Advent, Then and Now

Advent originated about 1500 years ago as a season of discipleship to prepare new converts for baptism, much the same as Lent was a preparation for baptisms on Easter. In the middle ages, Advent began to emphasize fasting, solemnity and darkness as a way of preparing for the second coming of Christ when he will come in victory to save us. Only in the last century has Advent become a time of anticipating the Nativity or birth of Jesus. Even during this time, Advent has remained a more solemn time of waiting and preparation for the new light of Christmas when we celebrate the incarnation of our Savior Jesus Christ. This is the reason that the cloth on the altar changes to purple during Advent and Lent, and white during Christmas and Easter. For more on the colors used in worship go to http://www.kencollins.com/glossary/liturgy.htm#Colors.

However, even in the most solemn expressions of Advent, Church tradition recognizes that there must be some joy evident in every Lord’s Day because of the joy of the resurrection of Jesus, which trumps all other seasons. For more about Advent go to http://www.kencollins.com/holy-01.htm

The church in this country today, however, is torn in two directions. That of traditional Advent in which we sing somber hymns such as “Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending” (which is what most worship planning resources still recommend), versus the joyful carols proclaiming that the Baby has already been born such as “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come.” In speaking to previous pastors we found that until recently, Peoples Church has mostly stuck with traditional Advent. However, just in the last several years, Peoples has sensed the tension and begun to sing more of the joyful carols during Advent that proclaim that the Baby has been born.

Your current pastors appreciate the richness of the Advent tradition, but also want to be sensitive both to Peoples traditions as well as potential visitors who are unfamiliar with the season or term “Advent.” We welcome your thoughtful opinions at any time, and would certainly appreciate input for the Worship Committee that helps design morning worship (meets the 2nd Tuesday at 6:30pm).

When the Worship Committee discussed these matters in November, folks spoke of the importance of the Advent Wreath tradition, including the themes of Love, Joy, Hope and Peace. For more information on the history of this tradition, which is fairly recent but very interesting, go to http://www.kencollins.com/question-10.htm

The worship committee also shared how much they have enjoyed singing carols during Advent in recent years, especially those who are unable to attend worship on Christmas Eve at Peoples when we sing carols, carols and more carols!

We also discussed that it might be more meaningful for people to experience a kind of “ramping up” to Christmas Eve than withholding all and then bombarding the Church with carols on Christmas. This allows for a more gradual process of allowing the light of Christmas to break in. The Worship Committee would like to try this out this year, singing mostly Advent hymns in the beginning of Advent and singing more of the carols toward the end of Advent. In addition, the worship committee is scheduling families to light each Advent candle as well lead the congregation in a short Scripture and prayer. We hope these ideas will provide a meaningful Advent for all!

The “Comment Button” is provided at the end of this article, and we would love to hear your thoughts either posted here, or by email or in person. Again, we would also welcome input during the December Worship Committee meeting.