Slideshow image

This Advent we are focussing on Listening for Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. We listen through the noise of world news or busy celebrations. We listen in the quiet of shared times or lonely times. And we listen with expectation, trusting that we will hear signs of hope, peace, joy, and love, because Christ has come into the world. How will you be listening in your personal Advent practices this year? Here are just a few ideas to use at home.

Prayer

Sacred Advent is a daily email prayer break with Scripture and related reflections, with suggestions for further exploration. Sacred Advent is based on Sacred Space—the trusted online prayer site by the Irish Jesuits.

Common Prayer, a liturgy for ordinary radicals is daily prayer you can follow year-round.

Goshen College faculty, staff, and students conutribute to daily Advent (and Lent) devotionals, based on the lectionary Scriptures, that you can receive by email or read on their website.

CommonWord at Mennonite Church Canada has many options of books to borrow for the Advent season, and some resources can also be found in the HMC prayer room.

Great for Kids (and adults)

Advent-At-Home is a booklet produced each year by Mennonite Church Canada and designed with families with young children in mind.

Advent Calendars aren't only filled with chocolate, you can download one here that encourages meaningful practices through the season, or colour your own here. See Welcome Inn's reverse Advent Calendar under "Giving" too.

Christine Sine at her Godspace blog has lots more ideas for doing Advent with children, like Advent colouring pages, an ADVENTure prayer walk, and lots of calendars or wreaths.

Giving

Enter into the generosity of the season by supporting the Christmas giving suggestions of organizations like MCC and MEDA. 

A Reverse Advent Calendar is a daily practice of generosity. Instead of receiving chocolate, you give a gift of food each day to count down until Christmas. Welcome Inn has even prepared a list of needed gifts for their food bank. You could also practice this Advent of Gratitude, donating your gathered money to Welcome Inn or somewhere else.

In Advent worship at HMC, the children will be collecting for our annual Advent Giving Project. This year we will support the work of Mennonite Disaster Service.