Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but I didn't wait up for midnight last night.  Even though it was Advent Eve.  The night passed without much hurrah.  We had dinner with my family, including one of my dad's brothers and his family.  But there wasn't any discussion about our new year's resolutions or remembrance of the last year.  I fell asleep on the couch watching a cheesy Christmas movie my mom bought in the bargain bin (which won't be a Christmas classic at our house, but that's another story...).  It was just an average night.

But it is the new year!  Year B of the church!  The year of Mark.  So super exciting!  A couple of things that are cool to know about the church--we use the Revised Common Lectionary, which lots of churches use to determine the readings of the day.  It's set up in such a way that Matthew, Mark, and Luke each have their own year and John is interspersed into all three years.  That way, we hear the Gospel message from each of the four Gospels over the course of three years.  This is Year B, the Year of Mark.  It will be a year of excitement and storytelling.  One of the marks of Mark (sorry!) is the word "immediately."  Mark is so excited about the story of Jesus Christ that he can't wait to keep telling it.  In the Greek, we read "and then..." a lot.

The church calendar begins with Advent, which is the season of waiting and anticipation before Christmas.  During Advent, we look forward to the coming of Christ, both in terms of commemoration of his coming as an infant and the promise that he will come again.  There are four Sundays in Advent, this year starting today, November 27.  The color is blue, a color of hope.

Many churches, including ours, light a candle for each Sunday in Advent on the Advent wreath.  Some people have Advent wreaths at home or have different Advent traditions, including Advent calendars or daily devotions.  I found a great daily devotion for Advent that uses music and time for meditation and prayer called Following the Star.  Some people like to take time for silence or a new spiritual practice in Advent.

May this new year fill you with hope and joy!