The Second Week of Advent – Speaking Out
December 5, 2015
Theme for the week - Speaking Out
Prayer for the week
God our disturber,
whose speech is pregnant with power
and whose word will be fulfilled;
may we know ourselves unsatisfied
with all that distorts your truth,
and makes our hearts attentive
to your liberating voice,
in Jesus Christ.
Janet Morley - This prayer is taken from All Desires Known by Janet Morley with kind permission of SPCK
O Dduw sy’n tarfu arnom,
y mae dy air yn feichiog o rym,
a’th air yn siwr o’i gyflawni,
gad i ni wybod na fodlonwn ar ddim
sy’n ystumiody wirionedd:
a pharatoi’n calonnau i glywed
dy lais sy’n ein rhyddau,
yn Jesu Grist.
Cyf. Enid Morgan
Speaking Out for Justice
December 10 – Human Rights Day – has been designated by the Church in Wales and Cytun as a Day of Prayer for Refugees in Wales – click here for more information.
The war in Syria continues and, as the season changes, the plight of the refugees becomes increasingly acute. Here are two videos from Christian Aid: the first reminds us of the roots of the conflict and the desperate conditions in which many refugees are living in the neighbouring countries to which they have fled; the second video, “The way forward” takes a measured look into the future and outlines actions for all of us – as individuals, communities and nations.
1st video
2nd video
Advent Carol for the week
In the Bleak Midwinter
Recipe
Walnut & Date Winter Salad
Salad:
- l lettuce
- 2 sticks celery, trimmed & chopped
- 1 red eating apple, cored & sliced
- 4 oz seedless grapes
- 1 oz walnuts
- 3 oz dates, cut in half.
Dressing:
- 8 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
- seasoning.
Shred the lettuce, mix celery, apple, grapes and walnuts together. Stir in the dates and pile on top of the lettuce.
From the Mothers’ Union
Children’s Corner
Spending time with my children making Christmas crafts is one of the things I really love to do during advent. My children are four and six and as such have slightly different ability levels. Something they both enjoy to make and decorate though is salt dough. It is simple to make and your children can join in. My two also really enjoy the decorating part. If you want them to look good on a tree then you can give them specific colours to tie in with a theme. If you’re feeling brave you can give them all the colours to decorate with. Siân
Here is the salt dough recipe:
Advent Events
Check out our events page for Advent and Christmas events around the Diocese.
If you would like us to advertise any of your Advent events please send the details in to our vision email address: [email protected].
Advent Resources
If you would like to send in some of your useful Advent, Christmas or Epiphany resources then please email them to our vision email address: [email protected].
‘The Nativity’ DVD – first shown on the BBC in December 2010, written by Eastenders scriptwriter Tony Jordan. You can see part of the show on Youtube by following this link. The full DVD can be purchased on Amazon.
Posada - The idea of travelling crib sets comes from an old Mexican tradition. Posada was the tradition of young people dressed as Mary and Joseph travelling from house to house asking for a room for the night and telling people about the imminent arrival of Jesus in the weeks leading up to Christmas. On Christmas Eve they would visit the local church to re-enact the nativity and place figures of Mary and Joseph in a crib. Modern day Posada uses nativity figures of Mary and Joseph who travel from place to place. this gives each ‘host’ the chance to create their own celebration in their home or place in the community, worshipping and reaching out to their communities with the real message of Christmas, making room for Jesus in their lives.
Messy Church – Advent and Christmas: See a range of ideas (Advent Candles, Messy Nativity, Nativity Sheep Trails, The Gingerbread Nativity – and more) by visiting the Messy Church website.
‘Talk Talk for Christmas and New Year’ is written by Lucy Moore and Jo Cox and produced by The Ugly Duckling Company. Table Talk is a game to get people talking about the big issues in life; the Christmas and New Year version is an all age resource. It costs £25 and is available from http://www.table-talk.org/
A free download is available for iPads/ phones etc – and you can watch a promotional video here https://vimeo.com/user1053431/tabletalkforchristmasadvert
Here’s how to download the game:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/cg/app/table-talk-for-christmas/id903641900?mt=8
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theuglyducklingcompany.tabletalkforchristmas&hl=en_GB
Books
Haphazard by Starlight by Janet Morley – an anthology of poetry. http://www.spckpublishing.co.uk/product/haphazard-by-starlight/
Do Nothing… Christmas is Coming: An Advent Calendar with a Difference by Stephen Cottrell
http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/authors/stephen-cottrell
Love Life Live Advent Make Room for the Manger - An all-age resource to help children and families celebrate the run-up to Christmas. Authors: Paula Gooder, Peter Babington http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/books/9780715144411/love-life-live-advent-single-copy
Poems
Advent Calendar – a poem by Rowan Williams: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/dec/24/featuresreviews.guardianreview23
BC:AD by U A Fanthorpe: http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/newsreview/theweek/poetscorner/article483884.ece
