Advent
A Christmas without family and community
By Thomas Reese — December 23, 2020
(RNS) — Christmas celebrates God’s great surprise, but we need to see it through children’s eyes.
‘No man is an island,’ wrote John Donne on a grim Christmas amid a pandemic
By Andrew McGowan — December 22, 2020
(RNS) — These famous few lines suggest a kind of compassionate solidarity, a sense of deep connection when others die, or might die. But Donne’s real point is not just compassion for others, even during a plague, but the necessity of attention to the self.
RNS holiday gift guide 2020: Puzzles, prayer cards and more gifts for staying in
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 25, 2020
(RNS) — Religion News Service is bringing back our holiday gift guide, full of ideas for all the people of faith — or no faith — on your list.
Chicago church releases a beer for Advent — and the end of the world
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 19, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — Church members stopped by to pick up the wreaths they’d ordered for the coming Advent season — OK, so they were cardboard drink holders filled with Advent-themed beers and topped with a green ribbon and Christ candle to light on Christmas Eve.
A very COVID Christmas: Having an unforgettable holiday season when you’re stuck at home
By Jana Riess — November 16, 2020
(RNS) — Traci Smith's book of Advent crafts and practices is perfectly timed to help you have a joyous Christmas even in the midst of a pandemic.
Greta Thunberg, a prophet for Advent
By Thomas Reese — December 17, 2019
(RNS) — Thunberg has suffered the same scorn and attacks heaped on other prophets of hope by the powerful and rich.
Keeping the longing for Christ in Christmas
By Tara Isabella Burton — December 16, 2019
(RNS) — Advent, with its carols and holiday parties, may be the last vestige of a liturgical life lived in common. But even those who want to keep the Christ in Christmas forget that the season is about the hunger that we feel for the redeemed world.
The original ‘Blue Christmas’: New Advent resources focus on grief, justice before celebration
By Emily McFarlan Miller — December 16, 2019
(RNS) — A number of new Advent resources available this year admit a bleak midwinter spirit, drawing attention to grief and injustice.
Will the world end with a bang, a whimper — or Christ?
By Thomas Reese — December 1, 2019
(RNS) — The Scriptures support the optimistic view that we still have a chance to make the world welcoming for Christ and the view that Christ will come to end a world we've made a mess of.
As the world appears to turn upside down (again), Advent is here
By Thomas Reese — December 12, 2018
(RNS) — The Old Testament prophets, whom we read during Advent, also spoke to people in doubt about bad rulers and an uncertain future. We too need to hear, 'God is on your side.'
Holidays on fire: When Christmas trees and candles lead to 911 calls
By Lauren Markoe — December 16, 2016
(RNS) Light up the holidays. But don't ignite them.
At Standing Rock, God heard our cries for justice
By Shane Claiborne — December 5, 2016
(RNS) Whatever their religious traditions, the people who stood united in prayer as the news of victory came in Sunday witnessed the power of God, writes Shane Claiborne.
At Advent, grass-roots organizers prepare to fight for the least of these
By guest — December 5, 2016
(RNS) Since his installation, Pope Francis has called not only for fundamental structural changes in the economy and society, but for people to organize from below to create change.
The ‘Splainer: Advent, not just another Christmas countdown
By Emily McFarlan Miller — December 2, 2016
(RNS) Advent has its own songs and symbols and traditions, distinct from Christmas.
This Advent devotional uses language you won’t find in Scriptures
By Emily McFarlan Miller — December 1, 2016
(RNS) But the language of 'F*** This S***: An Advent Devotional' isn’t all that different from the harsh words of the prophets, according to the Lutheran pastors behind it.
