Advent Conspiracy

How can we meaningfully observe the season of Advent? I've been looking for new ideas, and I came upon a website with an interesting approach. Advent Conspiracy offers a new way to celebrate to Advent and Christmas. Basically they're trying to de-commercialize Christmas and make it more meaningful by helping us think about how we observe this season. You can find ithem at www.adventconspiracy.org

They offer four basic concepts:

• Worship Fully
• Spend Less
• Give More
• Love All

Here's what the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Boise, Idaho, did for their Advent Conspiracy:

"Our parish has adopted Advent Conspiracy as a way to encourage parishioners to Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All. We showed the video at all Masses, along with our own Powerpoint show, and it was met with applause! We are asking parishioners to support charities that help the poor, including the World Hunger Project, which provides a way for families to grow sustainable food sources, including getting seed and water sources, as well as support for our St. Vincent dePaul Conference, our Food Bank, our Christmas Giving Tree program for needy families, and Catholic Charities."

Of course, we already do many of these things during Advent. We support various local non-profits and we participate in Christmas Angels. But the theme of "Advent Conspiracy" might be a way to tie them all together. An interesting idea for us for next year?