As we begin Advent and prepare for the birth of Christ in all the practical ways — gift buying, tree trimming, decorating, meal planning, and more — it’s important to prepare to welcome Jesus into our ...

"And what I say to you I say to all: Watch" (Mark 13:37). This verse is from the Gospel of Mark, one of the three synoptic Gospels. The Gospel of Mark is attributed to St. Mark the Evangelist and is ...

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Or, really, it’s been looking like Christmas in many stores since September. Houses are decorated. Some churches have been holding special Christmas ...

On the evening we decorated our Christmas tree, my mom always spent what felt like hours arranging the strings of white lights. I waited with the same impatient anticipation I had experienced all of ...

Some churches are arching their backs against earlier and earlier celebrations of Christmas by extending Advent, the season that leads up to... A longer Advent helps some Christians prepare for more ...

When we think of change, do we imagine change for the better, or do we think of struggling to adjust to a new way of doing things? The beautiful words of the prophet Isaiah that many of us heard on ...

Christmas trees and other holiday decor sprouted up in some places this year even before Halloween. And while many people want to resist this early holiday creep, some churches take a different ...

When he was a college campus chaplain in the Boston area, the Rev. Cameron Partridge saw how stressed his students were in the weeks leading up to Christmas break. "You know, you've got the end of the ...