Our Advent theme: Joy

This year’s resources have at their heart the theme of Joy – joy as we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ during Advent, and joy as we ponder in prayer the great mystery of God’s saving love during the Christmas season.

During Advent, reflections on the Church of England’s Everyday Faith app are centred around the Advent Antiphons on which the much-loved hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel is based.

• You can read and listen to daily Advent and Christmas reflections from 1 December through the Everyday Faith app, the daily devotional app from the Church of England, which is available to download here.
• With daily reflections by Jane Williams, Chris Russell, Esther Prior, Philip North, Muthuraj Swamy, Tanya Marlow and David Hoyle, O Come Emmanuel will be available as a full-colour book from Church House Publishing. The reflections will also appear on the Everyday Faith app from 1 to 24 December, accompanied by a range of online music, artwork, and creative suggestions for local use. You can download an outline of these reflections, including themes and Bible verses.

The Advent Antiphons

The Advent Antiphons – best known through the hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel – date back to the 6th century and are traditionally sung before the Magnificat at Evensong in the days leading up to Christmas.

To accompany the reflections available on the Everyday Faith app, we’ve recorded the Antiphons to offer a musical way to engage with these ancient texts. Each Antiphon speaks of who Jesus is and invites us into the hope of the season.

If you’d like to sing them in your church, a downloadable PDF of the musical notation will be available soon.

Using the Antiphons

The Advent Antiphons are part of the rich variety of liturgical resources for the Advent season found in Common Worship: Times and Seasons, which is available in print from Church House Publishing and in the Liturgy and Worship section of the Church of England website.

Pictured: Newly commissioned artwork by SunYoung Kim

Art and poetry

• Women of the Nativity: ​​A collection of nine imagined stories told from the perspective of women, written by Paula Gooder, recreates the events of the Nativity.
• Icons of the Advent Antiphons, by Turvey Abbey
• Advent Antiphon poetry and reflections, by Malcolm Guite

There are many creative ways to explore the antiphons during Advent, both at church and at home. Traditionally, the Advent antiphons are used with the Magnificat from 17th–23rd December. If you pray Evening Prayer daily, this is the ideal setting. But they can also enrich other forms of prayer. Explore the Advent antiphons:

• In your church – prayer stations, music, and prayer groups
• At home – devotional booklet and daily prayers
• Through artwork – newly commissioned illustrations from the artist SunYoung Kim, or create your own symbols

Reflective journal

We have created a reflective journal to use during Advent. Over the 24 days of Advent, each page offers the opportunity to reflect on who Jesus is for us, using names found in scripture to create our own antiphons, in the joyful anticipation that Advent brings.

You can download the reflective journal here:

Podcasts

• A new podcast from the Diocesan Worship Working Group exploring the Advent Antiphons:

• ‘And also with you’ – A podcast on reclaiming an ancient Christian faith for modern Christian life:
  • Episode: What is Advent?
  • Episode: Who is Jesus?
  • Episode: What is Christmas?
  • Episode: Did Mary Know?

For children and young people

• From the Diocese of York:
  • Advent Collective Worship sessions – Weeks 5-7
  • Advent Jesse Tree Schools Resource
• Downloadable reflections for 11-15 year olds: Following the same themes and Bible verses as our Advent reflections for adults, these bite-sized daily reflections for young people, written by Lucy Rycroft can be downloaded in full colour or black and white. A four-week session plan for youth groups using the reflections together will be available soon.
• To help schools and churches share the joy of Christmas with children and families, a heart-warming retelling of the Christmas story. Illustrated by Jago, the award-winning illustrator of The Jesus Storybook Bible. The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas tells the story of Jesus’ birth through the eyes of an owl who seems determined to miss all the excitement.
• Four weeks of collective worship resource materials are available from the National Society for Education for use by schools during Advent. The resources unpack the theme of ‘The Joy of Christmas’ and include activities, prayers, practical actions, and videos. Sign up now to get access to this resource when it becomes available in October.
• Christmas episodes from the Cheeky Pandas