Propers and Announcements for the Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity: November 23rd, 2025
- Propers (Collect and Lessons) for the Sunday next before Advent, with hymns.
- Link to “Watch this Sunday’s live-stream” on our parish website.
- Parish Announcements for the week of November 23rd, 2025.
The Collect.
STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the Epistle. Jer. xxiii. 5.
BEHOLD, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
The Gospel. St. John vi. 5.
WHEN Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred penny-worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Hymns:
Nota Bene: In lieu of the Gradual and Alleluia being chanted by our cantor, we will be singing a Gradual Hymn, bracketing the reading of the Gospel: the first two verses will be sung before the Gospel is read, and the second two after.
This week’s Gradual Hymn is “Now thank we all our God,” Hymn #276. Since there are only three verses, we will sing the first two before the Gospel; following the Gospel, we will sing the third verse and then repeat the first.
Processional Hymn: Come, ye thankful people, come (St. George’s Windsor) – #535
Gradual Hymn: Now thank we all our God (Nun danket) – #276: v. 1 &
[The Gospel]
Gradual Hymn: Now thank we all our God – #276: v. 3 & 1 (repeat verse 1)
Sermon Hymn: – Of the Father’s love begotten – #20
Communion Hymn: – Father, we thank thee who hast planted (Rendez a Dieu) – #195
Recessional Hymn: – Guide me, O thou great Jehovah (Cwm Rhonnda) – #434
If a live-stream of a Sunday service is accomplished, the audio of that Sunday’s sermon will usually be posted sometime Sunday evening on the media page on our website.
On any given day, check our “Current operating status” – in other words, whether or not the church is open for services or office hours, in case of inclement weather or unusual episodes (like the sabotage of transformers a few years ago). Check for changes to the service schedule (to include seasonal services such as Holy Week and Christmas) at Services and Office Hours.
The weekly parish email is reproduced on the News and announcements page. In addition, each of our after-service Christian Education sessions will have a post there where you can review the class video and access any handouts that were available. You’re also welcome to leave a comment or a question about the class on that page as well!
And lastly…if you ever want to ask a question, make a comment, contact someone about a ministry opportunity…please drop us a line using our church contact page. We’ll get your question or concern directed to the right person.
It may be difficult to believe – at least it is for me! – but this Sunday, November 23rd, is the Sunday next before Advent, commonly known as “Stir-up Sunday,” from the words of the Collect: “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people” – and in the UK, it is also traditionally known as the time to “stir up” the Christmas pudding – thus, the image above! So here are some notes on Advent and Christmas at Christ Church Anglican, this year:
Additions to the Liturgy:
Because the Old Testament Lessons appointed for Morning Prayer prophecy the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord, whose Advent await, we will be adding an Old Testament lesson each of the Sundays of Advent, followed by the Psalm for the day, both as appointed in “Psalms and Lessons for the Christian Year” in The Book of Common Prayer 1928, p. x.
Note: Bold type indicates a Prayer Book feast.Sunday, November 30th: Advent I
- 9:00 a.m. – Morning Prayer
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Communion
- 9:00 a.m. – Morning Prayer
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Communion
- 9:00 a.m. – Morning Prayer
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Communion
- 9:00 a.m. – Morning Prayer
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Communion
- 4:00 p.m. – Christmas Carol Sing, followed by Holy Communion
- 11:00 a.m. – Holy Communion of the Nativity
Additional Announcements:
A clarification on the call to reverence before worship: this was never intended to be a prohibition on necessary conversation, and particularly not in regard to parents and children. We take Christ’s admonition to “Let the little children come unto me, and do not hinder them” very seriously, at Christ Church Anglican.It is merely a reminder – to adults in particular – that it is an Anglican tradition of long standing that casual or social conversation is best left until after the service, or at least confined to the social area. I do not exclude myself from this, as I have been guilty on more than one occasion! Many thanks for your understanding, and my sincere apologies for any confusion which may have resulted in this regard.
Respectfully and gratefully yours in Christ,
— Fr. Tom
Qualified Charitable Distributions: As the end of the year approaches, this may apply to some of our members:
“A Qualified Charitable Distribution is a way for individuals age 70½ or older to donate directly from a traditional IRA to a qualified charity, which can satisfy Required Minimum Distributions and reduce taxable income. QCDs are not reported as taxable income, meaning they provide an upfront tax exclusion and do not require itemizing deduction. The QCD must be completed by December 31st of the current calendar year” [source: Google AI].
Should you desire to make a year-end donation to Christ Church Anglican for 2025, please see Austin Chestnut, our Senior Warden and Treasurer, for details. Many thanks!
Christian Education: John Fesq is facilitating the viewing of a series of Sunday School class videos from Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church in Fairfax, VA. The class is an introduction to one of the works of Richard Hooker, who was an an important and influential English Reformer in the mid to late 1500’s. In particular, we will be exposed to Book Five of his “Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity.” The class will look at the Anglican underpinnings and viewpoints of such topics as:
- Worship
- Church buildings and settings
- Preaching
- The Book of Common Prayer
- Liturgy
- Sacraments (in 4 classes); this Sunday’s lesson is Week10
- Traditional ceremonies and services
- Ministry
The class will be viewed after Sunday service outside the sanctuary on our big television screen, after we’ve had time to fellowship for a little bit. The classes tend to run 45 minutes to an hour, not including any discussion we’d like to have afterwards.
We encourage you to plan to make time after Sunday services to stay and learn with us!
The video (and handout if there is one) for each week’s lesson is posted on the website in our News and Announcements section. If you can’t be here for a lesson, or if you just want to go back over it, go to that Sunday lesson’s page. At the bottom of each lesson’s page, there’s an area to leave comments and questions…we’d love to hear from you if you have either!
Midweek (Wednesday) Eucharist: Unless otherwise noted, we offer a service of Holy Communion – also known as the Holy Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, or the Mass – at 10:00 on Wednesday mornings. This service includes an opportunity for the laying on of hands and anointing with oil for healing, for those who may desire this ministry.
