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[mandymhall]

This coming Sunday, December 21st, we will be offering a Longest Night service at 6pm.  

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, adn the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being though him, and without him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." John 1:1-5 (NRSV)

May it be so.

[mandymhall]

Family Advent Activities

Prayer Chain:

Last year I led a worship service where everyone had the opportunity to write down their Christmas prayer on a strip of paper and we connected them into a prayer chain.  

This year, perhaps you and your family would care to make an Advent Prayer chain of your own. Take 25 strips of paper and write a different prayer or key word on each strip.  Connect the strips into a chain and each day of Advent take one off and use the link to prompt a prayer together.  It is a wonderful way to count down the days to Christmas while taking time to acknowledge the Holy Spirit moving in your life.

Blessings Jar:

Place an empty jar on your kitchen table or a main area of your home. Each day have every member of your family write down one thing they are thankful for and place it in the jar. On Christmas morning pour out all of your blessings, all of the things that you are thankful for, and read them together as a family.  Sometimes the best gifts are the ones that you already have.

[mandymhall]

Source: Advent Home Worship by MaryJane Pierce Norton

http://www.gbod.org/resources/2014-advent-home-worship

Sunday Litany sections come from Plymouth Congregational UCC in Fort Collins, CO

[mandymhall]

Family Advent Activities

DIY Advent Wreath:

Place four purple or blue candles (or three purple and one pink) in a circle with a white candle in the center.  Surround the candles with greenery.  This can be as creative or as simple as you want it to be.

I went to the local craft store and asked if they had any purple, blue, or pink candles.  They said no because ‘they are not in season’.  So unless if you bought your candles this summer you might have to get creative.  In the top picture I wrapped mason jars with burlap wribbon and colord satin ribbon.  I filled the jars with purple sand and white candles.

In the bottom picture I simplified and wraped short candles with a wide satin ribbon and placed each candle on a green doilly.  

[mandymhall]

The Meaning Behind The Advent Wreath

The Advent wreath is filled with symbols of the season. The evergreen branches remind us of immortality, life, and growth.  This is an ancient symbol and our Christmas trees remind us of the same thing. 

 The candles are placed in a circle to remind us that God’s love is never ending and God is everlasting.  Each candle has its own meaning.  Traditionally the candles represent Hope, Love, Joy (often times a pink candle) and Peace.  The candle in the center is always white and is called the Christ candle.  It represents purity and joy and is lite on Christmas Eve.

[mandymhall]

Chuck Knows Church: Advent Wreath

[mandymhall]

The colors of Advent

There is a liturgical color for each season of the church year.  The year begins with Advent and the color purple or blue.  Purple is the color of royalty as we wait for the coming reign of Christ, the King of Kings.  Advent shares the color purple with the season of Lent.  Some churches choose to distinguish the seasons by using the color blue for Advent.  The blue reminds us of the night sky and Christ being the source of light breaking through the darkness.  Blue is also the color often associated with Mary.  During Advent we wait along side Mary as she awaits the birth of Jesus.