The Dean’s Advent Message

Advent, a season of watching and waiting, is one of the shortest seasons of the Christian year. We hurtle towards Christmas as though it were the only goal before us but Christmas is a goal we know and expect.

The attentiveness to which Advent calls us is a true attentiveness that is capable of being surprised by what comes to our attention.

So in Advent we are summoned to discern the signs of God’s appearing. We are invited to look for the signs of God in the faces and lives of those around us. We are stirred to see God at work in our lives. All of these discoveries follow from giving time to watching and waiting during these brief weeks of Advent.

James Rigney
Dean of Newcastle