Advent Reflections
Stir-up / Traditional Holiday Food
“Stir up,” from the Latin “excita,” reminds us of God’s power moving in the world, but the stirring up also connects Advent to preparing time-honored recipes for the season. In […]
Patience
While Advent is a season of hope and expectation, it is also a time of patience as we anticipate the realization of our hopes in the birth of Jesus. We […]
John the Baptist
John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus Christ as the Son of God, calling for a return to God and repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. He […]
Hope, Expectation
Advent is a season of hope: for the coming of the Christ Child, for a light in dark days, for peace that passes all understanding. It is a time to […]
Color
Advent, from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming,” is considered to be the beginning of the Church Year. A new season of the church brings with it a change […]
Life-giving Choices: Advent Meditation, 12/25/2012
I’ve been pondering lately, just what does it mean to make a “life-giving” choice? Does it mean to nurture relationship with others rather than focus on my own ends, no […]
Tonight … Advent Meditation, 12/24/2012
Luke 1:67-79 By: Amy Real Coultas It’s Christmas Eve! We’ve been waiting and preparing and hoping and wondering and longing for this night for weeks now. Tonight we join in […]
God Surrounding Us With Love and Hope: Advent Meditation, 12/23/2012
Luke 1:39-49 By: Vivian Taylor The summer after I graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, I was in the running for a grant that would have paid […]
My Soul Magnifies the Lord: Advent Meditation, 12/22/2012
Luke 1:46-56 By: Jason Sierra When I was little, my brother and I had a cassette tape with a dramatic telling of Jesus’ birth story on it. I would listen […]
Season of the Red Cups: Advent Meditation, 12/21/2012
Psalm 33:20-22 By: Joe Chambers We’re seven weeks deep into the Season of Red Cups, an eight-week celebration of secular Christmas that starts in early November, marked by the introduction […]