Journeying through Advent each Sunday

Advent is a time of reflection and anticipation of how the Christ Child will be born in each of us in new ways. It is also a time that can easily “spin out of control” because added to our normally busy schedules, and this year’s added Covid stressors, are the pressures of gift giving. We hope you and your families will find some of these activities helpful during Advent, to slow down and focus on the coming celebration of the birth of our Lord. We can ponder together, how will carving a new place in our hearts for Jesus, inform our spiritual lives in the new year?

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The Journey to Bethlehem will be told in video format each Sunday during Advent. During the lesson we will be adding to a creche, which is the Nativity Scene, lighting advent candles, singing a hymn, and telling the story with story cards. We invite you to join the lessons offered at on this website with an Advent wreath, and a Nativity scene, so you can start your week with this Family Advent practice. You will also see creche unfold during our Sunday worship at Calvary on Sunday mornings. Included on this page is wonderful opportunity for your family to make our Calvary Food Pantry a focus for your Advent Practice. On the Advent Food Pantry Calendar, you will see a list of items to add to a food basket for each day, and on Christmas Eve, you can deliver it to the Food Pantry. This is a wonderful way to help your child learn to love giving in simple, tangible ways.

Online resources for Families and Children

There are some wonderful ways to add to your traditional Advent practices at home suggested at www.BuildingFaith.org, a website from Virginia Theological Seminary. Here are some highlights for adults and children!

Children

  • Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Way of Love Advent Calendar https://buildfaith.org/advent-calendars-for-2020/

  • Praying in Color – features a Zoom Advent art class on Nov. 29 th at 5 pm https://jordanministryteam.org/upcoming-events/advent-color

  • Also available are coloring pages at https://prayingincolor.com/handouts

Adults

  • An interactive, global Advent Calendar offering images and meditations for reflection every day of Advent: www.adventword.org

  • Praying with Icons with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams https://buildfaith.org/praying-with-icons-with-rowan-williams/

J. Clarkson