This Sunday is Advent Sunday, the start of the churches year and when we light the first candle on our Advent wreath. The different festivals and seasons of the year are marked in the church by the use of different coloured cloths for the altar and lectern. Purple is the colour for Advent, a royal imperial colour. A fitting colour for Christ the King, the son of God. The word, ‘Advent’ comes from the Latin, meaning ‘to come’. The churches year begins then in expectation and hope, awaiting the birth of Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem.