Get ready for Christ(mas)! Advent—a holy, four-week countdown to Jesus’ birthday—begins on Sunday, November 28! Get ready to make room for Christ and the radical, countercultural messages that Christ brings.
Throughout the season, videos, prayers, family resources, and reflections on this page will introduce and explore the Christmas story. For more worship resources visit our Advent and Christmas worship pages. Follow our Advent Unwrapped Facebook page and subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates.
Worship Ideas
Advent Candle Lighting (238.08 KB): Candle lighting prayers to use alongside "O Come O Come Emmanuel."
Candle-Lighting Liturgy (26.57 KB): An invitation to consider our world that God so loves beyond the familiar and engage with the non-familiar.
Hidden Gift Sunday (41.61 KB): A service that reflects the trials of 2020 while focusing on the spiritual gift of Joy.
In the Rich Dark of Winter: An Advent Communion Service (235.68 KB): Using expansive scriptural imagery, the theme of this Advent Unwrapped service is anticipating God’s fulfilled promise of the renewal of all things.
Jesse Tree Advent Prayer Service (43.13 KB): An Advent prayer service rooted in the story of the Jesse Tree.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (269.67 KB): A one-rehearsal Advent Unwrapped pageant with the message "God is with us! We are not alone."
Music
Advent Intercultural Hymn Festival (219.55 KB): These songs with accompanying commentary can be combined with seasonal prayers and scripture readings to create an Advent hymn festival. Please credit Bruce Harding for this resource and the music arrangements.
Advent Prayer Song (SAB) (Nancy Chegus) (61.83 KB): Short SAB piece (a cappella, optional piano) suitable for worship during Advent. Please credit the composer.
Stories behind Carols: First Sunday after Christmas (37.2 KB): An Advent Unwrapped service based on the origins of some classic Christmas carols.
Related Material
12 Days of Christmas Activities (31.08 KB): Enjoy these activities throughout the 12 days of Christmas.
Advent Calendar 2021 (160.38 KB): A 2021 Advent calendar with activities to enjoy.
Advent Unwrapped Activity Sheets (675.28 KB): Activity sheets to help you reflect, pray, and prepare for Christ.
Advent Unwrapped Projection Slide (105.44 KB): Show this slide in your online or in-person worship to let your community of faith know about Advent Unwrapped.
Animate the Nativity (54.02 KB): Celebrate the season by imagining the nativity as a living, changing story.
Body Prayers (2.31 MB): An Advent Unwrapped “action prayer” for each week of the Advent/Christmas season.
Buy Less Shopping Guide (108.17 KB): An Advent Unwrapped shopping guide for all ages for a Buy Less Christmas.
Christmas Gift Books (138.12 KB): Books about faith and Christmas to give to children and grandchildren, selected by the Rev. Susan Lukey.
Colouring Storybook (1.15 MB): Actively explore the story of Christmas using this 17-page Advent Unwrapped colouring book.
Epiphany Traditions (27.26 KB): Take part in these traditional activities during advent.
Family Prayers and Blessings (221.67 KB): An Advent Unwrapped resource of traditional prayers and creative blessings.
Household Advent Scavenger Hunt (420.16 KB): See if you can find these symbols and traditions of Christmas in your home or church!
Sharing the News (40.39 KB): This light-hearted Advent Unwrapped Christmas pageant has been updated to reflect some of the major concerns of 2020.
Story and Activity Cards (504.26 KB): Meet the characters of the Christmas story, from Isaiah to the Holy Family, through these Advent Unwrapped cards. Includes activities for all ages.
The Good News of Joy to the World (226.11 KB): A five-session Advent Unwrapped Bible study on the Gospel of Luke by the Rev. Dr. Peggy Mulambya-Kabonde of The United Church of Zambia.
The Good News Story (392.39 KB): Four Advent Unwrapped Sunday school session outlines.
Watching and Waiting: A Daily Vigil Based on the O Antiphons (628.25 KB): Follow the ancient tradition of praying the “O Antiphons,” familiar from the carol “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” using this Advent Unwrapped resource. You can set aside nightly family prayer time for the last week of Advent or adapt this ritual in another way.
Worship Blog
Singing Reversals
May Mary’s song turn our complacency, privilege, and gate-keeping upside down, and make possible life-flourishing communities that are just, open, and joyful.
Whistle-blowers, Leaks, and Bearing Fruit
Subversive voices can call for and point to a new kind of existence.
Message and Messenger
More than ever, we need to be reminded that we have been made for goodness.
Reimagining a Different World
Michael Jagessar welcomes Advent as a time to create space, reimagine, and see the promise of the future.
Looking Forward to Advent
Author Michael Jagessar introduces his blog series for Advent Unwrapped.
Finding a New Way into the Story
Trauma expert Diane Strickland asks us to find our way into the Christmas story wherever we are and however we can—much like Joseph did on that very first Christmas.
We Are Pilgrims on a Journey of Love
Reflecting on the young adult pilgrimage to Palestine Israel, Shanna Bernier writes about walking in the footsteps of so many pilgrims before them, all together on a journey of faith and love.
Joyful Singing as Nonviolent Resistance
Shanna Bernier shares an Advent reflection on a pilgrimage to Palestine-Israel she took part in with other young adults. The group found that even joyful singing could be a form of nonviolent resistance!
Seeking Peace Instead of Turmoil
In this Advent reflection, Shanna Bernier finds that even in times of great upheaval and change, deep moments of peace exist.
Speaking of Darkness in Advent
Our ingrained notions of black/white and darkness/light as inherently good and evil can guide how we treat each other.
Merry Christmas!
We have all the tools we need to mend the world and bring about Christ’s Kingdom.
The Final Countdown
Alydia Smith writes, "It’s exciting and scary to imagine what change, God’s will, might actually look like."
Who Is Jesus? A Reflection in Two Voices
Rev. Susan Lukey and Rev. David Robertson reflect on how Jesus is known by many names—but all of them mean love.
A mixtape made with love to help you prepare for Christmas
Alydia Smith shares an Advent mixtape to enjoy together, as we wait for Christ(mas).
Alternative Gift-Giving for a Buy Less Christmas
Kathryn Gray muses on how we can be more mindful with gifts this Advent, and not give in to the pressure to shop/consume/shop some more...
Christmas at Home: Time to Celebrate Together
Create an Advent-Christmas season that embraces the gift of God’s presence in Jesus.
Getting Ready for Christ(mas): Combatting Anti-Semitism in Advent
The Rev. Dr. HyeRan Kim-Cragg reflects on how we can work to fight against antisemitism during Advent.
Christmas at Home: The Gift of Ritual
In this season, many things distract us from nurturing faith within our families.
Get Ready: Time to Make Your Advent Calendars
An Advent calendar can help set apart Advent as a special time.
A Kin-dom of Peace and Justice
December has a number of special days that call on people of goodwill to work together.
Getting Ready for Christmas: Advent Videos
Reflecting on who we think Christ is as a way to help prepare for Christmas is an ancient tradition.
O Come, Emmanuel
In this Christmas pageant, the sheep deliver the words we all need to hear.
Stories behind Carols
The first Sunday after Christmas is a perfect opportunity to enjoy Christmas carols and stories.
Pull Out the Christmas Music
Adding some different liturgical music during Advent can certainly make everyone take notice that it’s a new season.
Hanging the Greens
During Advent, we prepare our sanctuaries and buildings to be symbols of preparing ourselves for the birth, and rebirth, of Jesus.
