Contents:
- Propers (Collect and Lessons) for the First Sunday after the Epiphany, 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 January 12th, 2025.
- Rector’s Mini-Ramblings: The Feast of the Epiphany
Propers for the First Sunday after the Epiphany.
The Book of Common Prayer 1928.
The Collect.
O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people who call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the Epistle: Romans xii. 1.
I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being mammy, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
The Gospel: St. Luke ii. 41.
NOW his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. Amid Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
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: “Hail to the Lord’s anointed” – #545 (First Tune: Woodbird)
Sermon Hymn: “Earth has many a noble city” #48 (Stuttgart)
Communion Hymn: “Draw nigh and take the body of the Lord” #202 (First Tune: Garden)
Recessional Hymn: “Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing” #489 (First Tune: Sicilian Mariners)
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, January 12th, 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!
New Members Classes: We have several people who have been regular recent attendees and have expressed an interest in formally joining our parish and jurisdiction (the Diocese of the Holy Cross, Anglican Catholic Church). New member classes will begin THIS SUNDAY, January 12, 2025 (First Sunday after the Epiphany), and will continued through and including Sunday, February 9th (Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany), unless otherwise announced. Classes will run from 9 o’clock to 10 o’clock in the morning, prior to our 10:30 service. If you are interested in attending, and in joining our church, please let Father Tom know as soon as possible! Which leads to…
The Bishop’s Visitation: The Right Reverend Paul C. Hewett, Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Holy Cross, will be conducting his annual visitation of our parish on Sunday, March 9th, which happens to be the First Sunday in Lent. He will, at that time, confirm (for those who have not previously been confirmed by a Bishop in apostolic succession) or receive (for those who have, but are coming into our ecclesiastical jurisdiction for the first time) those who are desirous and have been prepared to become part of the ACC, our Diocese, and our parish. Again, if that describes you, please let me know as soon as possible, so that we can sign you up for the new member classes. Many thanks! – Fr. Tom
Christ Church Anglican’s Choir is always looking for new members! Please contact 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!
Hold the date – Annual Parish Meeting coming up! As long-time members will know, our annual Parish Meeting will be held on the third Sunday of January, which this year falls on the 19th, following our regular Sunday service. If you are an active communicant member of this parish, please plan to attend, if at all possible!
Holy Days for the week of January 12th, 2024
Monday, January 13th – Octave of the Epiphany
Tuesday, January 14th – Hilary of Poitiers, †367
Friday, January 17th – St. Anthony of Egypt, Bishop and Doctor, †356
Rector’s Ramblings:
The Feast of the Epiphany
January 6th – this past Monday, in this year of our Lord 2025 – is the Feast of the Epiphany (or Theophany, as our Eastern Orthodox friends call it), in the Christian ecclesiastical calendar: the showing forth of Christ to the Gentiles: that is, the “Peoples,” or (non-Jewish) Nations.
There are three events most commonly associated with the feast in the Christian liturgical calendar known as the Epiphany: the Visitation of the Wise Men – also known as the Adoration of the Magi – Christ’s Baptism by St. John the Baptist in the River Jordan, and His miraculous transformation of water to wine at the Wedding at Cana.
Of the three, the one which seems to have captured most vividly the imagination of the Western Church is the visit by the Magi, the Wise Men or Kings: to the point that this day is known in many places as “Three Kings Day,” and many Hispanic Catholics celebrate the Feast of Los Tres Santos Reyes, “the Three Sacred Kings.”
It should be noted that the actual number, or names (often listed as Gaspar [or Caspar], Balthazar, and Melchior), of these Wise Men or Kings is nowhere given in the canonical Scriptures. The idea that there were three undoubtedly stems from the three gifts that are attested in the Scriptures, from which one gift per Wise Man seems a logical extrapolation. They are sometimes represented as being of Caucasian, Oriental, and African ethnicity, to reflect the fact that they represent “the Gentiles,” the nations or peoples of the world.
These mysterious wanderers from afar may indeed have been Persian Magi, as that priestly caste – analogous to the Druids, on another branch of the Indo-European cultural-linguistic tree – were known to have a special focus on astronomy and astrology, and “following the star” of one who was “born to be King of the Jews” would have held considerable interest for them, given the history of the relationship between the Jews of Israel and the Persian Empire!
At any rate, the point is that through these three incidents – one apparently part of the infancy narrative, since it occurred prior to the Flight Into Egypt, and in fact indirectly precipitated that flight, and the others in Jesus’ adulthood – showed forth Christ’s divinity (the Greek word “Epiphany” means “Manifesting from Above”), not just to the Jews, but to the Nations (Gentiles) as well, for those with eyes to see.
He came to be the Savior, not just of a small group of people in a small corner of the Roman Empire – no matter how important they were in God’s plan of salvation – but of the World, and all of its people! Thanks be to God!
Nota Bene: The image above is of a custom, originally coming out of European Roman Catholicism, but since adopted by other Christians, of chalking the year – in this case 2025 – and the initial consonants C, M, and B, upon one’s door-lintel, or a like location of one’s house, on Epiphany as a form of blessing.
These initials have a double significance: they represent the three traditional (although non-Biblical) names of the “Three Kings,” Wise Men, or Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar; but they also form an acronym for the phrase Christus Mansionem Benedicat – “May Christ Bless this House.” The “plus-signs,” of course, are crosses!
