Sunday, December 22, 2024

Theme

‘Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through the house

Not a creature was stirring

Except, maybe, a mouse?

This week we have a special treat, the children and youth will be performing a Christmas Pageant called, “Updated ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” which uses the famous Christmas Poem by Clement Clarke Moore as an opportunity to tell the Christmas Story from Luke’s Gospel. You will certainly not want to miss this performance.

Also, remember to join us for a reception for Millie Shiflett, the accompanist at St Andrews for the last 8 years. The reception will start at 9:45. Millie’s last service will be on January 29th, but since that is often a low attendance service, we wanted to make sure that more people had an opportunity to say farewell and thank her for her beautiful music.

Questions

– How have you felt overwhelmed in this Advent/Christmas season?

– What helps you refocus on the celebration of Jesus’ birth?

– How is seeing the story performed different than just hearing it?

– What is your favorite musical moment that Millie has provided?

Reflections:

Third Sunday of Advent: Love

Introit: For the four Sundays of Advent, we will use the various verses of “Come Now, O Prince of Peace”, in the order most closely matching the week’s advent candle – making this week verse three, “Come now. O God of Love”.

Opening Hymn: The first part of our scripture reading for this week is the Annunciation, where we focus two of our hymns. The opening hymn, a ballad-like retelling of that story, is “To a Maid Whose Name was Mary”.

Transition Hymn: For Advent, we will sing the hymn “O Come, Emmanuel” as our Transition Hymn.

“Updated ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”

Responsive Hymn: Another 20th century retelling of the Annunciation in a folksong style, “No Wind at the Window”.

Sending Hymn: Now we move to the second section of our scripture reading, with “Angels From the Realms of Glory”.

Benediction: For the four weeks of Advent, we sing a more contemplative text (vs. the more traditional entreaty/invitation) focused on individual preparation, the first verse of  “O Lord, How Shall I Meet You”