Advent Resources, 2010

May we have a blessed and Holy Advent

ADVENT RESOURCES
compiled by
Sister Gloriamarie Amalfitano, November 10, 2009


About Advent

Advent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming") is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent

The Christian Season of Advent
Information on the Christian Season of Advent from a Protestant perspective, including the meaning of the symbols used to celebrate it and its theological ...
www.crivoice.org/cyadvent.html

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Advent
According to 1907 usage, a period beginning with the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle and embracing four Sundays.
www.newadvent.org/cathen/01165a.htm

Advent Conspiracy
[AC] Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption.
www.adventconspiracy.org/

The Season of Advent
Information about the Season of Advent, including what it means, when it starts and ends, how it originated, and how it sets the theme for Christian ...
www.kencollins.com/holy-01.htm

Advent
Why is Advent such an important season in the life of the church? ... The Advent season focuses on Christ's threefold coming: past, present, and future. ...
www.stpaulskingsville.org/advent.htm

Worship - Where Did the Season of Advent Come From?
So where did the season of Advent come from? Here is an attempt at a partial response — going back to the sacred Scriptures and to the early centuries of ...
http://tinyurl.com/5moyfx

Advent: Time to Remember, Time to Prepare
By: MaryJane Pierce Norton
http://www.interpretermagazine.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=7905

The Hungry Spirit: The Habit of Advent: What habits do you have that generate hope?
by Rose Marie Berger
http://tinyurl.com/yd8aeq

Waiting for God by Molly Marsh
http://tinyurl.com/ye84mn

Anglicans Online: Resources for Advent
http://anglicansonline.org/special/advent.html

From the website for the Episcopal Church:
http://tinyurl.com/ygo6pw

Reducing Stress During the Christmas Season

-Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season (Paperback)
by Jo Robinson, Jean C. Staeheli
$10.75 at Amazon http://tinyurl.com/y265py

-Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For A More Joyful Christmas
by Bill McKibben
Price: $9.60 at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y8qza9

-Celebrate Simply: Your Guide to Simpler, More Meaningful Holidays and Special Occasions (Paperback)
by Nancy Twigg
Price $11.01 at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y2nvgv

-Simplify Your Christmas: 100 Ways to Reduce the Stress and Recapture the Joy of the Holidays (Elaine St. James Little Books) by Elaine St. James
Price: $11.66 at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/yy429n

Setting the Christmas Stage Readings for the Advent Season By John Indermark

Are you in perpetual frantic motion during the holidays?
Advent brings a rush of activities that often makes the pre-Christmas season lose its meaning. Taking time for spiritual reflection may seem an unaffordable luxury. Setting the Christmas Stage will help you find rest for the journey, where you'll refocus and thoughfully regain the season.
Indermark looks at the Christmas story as a dramatic and well-known pageant, reminding us of holidays past and present. He provides a dynamic view of how Advent gradually moves the drama forward to the climax of Christmas. Readers will see how the stories flow together into an encounter with God in Christ.
"Envision the scenes, though distant, that may seem as close as home this season," writes Indermark. "Struggle to hear anew the choruses brought by angels and shepherds, magi and martyrs. And watch with parents as words and dreams and birth comes to pass … and as God takes the stage in the child."
Each of the four sections contains reflections that invite connection between the biblical stories and our own spiritual journeys. Appendixes contain suggested carols and where to find them, session outlines for use with small groups, and ideas for family Advent celebrations and observances.
Set the stage, linger with the familiar stories, and truly welcome Christmas this year!
Paperback
$11.00  .  Ten or More: $9.35 each
128 Pages  .  Trim Size: 5 1/2" x 8 1/4"
ISBN# 0-8358-0947-1  .  Order# 947
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=52546&category=53&sub_category=

Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent By Pamela Hawkins

The subtitle is quite appealing, isn't it? Restoring calm in the midst of Advent.
Reality, though, can intrude. Instead of fostering stillness during the holidays, you're apt to cram it in (eye on the clock) or collapse into a form of it between shopping battles at the mall. Many of us spend Advent out of breath from details of a Christmas that hasn't yet taken place!
You know you need to focus on the spiritual aspects of Advent to internalize the experience of the season. Good intentions sometimes only intensify your stress — especially when the must-have toy is sold out everywhere and when even a quick grocery trip involves rush hour-like traffic snarls.
What if it really wasn't that hard to find more peace, more quiet, more room in your heart for the Christ child to be born? Hawkins will guide you — calmly and simply — through the hustle and bustle of Advent, and you'll come out of the four weeks centered, rested and spiritually renewed.
"The idea for this book arose from my own experience of contemplative prayer, prayer that finds its home not in busy doing or speaking but in becoming, in being," writes Hawkins.
Some Advent titles promise reflective simplicity but actually require a lot of time or reading; Simply Wait is the exception. The exercises are very do-able and focus on anticipation, hope, patience and obedience. Questions and journal space are provided to help you contemplate more fully. This is an ideal individual or small group study; a guide for groups is included.
Instead of doing more and moving faster, find a way to reflect more, worry less and connect authentically to season with the grace-filled wisdom of Simply Wait.
Paperback
$12.00  .  Ten or More: $10.20 each
112 Pages  .  Trim Size: 5½" x 8½"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-9917-8  .  Order# 9917
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=461406&category=53&sub_category=

Slow Down. Quiet. It's Advent! Poster
A 2009 Advent calendar poster with 25 days and ways to keep faith to keep faith with the season. This calendar for Advent is much more than the place to count down Christmas shopping days.  This exciting Advent poster includes suggestions for each day, such as do a good deed, pray, be thoughtful in the holiday rush, write a nice note, or think about the real meaning of Christmas.  Slow Down. Quiet. It's Advent! is a gentle--and fun to read--reminder of the true meaning of the season. The Slow Down. Quiet. It's Advent! Poster is sold in packs of 25 for multiple placements around church, in homes, or as gifts for the congregation. 17" x 22" folded to 8-1/2" x 11".
Pack of 25
List Price: $12.00
PAPER ,
ISBN-13: ADVP09


Meditations: Private and/or group

Voices of Advent
Katerina Katsarka Whitley
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2494
Imagine the hushed excitement and the vivid anticipation of a child on Christmas Eve. How much more intense that anticipation must have been for those who waited for the wonder of the very first Christmas. From the ancient prophets to the three kings, from the angel Gabriel to the stalwart Joseph, Katarina Katsarka Whitley imagines their astonishment and joy at the events unfolding around them. In her inimitable style, Whitley places herself in the hearts and minds of the biblical characters–both real and imagined–who played a part in the Christmas narrative. She weaves stories, solidly based in Scripture, at once compelling and thought-provoking. The voices of her characters lead us closer to the Christ Child and deepen the meaning of the season of Advent for twenty-first century readers.
List Price: $12.00 PAPERBACK , 112 , 5.5 x 8.5 Morehouse Publishing ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2125-4

Come, Lord Jesus!
Daily Readings for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany
Geoffrey Rowell and Julien Chilcott-Monk
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=1310
Come, Lord Jesus! invites readers to enter more deeply into the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation of Christ. For each day from the first Sunday of Advent to the Feast of the Epiphany, readings, prayers, and suggestions for daily devotions help readers interact imaginatively with the reactions and feelings of the biblical figures involved with the story of Jesus' birth. Rowell and Chilcott-Monk focus particularly on Mary, her "yes" to God at the Annunciation, and her own journey from Bethlehem to Calvary. The title of the book is a translation of a New Testament prayer, Maranatha!, an expression of the longing, hope, and unity of purpose among the first followers of Christ. At a time of year when commercial pressures threaten to obscure the child in the manger, Come, Lord Jesus! will focus hearts and minds afresh on the miracle of love at work among us.
List Price: $13.00, PAPERBACK , 176 , 5 x 7, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1964-0

The Light Will Shine: Advent Resource Book
Carol J. Miller
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2449
Discover new light in traditional texts and seasonal themes and find fresh perspectives on the journey through Advent to Christmas and beyond. Designed for 4 or 5 sessions of 60 or 90 minutes. Session themes: Watchful Expectancy; John the Baptizer; The Fulfillment of All Promises; The Dawning of Day; Shine, Jesus, Shine: Epiphany Day.
List Price: $12.00 KIT , 38 ,Morehouse Church Supplies ISBN-13: 978-1-8822-3644-

Let Us Bless the Lord, Year Two: Advent- Holy Week
Meditations on the Daily Office
Barbara Cawthorne Crafton
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=1914
Popular author, retreat leader, and priest Barbara Crafton rises early each morning, lights a candle, opens her Book of Common Prayer, and reads the morning office—the ancient Christian service that praises God at the beginning of a new day. When she is done, Crafton sits down at her computer and sends out an e-mail that says simply, "Let us bless the Lord," the traditional closing line of the morning prayer service. Her devoted readers reply, "Thanks be to God.” Crafton communicates with thousands of subscribers to her daily e-mail meditations. They—and others who say the Daily Offices—will treasure this collection of brief meditations. Based on the assigned biblical texts for each day of Year Two from Advent through Holy Week, Crafton’s writings complement perfectly the morning, noon, evening, and nighttime prayers that are the Daily Offices.
List Price: $19.00, HARDCOVER , 192 , 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1983-1

Let Every Heart Prepare
Meditations for Advent and Christmas
Barbara Cawthorne Crafton
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=1912

For centuries the words and poetry of our hymns have spoken deeply to us. Many people, in fact, find that what is heard in poetry and music sinks deeper into the soul than does ordinary prose. And so it is to the beautiful seasonal hymns that Barbara Cawthorne Crafton turns for inspiration for daily meditations during the great devotional seasons of the church year: Advent/Christmas, and Lent.
List Price: $10.00, PAPERBACK , 96 , 6 x 4.5, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1755-4

Love Came Down
Anglican Readings for Advent and Christmas
Christopher L. Webber
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=1938
“Easter Day is the center and crown of the Christian year, but no season of that year provides us with richer material for meditation than Advent and the twelve days of Christmas.” So writes Christopher Webber in this thoughtful and inspiring collection of meditations from the most gifted Anglican writers of the past six hundred years.
Love Came Down draws on the best sermons, books, poems, and hymns by these writers, with a reading for every day in Advent and for each of the twelve days of Christmas. Writers include Christina Rossetti, R. W. Church, F. D. Maurice, John Donne, Jeremy Taylor, Madeleine L’Engle, Phillips Brooks, John Keble, William Temple, Thomas Traherne, William Law, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others. Brief biographies of the contributors are included.
List Price: $13.00, PAPERBACK , 112 pages , 5.5 x 8.5, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1898-8

Run, Shepherds, Run
Poems for Advent and Christmas
L. William Countryman
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2333
The Advent season is filled with rich themes that have fascinated poets. In Run, Shepherds, Run, Bill Countryman presents a poem a day for devotional reading during Advent and theTwelve Days of Christmas. Readers will find classic poets they know and love, including George Herbert, John Donne, Christina Rossetti, Emily Dickinson, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, as well as contemporary poets, known and unknown. Run, Shepherds, Run includes helpful hints for reading poetry, for those who have less experience reading it than others, as well as useful annotations to help readers with older language that may not have easily apparent meanings for today's readers.
List Price: $13.00, PAPERBACK , 112 , 5 x 7, Morehouse Publishing ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2151-3

Our December Hearts
Meditations for Advent & Christmas
Anne McConney
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2039

"The Advent walkabout is not an easy journey, nor was meant to be. This journey leads into the deeps of our own being. It is an opening of portals we have taken care to keep closed, a letting in of the knowledge and doubt and pain without which there can be no letting in of Christ, the child whose touch blesses, burns, heals and transfigures. The Advent walkabout cannot be for the faint-hearted for it demands extravagant courage and uncompromising honesty. It begins today. It ends at the manger that is not merely a pretty story but the transforming reality of God." - from the First Sunday in Advent. What does it mean to be human in this season of waiting, asks Anne McConney in Our December Hearts. And what does it mean to believe that God became human? This collection of meditations for the season of Advent examines--in sometimes serious and sometimes humorous fashion—the various emotions that the Advent and Christmas stories stir in us: hope, trust, compassion, as well as fear, doubt, and grief. In language drenched in poetry, Anne McConney explores what it means to gaze into the mystery that is the Incarnation
List Price: $12.00 PAPERBACK , 112 , 5.5 x 8.5 Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1786-8


Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Advent and Christmas with Charles Wesley
Paul Wesley Chilcote
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2645

Advent and Christmas meditations based on the seasonal hymns of Charles Wesley. Each daily meditation, keyed to the scripture reading for the day and portions of Wesley's texts, concludes with a brief prayer based on the day's theme. Reflective material place Wesley within his rich Anglican heritage. Daily readings are between 500/600 words in length.
List Price: $14.00
PAPERBACK , 128 pp , 5.5 x 8.5, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2250-3

Waiting in Joyful Hope 2009-2010
Daily Reflections for Advent & Christmas
Robert F. Morneau
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=7390

Based on Scripture, these brief daily meditations and prayers for each of the days of Advent and Christmas 2009-2010 make an excellent companion and guide for one of the Church’s most holy seasons. This pocket-sized book is a popular gift for churches to provide for each of their parishioners during the Advent season to encourage them to prepare spiritually for the feast of Christ’s birth.
List Price: $2.00 PAPERBACK , 108 pages , 4 x 5.125 Morehouse Publishing Oct/2009 ISBN-13: 9780819223661

Songs in Waiting: Spiritual Reflections on Christ’s Birth
Paul-Gordon Chandler
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=6591

There remains a constant need for new perspectives on the liturgical church seasons in order to keep them spiritually fresh and to bring them to life in new ways. This book will enable Christian readers to experience a new depth in their faith journey as they celebrate the season of Advent.
This is a short book of spiritual meditations for the Advent season on the four “Middle Eastern” songs sung around the birth of Jesus: canticles that play an important role in the liturgical worship of the church over the centuries. These canticles include: the Song of Mary (Magnificat), Song of Zechariah (Benedictus), Song of the Angels (Gloria), and Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis). The devotions emphasize the Middle Eastern cultural elements of these songs.

List Price: $20.00
HARDCOVER , 112 pp , 5 x 7
Morehouse Publishing, Jul/2009 ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2360-9

The Uncluttered Heart: Making Room for God During Advent and Christmas
By Beth A. Richardson
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=645281&ep_id=4001

God is waiting for you to remember.
Advent is a time to prepare our lives — hearts, minds and spirits — for the coming of the Christ child. We sweep out the corners of our hearts, cleaning up the clutter, to make space for God's hope, peace, joy, love and presence.
Great plan, poor execution.
"Advent is often the busiest time of the year," writes Richardson. "And yet, we are called to make time and space to prepare our lives for the coming of the Christ child. What a challenge. …No matter how busy we may become, God is waiting to break through our endless tasks and distractions to remind us that we are not alone."
The Uncluttered Heart offers four weeks of guided reflection through the weeks of Advent on through Epiphany. Each day provides a
• quotation
• scripture passage
• reflection
• prayer
Stop and connect with God this Christmas. Remember God as much as you can. Even unplanned pauses such as watching a child laugh at Santa's post in the mall remind you of God's presence and help you maintain a true center in this holy time. This practice is a skill developed over time and learned over a lifetime. And the gifts are bountiful.
This book includes a study guide for groups. To take the uncluttered season a digital step further, go to www.unclutteredheart.org and sign up for free inspirational Advent text messages and emails from the author.
Paperback
$13.00  .  Ten or More: $11.05 each
128 Pages  .  Trim Size: 5½" x 8½"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-9994-9  .  Order# 9994
"Seeing through God's Eyes - Daily Readings for Advent" from Forward
Movement, by Cynthia Caruso, 47 pages, softcover, c. 2009, $3

[Forward Movement] Cynthia Caruso invites us to spend Advent looking at our world the way God does in our 2009 book of Advent meditations, asking us to "pretend you are God, walking through own town, our state, our country, the world ... to look at the world as if you had created it in love."

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

"The Womb of Advent" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Mark
Bozzuti-Jones, 114 pages, paperback, c. 2007, $13

[Church Publishing, Inc.] This talented and imaginative writer offers a unique perspective on the season of Advent. Along with Scripture readings and prayers, he offers four weeks of meditations that focus on the growth of Jesus in the womb of Mary as he approaches the day of his birth, learns his mother's voice, responds to the presence of light and dark, and begins to position himself for birth. What does this teach us about our own spiritual journey through Advent? That waiting and preparation is essential to the Christian life. By reflecting on our own birth experiences and Jesus's own progress through the womb, Christians learn how to remain intimate with God, how to approach the light, and how to get ready for new birth in Christ.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit
your local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

"From Holidays to Holy Days - A Benedictine Walk through Advent" from
Church Publishing, Inc., by Albert Holtz, O.S.B., 127 pages, paperback,
c. 2008, $16


Rather than criticizing trappings of the holiday season, this book looks at them from the viewpoint of Christian contemplation, once aptly described as "a long, loving look at the real." The author, a Benedictine monk who lives in the center of downtown Newark, New Jersey, invites the reader to join him on his daily walks as he points out dozens of often-unnoticed connections between our holidays and the spiritual meaning of Advent and Christmas. In a string of colored lights, a crowd of shoppers, or the window of a toy store, he uncovers such traditional Advent themes as watchful waiting, repentance, and selfless love. On the bustling sidewalks, he introduces us to
Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Jesus himself, all speaking their ancient Advent and Christmas messages of peace and hope and good will.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org


"Between Two Worlds - Daily Readings for Advent" from Cowley
Publications, by Kate Moorehead, foreword by Barbara C. Crafton, 130
pages, paperback, c. 2003, $9.95

[Cowley Publications] Advent -- the season in which we prepare for the coming of the Savior -- provokes a certain ambivalence among modern believers. We know that Christ has come in the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth, and we live anticipating his return, knowing that our true home is one which he has gone ahead to prepare for us. In the meantime, we are left living between those two worlds. Moorehead uses the witness of the scriptures, her wealth of experience in long years of ministry, and the wisdom of her own life of prayer to guide us in praying the ambiguity of living faithfully between "here and now" and "there and then."

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit
your local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org


"Light to the Darkness" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Katerina
Whitley, 140 pages, paperback, c. 2008, $18


Light to the Darkness is a fresh interpretation of the well-loved Advent tradition of Lessons and Carols. Replacing the usual scriptural readings from the Old and New Testaments
are first-person dramatic monologues based on these and other passages of scripture. Special emphasis is given to the role of the prophets, pointing the way to the Messiah and offering guidance to the Hebrew people, while providing very contemporary guidance for the 21st-century.

With a reading for each day of Advent, churches can choose pieces for their services of Lessons and Carols, while individuals can use the book for private devotions. Suggested music for these services is also included, encompassing a broad range of selections to accommodate parishes' needs and abilities.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

Variety of Pamphlets
http://forwardmovement.org/index.php?page=shop.browse&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=75




Advent with Evelyn Underhill
Edited by Christopher L. Webber
Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.
Details: 86 pages, paperback, c. 2006, $12.95

Description: For generations, readers have found in the writings of Evelyn Underhill the guidance to help them deepen their own interior lives in the Christian mystical tradition. In this lovely volulme, Anglican author and editor Christopher Webber has carefully selected inspirational passages from Underhill’s most significant works, providing readings for every day of Advent.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org



The Womb of Advent
By Mark Bozzuti-Jones
Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.
Details: 114 pages, paperback, c. 2007, $13

Description: This talented and imaginative writer offers a unique perspective on the season of Advent. Along with Scripture readings and prayers, he offers four weeks of meditations that focus on the growth of Jesus in the womb of Mary as he approaches the day of his birth, learns his mother's voice, responds to the presence of light and dark, and begins to position himself for birth. What does this teach us about our own spiritual journey through Advent? That waiting and preparation is essential to the Christian life. By reflecting on our own birth experiences and Jesus's own progress through the womb, Christians learn how to remain intimate with God, how to approach the light, and how to get ready for new birth in Christ.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org


Advent 2008: Hearing God Through the Noise
by Albert Kennington
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1978

Our 2008 booklet of Advent meditations calls us to pay careful attention to listen for the still small voice of God amidst the winter cold, holiday busyness and loneliness, and all other problems and distractions of this world that seek to overwhelm us.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org


Lo! He Comes: Meditations on Advent Hymns & Carols
by FM Editors
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1873

Lo! He Comes explores the preparation, anticipation, and joy found in some of the most popular Advent hymns and carols. These reflections, written by the Forward Movement editors, bring to life the Word made flesh through a daily examination of the deeper meanings found in these classic musical texts.

The featured hymns and carols include "O come, O come, Emmanuel," "Hills of the north, rejoice," "Lo! He comes with clouds descending," the Magnificat, and "Of the Father's love begotten."

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org



Advent Adventure
by Alison Gibson
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1813

This undated collection of inspiring meditations, will guide and challenge daily from Advent Sunday through Christmas Day, placing the focus on our Savior's birth. Inviting us into a time of self-examination and reflection, these meditations help us welcome the new Church Year by reminding us of the joy found in the gift of new beginnings.




Alert for Signs: Seeing and Praying through Advent
by Titus Presler
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1940

This Advent book of meditations examines God as a sign-giver, longing to be in touch with us through all the designs and textures of our lives. Titus Presler, Sub-Dean of General Theological Seminary, reflects on experience in parish ministry and the world church to explore how we can cultivate an alertness for signs of God's presence in our lives.


Simply Wait
Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent
By Pamela Hawkins
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=461406

The subtitle is quite appealing, isn't it? Restoring calm in the midst of Advent.

Reality, though, can intrude. Instead of fostering stillness during the holidays, you're apt to cram it in (eye on the clock) or collapse into a form of it between shopping battles at the mall. Many of us spend Advent out of breath from details of a Christmas that hasn't yet taken place!

You know you need to focus on the spiritual aspects of Advent to internalize the experience of the season. Good intentions sometimes only intensify your stress especially when the must-have toy is sold out everywhere and when even a quick grocery trip involves rush hour-like traffic snarls.

What if it really wasn't that hard to find more peace, more quiet, more room in your heart for the Christ child to be born? Hawkins will guide you calmly and simply through the hustle and bustle of Advent, and you'll come out of the four weeks centered, rested and spiritually renewed.

"The idea for this book arose from my own experience of contemplative prayer, prayer that finds its home not in busy doing or speaking but in becoming, in being," writes Hawkins.

Some Advent titles promise reflective simplicity but actually require a lot of time or reading; Simply Wait is the exception. The exercises are very do-able and focus on anticipation, hope, patience and obedience. Questions and journal space are provided to help you contemplate more fully. This is an ideal individual or small group study; a guide for groups is included.

Instead of doing more and moving faster, find a way to reflect more, worry less and connect authentically to season with the grace-filled wisdom of Simply Wait.

Paperback
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
112 Pages . Trim Size: 5" x 8"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-9917-8 . Order# 9917


Reflections of Messiah
Contemporary Advent Meditations Inspired by Handel
By Jim Melchiorre
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=133229

Looking for a Stimulating Advent Study for Groups or for Personal Use?

If guilt creeps into your holiday cheer, you're not alone. Advent is the time to prepare for the arrival of the Messiah, yet most of us instead are swept away by the hyper-busyness of the holidays.

Melchiorre has found a personal antidote in Handel's Messiah. One holiday season, he turned to the familiar music and text to find solace from rampant consumerism. This simple exercise led him to find a way to intentionally observe Advent. His words will help you too.

Melchiorre read the scriptures on which the great oratorio is based as he listened to the music. He was inspired to explore the message of Messiah for contemporary American society. As a journalist in New York City, Melchiorre is accustomed to writing about what surrounds him. What he wrote is full of fresh understandings of the prophetic mission of the Christ.

In short meditations for all the days of Advent plus Christmas Day, Melchiorre reflects a passionate understanding of Jesus. Each meditation includes

* a scripture verse (often the same scriptures Handel used in Messiah)
* a powerful story about a contemporary person or event
* a brief prayer
* reflection questions for individuals or groups

Melchiorre reminds us that the work of the Messiah always has and always will be to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.

If you're looking for a challenging, thought-provoking resource to help you live expectantly and intentionally in anticipation of the Messiah, you won't want to miss this book.

Paperback
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
128 Pages . Trim Size: 5" x 7 1/4"
ISBN# 0-8358-9856-3 . Order# 9856


Expecting the Unexpected
An Advent Devotional Guide
By Blair Gilmer Meeks
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=318075

"Fear not," the angel said at Advent. The power of God is coming .

Fear of terrorism, rumors of epidemic, the pressures of consumerism. Are today's anxieties shrinking your Christmas spirit, your sense of joy, your purpose, your song?

This Advent, expect the unexpected.

Reconnect with the Christmas story, the arrival of Christ's biblical message of hope and healing for this world.

Expecting the Unexpected is a spiritual feast for mind and imagination. Use it each day of the four-week Advent season. Open it and find:

* vivid day-by-day biblical images and reflections on Jesus life and message
* small-group discussion themes and prayers
* a featured weekly Christmas hymn by Charles Wesley, whose lyrics ("Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and others) witness to a faith of gusto and courage

"I often wonder how we can decorate our tree, haul out the nativity set, sing 'Away in a Manger' once or twice, pack it all away again, and think we have celebrated Christmas adequately," writes Meeks. "The season holds so much more for us. God's work through Jesus Christ only begins in the manger. Our joy in God's gift of Jesus to us should be part of our lives every day."

With Meeks as your companion and guide, reclaim excitement and refreshment. Expect Christs reign in your life today.

Christmas is just the beginning.

Paperback
$13.00 . Ten or More: $11.05 each
128 Pages . Trim Size: 5 1/2" x 8 1/4"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-1004-6 . Order# 1004

Lighted Windows
Advent Reflections for a World in Waiting
By Margaret Silf
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=192807

Have you ever read Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Matchgirl?" (If not, go here.) In the story, a poor little girl sees marvelous visions of the small luxuries life has denied her whenever she strikes a match.

Sometimes it takes looking at familiar seasons from a different perspective to be inspired again by the event. This book will help you look into your own "lighted windows" to rediscover "God with us" this Advent. Silf's observations are like the windows of an Advent calendar, leading you closer to the mystery that is born in Bethlehem.

Join Silf on a 37-day pilgrimage from the first day of Advent through Epiphany. Each daily meditation includes

* a brief scripture passage
* a thought-provoking commentary
* guidance through a spiritual exercise
* a closing prayer

During the first three weeks of the book's journey, you'll glimpse evidence of God's guidance and wisdom. During Christmas week, the "windows" open wide, inviting us to the heart of the mystery of God's coming to earth. As the readings move to the fifth week, the windows turn into doors, through which we're sent back into the waiting and wounded world.

Silf writes, "[This book is intended] as an invitation to connect the God-story with your story and your circumstances in a way that makes a difference so that 'God with us' becomes 'God with you.'"

For readers who want to make the Advent journey with a group, Lighted Windows contains a five-session, small-group discussion guide within the book.

Paperback
$13.00 . Ten or More: $11.05 each
160 Pages . ISBN# 0-83558-9886-5
Order# 9886

Child of the Light
Walking Through Advent & Christmas
By Beth A. Richardson
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=259338

If the Christmas season has become more of a chaotic consumer ritual rather than a nurturing spiritual one, you need this brilliant "Advent Survival Guide!"

If you set aside just 10 minutes per day, Child of the Light will help you find your quiet center amid the stressful flurry of the November/December busyness. As you read the book's brief readings inspired by the season's carols and hymns, your spirit will be lifted, and your thoughts will be redirected to the purpose of the season: preparing for the coming.

"Take time for God: that's exactly the challenge God gives us during this season of preparation," writes Richardson. "Personally and culturally this time of year already seems to race out of control toward a Christmas finish line. In Advent, we are invited to take time out. [In] doing so, we nurture our spiritual self, that sometimes fragile part of us who longs for a connection with God."

The reflections extend past Christmas to Epiphany, January 6, encouraging you to live into the joy of Christmas beyond traditional seasonal celebrations.

A small-group guide is included among the daily meditations, recommended spiritual disciplines for the week, reflection questions, and leader helps. The use of hymns and carols will engage even the most non-musical among us to fully appreciate the lyrical richness of the season.

Long for a more sacred and measured observance this year? Be joyfully carried through the pre- and post-Christmas pandemonium as a child of the light!

Need suggestions on how to use Child of the Light with choirs? Download this. (Free Adobe Reader required.) Hazve to go to the URL above for the download.

Paperback
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
112 Pages . Trim Size: 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
ISBN# 0-8358-9816-4 . Order# 9816

While We Wait
Living the Questions of Advent
By Mary Lou Redding
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=90595

Sometimes we struggle to believe we'll experience anything new as Advent comes around. What could we possibly learn that we haven't seen or heard before?

If you're looking for an Advent study of a different slant, While We Wait: Living the Questions of Advent offers new ways of connecting the story with your own questions of faith and approaches an all-too-familiar narrative from perspectives we may have missed.

You'll read about biblical figures mentioned in passing in the "original" Advent. Somewhat surprisingly, Tamar, Ruth, Mary, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and the Magi ask questions that resonate with contemporary Christians.

"I hope While We Wait will help people who don't want to gloss over their questions about the Christmas story," writes Redding. "This book examines Advent as a journey in which God seeks us at many levels of our understanding and spiritual willingness. It allows for real-life struggles and questions as a part of Advent's spiritual exploration."

Designed as a complete Advent study, this book offers readers or groups

* unique perspectives on the events of Christmas
* complete plans for small-group sessions
* a fifth session for the week of Epiphany
* daily scripture reading and reflection questions
* an introduction to the spiritual discipline of breath prayer

What are the questions you bring to God this season?

Paperback w/lay-flat binding
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
136 Pages . Trim Size: 7 5/16" x 9 1/4"
ISBN# 0-8358-0982-X . Order# 982

Setting the Christmas Stage
Readings for the Advent Season
By John Indermark
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=52546

Are you in perpetual frantic motion during the holidays?

Advent brings a rush of activities that often makes the pre-Christmas season lose its meaning. Taking time for spiritual reflection may seem an unaffordable luxury. Setting the Christmas Stage will help you find rest for the journey, where you'll refocus and thoughfully regain the season.

Indermark looks at the Christmas story as a dramatic and well-known pageant, reminding us of holidays past and present. He provides a dynamic view of how Advent gradually moves the drama forward to the climax of Christmas. Readers will see how the stories flow together into an encounter with God in Christ.

"Envision the scenes, though distant, that may seem as close as home this season," writes Indermark. "Struggle to hear anew the choruses brought by angels and shepherds, magi and martyrs. And watch with parents as words and dreams and birth comes to pass and as God takes the stage in the child."

Each of the four sections contains reflections that invite connection between the biblical stories and our own spiritual journeys. Appendixes contain suggested carols and where to find them, session outlines for use with small groups, and ideas for family Advent celebrations and observances.

Set the stage, linger with the familiar stories, and truly welcome Christmas this year!

Paperback
$11.00 . Ten or More: $9.35 each
128 Pages . Trim Size: 5 1/2" x 8 1/4"
ISBN# 0-8358-0947-1 . Order# 947

In My Heart I Carry a Star
Stories for Advent
By Derek Maul
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=577693


What's a tree doing in my living room?

Have you ever found yourself reclining in your favorite chair on a cold December evening, a cup of coffee poised on your lap, staring at the Christmas tree in the corner and wondering that very thing?

Whether you're an observant Christian who loves the meaning and celebration of the season or a burned-out one, In My Heart I Carry A Star is a devotional-story almanac to understand and appreciate the possibilities Christmas offers. No matter where you are spiritually, Christ desires to bless you with an Advent journey overflowing with expectation and peace and life and hope and love.

"This is my prayer," writes Maul, "that in the midst of all the wonder, and the bustle, and the peace, and the constant performance art that is December, the Jesus who makes my life necessarily uncomfortable at times will work God's inexorable way out of the margins and into the heart of Christmas Present for each of us."

Derek Maul is a great storyteller. Along with a knack for commenting on life with wit and humor, he recognizes God's grace in the midst of it all. The stories within this book reveal the light to be found in the season's swirl of festivities, stresses, memories and difficult realities.

Paperback
$14.00 . Ten or More: $11.90 each
144 Pages . Trim Size: 6" x 9"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-9966-6 . Order# 9966

The Vigil
Keeping Watch in the Season of Christ's Coming
By Wendy M. Wright
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=12515

"Our entire lives are a vigil, a keeping watch, for the fulfillment of our hope. But it is especially in this season, the season of the coming, that we rise on tiptoes to dance. We open our throats to sing and to proclaim this vigil that we keep."

Watch a child's eyes light up when seeing the lights that go up in the first days of December. There's definitely something magical about the season, and it goes beyond the bright sparkling bulbs. It's about expectancy and hope and mystery and wonder.

The Vigil will help you enter more prayerfully into the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Mixing classical, contemporary, and personal stories, Wright's narrative will reawaken the wonder of the waiting.

In captivating, lyrical prose, Wright weaves together threads of the liturgical calendar, traditional Christmas themes, and scripture.

A thought-provoking study for small groups or a delightful gift for those with whom we share the waiting and the watching in the season of hope, The Vigil is a blessed companion in the seasons.

This book is also available in the Wendy Wright Seasonal Trilogy.

Paperback
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
176 Pages . Trim Size: 5" x 8"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-0661-8 . Order# 661

On the Way to Bethlehem
Reflections on Christmas for Every Day in Advent
By Hilary McDowell
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=12694

Through richly creative, thoughtful meditations, McDowell invites us to travel imaginatively to Bethlehem to thrust off unnecessary emotional luggage, to smell the hay in the stable, and to interact with the wise men. Six weeks of meditations take us on a spiritual journey that engages both heart and mind and lands us gently at our final destination, at home in the presence of Christ.

If you struggle to eliminate the busyness of the Christmas season and find time to prepare yourself for the coming of the Christ child, this title offers help. Experience the incarnation in a dramatic, fresh, and life-changing way. McDowell brings the Advent journey to life, and offers you a better understanding of Christ in our lives.

Paperback
$13.00 . Ten or More: $11.05 each
160 Pages . ISBN# 0-8358-0920-X
Order# 920

Biblical Meditations for Advent and the Christmas Season
By Carroll Stuhlmueller
http://tinyurl.com/64u6lw

Daily Bible readings for each weekday and Sunday of each of three church-year cycles are summarized. Reflections for each day are given, based on scriptural scholarship.


The Magnificat Advent Companion

Advent is the sacred season of anticipation and expectation in which we prepare for the coming of our blessed Savior. To live Advent is to live in an awareness of a Presence that changes our lives. The Magnificat Advent Companion is a rich spiritual guide that will accompany you daily through the 4 weeks of this holy season. It provides original daily reflections based on the Scriptures of the Mass for each day of Advent written by some of the finest Catholic writers in the world. In addition, it offers superb essays, devotions, prayers, and other liturgical and spiritual aids to guide and enrich the reader's experience of Advent. This invaluable booklet will bring you ever closer to the Infant King. 85 pages; Paperback (Item #88854) $3.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html


Prepare Him Room: Advent for Busy Christians

This collection of 14 reflections, based on the scriptural birth narratives and applied to contemporary life, empower busy Christians to re-focus on the true meaning of the Advent season. Written by popular author Mary Latela, these gentle meditations are aimed at helping readers recall and reconnect with Jesus through the Christmas story. A wonderful personal companion for the Advent season and a marvelous way to awaken the Christmas spirit in your home! (Item #81333) $5.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html

Living the Days of Advent and the Christmas Season 2008
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html

This collection of daily reflections a perennial favorite of our readers is an ideal way to prepare for Advent. Instead of being a month of increasing stress, with the help of this book Advent can be a quiet season reflection on the miracle that God has come to us, will come, and is already with us now. For each day the author includes a selection from scripture or the divine office, a brief meditation, and a prayer. Together they help the hassles and trivialities of the season fall away to reveal the real and unchanging meaning beneath. Provides a page a day uncovering the rich meanings of the scriptures and Feasts of these two seasons. Features:--handy tear-out, page-a-day format.--runs from the First Sunday of Advent to the Baptism of the Lord, noting feast days and holy days.--simple, evocative line drawings. Paperback. (Item #84722) $3.95



Waiting in Joyful Hope:Daily Reflections for Advent & Christmas, 2008-2009
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

In the especially busy season of Advent and Christmas, Bishop Robert helps us pause and prepare spiritually for the coming of Christ. Waiting in Joyful Hope, though a little book, is a treasure of down-to-earth and yet deeply meaningful reflections that bring prayer and Scripture into everyday life in a thought-provoking and lasting way. Through Morneaus insightful reflections on Scripture readings from the daily Mass, readers will grow in their understanding of the Word of God. Small enough to fit in a pocket or purse, this book is perfect for busy people who wish to enrich their personal prayer life during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. (Item #84009) $2.00

Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Henri J. M. Nouwen
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Daily Scripture and Prayers Together with Nouwen's Own Words

The inspiring words of Henri J. M. Nouwen guide the faithful on a spiritual journey through the Advent and Christmas season in this book of waiting, hope, anticipation, and celebration. Each day of the Advent season (28 in all, to accommodate the varying number of days in the season) and each day of Christmas (12 in all, ending with Jesus' baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist) contain a pertinent excerpt from the writings of Father Nouwen, a related quotation from Scripture, a prayer for the day, and a suggested activity that offers a concrete response to mark the season.

Advent and Christmas Wisdom is indeed an easy-to-use, daily program to celebrate the momentous arrival of the Christ Child and the joyous news of our salvation. It is also an ideal book for the individual seeking active participation in the season and a renewal of faith for the start of the liturgical year. (Item #84078) $9.95


Day by Day in Advent

Provides a scripture reading, reflection, and prayer for each day in Advent. This devotional makes each day's devotion become a link in an Advent word chain. The chain marks the passing of time as we wait for Christ's coming. Paperback. 32 pages. (Item #81844) $5.99
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Padre Pio

Daily Scripture and Prayers Together With Saint Pio of Pietrelcina's Own Words
Padre Pio was one of the most beloved and intriguing holy men of the 20th century. In this book his own words lead readers to Christmas with a heightened sense of the sacred. Reflections for each day--from the first Sunday of Advent until the end of the Christmas season--begin with selections from letters and messages of Padre Pio, followed by Scripture, prayer, a suggestion for an appropriate seasonal activity, and blessings.

Advent and Christmas Wisdom is ideal for those who want to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ's Incarnation as they prepare room in their hearts for his birth. During this joyous season readers can experience the special closeness to God that Padre Pio felt. 112-page paperback 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 (Item #87386) $9.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Advent and Christmas with Fulton Sheen

Beginning with the first day of Advent and continuing through the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, these selections from the immortal pen of Fulton J. Sheen encourage readers to explore the essence and promise of the season. Those looking to grow in their prayer life and become more attuned to the joy of Advent and Christmas will find a wonderful guide in this spiritual companion. (Item #84200) $9.95 http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Advent and Christmas with Thomas Merton

Reflections for each day of Advent and the Christmas season begin with a scriptural quotation and continue with a thought from the writings of Thomas Merton on a timely theme: the Incarnation, anticipation, angels, and many more. An appendix includes a suggested plan for using each days meditation as part of a morning or evening prayer. (Item #84368) $9.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Life is for Living: Advent Reflections
Joan Chittister, OSB
Prepare your heart for a new birth into Christ with these wise and penetrating reflections. This 50-page booklet includes writings by Joan Chittister for each week of Advent and Christmas as well as poems and quotations from other spiritual writers.

PERFECT FOR
- prayer groups
- religious education classes
- parishes
- family prayer time

http://tinyurl.com/ylrcgr
Benetvision
50 pages

Item #B070
Quantity / Price
1 - 9 $5.00
10 - 24 $4.50
25 - 99 $4.00
100 + $3.00


"O Come Emmanuel: A Musical Tour of Readings for Advent & Christmas" from Paraclete Press, by Gordon Giles, 176 pages, paperback, c. 2006, $14.95

Make Christmas special this year by exploring the legends, message, and theology behind some of your favorite carols and hymns. This book of daily devotions will take you from December 1 to January 6, from the first days of Advent, through Christmas, ending at Epiphany. Each day, Gordon Giles invites you to draw closer to God through spiritual and historical explorations of beloved, familiar music.

As you read and reflect, you will be asked to consider the meaning of some of the famous Christmas carols that we sometimes sing without a passing thought. You will be introduced to obscure saints as well as living poets and musicians of faith, and you will hear the timeless truths of love and forgiveness, pain and loss, darkness and light.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org or call 800-903-5544
For Families:

What We Do in Advent
An Anglican Kids' Activity Book
Anne E. Kitch
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2521
Fun-filled activity book for kids ages 4 to 7 shows how to make an Advent wreath, help Mary and Joseph find their way to Bethlehem, and count the gifts the Magi bring to the Christ Child. Filled with mazes, crossword puzzles, connect-the-dots, and word searches. A great way for kids and their parents to focus on the true meaning of the Advent and Christmas seasons. An invaluable resource for families and Christian formation teams alike.
List Price: $8.00 PAPERBACK , 48 , 8.5 x 11, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2195-7

Teach Us to Number Our Days
A Liturgical Advent Calendar
Barbara Dee Baumgarten
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2436
This practical handbook for homes and church communities helps to enrich the Christian celebration of Advent through the creation and use of an Advent calendar. Written for people of all skill levels, Baumgarten provides instructions for a calendar made of paper or junk mail, a no-sew felt version, and a fabric version for more advanced sewers.
Teach Us To Number Our Days, however, is more than a simple crafts book. Baumgarten provides readers with a brief history of the development of Advent in the Christian calendar, as well as detailed explanations of the various Christian symbols that can be used during the season. Paying attention to both the Old and New Testament symbols, as well as the Sundays of Advent and the Great ‘O’ Antiphons from December 17-23, this book is a complete guide to Advent for individuals, families, and churches.
List Price: $14.00 PAPERBACK , 160 pages , 8.5 x 11 Morehouse Publishing ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1765-3


Best of Blessings: Advent, Christmas, & Epiphany
by Ginny Arthur, Editor
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1509

A collection of reproducible resource material to inspire lively worship. Offers a variety of creative activities for children of all ages and for children and adults together. Includes resources for church school sessions, a holy day children's event, and worship plans. From the Anglican Book Centre.

Includes a CD-ROM of reproducible materials.

Sessions and Events include:

Our Church Family: Caring and Sharing
A one-evening session for all ages

Circles of Light and Life
A 2-hour event for all ages

The Jesse Tree Gathers the People
A 10-minute addition to the Sunday morning liturgy

A Jesse Tree Celebration
An all-age eucharist featuring the Jesse tree

The Mouse Ministries Christmas
Christmas workshop for families with young children

A Birthday Party for Jesus
A 1-hour worship experience for children aged 5 and younger

The Kings and I
A 45-minute program for children in church school

Feast of the Kings
A one-evening session for all ages

The Fir Tree
Several sessions for all ages with follow up at worship


Advent Family Prayers

Perfect for uniting families in prayers of thanks and inspiration, this double-sided, table-tent prayer card offers families a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time of devotion together while celebrating the arrival of Jesus. This prayer card commemorates the reason God sent Jesus to earth, and in doing so, reveals the warmth and love that God freely gives to us all.

Size: 14" x 8-1/2"; fold to 3-1/2" x 8-1/2"; double-sided. (Item #81335) $1.50
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html


Absolutely Advent! 2008

No time of year is more exciting for children than the weeks and days leading up to Christmas. Now Absolutely Advent! can give them a new understanding of what the expectation and excitement, the celebration and joy are all about.

Absolutely Advent! helps children enter more fully into the real spirit of this special Church season − even as they are distracted by Christmas commercials, music, and decorations.

A page a day, November 30 through December 24, provides young readers with a paraphrase or quote from the day's Gospel, a brief exploration about what that message means for them today, and a game, puzzle, or activity to reinforce the learning.

In the primary edition, Levi the Lamb returns for another year with his adventures in verse. The Jesse tree - a favorite Advent activity - is a weekly feature in this year's intermediate edition. It's a fun way to learn about Jesus' ancestors and the role they played in our salvation history.

You'll want all children in your program to have a copy of this engaging new book. Deeply discounted pricing is available for larger quantities. 32 page, 6"x9"

Primary Grades (Item #87261) $8.95
Grades 4-8 (Item #87260) $8.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html


Every Day of Advent and Christmas Year A: A Book of Activities for Children

Children in grades 3, 4, & 5 will love the games, puzzles, mazes, and activities designed to help them focus on the themes and traditions of the Advent season. Packed with colorful illustrations, Every Day of Advent and Christmas includes an Advent calendar to help children focus day by day on the meaning of Advent and Christmas in a way they are sure to enjoy and remember.
32 page booklet; 8.5 x 11 (Item #87489) $2.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html


Advent Is for Children: Stories, Activities, Prayers

Through creative lessons, unique activities, games, and puzzles, this book gives children a better understanding of how and why they celebrate Advent. It helps kids remember that Christmas isn't all glitter and wrapping -- Christmas is about Christ! Ideal for classroom use. For grades 3-5. (Item #81258) $4.95

Advent with Saint Nicholas DVD
by Allison Berger

Customs from Around the World
Puzzled by the classic pre-Christmas rush, nine-year-old
Holly wonders about the spirit of Advent. She receives help
from an unexpected source when a surprise visitor appears and
helps her find the message and the meaning of Advent in
popular Advent/Christmas customs. (Item #95656) $19.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html


The Jesse Tree: Stories and Symbols of Advent

Study Jesus' family tree by decorating a Jesse Tree. For each day during Advent there is a Bible reading, prayer, and color symbol that can be hung on the Jesse Tree. Paperback. 64 pages. (Item #84633) $9.99 .
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Jesse Tree Kit
An Advent Project for Family, Classroom or Parish
Written and illustrated by Lynn M. Simms and Betsy Walker

Three-piece kit. This kit offers two options designed to make the Jesse Tree project accessible to any family, class or parish. Option 1: Provides instructions to prepare an actual tree with designs for do-it-yourself three-dimensional ornaments.
Option 2: Provides a Jesse Tree Poster with pre-drawn ornaments to be colored and attached. Kit also includes a short history of the Jesse Tree, suggested Scripture verses for each ornament, and a Jesse Tree prayer service. (Item #88154) $10.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html


101 Things to Do for Christmas

A colorful, fun-filled book, packed with exciting projects that can be kept and enjoyed or given as gifts to family and friends. Creative, colorful craft projects ranging from "Edible Boxes" and "Lace Chain Garlands" to "Jingle Bell Socks" and a "Paper Tube Nativity" make this book the perfect gift for children at Christmas time. All projects are shown in clearly illustrated, step-by-step stages, making them both fun and educational. Each activity includes a checklist of materials, most of which are inexpensive and readily available from craft or variety storesor from your own household supplies. Paperback. 64 pages.
(Item #84629) $10.99
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Before and After Christmas

Debbie Trafton O'Neal offers a treasury of ideas and activities for celebrating the days before Christmas, and also things to do after the Christmas tree is taken down. Specific activities, including crafts, service projects, and family worship ideas, are included for each day in Advent and through the twelve days of Christmas. In addition, each day offers a Bible passage for reading together. Full-color illustrations bring the text to life and make completing the activities a snap! Includes a punch-out Christmas ornament. Paperback. 64 pages. (Item #84631) $10.99 http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? 2006 - Ecumenical Version
http://www.simpleliving.org/

Our most widely read resource! Simplifying Advent and Christmas for families, individuals and congregations. 32 pages in full color. New each year.

TABLE of CONTENTS

• What Happened to Christmas?
• Why a Simpler Christmas?
• Let Us Have a Truly Christ-like Christmas
• Top 10 Uses of “Whose Birthday?”
• Going Beyond “Whose Birthday?”
• Alternative Giving

INSPIRING REFLECTIONS
• The Spirit of St. Nicholas
• My Hand-Make Advent Wreath
• I Am a Recovering Christmas Hater
• Strangers Invited in for Christmas
• A Christmas Cow
• Putting Christ in Christmas
• Christmas Dinner
• “Posada sin Fronteras” (Shelter without Borders)

FUN ACTIVITIES
• There’s a Camel in our Bathroom!
• Giving Circles
• Gifts of Kindness
• Reducing Christmas Chaos
• Enough, Already!
• Christmas Year-round
• Discover NO COST Gifts!
• New Cards from Old
• Peace in Any Language
• St. Nicholas on Parade
• New Christmas Traditions You Can Share


Music for Advent:

Advent
The Gregorian Singers
Monte Mason
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=331

Monte Mason and the Gregorian Singers of Minneapolis present a concert of music not limited to the liturgical confines of the season of Advent, but which expounds on the concept of advent and includes themes from Christmas and Epiphany. Not only do we hear Advent standards such as "Creator of the Stars of Night" and "St. Olaf's Sequence," but we are also treated to a rare performance of Hugo Distler's Christmas Story based on the music "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming" and several unpublished original carols written by members of the Singers. Plainsong, hymns, and anthems alike make up a varied and engaging performance. Listen especially to the beautiful arrangement of the gospel hymn "Softly and Tenderly" which has become the signature piece by the Gregorian Singers. Recorded in the live acoustic of two cathedrals, St. Mark's in Minneapolis and St. Paul's in St. Paul, the Gregorian Singers are supported by the Ascension Youth Choir, the Consort of Viols, and an Orff Ensemble and Instrumentalists.
List Price: $18.00 Church Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-89869-433-



  The Upper Room Book of Christmas Carols (Revised Edition)

Just in Time for Seasonal Rehearsals
Can you imagine Advent and Christmas without the beloved, familiar carols?
Music nurtures the soul, triggers memories, and stirs emotions. Carols seem all the more special because they're not sung every day. That creates a problem, though: Who can remember all the verses and arrangements?
With the revised edition of The Upper Room Book of Christmas Carols, you'll never have to hum everything past the first verse (until the chorus) again!
Still compact enough to carry or slip into a music folder, this booklet has the words and music to favorite carols in a larger size than the previous best-selling edition. The musical arrangements are singer-friendly and include accompaniment for both guitar and piano.
Featuring an array of beloved seasonal hymns that reflect a diversity of origin, language, and theology, this carol book is perfect for your church members and choir. Suggestions for a special carol service are also included.
Whether you're a veteran or in-private-only musician, The Upper Room Book of Christmas Carols will become a family or congregational treasure used each year. Even if singing is not your strength, the words of the songs are beautiful poetry.
Through classics like "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Deck the Halls," you'll transcend the materialistic frenzy to more joyously and authentically celebrate the season in song!
Paperback
$2.50  .  Ten or More: $2.13 each
35 Pages  .  Trim Size: 6" x 9"
ISBN# 0-8358-9897-0  .  Order# 9897
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=196942&category=53&sub_category=


The Night of the Child CD
Highlights Read by the Author with Musical Accompaniment
By Robert Benson, Carol McClure
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=53358

Blending word and carols, The Night of the Child CD offers a spiritual feast and oasis this Advent season.

Author Robert Benson reads highlights from his book The Night of the Child with musical interludes provided by Carol McClure, master harpist and composer. Benson and McClure's moving collaboration relates Christ's birth as inspired by scripture and the Nativity collection of The Upper Room Chapel and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

The poignant text and exalting music recount the story of the Incarnation and how it shapes our lives especially as we prepare our hearts for the night of the Child in the midst of seasonal busyness. (Hear sample Real Audio files by clicking the links under List of Tracks.)

Selections from these beloved Christmas carols are woven among the spoken text:

Carol of the Child
Angels We Have Heard on High
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
Lo How a Rose E'vr Blooming
Jesus Our Brother, Kind and Good
I Wonder as I Wander
O Little Town of Bethlehem
What Child Is This?
O Come, O Come Immanuel
The Angel Gabriel
How Far Is It to Bethlehem
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light
Hodie Christus Natus Est
Czech Carol
Silent Night

Sorry, this item is excluded from special promotional discounts.

CD
$13.99 . Ten or More: $11.89 each
ISBN# 0-8358-0966-8 . Order# 966

Jesse Tree

Written to be used during an Advent prayer service involving children, Jesse Tree is a simple but powerful song linking the four weeks of Advent. For example, the first week tells the stories of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. Jesse Tree is a "cumulative song, like The Twelve Days of Christmas. Each refrain gets progressively longer, until, by the final week, the children are able to mentally "step back and see the whole amazing story of salvation. The song is intended to be used along with the presentation of symbols, which are placed on the Jesse Tree by the children.

The full score, used by the leader, keyboard player, and cantor, contains the full music: vocals, keyboard, guitar chord symbols, bass, flute, and handbells. (A separate edition is planned for guitar and bass, which will also include a simplified piano part ideal for a student. Separate parts will also be available for flute and handbells.) The full-score edition also contains introductory material about the different ways the song can be used, along with four complete Advent paraliturgies.

The Singers Edition contains the parts that are to be sung by the participants. (Cantor verses are found only in the full score.)

Jesse Tree is sure to enhance the joyful season of Advent for your children for years to come.

Full Score (Item #71547) $9.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

In Dulci Jubilo: Music for Advent and Christmas
http://www.amazon.com/Dulci-Jubilo-Music-Advent-Christmas/dp/B0000030YV


The Word Is Born: Music for Advent and Christmas
by Francis Patrick O'Brien
Label: GIA Publications
http://www.audiolunchbox.com/album?a=37274


Music for Advent
http://theshop.gracecathedral.org/Music_for_Advent_p/mus-007.htm

A wonderful CD that helps you celebrate Advent as you prepare for Christmas.

To hear a short sample from this CD (Hark! A thrilling voice), click below.

John Fenstermaker, Christopher Putnam, and the Choir of Men and Boys combine their talents to bring you:

* Palestrina: Matin Responsory; Rorate cæli de super.
* Howells: A spotless rose.
* Handl: Aspiciens a longe
* Prætorius/Distler: Lo! How a rose
* Basque carol: The Angel Gabriel
* Fenstermaker: Come quickly, Lord Jesus
* Gibbons: This is the record of John
* Bullock: St. John Baptist
* Bach: Zion Hört die Wächter singen
* Wood: O thou, the central orb
* Plainsong: Veni Emmanuel
* Rorate cæli de super
* Magnificat
* Hymns
o Come, thou redeemer
o Hark! A thrilling voice
o Creator of the stars
o On Jordan’s bank
* Sowerby: Prelude on Veni Emmanuel (organ solo)



Nativity Sets:

The Night of the Child
Photographs from The Upper Room Museum Nativity Collection
By Robert Benson
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=55656

While Supplies Last! Wonderful Christmas Gift Idea

Blending word and image, The Night of the Child offers a spiritual feast for the mind and heart, the eye and ear. Scripture, thoughtful text, and detailed photographic images from the Nativity Collection of The Upper Room Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, provide a new and fresh approach to the wonder of Incarnation.

Over many years The Upper Room Museum has collected Nativity sets from donors from around the world. These visual reminders of the birth of Jesus teach us that the love of God knows no boundaries. The Nativity sets represent many cultures and nations. The variety of materials range from clay to gourds, thorn wood to porcelain to a coconut shell and a starfish. The Night of the Child shows us these Nativity scenes and offers such detailed images that we see in the isolated details a word of proclamation coming from an American Southwest Joseph, serenity radiating from a Bolivian Mary, wisdom from Korean magi, joy from those who visit the baby Jesus. These visual details connect us with sisters and brothers in Christ from around the world and in many different eras.

Robert Benson's thoughtful reflection provides a spiritual oasis in the midst of the busyness of the Christmas season. Benson moves us to see God's promise and the faith, hope, and love that we know in the birth of Jesus.

A CD featuring Benson reading portions of the book with musical interludes by Carol McClure, master harpist is also available.

Hardback w/Dustjacket
$25.00 . Ten or More: $21.25 each
134 Pages . Trim Size: 8" x 9"
ISBN# 0-8358-0948-X . Order# 948


Stations of the Crib

In the tradition of the Stations of the Cross, Joseph Nassal leads us through 15 Stations of the Crib, a journey to the manger and the mission that lies beyond it. Drawn from the infancy narratives in Luke and Matthew, these poetic reflections are filled with stories, images and insights that entertain, enlighten and engage. Each Station illumines a different aspect of the story of Jesus' birth, reflecting the reality of "God in our midst" at the different stations of our own life journeys. Leading us to our "down-to-earth God," Stations of the Crib reminds us how hope is born right here, right now, in each of our worlds, and challenges us even in the face of turmoil, tragedy and terrorism to embrace, celebrate and live out our call to Advent hope. Paperback. 144 pages. (Item #80813) $13.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

How To Arrange A Nativity Set
Learn how to arrange the nativity set according to the meaning behind each piece .
www.nativitysets.com/




Internet Resources:



Online Resources for Advent Activities

-Advent and Christmas
Advent. The season to prepare for the coming of the baby Jesus on Christmas - God with us, who as an adult would show Himself as the executed Christ and ...
www.spirithome.com/advent.html

Advent and Christmas Resources
http://www.catholicmom.com/advent.htm

-Advent
An excellent set of planning helps and articles about Advent from the United Methodist Church General Board of Discipleship. ...
www.textweek.com/advent.htm

Advent Resources
http://anglicansonline.org/special/advent.html

-The Holy Season of Advent
Advent. Advent · Advent Wreath · Jesse Tree · Advent House & Calendar · Manger Scene · Christmas · Christmastime & Epiphany.
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/advent/index.htm

-The Christmas Story Advent Coloring Book. Print out these 24 coloring pages with quotations from Luke (first 15 pages) and Matthew (last 9 pages) to ...
www.dltk-bible.com/advent/

-Advent and Christmas: Prayers and Customs
Along with the Advent Season, Christmas time is rich in traditions which, despite modern commercial exploitation, still stir our hearts and imagination. ...
www.cptryon.org/prayer/adx/

-Advent Prayers - Advent Wreath - Advent Collects
The gradual lighting of the four candles, one on each Suday of the Advent season , combined with the liturgical colors of the candles (purple is the ...
www.wf-f.org/ADVPray.html

-What is Advent in relation to Christmas 2008?
The meaning behind the Season of Advent in England, including information about advent wreaths and advent calendars.
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/advent.html - 23k

-Lift Up Your Hearts
Advent, Christmas & Epiphany Resources
Bookmark http://www.worship.ca/

-An Advent Calendar
http://fullhomelydivinity.org/articles/Advent%20Calendar/advent%20calendar.htm
http://fullhomelydivinity.org/articles/Nicholas%20Ferrar.htm
http://fullhomelydivinity.org/articles/Twelve%20Days%20of%20Christmas%20full%20page.htm

-Alternatives for Simple Living
at http://www.simpleliving.org/
This Christian organization offers many resources to scale down our style of living so that we can give more toward feeding the hngry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, providing for those unable to provide for themselves while making disciples of all nations.

Advent and Christmas resources
http://peace.mennolink.org/advent.html

Online Meditations

Praying Advent
to see all the resources for Advent and Christmas, including those that are added ... This site offers simple ways to enter into this Advent season, ...
www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Advent/

Advent to Epiphany: Catholic Christmas Season 2008
A Catholic Christmas feature with a 2008 Advent calendar updated daily from Advent through Christmas to Epiphany.
www.americancatholic.org/Features/christmas/

Advent & Christmas quotations
Advent & Christmas quotations. ... Following is a compendium of Advent and Christmas reflections that I have collected for your own use in making straight ...
www.appleseeds.org/Christmas-quotes.htm


http://www.byzantines.net/feasts/christmas/advent1.htm

http://www.byzcath.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2019&Itemid=1