The Advent Conspiracy has nothing to do with my favorite computer adventure game.
Advent, celebrated during the four weeks before Christmas, is a season of the liturgical church year, a time of repentance and reflection in preparation for the coming of Christ, both as God who became man in a particular time and place (Christmas), and as God who will return to judge the world at its ending (the Second Coming).
That's the theory anyway. In practice, it's a hard season to observe in a culture where Christmas events start before Hallowe'en* and the celebrations—instead of extending from Christmas Eve until Epiphany on January 6th—end abruptly about noon on December 25th. Between Hallowe'en hype and Christmas hype, Advent—like Thanksgiving—gets lost.
Someone told me last year about the Advent Conspiracy, and I hope whoever it was will forgive me for not remembering. I've searched all my e-mails and family blogs and come up empty. This year, however, it was my sister-in-law who brought it up; her family is spearheading their church's incarnation of the idea.
I have a natural suspicion of "movements" and bandwagons, but so far I've seen nothing wrong, and much good, about this one. It's a simple formula for making Christmas more delightful:
Worship Fully It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It's the party of the year.
Spend Less We like gifts. Our kids really like gifts. But consider this: America spends an average of $450 billion a year every Christmas. How often have you spent money on Christmas presents for no other reason than obligation? How many times have you received a gift out of that same obligation?....We’re asking people to consider buying ONE LESS GIFT this Christmas. Just one. Sounds insignificant, yet many who have taken this small sacrifice have experienced something nothing less than a miracle: They have been more available to celebrate Christ during the [A]dvent season.
Give More God’s gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it’s no wonder why we’re drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols [or really good Christmas carols]. Time to make love visible through relational giving.
Love All When Jesus loved, He loved in ways never imagined. Though rich, he became poor to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked and the sick. He played to the margins. By spending less at Christmas we have the opportunity to join Him in giving resources to those who need help the most. When Advent Conspiracy first began four churches challenged this simple concept to its congregations. The result raised more than a half million dollars to aid those in need. One less gift. One unbelievable present in the name of Christ.
Advent Conspiracy accepts no money and encourages participants to share a variety of ideas on how to give presence this Christmas. But they also have a particular concern for the millions of people who suffer and die for lack of clean water, and for three years have supported the work of Living Water International.
The solution to this problem is directly beneath our feet. Drilling a fresh water well is a relatively inexpensive, yet permanent solution to this epidemic. $10 will give a child clean water for life. That's not an estimate. It's a fact. And here's another fact: Solving this water problem once and for all will cost about $10 billion. Not bad considering Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas last year. Our hope is that, by celebrating Christ in a new way at Christmas, the church can serve as the leading movement behind ending the water crisis once and for all.
LWI earns a four-star (highest) rating from Charity Navigator. So does World Vision, one of my favorite charitable organizations, which has a Gift Catalog filled with ways to help, from water wells to farm animals to (one of my favorites) microfinance loans.
Your church doesn't participate in Advent Conspiracy? You don't have a church? Not to worry! Participation in this conspiracy is open to all.
I note that by the time this post has filtered through Google Reader the embedded video has been stripped. Anyone have any idea how to prevent that? Does anyone have this problem with other feedreaders?
It works in Bloglines, but I only stay with them because I haven't made the time to make the switch . . .
