Anticipating Advent
The gift of my new book for you
Dear Ones, I just published a new book for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany!
Of all the liturgical seasons in the Christian calendar, I love Advent most, arriving as it does with the shrinking of daylight, the coming of rain and clouds and cold, the natural urge to stay home, bundle up, and turn inward, creating the perfect container for this season of waiting, this season of contemplating. This season of carving out space for awe and wonder even in the midst of the jingle jangle of holiday activity.
Advent is such a contrast to Lent, when we follow the last weeks and days of Jesus life in excruciating and harrowing detail all while our days lengthen, trees bud, bulbs emerge from bare dirt. When the whole world is singing of spring, when new life is bursting forth, including my own daughters, born in the early days and weeks of spring, it’s work to focus on Jesus’ hard road to Jerusalem and death. The rituals of Advent are more tangible, easier to maintain.
When I lived in California, my family spent the weekend after Thanksgiving putting up thousands of Christmas lights along our 900 feet of road frontage, including near life sized nativity figures hand painted on OSB by my husband’s mother and a giant menorah made of white PVC pipe created by my husband and youngest daughter. We cut down a Christmas tree at a nearby farm and decorated it together. We filled our CD player with Christmas carols (and the Beach Boys Christmas album), and played them all day long through New Year’s Eve (and oh how I wish radio stations would wait until the day after Thanksgiving to begin their 24/7 Christmas playlists, which are so limited and repetitive they feel like an assault on the senses). At church, on the worship committee, we designed advent wreaths and candle lighting liturgies and banners to guide us through the season of expectation.
My children are grown now, living in different states, and we’re not always able to celebrate these holidays together. But each year, our personal stories return to me along with the larger story of God’s incarnational love. As a poet, former pastor, and still sometime preacher, I’ve written the stories of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany in biblical context, and in my own life. And when Advent inevitably arrives and I unpack ornaments and set up our ceramic Christmas Village, I find myself returning to my seasonal writing as well.
This year the return to my writing has led me to create Advent - Incarnation - Epiphany: Poetry, Prose, Prayers, and Photos for the Winter Season. This collection was written in bits and pieces over 20 years or so. And as with the two books I’ve written for Lent and Easter, I’ve created Advent - Incarnation - Epiphany as an offering and gift for those who might want to join my on the journey through Advent and Christmas and arriving at Epiphany, with a bit of winter weather included.
I’ve published Advent - Incarnation - Epiphany on Amazon and I am able to offer the Kindle version to you at no cost from midnight this Sunday Nov. 23rd through 11:59 p.m. on Thanksgiving Nov. 27th. You do not need a Kindle device to read the book, just the free app on your phone or tablet, or the free Kindle cloud reader for computer. Just click the button below to get the Kindle book.
I have ordered 20 paperback copies for local folks, especially those attending St. David Episcopal Church in Shelton. The books are scheduled to be delivered on 11/30, so it’s unlikely I’ll have them for church that day, but I’ll get them there as soon as I can. If you’re getting a copy at church and can afford to make a donation to St. David, I’m suggesting $10, which is the cost to order online.
If you don’t live in the area, and would like to buy a paperback you can do so here.
And finally, if Kindle doesn’t work for you, and buying a paperback is out of your budget, send me an email (cathy@cathywarner.com) and I will send you a pdf to read.
Wishing you all the blessings of the coming season.
~Cathy