The purpose of the Ladies Advent Tea is to provide women of St. Mary Catholic Parish, along with their friends and family, a time during the Advent season to come together for fellowship, reflection, and spiritual renewal. The event is not a fundraiser. All money generated by the program goes to plan future Ladies Advent events at St. Mary and parish and school ministries.
The event includes Mass, brunch, raffle baskets, reflection, entertainment and dessert. All guests are seated at a table decorated for their enjoyment in a theme of Christmas or Advent. Women have the opportunity to attend as a single guest and to host a table. Hostesses set and decorate the table. Because of their generosity as a hostess, we are able to provide many women with a beautiful morning of friendship, prayer, and preparation for Christ.
Description: “Advent Tea” programs are unique events that are provided by local Christian women’s organizations to offer an opportunity for women of a particular church to come together to remind members that it is important to set aside time for reflection either in silence or with others for the preparation of the coming of Christ.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church started the first Ladies Advent Tea, “Reflecting HIS Light” in 2016. Following in the footsteps of the St. James of Glen Ellyn model, Reflecting HIS Light was formed to bring the women of St. Mary‘s Catholic Church together prior to the start of the Advent Season to prepare with family and friends to reflect on the journey of Mary as she prepared to become the Mother of our Lord.
2026 Speaker Bio:
This year we are excited to welcome our speaker, Peggy Visconti, who will speak on "Emmanuel, God With Us."
For the past 10 years, Peggy Visconti has been a regular contributor to “The God Minute”, a daily prayer podcast. She was recently invited to join “The God Minute” Advisory Board offering guidance, insight and honest feedback on the mission, programming and overall direction of the ministry. Peggy spent more than 35 years in Catholic education in the Archdiocese of St. Louis at a variety of levels. She is an experienced catechist, classroom teacher, school administrator and regional director. Her favorite role has been Director of Leadership Development where she was coach and counselor for those discerning the vocation of school principal. She has spoken at a number of schools and parishes throughout the Archdiocese. Peggy was born and raised in McHenry, Illinois but now calls St. Louis, Missouri home since meeting her husband Tom during their college years. She is a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She enjoys reading, home decorating and finding evidence of the love of God in our everyday lives.
Hostess Role:
Thank you for signing up to be a hostess at this year’s Ladies Advent event! Setting a table and serving appetizers may not sound like much, but because of your generosity, we are able to provide many women with a beautiful evening of friendship, prayer, and preparation for Christ.
Each hostess will invite, prepare, decorate a table, and serve her guests with light refreshments. A light brunch, including desserts and tea/coffee, will be provided and included in the registration price.
The Table
You are asked to set a table for 10 guests in an Advent or other decorative style! If you think you need help, ask a friend to co-host! More hands make for lighter work, and it’s fun! (Table theme ideas: Gingerbread, Angels, Away in the Manager, Peace, Dickens Village, snowmen, etc.)
What to provide:
- Plates, glassware, tableware, napkins
- Decorations
- Name place cards (optional)
- Carafe for water or other beverages (If bringing wine, don’t forget your bottle opener!)
- Coffee and tea will be available at the event; however, carafes are not provided. Please bring one if you would like to have coffee at your table
- Each table will have a plain white tablecloth provided
Set Up/ Take Down
You have two options for table set up:
Friday, December 4, from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm or Saturday, December 5, from 8:00 am to 8:50 am
If you have one, carts, laundry baskets or wagons are great to help move items from your car into the gym. You can enter through the gym office doors (no stairs). At the end of the event, please take all of your items from the gymnasium. You will be able to wipe dishes clear of food into trash bags; however, you will not be able to wash your dishes. Empty laundry baskets make for easy clean up and loading!
Event Schedule
9:00 am Mass
9:40 am Introduction in the Church
9:45 am Mingle/Raffle Basket Viewing
10:30 am Brunch
11:15 am Keynote Speaker
11:45 am Dessert & Entertainment
12:15 pm Closing Remarks & Announce Raffle Winners
12:30 pm Prayer & Clean Up
FAQs!
If I am a hostess, do I pay for the entire table? This is up to you! Some women choose to offer this event to their guests and simply invite them to bring a dish to share. Other hostesses have invited guests, yet informed them of the event cost so that they could cover their own ticket price. Either way is good!
When will I know if I have guests seated at my table? The event committee will inform you the week before if there are guests who will be joining your name and their names.
Will there be water available at the event? No. There is no easy place for us to access water to fill for each table. Please provide a jug/carafe of water for your table.
Can I bring a small table for my food/drink? Due to space restrictions, small tables are allowed for a fee. If you would like to bring a small table, please pay $20 at the time of registration with a memo (side table). Your guest table will be placed on the outside of the table arrangements in the gymnasium in order to accommodate your side table and have adequate space for other guests. You must bring your own table, approximately 2’x4’ or smaller.
If you have other questions about hosting a table, please reach out to Kate Pollack (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Mindy Strange (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
