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Recapture the Joy of Christmas
Join the First Church Advent Study in Wesley Hall
November 30th through December 21st
 “In our secularized Western society, Christmas offers a good occasion to experience this illusory happiness that offers a short break in our fear-filled lives. For many, Christmas is no longer the day to celebrate the mystery of the birth of God among us, the God hidden in the wounds of humanity. It is no longer the day of the child, awaited with prayer and repentance, contemplated with watchful attentiveness, and remembered in liturgical solemnity, joyful song, and peaceful family meals. Instead, Christmas has become a time when companies send elaborate gifts to their clients to thank them for their business, when post offices work overtime to process an over load of greeting cards, when immense amounts of money are spent on food and drink, and socializing becomes a full-time activity. There are trees, decorated streets, sweet tunes in the supermarkets, and children saying to their parents: ‘I want this and I want that.’ The shallow happiness of busy people often fills the place meant to experience the deep, lasting joy of Emmanuel, God-with-us.” − from Lifesigns Henri J. M. Nouwen
Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Henri J.M. Nouwen is all about reminding us how to experience that joy? Join Dr. John Fiedler, Rev. Tom Downing, Burton Shepherd and John Bryant as they lead us through the season of Advent with thoughts, prayers and scripture selections from Henri Nouwen. Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest and writer who authored 40 books on the spiritual life, is one of the best beloved and well-read spiritual authors of our time.
Unlike many of the strident voices of our time Nouwen’s viewpoint of Jesus was a balanced one. He wrote in The Wounded Healer, "Jesus was a revolutionary, who did not become an extremist, since he did not offer an ideology, but Himself. He was also a mystic, who did not use his intimate relationship with God to avoid the social evils of his time, but shocked his milieu to the point of being executed as a rebel. In this sense he also remains for nuclear man the way to liberation and freedom."
This book of Advent and Christmas wisdomwill both challenge you and warm your heart during your annual preparation for the Lord's coming. Reflections for each day in this book begin with the words of Henri Nouwen taken from various sources of his writings. Following that quotation is an excerpt from Scripture related to the quote. Next is a small prayer based on the quote and the Scripture passage. Finally, an activity is suggested for applying the messages to one's daily life.
Books can be purchased in Wesley Hall during the Sunday School hour while they last.
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