1) Do you observe Advent in your church? I will be starting to attend a new church this Sunday, so I will find out. The last four churches I have attended or pastored at have observed Advent.

2) How about at home? Yes, I normally use an Advent devotional during my morning prayers and have an Advent wreath.

3) Do you have a favorite Advent text or hymn? It’s cliche but I really do like “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” My favorite text is Isaiah 2:2-4: “In days to come the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

4) Why is one of the candles in the Advent wreath pink? (You may tell the truth, but I’ll like your answer better if it’s funny.) I can’t think of anything funny, so I’ll have to go with traditional answers. The pink candle was orginally the Mary candle, but we Protestants balked at that (heaven forbid we should give due reverence to the Mother of God), and now it is the joy candle.

5) What’s the funniest/kitschiest Advent calendar you’ve ever seen? Well, the most irreverant one I’ve seen had reindeer is “compromising” positions.