Inside and outside Advent

A dual focus for Advent is planned for Lutheran Hour Ministries’ annual devotions. For those inside the church family, Home for the Holidays presents a traditional approach to the preparation for Christmas. Many outside the church have no idea what Advent is and are merely trying to prepare for a secular celebration of Christmas. For them, Lutheran Hour Ministries has created a booklet, video blog and website called Over the Static.

In Home for the Holidays, Pastor Wayne Palmer highlights how God is at home with us in His Word, Baptism, and the Sacraments all the days of our lives. The devotions use personal reflections and memories and Scripture to remind us about our eternal home in heaven, made possible by Christ’s gift to us.

Home for the Holidays is available in printed copies from Lutheran Laymen’s League of Canada at a cost of .60 per copy. (Call 1-800-555-6236 or e-mail helpful@lll.ca to order.) Congregations can also download, customize, and print copies. The devotions will also be available in audio format and via e-mail beginning November 26. People can also read the devotions each day at www.lhm.org/advent.

In Over the Static, Pastor Dion Garrett gets creative and introduces a video blog (vlog) into the seasonal mix. The video blog will be available at www.overthestatic.com and also on YouTube. This on-camera chronicle of one man’s passage from “Black Friday” (the day after US Thanksgiving in late November) to Christmas Eve charts his observations, bewilderment and, ultimately, gratitude as he discovers what Christmas can mean for him—a twenty-something college student.

Though the message will resonate with churchgoers, the intended audience for this devotion is unchurched individuals and those who are only marginally involved in a church. Besides the video blog, Over the Static can also be read online, downloaded customized and printed. Congregations can also embed the Youtube feed on their websites.

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