From the Eco Action Team
As members of the Eco Action Team, we think often about how our faith shapes the way we care for creation—how we use our time, our energy, and our resources in ways that honor God. Advent offers a particularly beautiful invitation into that kind of mindful, faithful living.
While the wider world speeds up this time of year—with more events, more ads, more pressure to buy and do—Advent itself calls us to something countercultural: purpose, preparation, and holy attentiveness. It invites us to slow down, to notice, and to make room for hope.
This year, we’d like to encourage you to enter Advent with intention, especially around the choices that touch both our spirits and the earth. Our consumption—how we spend money, what we purchase, what we throw away, what we say yes or no to—has spiritual and ecological consequences. Advent is a wonderful time to bring those into alignment.
You might consider taking a quiet moment—maybe with a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon—to reflect on a few questions:
- What experiences help me feel grounded, connected to God, and connected to creation during Advent?
- What practices or traditions help me live more lightly on the earth?
- What kinds of spending or gift-giving bring real meaning, and which feel more like obligation or habit?
- What activities tend to exhaust me, clutter my home, or generate waste—and what might I gently set aside?
Some people find it grounding to write two simple lists:
“What I hope to welcome this Advent” and “What I want to release.”
Naming these things ahead of time can help us move through the weeks more faithfully—choosing experiences that nourish the soul, giving in ways that honor people and planet, and letting go of the overconsumption that can leave us feeling depleted rather than joyful.
By Christmas morning, we hope you’ll be able to look back with gratitude: at the moments that felt meaningful, the choices that aligned with your values, the ways you cared for the earth, and the gentle boundaries that made room for joy.
May this Advent be a season of intention, simplicity, and grace as we prepare for the One who comes to make all things new.
TRY THIS WEEK: A Simple Advent Intention-Setting Practice
Pick one day this week to pause for 10 minutes with a warm drink.
Write down:
- Three things I want more of this Advent
(such as stillness, time outside, homemade gifts, prayer, community…) - Three things I want less of this Advent
(such as waste, hurried shopping, overcommitted weekends, plastic packaging…)
Place the list somewhere you’ll see it. Let it gently guide your choices—and your care for the earth—as the season unfolds.