RevGalBlogPals Friday Five Adventually

riday Five: Adventually

From Songbird: Although it comes as late as it can this year, Advent is upon us. Some of us grew up observing it, while to others (including this childhood Baptist) it was even more foreign than Lent! Over the past twenty years, I have grown to love Advent as a season of preparation, although as a pastor I find it harder to practice it at home than at church, even when the church might prefer I make it the other way 'round.

Here are five questions about Advent for this first of December:

1) Do you observe Advent in your church? Yes. Went to Cokesbury today to purchase a new Christ candle just for the Advent wreath.

2) How about at home? We attempt to observe Advent at home. We have seasonal prayers that follow the church seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and ordinary time. This year our Advent wreath is out for the first time in years. The Entertainer doesn't remember the last time we had it out. We are substituting tea lights for the tapers because we couldn't find any small enough to fit.

3) Do you have a favorite Advent text or hymn? O Come O Come Emmanuel. The O Antiphons are copywrited by the Benedictine sisters. I learned O Come O Come Emmanuel at Benedictine College with the antiphons in the "nuns" chapels that had seats facing each other instead of facing the altar. I didn't know about Advent until BC. For me Advent starts with O Come O Come Emmanuel. I especially like Manheim Steamroller's version.

4) Why is one of the candles in the Advent wreath pink? (You may tell the truth, but I'll like your answer better if it's funny.) Because someone washed the red Walmart Christmas candles with the white Christmas Eve church candles ...

5) What's the funniest/kitschiest Advent calendar you've ever seen? A house with many windows and one door. There were cats for each opening. It had cat treats. Yes, that would put a whole different understanding to presents at the cat house.