At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus; the miracle of God being born in human flesh and bringing hope to the Earth. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus which means “coming” and is the season leading up to Christmas when we are waiting for the coming of Jesus. But this is not just a celebration of the past but also a celebration of the present, as we experience the presence and power of Christ in our own lives now.

During the "Peace on Earth" series which starts on Sunday November 27th, our whole community (adults, children and teenagers) will be celebrating the peace and wholeness of life that Christ brings to us. We will be celebrating the incarnation through valuing people more than things, letting go of anxiety that the holidays can often bring and by loving others through simple acts of service and we hope this will lead to lots of conversations at home about Advent and the arrival of Jesus.

Each Sunday we will supply a sheet of paper containing the Advent Reflections for that week. These can be collected from the  Welcome Desk in the church commons. They are also attached to this message (see below).

You could set aside some time each Sunday of Advent or on a particular day during the week to go through the reflections together and light the candles. Maybe you could make a point of eating together as a family one day each week and do through the reflections before or after dinner.

The reflections are written in such a way as to include children but they are not exclusive to families. You may want to gather with some friends or with your small group to light the advent candles and go through the reflections. Whoever we are, let’s look forward to increasing presence of Christ in our lives.

May this be a season of love, joy and peace for everyone as we celebrate the magic and mystery of Christmas!