ALTHOUGH Church House Publishing has not published a Reflections for Advent this year, the season is covered in its established annual, Reflections for Daily Prayer 2020-2021 , by Kate Bruce, Richard Carter, Andrew Davison, and other well-known Anglican contributors (£16.99 (£15.30); 978-1-78140-179-8). The reflections are on one of the morning-prayer readings in the Common Worship lectionary (excluding Sundays), with scripture references, a collect, simple orders for morning and night prayer, and pieces on daily prayer and Bible reading by Rachel Treweek and Stephen Cottrell respectively.
Waiting in Joyful Hope: Daily reflections for Advent and Christmas 2020-2021 by Michelle Francl-Donnay is a pocket-sized perennial that has also proved popular (Liturgical Press, £1.99 (£1.80); 978-0-8146-6514-5). It is also available in large print (£4.99 (£4.50); 978-0-8146-6514-5).
Alert, Aware, Attentive: Advent reflections (Messenger Publications, £4.50 (£4.05); 978-1-78812-288-7) is by John Cullen, a Roman Catholic, ordained in 1978, latterly in Elphin diocese. His daily reflections begin with a Bible verse, then range widely through poetry and literature, film, and topical references. Covid-19, he notes, is not the first crisis; and the question that arises in all of them is “What are we for?” He sees the answer in a shared story about “a wandering people in exile”.
David Clowes, in 40 Prayers for Advent: Prayers for your church or small group, explains that his early church experience was in extempore prayer, and this is reflected in his everyday style. His prayers grouped under approach, praise, thanksgiving, confession, all-age worship, intercessions, commitment, and dismissal (David C. Cook, £4.99 (£4.50); 978-0-8307-8230-7).
The Christmas We Didn’t Expect: Daily devotions for Advent by David Mathis, a pastor at the Twin Cities church in Minneapolis, comprises daily devotions to Jesus (The Good Book Company, £7.99 (£7.20); 978-1-78498-476-2).
Advent Pilgrimage: A liturgical and musical resource by Chris Thorpe and Tim Ruffer (RSCM, £7.95 (£7.15); 978-0-85402-293-9) provides a liturgical journey through four “Stations”: Hoping, Waiting, Fearing, and Preparing, each with a selection of anthems and hymns. The book includes new works by Thomas Hewitt Jones, Piers Maxim, and Peter Nardone.