Christmas & Advent Staff Recommendations
Christmas & Advent Staff Recommendations
It is easy to forget to make the Advent & Christmas season more meaningful. If you are like alot of people, comes around every year and every year you want to make the season a little more spiritual but then it sorta gets lost in the shuffle. This year, if you are looking for simple ways to have a more spiritual season of Advent & Christmas, the Arapaho UMC Staff has put together some simple ideas for you to create a more meaningful season.
Scott’s Recommendation:
We love movies at our house. Here are a couple I really love: “Klaus” (PG) on Netflix, and “Happiest Season” (PG-13) on Hulu. Christmas movies can frequently come across as schmaltzy cash-grabs, but occasionally a new film will come out that offers a unique, artful perspective on the holiday season.
“Klaus” is a beautifully animated tale about a young postman sent to a small, depressing island home to two warring families, with the seemingly impossible task of setting up a functioning post office. It’s become an instant classic for our family, with heartfelt messages mixed with all-ages humor.
“Happiest Season” tells the story of a young woman with a plan to propose to her girlfriend while meeting her family at their annual Christmas party, but she discovers her girlfriend has yet to “come out” to her conservative parents. It’s a film that is liable to make you laugh and cry in one sitting, and it serves as a LGBTQ-centered drama that captures the messiness and beauty of the holidays for many.
Maggie’s Recommendation:
Each advent season, I love to bake and gift the goodies to different people. And let’s be honest, I save some for myself too! The precision of measurements, the care, and love that goes into baking is a time of meditation for me. Then being able to share that gift with others, brings me a ton of joy. Find a recipe you love, spend the time to make it with family, and share it with others to enjoy! If you want to try a new recipe, here is a chocolate chip recipe.
Cathy’s Recommendation:
I'm a reader. Through books, I gain understanding, empathy, and sometimes I get to escape a bit. You'll usually find me reading a nonfiction book or memoir, but a few things change during Advent. First, I'll find a book that helps with daily devotionals - Note the Advent reading selection for this year: "Songs for the Waiting: Devotions Inspired by the Hymns of Advent." This practice helps me to remember and practice "waiting," in a different way each year.
I also try to hold back one book that I've been wanting to read all year, hoping to have the time and mindset to really appreciate the message. I haven't made a final decision yet, I'll do that this coming week. Four books are in the running:
Sarah Bessey's "A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal"
Rachel Held Evans' "Wholehearted Faith," written in part by Evans, and completed by friend Jeff Chu after her death.
Robin Wall Kimmerer's "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants," which is the book to which I am leaning.
And Chris Whitaker's "We Begin at the End"
Amanda’s Recommendation:
There are several Christmas albums that I absolutely must listen to at least once for my holiday season to be complete. Some are from my childhood that helped develop my musical taste and ear, and I obsessively listened to them as a single chord, cadential pattern or vocal sound could bring me total elation, and it still does. These include Mannheim Steamroller, Kenny G, Transieberian Orchestra, Messiah and August Burns Red; a huge swath of eclectic styles and instrumentation’s ranging from Baroque to metal, and I love everyone of them!
A few years ago, Rev. David Finley recommended The O Hellos Family Christmas Album to me and it has become one of my new annual favorites. It has captured my heart and all the tension, anticipation, fear and joy of the Advent season. I hope you will mediate on these sounds and worship in you heart with this album; I truly hope it brings you as much joy as it has for me. Merry Christmas, y’all!. Find it on Apple Music.
Judy’s Recommendation:
Focused on the traditional lighting of the Advent candles and the light that they bring, I am drawn each year to a time of reflection and renewal. I am intentional in dedicating time to reflect on the year past. Along with questions for myself (was I kind, loving, caring, helpful to all people?), I look for gratitude in the time I spent with friends and family, joy in being blessed with a job I love, and peace for the healing of my brokenness. I then look forward with excitement! As I flip over - yes, literally flip over my wall calendar to the new year, I imagine living into a renewed sense of hope for the many ways I can share the love of Jesus Christ in all that I do.
Aaron’s Recommendation:
I am a music person. Music gives me feelings, it helps me access a part of me that is sometimes blocked. I have several albums that I come back to every Advent Season because I experienced them in a time and place but there is one in particular that ends up on repeat as I try to embrace my feelings around Advent. "Advent, Vol. 1" by The Brilliance is my favorite listen at this time of year. They have captured a sentiment that I love and try to carry with me each year. (Click Here To Listen On Spotify)
Marc’s Recommendation:
The radio station my son and I listen to while I am taking him to school switched over to 24-hour Christmas music in early November. It was another reminder that we hear a lot of Christmas music of all kinds before we reach December 25th. Carols and winter melodies. Hymns and remixes. Over our time together, my wife and I have kind of curated a small collection of music for Advent and Christmas - songs that stand out from the rest and take us to a meditative, reflective place out of the busy-ness of the season. One collection is an album by Elizabeth von Trapp (yes, that von Trapp) simply called Christmas Song. The folk-inspired and transcendent lead arrangement of Hodie Christus Natus Est, in particular, always strikes a chord in my soul.
Listen On Spotify