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St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

215 N. 7th, Terre Haute, Indiana

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Advent

The Rector's Blog · November 27, 2024

Disciples, Apostles, and Saints!

This Sunday, we begin a new liturgical year again, with Advent, the four Sundays that precede Christmas Day. The themes for Advent involve anticipation, waiting, preparing, which are themes abundant in the culture this time every year as people prepare for Christmas parties, gift-giving, and decorating our homes, offices, and churches for the festivities to come!

We should note that these aren’t exactly matches for Advent’s themes—as we anticipate the in-breaking grace of God in the incarnate Jesus, whose presence comes as a threat to kings and a boon to the poor; whose own mother sings, not just of her lowliness, but of God’s greatness to bring the powerful off of their thrones and to level the field for all people. The anticipation of the season is for the arrival of justice and new hope for the world—not toys and Christmas music.

Yet there is a long history of the church being in conversation with the culture. Some of the church’s most famous hymns were drinking songs with new lyrics about the Trinity, grace, or hope in the resurrected Christ. In the same way, our experience of a world transformed, willing to sing “Joy to the World” in public, neighbors wishing their neighbors health and joy and happiness for the year ahead—we can work with this! And we can see the way these anticipations for love and hope and joy can connect with the incarnation, can’t we? That this coming season, with all of its misplaced anxiety and crass consumerism can actually be the perfect place for a birth of new faith, of new justice, of new life.

With love,
Drew

Filed Under: The Rector's Blog Tagged With: Advent, discipleship, What's Going On

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CONTACT

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
215 N. 7th St
Terre Haute, IN 47807

812-232-5165

officeadmin@ststephensth.org

ABOUT

St. Stephen’s is a sacramental community following Jesus’s Way of Love.

We worship on Sundays at 8 & 10.

AFFILIATIONS

St. Stephen’s is a member of The Episcopal Church and congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis.

St. Stephen’s is a member of the Homeless Council of the Wabash Valley

PARKING

St. Stephen’s is across from Indiana State University. Nearby parking lots are run by ISU and are free after 5pm weekdays and are free all weekend long. 

Five marked spots in the lot directly behind the church are available during the week.

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