The Advent wreath is a powerful symbol that focuses attention on the coming of Christ -- past, present, and future. Yet the connection between this traditional element of Advent worship and the rest of the service is not always explicit, especially for those churches who follow the lectionary. Building on his previous best-selling volumes of Services for the Advent Wreath, Robert Jarboe offers a wide selection of flexible worship resources that put the Advent candles firmly in the context of the day's scripture readings. There are complete orders of service based on each Cycle A lectionary text for every Sunday in Advent, as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Each service is conveniently formatted, and includes reproducible sheets that can be given to participants as well as bulletin inserts with congregational readings. Everything you need to make lighting the Advent wreath a symbolic centerpiece of the worship celebration is here -- all in one place!

Each service includes:

- litanies

- scripture readings

- prayers

- an original musical introit

Robert S. Jarboe is a retired pastor who served congregations in the North Indiana conference of the United Methodist Church. He is the author of the CSS titles Services for the Advent Wreath, More Services for the Advent Wreath (Cycles B and C), and Services for the Lenten Candles. Jarboe is a graduate of Manchester College (B.S. in music) and United Theological Seminary (M.Div.).