In the church calendar, the new year doesn’t start in January but in December! Starting on December 1 we begin a new liturgical year with the season of Advent. This year we will switch our focus from the Gospel of Mark to the Gospel of Luke. Throughout Advent we prepare our hearts and our lives for the coming of Christ, the light of the world. The color for advent is blue and each week we sing the eternal hope of the church, “O Come, O Come, Immanuel!” and light our advent candles. We light one more candle each week, the growing brightness symbolizing the coming of Christ’s light into our darkness.