The issue of climate change is high on people's agenda

Shot through with hope. -- Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York
Like Bach's great Wachet auf! chorale, this walk through the weeks of Advent is both a carefully constructed meditation, and an unsettling call to action. In the face of climate catastrophe, Nicholas Holtam invites us to pause in front of paintings that challenge us with the scale of our responsibilities, and reveal the grace we are promised if we tackle them. Poetry and music, painting and personal recollections combine in a new version of the Advent call to change our lives - while we still can. In Bach's words: Wake up! * Neil MacGregor, broadcaster and former museum director *
We need a strong spirituality to help us address the issues of climate change. This Advent, Bishop Holtam invites the reader to an internal journey of self-discovery, where we recognize both our miraculous uniqueness and our inextricable unity with the rest of Creation. -- Christiana Figueres, Head of UN Climate Change Convention, 2010-2016
The ideal Advent companion! Rooted both in the Bible and the current environmental crisis, Bishop Holtam's meditations help us to face the challenge of the Saviour who will finally come in judgement of what we have done to God's world, while we are preparing to offer all we have to the Babe of Bethlehem. Read it yourself daily, study it in weekly groups - but most importantly, wake from sleep and act now before it is too late. -- The Revd Canon Professor Richard A. Burridge, biblical scholar and Canon Theologian
[A] beautiful volume . . . Combining the acts of hearing and seeing, the book induces a worshipful stillness * Christianity Today on THE ART OF WORSHIP *

Nicholas Holtam retired as Bishop of Salisbury and the Church of England's lead bishop for the environment in 2021. He is the author of The Art of Worship: Paintings, Prayers, and Readings for Meditation and A Room with a View: Ministry with the World at Your Door. Sleepers Wake! is his first Advent book.