Advent 2025: 25 Days of Action 

Advent is a season of waiting, but it is not a passive waiting. It is a time of hopeful expectation, a time when we prepare for the coming of God’s kingdom of peace and justice. This year, as we look around at the challenges facing our communities, our nation, and the wider world, we sense that waiting must be active. The birth of Christ calls us not only to hope for change but to embody it, to be people through whom God’s light shines in dark places.

That’s why our theme this Advent is 25 Days of Action. We are inviting everyone in our church family to explore what it means to wait with purpose, to turn our Advent reflections into small acts of compassion, justice, and solidarity.

We’ve put together a list of 25 ideas for action. These are not meant to be a checklist or a daily task list, but rather a menu of possibilities. You might choose a few that feel manageable, and perhaps one or two that take you outside your comfort zone. Together, our individual choices can weave a tapestry of hope and generosity across our communities.

Some actions are practical: bringing items for the food bank, donating baby clothes to Baby Basics, or joining the Sandwich Run to share food and conversation with people sleeping rough. Others involve advocacy: writing to your MP about the two-child benefit cap, learning about the Lift the Ban campaign for people seeking asylum, or taking part in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign. Still others are about relationship and presence: inviting a neighbour for Sunday lunch, visiting someone who might find this season difficult, or joining in carol singing at a care home.

Each small act is a candle lit in the darkness. Together, t​hey form a movement of love that points toward the heart of Advent, Emmanuel, God with us. In a world of anxiety, inequality, and conflict, every action for peace, justice, and compassion is a way of saying we are waiting, but we are not idle. We are preparing the way for the One who brings good news to the poor and sets the captives free.

So, as we light the Advent candles this year, may we also light the fire of justice and generosity in our lives. May our waiting be active, our faith courageous, and our love tangible. And may the hope of Christ’s coming renew in us the vision of God’s kingdom, where peace and righteousness meet, and every person is known as beloved.

At the end of this article, you’ll find the full list of 25 Actions for Advent. Choose a few that speak to you, and let’s wait together, in action, for the coming of God’s kingdom.
 

Beth Keith, Vicar.