Christmas is coming . . .  That’s what Advent means in the church calendar and we have four Sundays of reflection on what ‘the coming’ means.  This year, because of the way the date of Christmas falls, Advent began on 30 November, unlike chocolate advent calendars, which we are not allowed to open until 1 December!
 
There will be an Advent Wreath in church, with five candles: four coloured ones for the Sundays in Advent and a white one which is lit at Christmas to represent the Christ-child. In Times and Seasons (the ‘rule book’ for celebrating Church of England festivals) each of the Sundays in Advent has a theme: 1. Patriarchs (Abraham and co.); 2. Prophets (Isaiah and co.); 3. John the Baptist; 4. Mary.
 
Alternative themes for the four Sundays are Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, which means that the theme for our Family Service on the second Sunday in Advent (7 December) would be Peace. This seems especially appropriate just now when our news media are still reporting on the conflict in Ukraine which started in 2022, and on the Israel/ Gaza situation where the precarious ceasefire is holding, as I write.
 
Joy is the theme for the third week of Advent.  Christmas is rightly a time of rejoicing that the Saviour of the world came to live among us! Something to celebrate in a world which can seem so dark at times.
 
The fourth theme is Love. We reflect with awe and wonder on the loving nature of our God who was willing to be born in humble circumstances and be exposed to all the pressures and pains, sorrows and delights of being human, so that we can know at first hand what God is like. God is beside us in all the experiences of life and by his grace we can look again and detect, and build on, signs of hope and peace and joy amidst the death and destruction and chaos which seem to characterise our world.
 
How do we react to this love and share it?  One small way might be to get involved in the Reverse Advent Calendar scheme.  The idea is that we have a box, or something similar, at home and place an item of food in it every day of Advent.  Or we can put these items directly in the box in church.  By Christmas Eve there will be 24 items of food for the Foodbank in each box, to distribute to local people in need.
 
Please come and join in one or more of the church services to celebrate the real Christmas Spirit of love and joy.  
I wish peace and goodwill to you and to friends and to visitors among us.
God Bless
George
Revd George Heighton
Email re********@*****ok.com
Telephone 01295 680 201