Advent: A Time of Expectation and Hope in the Episcopal Tradition

As we enter the season of Advent, the Episcopal Church invites us to embrace a time of waiting, hope, and preparation. Derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” Advent is a season to prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ at Christmas and to anticipate His return in glory. It’s a time to slow down, reflect, and deepen our spiritual lives in a world that often rushes forward.

The Episcopal Church offers resources to help us live into this season with intention. Here are some highlights for Advent 2024:

Devotional and Educational Materials:

1.Journeying the Way of Love: Advent Curriculum and Calendar

These resources explore the first chapters of Luke’s Gospel and offer daily practices for engaging with the Way of Love: turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, and rest. Perfect for individuals, families, or small groups, they are available in English, Spanish, and French.

Learn more

2.Living Well Through Advent 2024

This daily devotional focuses on the theme “Practicing Peace With All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind”. Available as a free PDF download, daily email, or printed booklet, it includes Spanish versions as well.

Download here

3.Forward Movement Advent Resources

Forward Movement provides materials such as Jay Sidebotham’s Advent calendar and other devotionals to support your spiritual journey.

Explore resources

4.Advent Word

Join a global community in daily prayer and reflection through this online Advent calendar inspired by lectionary readings. Each day features a new word to meditate on and share with others.

Participate here

5.Advent and Christmas Digital Invitation Kit

For those seeking to share the spirit of Advent with others, this kit offers printable and digital resources to promote special events and services. Materials are available in English, Spanish, and French.

Get the kit

Living the Advent Tradition

Advent calls us to a holy pause—a time to listen for God’s voice amid the busyness. Through practices like lighting the Advent wreath, praying the collects, and engaging with Scripture, we root ourselves in the ancient promises of God while preparing for Christ’s light to break into our lives anew.

This season is not just about personal reflection but also about preparing our communities to receive Christ. How can we extend the hope, peace, joy, and love of Advent to those who need it most? As Episcopalians, our liturgies and traditions guide us to hold space for both longing and praise, teaching us to live in the tension of the “already and not yet.”

Advent is a gift—a holy invitation to prepare, reflect, and embrace hope. May this season draw us closer to God and one another as we await the coming of Emmanuel: God with us.

Join us for the Rite II Holy Eucharist Service with The Very Reverend Brother Tyler C. Richards, OCS, at 9 a.m. at the Cathedral, or watch this service livestream via Zoom (instructions & link below) or on our Facebook page (to find us on Facebook type in @cathedralec).

There is a link embedded in the middle of the invitation. To use this link, you have to download the free "Zoom" app to your smartphone, tablet, or computer. If you have that app on your device, all you have to do is click the link on the email and you will automatically connect. (Be sure to allow the app to access your camera and microphone, if requested.

If you don't want to use the app, or are using a device that can't download the app, you can go to the website for Zoom: https://zoom.us On the upper right hand side of your screen, there will be a tab titled "Join a Meeting." Click on that tab and you will be prompted to enter a "Meeting ID or Personal Link Name." The "Meeting ID" can be found toward the bottom of the invitation. I've highlighted it in red to be easier to find. In the case of this meeting, the ID is: 924 746 7996. Just enter those digits without a space or dashes and click enter. From there, you'll be prompted to allow access to your camera/microphone.

If you don't have access to a smartphone/tablet/computer with a camera and microphone and want to join the meeting as a phone call, there is a number listed just above the Meeting ID that you can call. That will connect you to the meeting with audio only. Those numbers are in red in the invitation. For this meeting, the best number is: 1 312 626 6799

Join Zoom Meeting
click here to join the meeting https://zoom.us/j/9247467996

Meeting ID: 924 746 7996
Password: 814057

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+13126266799,,9247467996# US (Chicago)
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Meeting ID: 924 746 7996
Password: 814057
Find your local number: click here

Click here to access the Sunday service bulletin.

Click here to join our Zoom live for any of our services.

We're excited to launch a new ministry this season: Holiday Food Box Drive!

Starting with Thanksgiving, we're providing complete holiday meal boxes to 100 local families who need them most. Each $40 box contains everything a family needs for a full, abundant holiday dinner they can pick up and prepare at home.

This is how we're living our mission to serve our neighbors with dignity and compassion during the holidays when food insecurity hits hardest.

How you can help:

• Donate funds - Every $40 feeds one family
• Donate food items - Drop off unopened, unexpired items from our list
• Share this campaign with friends and family
• Pray for the families we'll serve

Any funds raised beyond our Thanksgiving goal will provide Christmas meal boxes. This is our first year, and we're grateful to have you as part of making it possible.

Together, we're setting 100 tables this holiday season.

As we light the candles this season, we’re reminded that even the smallest flame can steady our hearts and reorient our lives. In a world that moves quickly and often unpredictably, these simple lights invite us to pause, breathe, and remember that God is already here, working in the quiet, in the waiting, and in the ordinary moments that shape us. May these days draw us deeper into hope, deeper into courage, and deeper into the love that holds all things together.