The four Sundays of Advent focus on Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.  We light candles to remind ourselves of the light that shines in the darkness that the darkness cannot overcome.  Advent is a season of waiting, watching and preparing for the coming of greater light.

I recommend the book Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone as a perfect complement to those themes.  I will be drawing on it throughout the season.

The subtitle of the book is How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy.  It is contemporary yet grounded in ancient wisdom and the authors exhibit a range of scholarship you would expect from a graduate of Wellesley with a PHD dissertation that compared Buddhist cosmology to modern Systems Theory, joined by a psychologist MD specializing in helping people move toward resilience, happiness and positive change.

The best thing about this book is that it shows a way through any time of hardship, depressing news or despair—a way that can lead to an active hope and new and greater meaning in our lives.  It is a practical Advent path of light for every season.

You can read more about it and order it here: https://www.norwichbookstore.com/book/9781577319726

Hope, peace, joy and love,

Pastor Tom Kinder