Marking the different seasons of the Christian year, with their varying moods, is becoming more and more popular across all the churches, even those which are not liturgical in tradition. The rhythm of the seasons often echoes the natural world around us, and as we enter the darkest days of the year, the Church keeps Advent and watches and waits for the promise of light and hope. There is more than enough commercial pressure at this time of the year to sap anyone's energy and destroy any sense of what Advent and Christmas are about and this simple book of short daily readings is the perfect antidote to the frenzy that is December. It reminds us too that Christmas starts and doesn't end on the 25th. The lectionary readings for the season focus on hope and justice and these are the themes that the students of St. John's, all in training for the Anglican ministry, reflect on in this book.
