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BRINGING YOU RELEVANT INSPIRATION, RIGHT FOR THIS MOMENT
November 2024
Whether you already celebrated Thanksgiving, are anticipating Thanksgiving Day, or come from a culture that doesn't mark a specific date for thanksgiving, for Christians gratitude is never out of season. Taking some time each day to name the people, situations, and things you are grateful for is one of the healthiest practices we can do for ourselves physically and spiritually. When the news and our social media feeds are full of woe, when our own lives are deeply impacted by natural disasters, illness, grief, and war or threats of war, those moments of gratitude can center us and remind us that God is with us—we need not fear.
As planning meetings and rehearsals for Advent and Christmas intensify with each passing week, make time in your schedule to pause and spend some time thinking about all you have to be grateful for. We hope something in this e-news or on our website can assist you both in your Advent and Christmas planning and in cultivating a spirit of gratitude.
When thinking of gratitude, my mind will often bring me to the Reformed Worship community and the ways in which you bless each other through the sharing of resources. At this moment I am particularly grateful for your patience as we transition from a quarterly print/digital journal to posting exclusively on our website—a transition that won't be complete till July 2025. (For more information, read the FAQs found under Help atReformedWorship.org.)
With gratitude, Rev. Joyce Borger Senior Editor
FEATURED ARTICLE
When Advent Doesn't Feel Like Christmas
A Series for Advent and Christmas Using Texts from Year C of the RCL
With free daily devotionals to share with your community!
"Christmas means mustering an attitude of 'good cheer' as we all strive to create an aura of serenity, stillness, and peace on earth. .. .Very little of that has anything to do with Advent. As our lectionary readings from Luke will make clear, true Advent requires a focus on topics that are anything but calm, bright, gentle, or cheery. .. .For the good news to be truly good, it needs to come to the real world—a world that does not stop being harsh, evil, and dark just because it'sChristmas. In fact, it'sprecisely that harsh, evil darkness that properly reminds us why a Savior needed to "advent" into our time and space in the first place."
Christingle An Intergenerational Christmas Eve Celebration from the Moravian Tradition
This article provides instructions for creating Christingles ("Christ lights") as an intergenerational activity before worshiping together in a service where the meaning of the Christingle is revealed and worshipers focus on the hope and joy that light brings to a dark world.
Advent in Narnia An Invitation to Biblical Explorations Beyond the Wardrobe
People from several churches who created an Advent series connecting scripture to C.S. Lewis'sThe Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe share their series outlines, worship elements, song suggestions, and ideas for Advent candle lightings.
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