Affirmation for Advent

I have something that I would like to share with you, my readers. I came across this at the church we attend when we are here in the Little Rock area. The Christ United Methodist Church of Cabot, Arkansas, like many churches, includes in their order of worship each Sunday an affirmation of faith. Frequently this is in the form of that classic affirmation from the early church, the Apostles’ Creed. Often however, our church substitutes either a passage of scripture, or as in this case, an original statement of affirmation appropriate to the time or season that it is offered, such as this one that appeared in our bulletin this Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent:

“We believe that Christmas is more than a time for parties and ornaments;

                It is a time for remembering Christ and the incarnation of God’s love in human flesh.

We believe there are more important gifts than the ones under the Christmas tree;

                The things we teach our children, the way we share ourselves with our friends, and the loving efforts we take to reshape the world in our time.

We believe that the finest carols are often sung by poorest voices, from hearts made warm by the wonder of the season.

We believe in the angels’ message that we should not be afraid- that the Child of Bethlehem is able to overcome all anxieties and insecurities.

We believe in prayer and quiet expectation as a way of preparing our hearts for Christmas- that if we wait in silence we will experience the One born in the stable, for He lives today as surely as He lived then.

We believe in going away from Christmas as the wise men went- “another way.” We want to be different when these days are past- more centered, more thoughtful, more caring.

And we believe God will be with us through it all.

Praise be to our Emmanuel! Amen."

I don’t know who wrote this for sure, probably Pastor Jeff. But he wasn’t there last Sunday, so I’ll try to remember to ask him next week. I’ll let you know. Also, please excuse the formatting. I have always has difficulty trying to get the Blogger.com to accept formatting that has been done on another program.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.