WELCOME to this 'pop up' website for the Upper Holme Valley Team of Churches.
On this page you will find resources to help you walk through Advent towards Christmas, previous weeks content is available by clicking 'Previous weeks' in the above menu.
Light of the World
Light of the World is a series of reflections to help you prepare spiritually for Christmas. Each Sunday of Advent a new reflection will be posted on this page for you to use during the coming week. There will also be a final reflection for Christmas Day.
Every reflection will conclude with a number of ‘questions to think about’. We would suggest you revisit the reflection on a few occasions during the week, spending time thinking prayerfully about a different question each time you visit.
A brief format for personal prayer is included on this page which contains a slot for using the reflections, but please feel free to use them in any way that suits you.
The reflections relate to the Light of the World art installation that has been placed in the shop window of the old Tourist Information Centre at the top of Victoria Street in Holmfirth. You might like to have a look at this artwork as part of your Advent reflections.
On this page you will find resources to help you walk through Advent towards Christmas, previous weeks content is available by clicking 'Previous weeks' in the above menu.
Light of the World
Light of the World is a series of reflections to help you prepare spiritually for Christmas. Each Sunday of Advent a new reflection will be posted on this page for you to use during the coming week. There will also be a final reflection for Christmas Day.
Every reflection will conclude with a number of ‘questions to think about’. We would suggest you revisit the reflection on a few occasions during the week, spending time thinking prayerfully about a different question each time you visit.
A brief format for personal prayer is included on this page which contains a slot for using the reflections, but please feel free to use them in any way that suits you.
The reflections relate to the Light of the World art installation that has been placed in the shop window of the old Tourist Information Centre at the top of Victoria Street in Holmfirth. You might like to have a look at this artwork as part of your Advent reflections.
THIS WEEK
Prayer
Reflections for this week:
Advent 2: Celebrating Kindness
Ephesians 4:32 'Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.'
Kindness can be underrated and equated with weakness. With kind people sometimes seen as “mugs”, likely to be taken advantage of and being “too nice” disparaged,
acting kindly might seem like putting other’s happiness first.
But it has the potential to nourish our own wellbeing and deepen those relationships that promote our own mental health and happiness. We all know in our hearts when we have received or offered kindness because of the feeling it brings.
Kindness reflects what lives in our heart and says “I want you to be happy.”
It is at the heart of the Christian gospel and in a society where “what’s in it for me?” rules and where success is measured in material outcomes, remembering the little things that please someone, doing something which shows unexpected kindness can be a powerful way to live our lives differently.
So, in a world where you can choose to be anything you dream of, why not choose to be kind
Gleaming Light
from Reflections in the Word
(https://reflectionsintheword.org)
Then in these acts of kindness done
It is not me you see,
But glimpses of that Loving One
Who chose to dwell in me.
Is it possible to imagine a world in which everyone shows kindness to each other?
How do we celebrate kindness and yet make it part of everyday life?
Is kindness something we can learn?
What can we do to become more kind?
How do we create a kinder society?
Advent 2: Celebrating Kindness
Ephesians 4:32 'Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.'
Kindness can be underrated and equated with weakness. With kind people sometimes seen as “mugs”, likely to be taken advantage of and being “too nice” disparaged,
acting kindly might seem like putting other’s happiness first.
But it has the potential to nourish our own wellbeing and deepen those relationships that promote our own mental health and happiness. We all know in our hearts when we have received or offered kindness because of the feeling it brings.
Kindness reflects what lives in our heart and says “I want you to be happy.”
It is at the heart of the Christian gospel and in a society where “what’s in it for me?” rules and where success is measured in material outcomes, remembering the little things that please someone, doing something which shows unexpected kindness can be a powerful way to live our lives differently.
So, in a world where you can choose to be anything you dream of, why not choose to be kind
Gleaming Light
from Reflections in the Word
(https://reflectionsintheword.org)
Then in these acts of kindness done
It is not me you see,
But glimpses of that Loving One
Who chose to dwell in me.
Is it possible to imagine a world in which everyone shows kindness to each other?
How do we celebrate kindness and yet make it part of everyday life?
Is kindness something we can learn?
What can we do to become more kind?
How do we create a kinder society?
