It's been a tough year.

​A year of anxious waiting — waiting for a pandemic to subside that has brought the world to

a grinding halt; waiting for clear and reliable information about how to stay safe and healthy

amid so much sickness; waiting for relief from the economic fallout of COVID-19; waiting

for the arrival of a new bishop, a new priest. It's been a year of questions without clear

answers: When can we be together again? How long until things will be back to normal? When will it

be safe to have dinner with my loved ones again? We may rightly find ourselves also asking:

Where is God in all this?


Perhaps no season of the Christian calendar is better suited to where we are now — mentally,

emotionally, spiritually — than the season of Advent. During this time, we acknowledge that

the world is not as it should be; we confess our weaknesses and the limits of our humanity,

that sometimes we just don't have it in us to "be the change we wish to see in the world"; and

we express hopeful confidence that our redemption is just over the horizon, just around the

corner. Indeed, it's almost here. What does that hope look like for you, personally?


​Over the coming days and weeks, we encourage you to take a look at some of the following

​resources that we've collected to help you have a meaningful Advent at home during this

strange and unpredictable year. These resources are freely available to all, including

instructions for a DIY Advent Wreath, devotional reflections, coloring pages for kids, and

(one of our personal favorites) Virginia Theological Seminary's annual #AdventWord

challenge.
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While we can't be together at this time, please know that our hearts are still bound to one

another by the Spirit of Christ, and by the practices that we share in common. This Advent

​season, to paraphrase St. Paul (Phil. 4:8–9), let's keep our hearts fixed upon those things that

are true, noble, just, and good — if there is anything worthy of our love and devotion in the

world right now, let's meditate on these things together, trusting that whatever troubles

​arise, the God of Peace will be with us and carry us through. 
​

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CEC Resources for Advent 2020

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• "5 Ways to Prepare Ye"
  A short blog post from the Episcopal Church Foundation listing five helpful tips for having a meaningful Advent at home this year.
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• DIY Home Advent Wreath
  Make your own Advent wreath at home and light it with us on Zoom on Sunday mornings, or follow one of the downloadable Advent reflection guides below.
  
  
  
• One Thousand Days of Love and the Advent Wreath
  A series of family Advent prayers from Episcopal Relief & Development focused on global justice beginning at home.
  
  
  
• House of Bread: A Guided Advent Journey for Families
  A PDF booklet of Advent devotions to guide families through the season of Advent.
  
  
  
• Journeying the Way of Love​
  A downloadable Advent curriculum.
  
  
  
• #AdventWord 2020
  AdventWord assigns a word to reflect on for each day of Advent. Write a prayer or poem each day using the assigned word, or post a photograph to your social media account that captures what the word of the day means to you. Follow #AdventWord on Facebook and on Instagram. This year you can also subscribe to their brand-new #AdventWord Podcast. Keep an eye on CEC's Facebook page and @ChristChurchCape on Instagram, as well — our ministry intern Joshua Smith will be posting daily updates for AdventWord, and we encourage you to do the same!

#AdventWord2020

Click any of the images below to enlarge and read a short Advent reflection for the day. ​

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Want to participate?

Send us an email (ministryintern@christchurchcape.org) or tag your post with #ChristChurchCape and

#AdventWord2020 and we'll share your photo, prayer, poem, or reflection from our Facebook or Instagram page.