By the time you read this leading article I am sure that you will have already begun your preparations for Christmas.  As I write it is mid-November and in the Cockell household we have been turning our minds to various preparations for the festive season.  And as a church we are very much in “preparation mode” for the services that will be taking place and all the various bits of organisation that need to be done to put things on. 

One thing looks a bit clearer this year.  Unlike last year when we were only allowed to spend one day with family, this Christmas (hopefully) there will be no restrictions on what we can do.  Given that Christmas is such a family oriented time of year, I am sure that many of you, like me, will be wanting to make up for last year with larger family gatherings.  Preparing for such things takes a lot of time and effort and a good deal of thought. Fortunately, the church year gives us a time to think about these things in a spiritual way – a time of preparing ourselves so that when we get to Christmas we can celebrate the birth of Jesus more joyfully.  This time of year, of course is Advent. 

The word advent means “coming.” So, through this season we are thinking about the coming of the Messiah, the coming of the Christ-child and all that he came to do for us.  The season gives us a time to think outside all the hustle and bustle and all the running around we will be doing to get ready for our Christmas celebrations and helps us to focus on what it’s really all about; preparing us to celebrate Jesus’ birth, but also remember that he promised he would come again.  This means that our thoughts are not just about those Christmas celebrations – they take us farther on than that, into the future, a future beyond the end of this year or the beginning of the New Year to a time and a fulfilment yet unknown when all the promises of God come about.

Having come through such a difficult time over this last nearly two years, we are all in need of some cheer and probably a bit of hope too, especially hope in the future.  Thinking about the coming of Christ and remembering the promises of God may help to give us some of that hope in the future we need. 

Wishing you every blessing for Advent, Christmas and the New Year.

Tim