The Second Sunday of Advent:
8 December 2024
Contents:
- Propers (Collect and Lessons) for the Second Sunday of Advent, with Hymns.
- Link to the Parish website, whereon is found the YouTube live-stream of our 10:30 a.m. (EDT) service.
- Parish Announcements for the week of December 8th, 2024.
- Rector’s Ramblings: “Yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus” – St. Nicholas of Myra, Bishop: c. 342.
Propers for the Second Sunday of Advent.
The Book of Common Prayer 1928.
The Collect.
BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Advent Collect.
ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and [the]* dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
The Epistle: Romans xv. 4.
WHATSOEVER things were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers : and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; In him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
The Gospel: St. Luke xxi. 25.
AND there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable; Be hold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So like wise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Hymns:
Note: Clicking the link will take you to a YouTube rendition of the hymn in question – especially helpful if it is one that is less familiar to you!
Processional Hymn: “Wake, awake, for night is flying” – #3
Sermon Hymn: “Lo, he comes with clouds descending” – #5 (second tune)
Communion Hymn: “O saving Victim, open wide the gate” – #209
Recessional Hymn: “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed” – #6 (first tune)
The service of Holy Communion, 10:30 a.m. on Sundays, is broadcast weekly via YouTube and on our website:
Watch this Sunday’s live-stream!
Our new website is live and may be found at cca-nc.org. This website should simplify and streamline our information-sharing quite a bit, including the fact that our most current YouTube live-stream will always be found at “Watch this Sunday’s live-stream,” accessible from the menu-bar at the top of the page.
The website is also a place to check our “Current operating status” – in other words, whether or not the church is open for services, in case of inclement weather (or unusual episodes like the sabotage of transformers a few years ago). If in doubt, check us out! Other options include Meet Our Clergy, Who We Are, Services and Office Hours, and How to find us.
All of these links can also be found by scrolling down the main page, as can also sections on “Find Your Place” – ministries of the parish, which you may wish to join – “Recent Media,” both video and audio, and “Recent Posts” on our nascent blog page. The goal is for this to become a “one-stop shop” for information about Christ Church Anglican.
If you have any questions or issues, please contact our media team at [email protected]. And if you wish to volunteer for our media team, please contact our IT/AV/Social media specialist, John Fesq, at [email protected].
Announcements for the Week of Sunday, December 8th, 2024
If you are visiting us: Welcome to Christ Church Anglican, Southern Pines! Thank you for being with us. We are very pleased to have you join us for the service, and hope that your worship here is a blessing to you. Please sign the guest book on the table in the narthex, and provide appropriate contact information. Include your email address in order to be placed on our parish email list: you won’t be bombarded with mail, but it’s a good way to keep in touch. And may God bless you!
Christ Church Anglican’s Choir is always looking for new members! And especially as we prepare for our Service of Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve (see below). Please contact our Choir Director, Amanda, at our church contact page , for further information.
You are also welcome to join the choir for practice even if you are a bit shy and would prefer not to sing in the choir itself, but would like to learn or practice our hymns and service music, and sing from your usual spot in the congregation!
It is said that “who sings, prays twice” – and encouraging congregational singing is an important part of church music. To that end, you will have noticed that we are including YouTube links to our hymns, now, for those who would like to prepare before arriving at the service on Sunday!
Christmas Poinsettias: Poinsettias are native to Mexico, and were unknown in the U.S. until ambassador and botanist Joel Roberts Poinsett saw them and sent some back to his home state of South Carolina in 1828. But, how did they become almost synonymous with Christmas?
Reportedly, Catholic missionaries to Mexico, unable to find holly with which to decorate their churches at Christmastide, turned to the similarly red-and-green colored poinsettias, instead! From there, they “migrated” to American Christmas displays via TV in the later 20th century: Johnny Carson is often credited with helping to popularize them.
In any case, if you would like to donate a poinsettia to help beautify Christ Church this Christmas, and/or to honour or memorialize a loved one, the requested donation is $25: please contact Susan at our church contact page .
Greening of the Church: Perhaps one of the most striking and universal features of Christmas is the use of evergreens in churches and homes. Holly and ivy, along with pine, spruce, and fir, are ever-green, ever-alive, even in the midst of winter. Thus they symbolize the unchanging nature of our God, and remind us of the everlasting life that is ours through Christ Jesus. In Christian thought and sentiment, holly became widely used in church celebrations, a representation which is heard throughout many Advent and Christmas carols, perhaps most notably “The Holly and the Ivy.”
If anyone would like to help with “the Greening of the Church” here at Christ Church Anglican, please join us on Monday, December 23rd, at 9 o’clock a.m.!
Christmas Services: Christmas, the Feast of the Nativity, falls on Wednesday this year. After due consideration, consultation, prayer, and pondering, we have made the decision to have but two services:
Our Christmas Eve service will consist of a Service of Lessons and Carols, incorporating the Holy Communion, at 4 o’clock on Tuesday evening, the 24th of December, for the sake both of our older members who do not wish to drive in the dark, and also for families with young children who might not want to get home too late.
Our Christmas Day service of Holy Communion will be at 11 o’clock on the morning of December 25th: a time intended to fit in between early-morning present-opening and midday or afternoon Christmas dinner.
We will re-evaluate next year, if necessary!
Rector’s Ramblings – St. Nicholas of Myra (c. 342)
Today, December 6th, is the feast day of St. Nicholas! This is not the “jolly old St. Nick” of the secular mythos, mind you, but the passionately-dedicated orthodox Christian bishop of Myra: he reportedly got into a physical altercation with the heretical presbyter Arius (who taught that Jesus Christ was not truly and fully divine by nature, but rather a created being, Son of God only by adoption) during the Council of Nicaea.
However, it is Nicholas, the staunch defender of Nicene orthdoxy – including that Christ is homoousios, e.g., of the same substance or essence, as God the Father, coequal, coeternal, and consubstantial – whose views, along with other great saints like St. Athanasius, prevailed at the Council of Niceaea (from which our Nicene Creed originated).
Nicholas has since evolved, in the public imagination, and by many steps and stages, into the version of “St. Nicholas” we all – even the most secular – know and, usually, love. Today marks one of the steps in that evolution, for in Holland, traditionally, on this night, the children would put their wooden shoes outside the door of their room, in hopes of finding them filled with fruit, candy, and coins (today usually foil-covered chocolates). Why?
Well, St. Nicholas quickly became known as the patron saint of children, after a legend in which he saved three daughters of a poor man from slavery (or worse – forced prostitution) by tossing a small bag of gold into their house each of three successive nights (in Europe “down the chimney,” but in Myra in Anatolia – now Turkey – it is more likely to have been through a roof-top entrance), to serve as their dowries.
From that it is not far to the image of a saint (or in later, secular interpretation, a sort of magical being who embodies “the spirit of Christmas”) who comes down the chimney with toys for good little boys and girls! He also became known as the patron saint of Holland, probably as an extension of his older status as patron saint of sailors: Holland was for a long time quite a sea-power.
The Dutch – who settled part of the Eastern seaboard of what is now the U.S. (New York was originally called New Amsterdam) – called him “Sinter Klaas.” And it is from that name that we now know him as “Santa Claus.” An interesting historic and linguistic transformation! But, “yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus” – even if the contemporary stories told about him bear little resemblance to the 4th century defender of Nicene orthodoxy!
I hope everyone is enjoying a holy and blessed season of Advent, and a fruitful preparation for the Feast of the Nativity.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Fr. Tom Harbold
