Encountering and Sharing God’s Transforming Love
Ss Peter & Paul, Wantage:
Church Street, Wantage, OX12 8AQ
Holy Trinity, Charlton:
Charlton Village Road, Wantage
OX12 7HW
Resources for your spiritual life
ADVENT
The word ‘Advent’ comes from the Latin for ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’. It is a period of waiting, in darkness but in hope. During the four weeks of Advent, we look forward to the celebration of Christ’s first coming at Christmas, and prepare for Christ’s return, when he will finally establish God’s kingdom of peace and joy.
Spiritual Resources for Advent
THIS WEEK an Advent Retreat with two Poets of Wales
Follow the Star: The Great Invitation
Pray-as-you-go Daily Meditations and Audio/Virtual Advent Retreats
An Advent Retreat with two Poets of Wales: 30 November 2024
Places are now available for this event organised by the Oxford Centre for Spiritual Growth on Saturday 30th November 2024.
Led by Revd Dr Carys Walsh, the retreat will be held at St Michael at the North Gate Church in Oxford and introduced by Revd Anthony Buckley.
Carys Walsh has long been inspired by how poetry can open up to us the depths of faith, and speaks on this regularly. She is an Anglican priest, has been a psychotherapist, taught in a theological college, and has for many years worked in discernment and formation in the Church of England.
‘Entering Advent is to enter a time of waiting and preparation for God-with-us in the incarnation. It can also be to enter a rich time of discovery about ourselves, about God, and about what it means to discover the world afresh as a place of gift and grace.
Join her in this journey accompanied with the unique voice of two poets of Wales -
R. S. Thomas and Gerard Manley Hopkins.
There will be three talks with a lunch break in-between.
For more details, please refer to the Event's Page, on the OCSG's website.
For details on tickets, please follow this link:
An Advent Retreat with two poets of Wales - Oxford Centre for Spiritual Growth (ocsg.uk.net)
Follow the Star: The Great Invitation
This app is available to download now for free and features daily Advent reflections (1 - 23 December) and 12 days of Christmas reflections (24 December - 6 January).
Together, each reflection takes you on a journey that will help you take fresh encouragement and hope from Advent and the Christmas story into the year ahead.
Follow the link HERE for more information and to download the app.
Pray-as-you-go Daily Meditations and Audio/Virtual Advent Retreats
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Sign up to daily podcast Advent reflections at 'Pray as you go' or download the Pray-as-you-go app.
There will be a special Advent ‘audio retreat’ entitled 'Pilgrims of Hope' each Monday during Advent, starting with an introduction on Monday 28 November and concluding on Christmas Eve. More details will be coming soon on their website.
They will also be offering a virtual Advent retreat via Zoom in collaboration with the Jesuit Institute.
'We Hope: Reflecting Back, Gazing Forward' will have sessions from 29th November to 1st December.
If you'd like to dive deep into your Advent reflections early and spend some time praying alongside others, this is going to be the space for you.
Brian Draper: The Inside of Love
Sign up to receive a short, reflective e-mail each weekday morning from Monday 2 December to Friday 20 December, and join together for a 'Live at Five' on YouTube each Friday at 5pm UK time. It's a brief but lovely time to pause together, light a candle and gather up the week. (You can watch later if you're not free at 5.) See Brian's website for details.
Reading for Advent
A selection of recommended books exploring Advent can by found on the Church Times website.
Other Spiritual Resources
...grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18
We have put together a few resources below that you may find useful to enlarge upon your spiritual life. Aside from attending the usual church services, there is opportunity for reading scripture in a group to prayer and worship time at the Holy Half Hour. There is something always available in Wantage Parish.
Group meetings for study and prayer
Gifts for Everyday Faith can be used on its own, or as the first step in a Personal Discipleship Plan. The answers you provide to the series of simple statements in the document will help you to think through where your gifts are strongest. It's a surprisingly insightful tool! Follow the Gifts for Everyday Faith link to discover your gifts.
Personal Discipleship Plan
Launched in to engage with the ‘Personal Discipleship Plan’ scheme, and maybe take up the offer of meeting with one of our team of Encouragers. Contact Susie at PDP@wantageparish.com if you are interested in this. You can find out more on the Oxford diocese web page.
Apps
Church of England Everyday Faith App is a daily devotional app from the Church of England designed to inspire, equip and encourage you in your faith every day of the week, not just on Sundays.
‘Pray as you go’ offers daily scripture, led meditation and music through the year, as well as teaching about spiritual practices such as Lectio Divina and the Ignatian Examen. You can opt in to their extra Lent materials as a ‘Lent retreat’. It is available via website and phone app (all free).
Church House Publishing (the official publisher of the Church of England) has various Apps available. Some apps offer a free introductory period followed by a subscription rate which can be read in the T&C's.
Sign up for Daily meditations from Richard Rohr throughout the year via the Centre for Action and Contemplation
Other resources
The above are just a few examples. There are many more resources, suitable for any time of year, on the Oxford Diocese website: see here for discipleship and for prayer and scripture.
Confession: Please contact the vicar at vicar@wantageparish.com to arrange this.