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Tomorrow, November 30, is the First Sunday of Advent. From the Latin word adventus, meaning "arrival, approach, or attack,"* Advent is the first season of the church year. It begins four Sundays before Christmas and is set aside as a season to prepare for Christmas, Christ's first coming, and to remember that he will come again. The color for this season is purple, lavender or blue.
There is no stampede in our celebration of Advent. We take Advent one day at a time, one week at a time, marking each week with the lighting of a new candle, until at Christmas we light the middle candle - "the Christ candle."
Our scriptures during Advent can be fiery and controversial. This is a time when we meet the main characters in the early ministry of Jesus. Next week we meet John the Baptizer, that cave-man-type prophet who bridges the Old Testament and the New Testament. On the Fourth Sunday we meet Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of our Lord Jesus -- a woman of her time who was way ahead of her time.
Tomorrow's scriptures start at the beginning by talking about the end: Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; and Mark 13:24-37. This portion of Mark's Gospel is called "The Little Apocalypse." It describes what will happen at the second advent of Jesus Christ. Please don't miss verses 32-33: "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come."
God willing, I'll be preaching about that tomorrow.
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org *definition from the Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary
Today is the traditional day for getting those bargains we have all been waiting for. While cheap is good, free is even better. Several stores in Billings were also giving away a free pair of Wrangler jeans to the first ten customers. Of course, you had to be in line long before the sun rose to get in on the deal.
Here's a deal you can get in on at any time. It's free, but it's not cheap:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
just as he chose us in Chirst
before the foundation of the world
to be holy and blameless before him in love.
He destined us for adoption
as his children through Jesus Christ,
according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace
that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
[Ephesians 1:3-6]
Happy "Black Friday" to everyone.
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
406-208-7314
Was it the Children of Israel? or the Pilgrims? Maybe they used this Psalm:
Psalm 100
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Was it Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of war, October 1863?
"It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my Fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."
Whoever it was, let's give thanks.
From The Book of Common Prayer, p. 836:
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org
It's no secret: not every family in America is a perfect picture of peace and tranquility. Family members and close friends are capable of pushing each other's buttons.
This can be stressful. This year's "holiday" movies are based on themes of getting away from such people [or not]. If any of this sounds familiar to you, I suggest this Prayer attributed to St. Francis. Pray it before you gather for your Thanksgiving feast or maybe even during or after:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying
that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
[The Book of Common Prayer, 833]
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org
Photo: Statue of Saint Francis of Assisi
Garden outside retreat house
Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA
January 2008
Going to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving? Wherever you go, I pray that you will have a safe and happy trip.
O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey's end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [The Book of Common Prayer, 831]
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
Photos: Montana scenery and cowpersons;
my favorite house in Wrangell, Alaska
Spring and Summer, 2008
Writing seems to be a universal human characteristic. We all want to leave a legacy of some sort, even if on a daily basis we text message someone or write e-mails (or blogs). Writing for a living has always been risky business, but that doesn't stop 200,000 American people per year from publishing books.
Archeologists are always in search of ancient writings even if they cannot decipher the texts. Just think how we are still intrigued by the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Rosetta Stone. The basic questions are: Who were these people who left writings on rocks ten thousand years ago? What were their daily lives like, and what made them tick? How are we like them and what can we learn?
Even if we cannot read such obscure writings, we have a great resource of ancient writings in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments - the Holy Bible. These writings are so important to the human race that they have been preserved and translated through the years. Even now, translators are working to put these words into the languages of those who have never heard the Gospel. We can only presume that God has God's hand in this. Some things are too important to lose. The themes are eternal. For example, here is part of our Psalm appointed for today's Morning Prayer:
Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who can declare the mighty acts of the Lord
or show forth all his praise?
Happy are those who act with justice
and always do what is right!
Remember me, O Lord,
with the favor you have for your people
and visit me with your saving help;
that I may see the prosperity of your elect
and be glad with the gladness of your people,
that I may glory with your inheritance.
[Psalm 106:1-5]
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org
406-208-7314
Photos: Petroglyph Beach
Wrangell, Alaska, June 2008
Today in the Anglican Communion we remember Clive Staples Lewis, whose converted imagination gave the world The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, Surprised by Joy . . . I could go on.
On this date in 1963, C. S. Lewis died at the age of sixty-five. The world hardly noticed since its attention was directed to the death of John F. Kennedy, so once again the Athiest turned Christian had his privacy. His friends said he would have preferred it that way.
His quotes are so quotable that I can't resist a couple of famous ones. From Mere Christianity:
You must make your choice. Either this man [Jesus] was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up as a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.
Lewis was raised as an Anglican but in adolescence had resisted Christianity with all his might. However, God pursued him. From Surprised by Joy:
Really, a young Atheist cannot guard his faith too carefully. Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about "man's search for God." . . . I know very well when, but hardly how, the final step was taken. I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out, I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo, I did.
O God of searing truth and surpassing beauty, we give you thanks for Clive Staples Lewis, whose sanctified imagination lights fires of faith in young and old alike. Surprise us also with your joy and draw us into that new and abundant life which is ours in Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org
If you want a quick look at the theology of Holy Cross Church-Episcopal, please go to our website at http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/ and click on "about us" on the left side of your screen. If you scroll down to "what we believe", you will find the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, both of which are concise statements of the Christian faith as held by the early Church Fathers and handed on to us.
Here is a recommendation of the Creeds by Cyril, Bishop of Jeruslem, who died in the year 386:
Now I order you to retain this creed for your nourisment throughout life and never to accept any alternative, not even if I myself were to change and say something contrary to what I am now teaching, not even if some angel of contradiction, changed into an angel of light, tried to lead you astray. . . .
So for the present be content to listen to the simple words of the creed and to memorize them; at some suitable time you can find the proof of each article in the Scriptures. This summary of the faith was not composed at any human whim; the most important sections were chosen from the whole Scripture to constitute and complete a comprehensive statement of the faith. Just as the mustard seed contains in a small grain many branches, so this brief statement of the faith keeps in its heart, as it were, all the religious truth to be found in Old and New Testament alike.
That is why, beloved, you must consider and preserve the traditions you are now receiving. Inscribe them across your heart. Observe them scrupulously, so that no enemy may rob any of you in an idle and heedless moment; let no heretic deprive you of what has been given to you. Faith is rather like depositing in a bank the money entrusted to you, and God will surely demand an account of what you have deposited. You have now been given life's great treasure. [from "Readings for the Daily Office from the Early Church", Proper 28, Friday, 447-8]
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT 59108
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
406-208-7314
Who doesn't love a good story about how the Christian faith has stayed alive for lo these two thousand years? The stories of faithful believers get woven in with the stories of Jesus, and then our stories get woven in with theirs. In this way we can feel connected to Christians across the ages. Today is the feast day of Edmund, King of East Anglia, Martyr, who died for the Christian faith in 870. Edmund was fifteen years old when he became king, and by the time he was thirty, the British Isles had become a cupcake in a hungry world of seafaring peoples. The Danes, led by the brothers Hinguar and Hubba, invaded in 870. They destroyed villages, burned monasteries and churches, killed hundreds of people, and worked their way to East Anglia. When they met Edmund, they offered to share their plunder if he would renounce his Christian faith and become their puppet king. He refused, and paid the terrible price of his life. So goes the story of Edmund. Christianity eventually reached Denmark, but what if Edmund had caved in to Hinguar and Hubba? O God of ineffable mercy, you gave grace and fortitude to blessed Edmund the king to triumph over the enemy of his people by nobly dying for your Name. Bestow on us your servants the shield of faith with which we can withstand the assaults of our ancient enemy; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
In peace,Linda+The Rev. Linda McCloudVicar, Holy Cross Church EpiscopalBillings, MT406-208-7314www.holycrosschurchbillings.org
Today is the feast day of Elizabeth of Hungary, born in 1207, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary. At the age of fourteen she married a nobleman and had three children. The Franciscans, who champion the poor and downtrodden, came to her town of Wartburg in 1223. They were her spiritual directors, and she developed a deep concern for the poor and the sick, who were frequently the same people. Her almsgiving reached epic proportions. When famine and epidemic hit Wartburg in 1226, her husband was traveling in Italy. Having already given away her dowry, at this time she sold her jewels and built a hospital for the poor. The last straw was that she opened the royal granaries to feed them. Her husband died in 1227 and Elizabeth was forced to leave Wartburg. She was roundly unpopular with the powers that were because of her "royal extravagances."Elizabeth eventually joined the Franciscans as a tertiary, or "Third Order" and continued to care for the poor and needy (sort of like Teresa of Calcutta). Like a shooting star, Elizabeth died young. Her biographers say she died of exhaustion at the age of twenty-four on November 16, 1231. Four years later, Pope Gregory the Ninth declared her to be Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a Patron Saint of the Third Order of St. Francis.Almighty God, by your grace your servant Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and honored Jesus in the poor of the world: Grant that we, following her example, may with love and gladness serve those in any need or trouble, in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
In peace,Linda+The Rev. Linda McCloudVicar, Holy Cross Church-Episcopalwww.holycrosschurchbillings.org406-208-7314
This week I have been thinking about the Massachusetts Kennedys. They seem to leave a generous sprinkling of faerie dust on the American landscape wherever they go. That was certainly true of John F. Kennedy, who died tragically almost forty-five years ago. If you were alive and aware then, you probably remember where you were on that day.
The senior members of the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island, Georgia, know where they were that day. They were holding a memorial service and all their neighbors were invited. As you might imagine from the photos posted here, it was tough to pack everyone into the church.
On September 21, 1996, John Kennedy, Jr. married Carolyn Bessette in this very church. John had good connections on the island, and they were able to get married out of the media spotlight. The paparazzi would gladly have crawled on their bellies through the miles of saw palmettos for even one photograph, but the good folks at the First African Baptist Church were able to host this event in relative peace.
The service was late getting started and had to be lit by borrowed flashlights. A Baptist choir leader sang "Amazing Grace" as Carolyn walked in and "Shall the Circle be Unbroken" as the couple walked out. A Roman Catholic priest from New York officiated. The happy couple deserved all the joy and privacy they could be afforded, because less than three years later they died in a plane crash.
The First African Baptist Church was glad to have obliged John and Carolyn on their joyous day. They were there, and one thing churches are good at is to be "there" in good times and in sad times.
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church-Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
Photos taken December 6, 2007
Our Gospel reading for tomorrow is about servants and their state of readiness for an audit when the boss comes back to review his profits on the investments he entrusted to them (Matthew 25:14-30).
This is often referred to as "The Parable of the talents." Some of the servants had invested wisely and one had not invested at all, even though he knew there would be a day of reckoning. Trouble is, when it was too late, it was too late. The moral to this story: drink from the well before it runs dry, or . . . sometimes it is too late to cram for finals.
One of our prayers for tomorrow's worship service sums up one way in which we can prepare and enjoy our journey of faith without cramming for finals:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ: who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. [The Book of Common Prayer, 236]
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org
Photo: Mary's Well
in the Greek Orthodox Church
Nazareth, Israel, August 2004
Our Psalm for Evening Prayer today, Psalm 81, begins with these two verses:
Sing with joy to God our strength
and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.
Raise a song and sound the trimbrel,
the merry harp, and the lyre.
If you have attended services at Holy Cross Church, you have noticed that the hymns are chosen to match the scriptures for the day.
Our Hymnal is designed to parallel The Book of Common Prayer. Each Sunday we get a small slice of the whole church year. Also, if you have attended services at Holy Cross, I congratulate you on your courage to sing whatever is put in front of you. Our organist, Mr. Mike Everson, makes it easy to sing along.
Over time you will probably encounter hymns that are unfamiliar to you. This is the beauty and joy of being in a brand new church. We don't have a list of hymns that we have "always sung." It's sort of like going on vacation to a new place and eating the local foods, whatever they may be. You might find a recipe to take home with you. If you have not yet attended services at Holy Cross, I invite you into the adventure. It's classic Christianity for twenty-first-century seekers.
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
Today is Veteran's Day in America, when we remember those who have served their country in the armed forces. Coincidentally (or maybe not) it is also the feast day of Martin, Bishop of Tours. He was born in what is now Hungary in approximately 330 A.D. He served in the Roman army, then finally settled in France, where he was baptized into the Christian faith. He was ordained priest when he was in his twenties.
Martin tried to live as a hermit, but against his better wishes he was elected Bishop at about the age of forty-two. His reputation was that he was ever the missionary and "staunch defender of the poor and helpless." Martin died in 397.
So our prayers today are reminiscent of those who serve or have served their country in war and peace.
Lord God of hosts, you clothed your servant Martin the soldier with the spirit of sacrifice, and set him as a bishop in your Church to be a defender of the catholic faith: Give us grace to follow in his holy steps, that at the last we may be found clothed with righteousness in the dwellngs of peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [The Book of Common Prayer, 823]
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church-Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
Our Gospel reading for tomorrow is Matthew 25:1-13 -- the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids; also known as the Parable of the Ten Virgins. This parable of Jesus is all about being ready - about watching and waiting. It's about making advance preparations for a very important event - the return of our Lord Jesus to snatch away his bride, the Church.
Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.
But at midnight there was a shout: "Look! here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him." Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." But the wise replied, "No! There will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves" And while they went ot buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us." But he replied, "Truly I tell you, I do not know you." Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
So, apparently we cannot get to heaven on someone else's coattails. We need our own oil in our own lamps. As the classic spiritual song says: "Keep your lamps trimmed and burning. You don't know the day."
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church - Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
photo: The nave of the Church at
Holy Spirit Monastery,
Conyers, GA, January 2008
Here's a word on prayer from Mother Teresa of Calcutta:
If you are searching for God and do not know where to begin, learn to pray and take the trouble to pray every day. You can pray anytime, anywhere. You can pray at work -- work doesn't have to stop prayer and prayer doesn't have to stop work.
Tell Him everything, talk to Him. He is our father. We are all created by God, we are his children. We have to put our trust in Him and love Him, believe in Him, work for Him. And if we pray, we will get all the answers we need. [Meditations from a Simple Path, 6].
Here is a Prayer for Fridays:
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen. [from The Book of Common Prayer]
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church-Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org photo: Rock Creek
in the Beartooth Mountains
September 2008
On this Thursday in a very busy and historical week, here is a word of wisdom from Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 430 A.D., who also lived in busy and turbulent times:
Let me tell you plainly that you are suffering from an illusion if you have hastened to hear the Word without the intention of putting into practice what you hear. Try to realize that if it is a good thing to hear the Word, it is much better to put it into practice. If you do not listen to it, you neglect hearing it and you will not build anything. If you listen to it and fail to act accordingly, you will be constructing a ruin.
In this regard, the Lord makes a suggestion by means of a very exact comparison. He tells us: "Anyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like the wise person who built a house on a rock. When the rainy season set in, the torrents came and the winds blew and buffeted the house. It did not collapse." Why did it not collapse? Because "it had been solidly set on rock." Hence, to listen and to put into pactice is to build on rock. And by the mere fact of listening we are already in the process of building.
Something to stop and think about on this first Thursday in November.
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church-Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
photo: outcropping of rock on
Mike and Maureen Mansfield Highway
(Interstate 15) between Helena and
Great Falls, September 2008
Almighty God, who has given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech you that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of your favor and glad to do your will.
Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought here out of many kindreds and tongues.
Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in your Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedince to your law, we may show forth your praise among the nations of the earth.
In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in you to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [The Book of Common Prayer, 820]
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/photo: property on which worship space
for Holy Cross Church will be built
(54th & Grand, Billings)
The times: they are a-changing. On this election day 2008, we pray:
Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States in the election of officials and representatives; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [from The Book of Common Prayer, 822-823]
Happy Election Day to all!
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, MT
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
406-208-7314
Photos: Mt. Rushmore, May 2008
Tomorrow, November 30, is the First Sunday of Advent. From the Latin word adventus, meaning "arrival, approach, or attack,"* Advent is the first season of the church year. It begins four Sundays before Christmas and is set aside as a season to prepare for Christmas, Christ's first coming, and to remember that he will come again. The color for this season is purple, lavender or blue.
