As Advent–the four week period preceding Christmas–approaches, faithful Christians seek meaningful ways of remembering Christ’s birth and awaiting his second coming. Whether you’re looking for daily reflections, creative activities for families, or opportunities for spiritual growth, there is a rich array of resources to guide you on this sacred journey. Here are five Advent resources that invite us into deeper prayer, joyful anticipation, and shared hope as we await the light of Christmas in the midst of darkness.

On many Sundays, when we pray for our church leaders by name in the Prayers of the People, we begin with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion. In early October, the Church of England announced that a new archbishop had been chosen, Bishop Sarah Mullally of London. She is the first woman to serve in the office, which dates to the arrival of St. Augustine in Kent in 597, and will begin her ministry in late January.

I got to experience the Dignity movement firsthand a couple of weeks ago, at a national gathering of leaders in education, politics, community organizations, and faith communities, which I attended with Bishop Mariann. It was a packed day of in-depth training on what exactly the movement means by dignity, how to use the research-based dignity index tool, and how a commitment to honoring dignity could begin to shift the polarization of our country.