What is Advent?

Advent starts on Sunday 28th November!

In the church's calendar, Advent Sunday is four Sundays before Christmas. "Advent" is Latin for "arrival" or "coming". Advent is traditionally about looking forward to when Jesus "will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead." We will reflect on this in our service at 10.00am on Sunday morning at St John's, together with Holy Communion and two baptisms!

More recently, the season of Advent has taken on an additional dimension. As we prepare for Christmas, we imagine ourselves with those Old Testament believers who were looking forward to the first arrival of the long-promised Messiah. Of all the characters in the Old Testament, the most space is devoted to David, a man described as "after God's own heart". Indeed, the Messiah is pictured as "great David's greater son".

Blackburn Diocese has produced an Advent Devotional, taking us through the story of David in the run-up to Christmas. Each day there is a small section of the Bible to read, and a reflection written by a clergy- or lay-person from somewhere in Blackburn Diocese. I wrote the reflection on David and Goliath!

I will be following this devotional for my midweek livestreams during Advent.

Copies of the booklet will be available (for free!) at St John's Church on Sunday morning.

If you can't come on Sunday morning but would like a booklet, let me know and I can bring you one. Or you can access the pdf version at https://www.blackburn.anglican.org/seasonal-resources and either print it yourself or read it online.