ADVENT (Year C)

A liturgy for use at home to begin the adventure of what God is up to in Christ.

Advent 1: Anticipation Sunday, December 3^rd, 2006; Year C

Advent 2: Preparation Sunday, December 10^th, 2006, Year C

Advent 3: Repentance Sunday, December 17^th, 2006

Advent 4: Rejoice! Sunday, December 24^th, 2006; Year C

Christmas Day Monday, December 25the, 2006; Year C

Advent, which is from the Latin adventus, means 'coming'. We wait in Advent for the coming of God's Messiah, our Saviour, Christ Jesus. We wait upon God, remembering that the root word for “wait” in both Hebrew and Latin also means “hope”.

This liturgy is offered as a gift and a guide for marking Advent in your home. You will need four blue candles and one large, white candle. These can be placed in a wreath, a log or in five individual candle holders.

Read through the liturgy for each Sunday ahead of time. Assign participants for the roles of candle lighting, question asking and response, reading of the scripture text, saying of the prayer and the proclamation. There are many places for children to participate, including in candle lighting, question asking, scripture reading, etc. If at all possible, it is a child who should ask the question provided each week.

You might perform the liturgy after breakfast each Sunday morning and then return to the “Considering” as part of your supper conversation or begin the liturgy at supper after everyone has had something to eat, then follow through with the considering section over dessert or later in the week.

Folks who are single might consider inviting others to join them for supper and the liturgy.