SEASONS | RESOURCES
Season of Advent
Advent is a season of anticipation. We are invited to not only remember the story anticipating the birth of Jesus, but to also anticipate the continuing story of God in our present and future.
“In this season of Advent, we look the pain and darkness of the world squarely in the face. The juxtaposition against the lights, music, and decor can feel off-putting, but I believe it highlights precisely the in-between we’re meant to see.”
ABOUT THE SEASON
Advent is a season of holy anticipation. A time not only to remember the coming of Christ, but also to watch and wait for signs of hope in our own neighborhoods.
In a season that can feel fast, loud, and overfull, we invite you to slow down and pay attention to your place. Advent is not just about the arrival of Jesus long ago, it’s about how we make room for Christ here and now, in the ordinary streets and sacred corners of our communities.
This year, let’s walk through Advent together by looking closely at the places we inhabit. What are we waiting for? What needs healing? Where is hope already breaking in?
Rhythms
RESOURCES FOR ADVENT
Advent invites us to wait with honesty and hope. These simple rhythms help you slow down and pay attention to how Christ draws near in the ordinary places of your life; your neighborhood, your routines, your relationships.
Prayer for Advent
HOPE
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
We are easily distracted by the darkness that comes with unease and anxiety.
Source of light, shine in our lives and in your world with your renewing hope.
PEACE
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
We are easily distracted by the darkness of force and power and we often choose strife and turmoil.
Source of light, shine in our lives and in your world with your everlasting peace.
JOY
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
We are easily distracted by the darkness of doubt and despair.
Source of light, shine in our lives and in your world with your light and life giving joy.
LOVE
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
We are easily distracted by the darkness of isolation and fear.
Source of light, shine in our lives and in your world with your unending love.
CHRISTMAS
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
We are easily distracted by our old lives and with history and by what has been.
Christ is born among us and our hope is made new.
Source of light, shine in our lives and in your world with your transforming power
Prayers
Practice for Advent: Caroling
Nothing unites people quite like singing. Entrainment of melody, breath, thought, and timing quickly synchronizes a group and produces a profound sense of connection. Music has been employed to end conflicts, build bridges between diverse groups, and cultivate a sense of joy and peace. Research shows singing is beneficial to all people – regardless of age, background or singing ability. Singing helps lower stress, improve lung function, boost immunity, stimulate memory, enhance mental health, and decrease both physical and emotional pain.
People have bonded through music in countless cultures and every era. But, singing together has become rare in our society in recent years. One practice to sing together still exists: caroling! Caroling is a wonderful way to meet new neighbors, make memories with friends, and benefit from the all the gifts of singing songs.
Alli is a worship leader, singer-songwriter, and board-certified music therapist. Daniel and Ali are planting Redemption Anglican Church and singing with joy in this Christmas season!
Practice Caroling in the Neighborhood
Gather close friends and family on a December evening and bundle up.
Print out caroling booklets (Appoint a strong singer to be the official song starter.)
Have the children (or the most outgoing adults) knock on doors for each house you visit.
Consider giving candy canes, cookies, or tiny cups of hot cocoa from a thermos.
Ask if your neighbor would like to hear a carol, then sing out together joyfully!
Conclude your time at each house by walking away singing ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas”.
Practices
Places for Advent: Christmas Market
The small mountain mining town of Georgetown, Colorado, transforms into a winter wonderland for its annual Christmas Market. Georgetown during December feels like walking into a snow globe—Victorian buildings lined with twinkling lights, dusted with a soft layer of snow, and streets filled with the rich scent of roasting chestnuts. The Christmas Market isn’t just a festive event; it’s a gathering where the warmth of community and the spirit of tradition merge to create something magical.
Since 1960, the market has been enchanting visitors with its old-world charm, inspired by the Christmas markets of Germany and Scandinavia. It’s a labor of love by the town’s 1,100 residents, who come together each year to preserve a sense of history and holiday spirit. Carolers’ voices fill the streets, blending with the jingle of horse-drawn carriages. Along the sidewalks, artisan vendors display handmade ornaments, wooden toys, and festive decorations.
A cherished moment of the Georgetown Christmas Market is the daily Santa Lucia procession at noon. Led by students from the Georgetown Community School, the procession celebrates the Swedish festival of light. The scene is one of innocence and beauty: young girls dressed in white robes and boys carrying stars slowly move through the cobbled streets, their heads crowned with wreaths of candles and holly. The celebration of Santa Lucia is rooted in Swedish tradition, commemorating the young Christian martyr who wore a crown of candles to lead persecuted believers to safety in the Roman catacombs.
As the eldest daughter in my family, I grew up waking early on December 13 to honor the tradition of Santa Lucia. I would rise before the sun and quietly begin baking cinnamon rolls and cardamom buns, just as my mother had taught me. There was something sacred in those early hours, the smell of cardamom filling the kitchen, as I prepared to share these simple gifts with family and neighbors. It wasn’t just about the treats; it was about offering warmth and connection, an act of generosity that formed a liturgy—a rhythm that marked each year and connected me to my heritage.
As the children’s voices recite the melody of Sankta Lucia, traditions are not only remembered but renewed. It’s not just about honoring the past, but about carrying its light into the present—creating moments of generosity, connection, and hope in the midst of winter’s darkness. The Santa Lucia procession in Georgetown is more than a nod to heritage; it is a way of living out the spirit of light and service, reminding us that these rituals—old and new—are what root us in place and community.
To fully experience the flavors of these traditions, stop at Kneisel & Anderson. The shop offers freshly baked Swedish cardamom bread, a fragrant blend of spice and warmth. Picking up a loaf and enjoying a slice as you stroll through the market adds a special sweetness to the experience. The Christmas Shoppe International invites visitors to explore its unique ornaments and holiday treasures each piece telling a story of Christmas traditions around the world.
In Georgetown, the past feels remarkably close. The Christmas Market, with its blend of Santa Lucia processions, historic charm, and a strong sense of community, captures the feeling of living in the past, present, and future all at once. Like the beloved Christmas carol, it encourages us to remember the beauty of the past, savor the present, and look to the future with hope. And in those moments, as snowflakes fall gently and chestnuts roast over an open fire, Georgetown feels like more than just a charming mountain town—it becomes a place of light and hope. The Christmas Market is a sacred place.
Places
More rhythms to root your faith in place.
RESOURCES FOR ADVENT
Recommended Books
These curated resources help you hold Advent’s tension of ache and anticipation. Each one is designed to deepen your awareness of God-with-us in your community, offering grounded hope, honest reflection, and practices for watching and waiting well.
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Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas
Ecumenical in scope, these fifty devotions invite the reader to contemplate the great themes of Christmas and the significance that the coming of Jesus has for each of us – not only during Advent, but every day. Whether dipped into at leisure or used on a daily basis, Watch for the Light gives the phrase “holiday preparations” new depth and meaning.
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Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent
"Advent is not about a sentimental waiting for the Baby Jesus," Richard Rohr asserts. Advent is a time to focus our expectations and anticipation on “the adult Christ, the Cosmic Christ,” who challenges us to empty ourselves, to lose ourselves, to surrender.
Whether you’re seeking a moment of tranquility in the midst of a busy holiday season or searching for a deeper connection with your faith, Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent is the perfect companion. Renowned author and spiritual teacher Richard Rohr provides profound insights and gentle guidance to inspire and uplift as you reflect on the birth of Jesus and the significance of this sacred time. -
Honest Advent
In a world that's difficult to make sense of, and a season that's so often overtaken by consumerism, here you'll find heart-stirring illustrations and thought-provoking meditations designed to show you the raw, powerfully sacred story of Christmas in a new light.
Has the joy of the holiday season become painfully dissonant with the hard edges of life? Do you feel weary from the way Christmas has become a polished, predictable brand? You aren't alone. For too many of us, Christmas has lost its wonder. What if we stopped treating the Christmas story as something that happened a long time ago and started believing that it's a story that's still happening today?
Honest Advent creates a space for you to encounter the Incarnate Christ in unexpected places: like a pregnancy announcement in an era of political unrest and empirical bloodshed, the morning sickness of a Middle Eastern teenager, and the shocking biology of birth that goes far beyond the sanitized brand of Christmas as we know it today.
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Christmas Carol
From ghost to ghost to ghost, the story showcases a true redemption arc of Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge, as he goes from a grumpy old miser to astonishing everyone as a cheerful, benevolent man of compassion. Showing Scrooge the world in the past, present, and future, three spirits impart in Scrooge the true spirit of Christmas.
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Shadow and Light: A Journey into Advent
Shadow and Light is a rich yet approachable experience that invites you to explore the historical meaning of Advent. Drawing from liturgical tradition, Tsh provides fresh insights for new and longtime believers alike. Each day includes Scripture, a reflection, a question, and a simple activity to engage the senses, such as lighting candles, listening to music, and viewing artwork both old and new.
Let yourself break away from the hustle and bustle of crafts, cookies, and Christmas parties, and receive your invitation to remember the quiet focus of our celebration. Shadow and Light will help you reclaim the holiday season as a time to remember Jesus’s first coming, and to long for his one-day return.
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Advent
"Christians believe not just in one coming of Christ, but in three."
We tend to think of Advent as the season of anticipation before Christmas―and while it is that, it’s also much more. Throughout its history, the church has observed Advent as a preparation not only for the first coming of Christ in his incarnation but also for his second coming at the last day. It's also about a third coming: the coming of Christ to meet us in our present moment, to make us holy by his Word and Sacrament.
In this short volume, priest and writer Tish Harrison Warren explores all three of these "comings" of Christ and invites us into a deeper experience of the first season of the Christian year.
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Advent & Christmas
The inspiring words of Henri J. M. Nouwen guide the faithful on a spiritual journey through the Advent and Christmas season in this book of waiting, hope, anticipation, and celebration. Each day of the Advent season (28 in all, to accommodate the varying number of days in the season) and each day of Christmas (12 in all, ending with Jesus' baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist) contain a pertinent excerpt from the writings of Father Nouwen, a related quotation from Scripture, a prayer for the day, and a suggested activity that offers a concrete response to mark the season.
Advent and Christmas Wisdom is a daily program to celebrate the momentous arrival of the Christ Child and the joyous news of our salvation. It is also an ideal book for the individual seeking active participation in the season and a renewal of faith for the start of the liturgical year.
