This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Advent. The beginning of a new liturgical year for the church, and a season where we walk through a time of waiting and watching. Yet this waiting and watching is not passive. It’s active. It is a time that invites us to open and prepare our hearts to celebrate once more the birth of Jesus.
One of the ways that we are invited into this time of preparation is through the lighting of the Advent Wreath. Each week at the beginning of our worship experience the lighting of candles helps us to mark the passage of time in a concrete and tangible way and allows us a moment to pause and reflect as we begin our time together.
Another way that we are invited into this time of preparation is by journeying together through the book, Honest Advent: Awakening to the wonder of God-with-us then, here, and now by Scott Erickson.
Along with knowing that we are engaged in the daily reading of the devotions and art that Scott shares in his book with many others from this community, each Sunday we will be engaging more deeply with one of the images from this book and then sharing this work with the wider community -- building out an Advent montage of sorts on the lawn of St. Clement’s. During our Wednesday Morning Online Prayer service, we will also engage with this book, further. If you haven’t picked up your hard copy yet, we still have a few available at the church or you can pick up a copy online (digital or print) by clicking here.
At this time when traditions still look different than they did two years ago, we give thanks that we are called into this time of preparation together and trust that we are most certainly led to the great celebration of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
For the full Anchor, click here.