The season of Advent begins on Sunday 30 November; a time for preparing to welcome Jesus at Christmas and also get ready for when He comes again.

As this year draws to a close, we are also in the last few weeks of the Church’s Jubilee Year, celebrating Jesus’ message of hope and encouraging us to live as Pilgrims of Hope. Our Advent resources continue this theme - as we prepare, live and celebrate the hope that Jesus brings.

The assembly for the first week in December introduces children to the Advent season with a story of excitement and expectation. The beginnings of our preparations in the countdown towards Christmas are compared with a child’s excitement as the family gets ready for the birth of a new baby.

In the Gospel (Matthew 24:37-44), Jesus tells His disciples to ‘stay awake’ and be ready for the day of the Lord’s coming. Like with the coming of a new baby, we often don’t know exactly when this event will take place, so the time to get ready is right now!

With your child/ren, you may also like to …

• Put up an Advent wreath in your home or make one together, talking about the symbolism of the purple and pink candles and the circle of evergreen.
• Talk about ways as a family you can plan to get ready during Advent. You might choose to prepare in a different way for each of the four weeks.
• Watch the Lyric Video ‘Come, O Long Awaited Jesus’ with your child during prayer times which you can find on the Online Parent Portal.

In the assembly for the second week of December, children have the opportunity to reflect on how God’s messengers, like John the Baptist, encourage us to live our journey of faith by helping us to listen, change our ways and live in the hope that God offers us.

With your child/ren, you may also like to …

• Talk about different messengers in the Bible e.g. angels and prophets, as well as saints who have helped us to grow closer to God.
• Share an example from your own life when you have placed your hope in God.