Advent is a season of waiting — anticipating the celebration of Christmas. For Christians, there is a particular focus which sits within and alongside the lights, songs, and gift-giving: the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The word Advent simply means “arrival.” We wait for the arrival of Jesus. Yes, we celebrate his first coming — born in humility and poverty, in a conflicted world where oppression and injustice were never far away.
But Advent also draws our attention to another arrival still to come — the one the Bible speaks of — when Jesus is fully seen and recognised, revealing the depth of God’s love, justice, and peace. His coming uncovers how small our accepted patterns of living can sometimes be, and opens our eyes to a richer, fuller way of life. This is the Advent adventure.
Advent, with its waiting, preparation, and anticipation, could simply become a familiar cycle — Advent, Christmas, New Year… and so on. But it can be more than repetition. It can be the beginning of an adventure.
Advent is an invitation: the invitation to step into a new way of living, shaped by the life and teaching of Jesus as we encounter him in the Gospels. And genuine discipleship is indeed an adventure — one that stretches, challenges, and reshapes us.
This adventure invites us to prioritise love, justice, and peace. It opens the possibility of new beginnings — a new path, a renewed outlook, a more hopeful way of being. It invites us to travel through life with Jesus: to know ourselves as deeply loved, to extend that love to others, to view our communities and our world through the lens of justice and act where we can, and to seek peace — a deep wholeness woven through all things.
Welcome to Advent. Perhaps this year, Advent can be the beginning of your new adventure.
We hope you will join us as we celebrate Christmas together this year at Evesham Baptist Church.
Sunday 21 December at 10.30 a.m.
Altogether Christmas celebration
A lively interactive service designed for all ages.
Sunday 21 December 6.00 p.m.
Carols by Twinklelight
An evening of traditional carols and readings, involving our local community, followed by festive refreshments.
Thursday 25 December 10.00 a.m.
Christmas Day celebration.
Together we celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Suitable for all ages.