Advent Resources
With Advent, we begin the journey to the Incarnation and the amazing mystery of God with Us. In the four weeks given to us to prepare our hearts and minds, we can remind ourselves to step back from the busyness of our days, into a place of calm and reflection, and get ready to welcome anew Christ Our Lord into our lives. Use this page to explore resources and let us know if you have others you would like to recommend or share.
We encourage you to check out the following resource lists, as well as our curated items below:
New and Recent Resources for Advent from Building Faith: This list includes books, curricula, and devotionals, with resources available for all ages.
The Episcopal Church Resources for Advent and Christmas: Here you will find The Way of Love for Advent and offerings from partnership ministries.
Resources for All Ages
It had been a while since we'd found a unique and inspiring liturgical calendar, so we were pleased to learn about Illustrated Ministry's 2025/2026 liturgical calendar poster print. It could be displayed in your office, formation classroom, or parish hall. It's a great teaching tool for people learning about the seasons of the church year. A bonus downloadable arrow is available for marking Sundays and seasons as you move through the year. Click image to learn more or order.
All Creation Waits by Gayle Boss
Contains short, daily reflections on the amazing ways familiar animals prepare for winter. Each day's reading is paired with an original woodcut illustration. This is a wonderful book to help you slow down and find joy in the truth and beauty revealed by the natural world. Learn more >
Caring for Creation with a Green Advent and Christmas
The creation care team invites you to come alongside us as we add to our preparations green practices that will allow us to live more gently, gratefully, and sustainably on the earth. What might you do differently this season? We recommend you take a few minutes to read through the list and make a plan. Setting our intentions can help motivate us to follow through with our actions. Commit to starting one new practice each week during the season of Advent, and go from there! We welcome additional ideas. View resource now >
Salt Advent & Christmas Roundup
SALT has a number of creative offerings for Advent and Christmas, including devotionals based on the poetry of Mary Oliver, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Maya Angelou, and E.E. Cummings. These and other SALT resources could provide material for an inspiring Advent small-group offering. Check out resources here >
Advent in 2 Minutes
What is the meaning of Advent in 2 minutes? This short video from Busted Halo shows how Advent and expectant waiting is different from secular ideas of getting ready for Christmas. Share via Zoom or in-person.
What Do You Fear? Advent Curriculum & More
A Sanctified Art's (PCUSA) Advent curriculum for 2025: Jesus was born in a world of oppression, economic disparity, uncertainty, and instability, not so different from our own. Yet the Gospel message we hear is "Do not fear." Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the magi are each called to lean into their fears, asking questions, trusting in good news, and saying "Here I am, Lord." Can we do the same today? A Sanctified Art says, "This Advent series takes seriously the angels' message and trusts that Christ's birth truly is good news of great joy for all people. The resources look closely at the fear and terror looming in the background during the time of King Herod and invite us to consider the fears we hold now. Fear can divide and paralyze us and even be used as a tool for oppression. Might we catalyze our fears into love and action? What if naming our fears helps us see more clearly how God is breaking in and where God is at work? Explore curriculum resources here >
Explore more Advent resources from A Sanctified Art here >
Episcopal Relief & Development Resources for Advent
Explore Episcopal Relief and Development's Advent Toolkit. The toolkit includes DIY wreath ideas with prayers and reflections, DIY creche ideas, and information about St. Nicholas. You also will find a guide to hosting an alternative gift market and ERD's annual Gifts for Life Catalog.
Resources for the Home
Christmas. It's a Season.
Check out this new poster from Forward Movement. You may already be familiar with their annual Slow Down. Quite It's Advent poster. The Christmas poster offers ways to celebrate the full 12-day season of Christmas, running from Christmas Day, December 25, through January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. Learn more >
Resources for Adults
Walking Backward to Christmas by Stephen Cottrell
This small book offers an intriguing perspective of the Christmas narrative, beginning with the presentation of Jesus to Anna and Simeon in the temple and ending with the hopes and dreams of Isaiah and Moses. Short, compelling chapters offer much for reflection. Learn more >
Also recommended by Stephen Cottrell: Let It Slow.
Watch for the Light
This is an inspiring collection of daily readings for Advent and Christmastide: "Ecumenical in scope, these fifty devotions invite the reader to contemplate the great themes of Christmas and the significance that the coming of Jesus has for each of us – not only during Advent, but every day." Learn more and order >
Light of the World: A Beginner's Guide to Advent
In Light of the World: A Beginner's Guide to Advent, author, professor, and biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine explores the biblical texts surrounding the story of the birth of Jesus. She traces the Christmas narrative through the stories of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary, the journey to Bethlehem, and the visit from the Magi. These stories open conversations around connections of the Gospel stories to the Old Testament, the role of women in first-century Jewish culture, the importance of Mary's visitation and the revolutionary implications of Mary's Magnificat, the census and the stable, and the star of Bethlehem and the flight to Egypt. Good for small group study and individual readers. As part of a larger four-week study for Advent, a DVD and a comprehensive leader guide are also available. Learn more and order >
Advent: The Most Wonderful Time of Year
Join Bishop Susan Goff as she leads us through a meditation on Christ who came, Christ who comes, and Christ who will come again. She invites us to take on some practical and inspiring disciplines in this season, and to contemplate more fully what it truly means to prepare for and anticipate the newness of Christ dwelling in our hearts. From ChurchNext. Learn more and watch preview >
Joy to the World! Devotions for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany by Robert Boak Slocum
This seasonal devotional invites Christians to reflect on the wonder of God's presence in everyday life with scripture, prayers, and daily reflection questions. Devotions help readers find comfort, hope, and renewed faith during Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Learn more >
Advent Word
Forward Movement has announced the 2025 reflection words for AdventWord, an inspirational online Advent calendar featuring a daily prompt word selected from the Sunday Lectionary readings.
For nearly a decade, AdventWord has inspired followers of Jesus who wish to add an accessible prayer practice to their daily routine each Advent. During this holy, busy season, disciples are invited to find small moments of reflection to stay connected to their personal faith, to others, and to God. Daily meditations and images—inspired by a prompt word selected from the daily lectionary readings—will be released at adventword.org, beginning Sunday, November 30. Email subscribers and social media followers will receive a daily meditation (in English and Spanish) and visual image inspired by the day's word, and are invited to share their own personal reflections, art, poetry, or other creative expression.
Resources for Children
All Creation Waits (Children's Edition) by Gayle Boss
Each day of Advent a different animal shows children its own amazing way to meet the dark and cold. With each creature, children hear the refrain: The dark is not an end. It's a door. It's the way a new beginning comes. Here is the ancient truth of Advent enacted in the lives of 24 common woodland animals and culminating in the birth of the Human One who perfectly lived that truth. From Paraclete Press. Learn more >
The Night of Las Posadas by Tomi de Paola
Farolitos light up the Plaza in Santa Fe for the procession of Las Posadas, the tradition in which Mary and Joseph go from door to door seeking shelter at the inn on Christmas Eve. The book is about the year Sister Angie, who is always in charge of the celebration, has to stay home with the flu, and Lupe and Roberto, who are to play Mary and Joseph, get caught in a snowstorm. But a man and a woman no one knows arrive in time to take their place in the procession and then mysteriously disappear at the end before they can be thanked. Learn more >
Crafts & More
Visit our Pinterest page for Jesse tree ornaments, Advent calendars, coloring pages, crafts, and activities to engage children during this time of getting ready. Go to page >
Resources for Youth
d365 Daily Devotions
d365 provides daily devotions for youth, available by email subscription or downloadable app. Each devotion follows the pattern Pause, Listen, Think, Pray, Go.
pray
God of wonderful love, when I face hardship give me the wisdom to know how to respond. Help me to bring my challenges to you. Protect me with your mighty arm. Amen.