a complimentary subscription to anyone with a legitimate need. The Cottage email is: the.cottage.email@gmail.com
A Thanksgiving Prayer: We Choose Gratitude
Adapted from Grateful: The Subversive Power of Giving Thanks
by Diana Butler Bass
GOD, there are many days we do not feel grateful.
When we are anxious or angry. When we feel alone. When we do not understand what is happening in the world or with our neighbors. When the news is bleak and confusing. When there are threats, injustice, violence, and war.
We struggle to feel grateful.
But this Thanksgiving, we choose gratitude.
We choose to accept life as a gift from you, and as a gift from the unfolding work of all creation.
We choose to be grateful for the earth from which our food comes; for the water that gives life; and for the air we all breathe.
We choose to thank our ancestors, those who came before us, for their stories and struggles; we receive their wisdom as a continuing gift for today.
We choose to see our families and friends with new eyes, accepting them for who they are.
We are thankful for our homes, whether humble or grand.
We choose to appreciate and care for our neighbors whatever our differences or how much we feel hurt or misunderstood by them.
We choose to open our hearts to those who dwell among us in the shadows of uncertainty and fear, recognizing their full dignity and humanity.
We choose to see the world as our shared commons, our home now and the legacy we will leave to the generations to come.
God, this Thanksgiving, we do not give thanks. We choose it.
We will make this choice of thanks with courage, knowing that it is humbling to say “thank you.”
We choose to open ourselves to your sacred generosity, aware that we live in an unending circle of gratitude. We all are guests at your hospitable table around which gifts are passed and received.
We will not let anything opposed to love take over this table.
Instead of giving into fear, we embrace grace, love, and the gifts of life at this table. In this choosing, and in the sharing of this meal, we are strengthened to pass gratitude on to the world.
Thus, with you, with all those gathered at this table, and with those at tables far distant, we pledge to make thanks.
We ask you to strengthen us in this resolve.
Here, now, and into the future. Around our family table. Around the table of our nation. Around the table of the earth.
We choose thanks. Amen.
Build longer tables, not higher walls.
— José Andrés
PAID SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION
UPDATING YOUR CREDIT CARD
In Substack, all paid subscription autorenew. That means that when the end of your subscription term arrives, the credit card you used to subscribe will be charged the amount of your subscription ($5/month, $50/year, $150/year for cultivating members).
If you change your credit card during your subscription term, or if a new card is issued with new expiration date, please go to dianabutlerbass.substack.com/account and scroll down to Payment Information, click on Edit next to Payment method, and enter a current credit card number. Keeping your payment information current will prevent lapses in your subscription.
PLEASE DO NOT DISPUTE CREDIT CARD CHARGES from The Cottage with your bank
When your yearly or monthly subscription renews, you might see an unfamiliar notation for “DBBASS,” “Substack,” “SUB,” “Cottage,” or a series of ten numbers on your bill. (The charge sometimes issues from San Francisco or California).
THIS IS NOT FRAUD.
If you have a question please email us at the.cottage.email@gmail.com.
Whatever you do, please, please, please:
DO NOT DISPUTE OR CANCEL THROUGH YOUR BANK!
They charge us onerous fees when you do so. We are happy to help you if you can’t figure out how to adjust your subscription. We have never refused anyone a refund.
Experts in credit card fraud urge consumers to work with the vendor before disputing a charge. We have found that most disputes are in error because the charge was not recognized and readers often get pretty embarrassed when they realize the mistake. (And it is hard to fix!)
Thank you! ❤️ I renewed my subscription last week. My mom, 84 and distraught over the election, subscribed last week for the first time because I talk about how much wisdom and help I get from your offerings. Looking forward to the Advent journey together.
Oh thank you! This all sounds wonderful and impactful and inspirational. Looking forward to all of it. Grateful for you.