Getting Ready for Advent & Christmas – Worship Resources for 2023

This is one of several posts on Advent/Christmas resources that I have updated this year, that I hope will help. Check out other resource lists on the Godspace resource page.

For some, the observances revolve around the lighting of the Advent candles and the Eucharistic celebration. For others, it is the preaching of the gospel story and the Christmas pageant that take centre stage. Whatever your faith orientation, here are some of my favourite resource sites that I think you will find useful. I have tried to draw from any traditions and cultures. 

Advent Resources Including Ones Specific to the Pandemic

• Discipleship Ministries – Music in the Midst of COVID-19
• United Methodist – FREE webinar series – The Promise of Advent
• The Salvation Army – Music & Creative Art Ministries – FREE Downloadable worship series

• • Crosswalk.com – Advent Readings
  • Ashley Danyew – A Modern Resource Guide for Advent Worship Planning
  • Creative Communications for the Parish – Ideas for 2023!
  • AMEC Publishing House – Worship at Home
  • Sanctified Art – Resources for 2023

Liturgical Resource Sites for Advent and Christmas

Greek Patriarch celebrates Christmas liturgy photo by WAFA

• Advent resources from Ignatian Spirituality
• Christmas & Advent ideas from David Keen at Ideas, Resources and Donkey Rides
• Bosco Peters in New Zealand has great Advent and Christmas resources at liturgy.co.nz
• The Billabong is a helpful Australian site with resources for both kids and adults.
• John Birch has the most wonderful Celtic Advent liturgies available. 
• The Text This Week always has an awesome array of resources for all seasons, but especially for Advent and Christmas.
• ECF Vital Practices has an excellent list of resources for parishes for Advent and Christmas including checklists and creative ideas.
• Lectionary Liturgies provides liturgies based on the RCL readings for each Sunday of the church year.
• Lent and Beyond – An Anglican Prayer blog also posts good seasonal resources.
• Anglicans Online Advent Worship Resources 
• And the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese has some interesting icons and explanation of Christmas from an Orthodox perspective.
• Blue Eyed Ennis has a great list of Advent resources on her blog that are worth looking at.

Innovative Approaches to Worship

My favourites are:

• Interactive worship – for Advent: The Feeling of Waiting and Prayers of the People Station as well as this community made icon really inspired me.
• Singing from the Lectionary has a huge range of music suggestions and worship resources, with a special emphasis on inclusive language.
• A Sacred Home – Advent & Christmas Box: Waiting
• Engage Worship has a great list of music for the season.
• Advent calendar in sound – something to recommend to your congregation for their daily reflections.
• Tweeted Grace Christmas by Numbers – a great idea put together by Jonny Baker and the people at Grace in London.

Looking for Art Work?

• Joy Paron has a beautiful set of daily reflections she put together using collage art work she created. It is well worth a visit.
• A rich array of Advent resources as well as Christmas and Epiphany from Churchyear.net
• Don’t forget to check out the Godspace Advent/Christmas prayer cards and reflections.
• We also have an Advent devotional available and sold together with the prayer cards.

Plan an Advent or Christmas Outreach

Christmas is the season when all of us think of giving to our favourite charities, the homeless and the poor, but there are other ways to that we can give at this season.

• United Methodist Church has some good ideas for an Advent outreach in this article – everything from scavenger hunt with random acts of kindness to Christmas Eve cookie give away for people who must work.
• Passionate homemaker also has some good ideas on how to reach out at this season. 

Resources from Godspace for Advent and Christmas

Godspace has a variety of resources available for celebrating this season.

•  Lean Towards the Light this Advent & Christmas + Advent Cards Bundle compiled by Christine Sine and Lisa DeRosa
• Lean Towards the Light Advent Retreat Online – video sessions by Christine Sine along with handouts to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child this Advent.
• A Journey Toward Home: Soul Travel For Advent to Lent compiled by Kristin Carroccino and Christine Sine
• Waiting for the Light: An Advent Devotional compiled by Ricci Kilmer, Susan Wade and Christine Sine
• Prayer Cards – more than Christmas gifts. These have been used for daily devotions, grief counselling, small groups and congregational prayers.

Check out the entire resource list here for more ideas for Advent and Christmas.

Godspace has a number of Advent resources available for both free download and purchase. Visit our store.