Advancing Toward Advent

All Saints Day is now past and we are rapidly closing in on Advent. Congregations are always in plan ahead mode and the time to think about possibilities for Advent 2016 is here already. Fortunately for us, the ELCA World Hunger program has some new resources available for the liturgical season ahead. They are:

• A four-week Advent Study reminding us that “the story of Advent is a story of hunger”. The study goes through the weeks of Advent with devotions, reflection questions, prayers and hymn suggestions. It is available for free download or printable copy at: ELCA.org/hunger/resources under the “General” tab.
• A hinged 8 1/2x11 inch Advent Calendar in subtle colors with doors for each of the 24 December days leading up to Christmas. The days supply hymns, prayers, Scripture, and stories to guide us through the season. This is available, free, in quantity for use in many ways in your congregation. Order at: Resources.ELCA.org.
• A new Good Gifts ornament 10-pack with bees, chicks, pigs and goats, the less expensive gifts most often purchased by younger people in congregations as gifts for family and friends. (The 30-pack ornament kit is still available, too.) Order this pack free at: Resources.ELCA.org.

Our order arrived promptly and is ready for our use at our congregation’s Alternative Giving Fair on November 20^th. You are encouraged to consider ordering and making some of these items available for your church community. They not only remind us about the seasons of Advent and Christmas but help emphasize the importance of gifts and giving from the heart.

Vernita Kennen

Weaving Together an End to Hunger Work Group