DECEMBER 25 NEWSLETTER

Julie Writes...

Dear Friends,
On Sunday we will enter the season of Advent with all its preparation and expectation. It’s easy to become lost in the frantic activity preparing for the big day! But Advent challenges us to do more than that. Rather like Lent we are encouraged to take stock, to look at how prepared we are, not just to meet the infant Christ but for that final advent, Christ’s final coming. In our Creed over Advent we’ll say those words from Revelation, ‘Come Lord Jesus.’ In our readings we’ll hear much of being prepared for that time.

On Tuesday I attended Bishop Ruth’s study day for clergy. There was a mixed programme, but revisiting the rule of life was one of the sections which has stayed with me. It’s a good few years since Bishop Paul introduced this and we’ve been dutifully including it on our service sheets ever since. The question at the study day was which of the six actions do we find the easiest and which is the bigger challenge. I’ll leave you to ask yourself that question too. In Advent maybe we could spare some time to revisit them – the 3 inward actions; pray, read, learn, encouraging us in our journey towards Christ and the outer 3; tell, serve, give, send us out to witness to Christ. Many folk like to take on an Advent read, there’s a good selection at the cathedral bookshop, I picked up a couple last week. The national Church has also produced some online reflections which you can sign up for free of charge or they are available to buy as a booklet. Here are the links-

• Reflections via email: Sign up to our Christmas reflection emails and receive daily messages straight to your inbox. Our daily emails will offer Bible readings, short reflections and a practical challenge, as well as prayers linked to weekly themes.
• Downloadable reflections for 11-15 year olds: Following the same themes and Bible verses as our Advent reflections for adults, these bitesize daily reflections for young people written by Lucy Rycroft can be downloaded in full colour or black and white.
• Daily reflections via Everyday Faith app: You can read and listen to daily Advent and Christmas reflections from 1 December through the Everyday Faith app, the daily devotional app from the Church of England, which is available to download here.
• Women of the Nativity: ​​A collection of nine imagined stories told from the perspective of women, written by Paula Gooder, recreating the events of the Nativity. Listen here.