“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places” Ephesians 1:3
The past two weeks in church we have lit Advent candles signaling
the start of our Advent season. Advent
by definition is the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event; the first season of
the Christian church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four
preceding Sundays; the coming or second coming of Christ. So the
definition means “coming or “arrival” and for Christians, the entire focus of
the season is on the coming birth of Jesus Christ.
The Hanging of the
Green – Why do we do this?
The beginning of Advent is a time
for the hanging of the green, decoration of the church with evergreen wreaths,
boughs, or trees that help to symbolize the new and everlasting life brought
through Jesus the Christ. Some churches have a special weekday service, or the
first Sunday evening of Advent, or even the first Sunday morning of Advent, in
which the church is decorated and the Advent wreath put in place. This service
is most often primarily of music, especially choir and hand bells, and
Scripture reading, along with an explanation of the various symbols as they are
placed in the sanctuary. Our church
celebrates this Sunday with our Hanging of the Green service. During this service our Senior Adult Choir,
the Foundation Singers, perform along with the youth choir while the
congregation decorates the giant Christmas tree that will adorn our stage
throughout the Christmas season.
Celebrating Advent
Advent is one of the few Christian
festivals that can be observed in the home as well as at church. In its association with Christmas, Advent is
a natural time to involve children in activities at home that directly connect
with worship at church. In the home an
Advent wreath may be placed on the dining table and the candles lighted at
meals, with Scripture readings preceding the lighting of the candles,
especially on Sunday. A new candle is lighted each Sunday during the four
weeks, and then the same candles are lighted each meal during the week. In this
context, it provides the opportunity for family devotion and prayer together,
and helps teach the Faith to children, especially if they are involved in
reading the Bible daily.
Many families celebrate the Advent
season in different ways. Some families
decorate the house for the beginning of Advent, or bake special cookies or
treats, or simply begin to use table coverings for meals. An Advent Calendar is
a way to keep children involved in the entire season. There are a wide variety of Advent calendars,
but usually they are simply a card or poster with windows that can be opened,
one each day of Advent, to reveal some symbol or picture associated with the
Old Testament story leading up to the birth of Jesus.
Every year our church provides
families with an Advent project that they can do together at home during the
Christmas season.
Scripture to Claim:
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers into his harvest."
Luke 10:2 ESV
