Yes, it’s Advent, but what are we waiting for? To tell us, St Albans Diocese launches Wait Look Listen, a new resource for children and families.
The Church of England in Herts Beds Luton and North Barnet has re-invented the Advent Calendar. A new resource from St Albans Diocese, ‘Wait Look Listen’ provides families with an opportunity to spend just ten minutes a day reading the enduring stories behind Christmas – together - in the run-up to Christmas.
The season of Advent is the season of waiting, growth and transformation. Advent this year also falls during the closing month of the National Year of Reading which recommends that parents read to children for ten minutes a day. The Bible was also recently included in a list of must-read books for children to have completed by the age of thirteen. For adults, the credit crunch has made it more appropriate than ever to re-introduce the idea of waiting to people, putting the waiting back into wanting and discovering its hidden benefits.
The real story behind Christmas starts with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, King David and only finally gets to Angels, Shepherds, Wise Men and the birth of the King of Heaven in a stable, after hundreds of years of waiting. ‘Wait Look Listen’ covers all of this ground.
The Christmas story is not only central to Christianity, but also to the nation, with 39% of the population attending church at Christmas and 43% among those with children, according to recent surveys.
Speaking about Wait Look Listen, The Rt Revd Christopher Foster, the Bishop of Hertford said: “Many people want their children to become familiar with the Christmas story – and no one should be ignorant of a story that still has the power to excite after 2000 years. ‘Wait Look Listen’ can be enjoyed by those who know the basics and want more, as much as it can by children who don’t know the story of the birth of Christ so well or at all. This project could save Advent from becoming another festival with chocolate rather than faith and history at its heart.”
The Rt Revd Richard Inwood, the Bishop of Bedford said: “Parents and children always look forward to Christmas through the weeks before. ‘Wait Look Listen’ enables adults and children together to remember the meaning of the celebration. I hope this beautiful publication will be widely used by the public at large and by regular church attenders.”
There are 21 stories, to download from the St Albans Diocese website at http://www.stalbans.anglican.org/Resources/Children/Wait-Look-Listen ending on Christmas Eve. Accompanying the free downloads is a folder available through parishes and schools on which children can find the image relating to the story they’ve just read and colour it in.
The stories have been specially adapted by The Revds Ruth Pyke and Vanessa Cato, the Diocese’s Children’s Work Advisers and the original artwork is by graphic artist Matt Buchanan. The stories start from Monday, 1st December, which follows Advent Sunday.
With adults more in mind, the Church of England nationally has just launched a campaign for Advent, reintroducing the concept of waiting to the public. It is based around daily readings on the website www.whywearewaiting.com and it is described as providing “a daily dose of chocolate for the soul”. More details can be found on the website and on http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr9208.html .