Presiding Bishop's Advent Message 2013
“Advent is a quieter time of the year in the Church’s understanding,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says in her Advent Message 2013. “It’s a time to be still and listen, listen deep within to what is growing, ready to emerge into new life.”
The Presiding Bishop’s Advent Message 2013, videotaped in the Chapel of the Christ the Lord at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City, is available here.
In the liturgical calendar, Advent is the season leading up to Christmas. The first Sunday of Advent is December 1.
The following is the text of Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori’s Advent Message 2013.
Presiding Bishop Advent Message 2013
Advent is a time of waiting and for many people it’s a time to reflect on what Mary must have experienced as she waited for the birth of this unusual child.
You may never have been pregnant or lived with someone who was, but put yourself in her place for a while. Consider what it would have been like to have a new life growing within you. And reflect on what new is growing within you this season of Advent.
What new concern is growing for the people around you? What new burden is on your heart for the woes of the world? What new possibility do you see emerging in the world around you, and how might you be part of that?
Advent is a quieter time of the year in the Church’s understanding. It’s a time to be still and listen, listen deep within to what is growing, ready to emerge into new life.
And as the season for the birth of the Christ Child arrives, I would encourage you to consider how you yourself will be present in the world in a new way this year. How will you give evidence of love incarnate to the world around you?
I pray that you have a blessed and joyful and peace-filled Advent. God be with you.