It seems like only yesterday we blessing backpacks at the start of the school year. And yet already the days are getting shorter, and it’s time to start making highways in deserts as we look toward Christmas. As we move into Advent, here are a few resources to help you and your young people explore this time of expectation, preparation, and incarnation.
Perennial favorites like the social media-based AdventWord (available this year in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole) and Thomas Mousin’s beautiful and simple calendar can help to engage parishes and enrich worship.
Musically-inclined young people, for instance, may enjoy Charlotte Greeson’ lesson plan for teaching Advent with hymns. And while you are there, check out the other Advent resources offered by the Virginia Theological Seminary’s Finding Faith.
Getting hands-on with Advent crafts is a powerful and meaningful way to engage with the season. Advent wreathes are a popular choice, and there are plenty of tutorials available, from the basic to the “gourmet.” Use this guide to help your young people organize a wreath-making workshop for the whole congregation. Putting some focus on the liturgy of the advent wreath—either by spending some time talking about the meaning of each candle or writing prayers to use when lighting the candles--can help young people engage with a recognizable symbol in a new, personal way.
Finally, some groups may want to engage with the idea of Advent in the context of the world and the present moment. Many of the advent readings (the first, second, third, and fourth Sundays are compiled on episcopalchurch.org) lend themselves well to discussions of current events. Prepare a list of questions surrounding the reading you choose, but allow the young people in the group to guide the conversation as you explore these Advent texts.
For example , the reading from Isaiah (week one) describes a future in which the word of the Lord has brought about a time of peace, when tools of war become tools of agriculture and violence between nations comes to an end. Talk about what kind of world your young people imagine. What specific things would be different, and why? What hopes do they have for the world?
In week four, the story of the Annunciation offers a great opportunity for young people to talk about what it means to be part of God’s dream for the world. The Annunciation is often accompanied by Canticle 3, the song of Mary, which highlights issues of injustice and inequality, and looks to God as an agent of desperately-needed change, a common theme in many of the Advent readings. Make space for the young people in your group to articulate the ways they see issues of power and oppression in their world.
Finally, since Advent is a time of expectation and imagination, remember to make space to “look East” yourself and imagine what a better world might look like.
