Are you looking for moments of rest and reflection during the busy season of Advent? Here are a number of resources available from around the Church for the season. They are all suitable individual and congregational use.
Journeying the Way of Love Advent Curriculum
For the season of Advent, Journeying the Way of Love offers four sessions to be explored as we await the coming of Christ by moving through the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke. Luke’s gospel provides a pattern for understanding how we can live the Way of Love as individuals, as families and friends, as a community, and out in the world. The sessions are specially designed for use during the Christian formation hour before or after worship. Facilitation instructions accommodate small or large groups.
Advent Word: A Global Advent Calendar
For the sixth year in a row, #AdventWord will gather prayers via a global, online Advent calendar. Virginia Theological Seminary is offering meditations and images during this holy season beginning Sunday, December 1. Images and meditations can be experienced via the #AdventWord website, direct daily emails, as well as on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and ASL videos via YouTube.
Living Well Through Advent
From Living Compass: Designed for use as an individual reflection or for group study, this guide provides a foundation for seeking a deeper experience of Advent, an experience that will help prepare us for the true meaning of Christmas. Available in both print and electronic editions.
A Way to the Manger
A Way to the Manger is a daily devotional from Forward Movement that explores Christ’s birth as recounted in the Gospel of Luke through the lens of the Way of Love and the seven practices of turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, and rest.
Reflections on Social Justice for the Season of Advent (Year A) from the Episcopal Networks Collaborative
From the introduction: The Advent readings provide rich material for reflecting on social justice topics. Advent is a time of preparation for celebrating the coming of the Messiah, the coming of God’s kingdom. The readings bring together the prophetic and Gospel traditions calling for a new social order based on peace and justice. Advent is a time to remember John the Baptist, the new Elijah who has come to challenge the rule of the men in soft robes who oppressed the poor. John the Baptist was preparing the way for the coming of the messiah – the one that would bring justice to the world, to all creation. It is a time for us to reflect on what “living in the light of the Lord” (Is. 2:5) obliges us to do in caring for each other and our planet.
Room in the Inn: Ideas for Celebrating Posadas
Looking for a resource for Las Posadas? Forward Movement offers a free guide to help you.
The Posadas (Spanish for "inns," "lodging," or "shelter") are an Advent candlelight procession and celebration. In Mexico and other countries, it is traditional to hold Posadas in many neighborhoods on the days preceding Christmas. The Posadas are a reenactment of Mary and Joseph's search for a place where Jesus could be born. We learn from the Posadas that by welcoming the poor and the needy, we are welcoming Jesus in our midst. (See Matthew 25:40.)
