Starry Nights - The Lighting of the Advent Wreath

With the arrival of Advent I, the first day of the Church Year (for those denominations that follow the lectionary) on Sunday, November 27, 2022, the St. Anselm’s community began its year-long celebration of the parish’s 70th Anniversary.

At 4pm on Advent I, folks gathered at the church on the UBC Endowment Lands to enjoy the legendary St. Anselm’s hospitality of good food and drink and to light the outdoor Advent Wreath between 4:30 and 5pm as darkness fell over the Point Grey neighbourhood. Now this isn’t just any Advent Wreath, the Christmas Candle is approximately 1.5 metres in height, with the four Advent candles just a bit shorter. An Advent Wreath of this size displayed on a church building is the first of its kind in the diocese. Bishop John Stephens was present to bless and dedicate the wreath. Also in attendance was the Reverend Tellison Glover, diocesan Director for Mission and Ministry Development who’d listened enthusiastically to the vicar’s (the Reverend Alex Wilson) plan to create a large plastic Advent Wreath, and although such an initiative may not exactly dot every ‘I’ and cross every ‘t’ of a Parish Development Grant, Tellison found the money to help support the project.

At approximately 4:40pm, all those in attendance left the warmth of the St. Anselm’s narthex where the reception was being held and went out the main doors for the flipping of the switch. The Reverend Alex Wilson shared some history of the project including a brief outline of its construction, Bishop John gave a Blessing, and the wreath was illuminated with a particularly bright light shining from the Advent I “candle”.

Another component of the Advent Wreath launch was the invitation to all those in attendance to create their own Advent Wreaths. The materials were laid in the entrance to the nave with assembly tables available where wreath makers could take the components and assemble their own wreaths to enjoy at home.

In a post on the St. Anselm’s website, the Reverend Alex Wilson gives some background about Advent and goes into much more details about the craft construction of the wreaths. (Please follow this link to the post.)

Here is an excerpt:

“The origins of the Advent wreath are complicated, with many interpretations and assumptions about style, purpose, colour and meaning. At its core it is a device to tell time, in that the candles burn down over time which is a physical reminder of time moving towards a goal. But what is that goal? Well, in the wreath there are five candles of different colours. The colour is less important than the meaning, however, because the meaning of the candles are a reminder of the light of Christ which we are preparing to receive again at Christmas. It is for this reason that the centre candle, which we call “the Christ Candle” is the largest of them all -- because it is our goal. It is the Christ candle because we light it only on Christmas day and the days which follow until January 6th as we give thanks for the coming of Christ, the anchor of our hope, at Christmas.”

IMAGES

• The Advent Wreath at St. Anselm’s as it appeared at 5pm on November 27, Advent I 
• St. Anselm’s lay leader, Heather Friesen, ODNW and Bishop John pose for a photo at the pre-lighting reception 
• An attractive design accent set up in the narthex helped to set the mood. Apparently it came from IKEA
• Topnotch goodies at St. Anselm’s 
• The table located in the nave’s entrance vestibule with the wreath components 
• Jane has nearly completed her wreath
• St. Anselm's Advent Tree
• Bishop John dedicates the wreath
• The large poster on the west side of the church which faces West 10th Avenue inviting folks to participate in the Journey of Advent. A QR code is prominently displayed which will guide folks to St. Anselm’s Advent and Christmas worship and events posts.
• The new wreath against the night sky

Photos: Randy Murray