E-ssentials: Ecumenical Leaders' Advent Meditations, Giving Tuesday, Instagram Takeover!, and more!

Ecumenical Church Leaders' Advent Meditations As Christmas and the holidays approach, Christians experience the season of Advent as a time of expectant waiting and preparation. This year, four Canadian national church leaders, including United Church Moderator Carmen Lansdowne, will present a special series of Advent meditations and conversations that answer the question: “What are we waiting for?” Meditations will be shared each Monday of Advent. Watch the first one. Also, on each Thursday in Advent, listeners are invited to join a live discussion at 7:00 p.m. EST, via Zoom, with one of the leaders on that week’s Advent theme. Attendees will be able to ask questions during the online conversation. Learn more and register for all the events. [Photo from a video by The Presbyterian Church in Canada] Today Is Giving Tuesday! After Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes Giving Tuesday! Gifts to the United Church’s Emergency Response Fund will support people in emergency crises around the world. Global emergencies flash in and out of mainstream media, but even when they’re not making headlines, people living through unimaginable circumstances are still in need of support. Please give a gift today that will make a difference to people living through crisis around the world.   Advent Unwrapped: Resources for Worship and Spiritual Practices Advent Unwrapped offers a growing collection of worship and spiritual practice resources to make room for Christ and the radical, countercultural messages that Christ(mas) brings. Subscribe to the newsletter, follow along on Facebook, and watch this new "What is Advent?" video.  Take a look at our new Advent Unwrapped microblogs offered by Maria Christina Conlon and Richard C. Choe. Also, The United Church of Canada and the United Church of Christ, our full-communion partner in the United States, collaborated to bring you "The Giver," a new music video by Mia McClain. We invite you to use this original song as part of your Advent Worship.  Join us on a revolutionary journey as we prepare to welcome Jesus once more! [Art: © Maria Christina Conlon] Gifts with Vision Solves the What-to-Buy Dilemma Is there someone on your Christmas list who is hard to buy for or doesn’t need yet another gadget or figurine? Do you long to sidestep the consumerist trappings of the season for something more meaningful? Gifts with Vision—the United Church’s giving catalogue is full of gifts that help transform people’s lives throughout Canada and across the world. While gifts for Ukraine and COVID-19 continue, we have been busy adding new gifts to support people across the world who are experiencing the effects of climate change, economic instability, and war—and particularly several new gifts for children. Mindful of the environment, the print catalogue continues to be small—but there are a lot more gift choices on the Gifts with Vision website. Take a look and, this year, give gifts that make a difference! [Photo: Ibrahim Ibrahim Melhem, Middle East Council of Churches] Faith in Our Books Instagram Takeover We are excited to announce the takeover of the United Church Bookstore's Faith in Our Books Instagram for Advent! During Advent, the Rev. Bri-anne Swan will share her personal reflections of "What's Left of the Night?", the Advent devotional from the United Church of Christ, our full-communion partner denomination in the United States.  Bri-anne Swan is a singer and songwriter with a heart for all those who have been told that they do not belong. A minister at Jubilee United Church in Toronto since 2019, Bri-anne has been leading Resistance Church, a justice-focused, online ministry of Jubilee that reaches out to those for whom traditional church models are not always relevant or accessible.  Bri-anne also hosts the Wilderness Times podcast. You will often find her editing video, reading a good book, writing a song, or designing something for online worship. We hope you will follow along this Advent on the Faith in Our Books Instagram. [Photo courtesy of Faith in Our Books Instagram] Worship Resources  See our Worship Resources for upcoming Sundays and special celebrations. World AIDS Day - December 1 UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities - December 3 Second Sunday of Advent - December 4 National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women - December 6 UN Human Rights Day - December 10 Third Sunday of Advent - December 11 Fourth Sunday of Advent - December 18 Christmas - December 25 First After Christmas - January 1, 2023   Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Our gifts for Mission & Service bring healing, justice, and hope to life. Donate today.

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