SPEAKER_02: The Gospel of John speaks of Christ as the true light coming into the world.
SPEAKER_02: In commemoration of that coming, we light candles for the four weeks leading to Christmas and reflect on the coming of Christ.
SPEAKER_02: It is significant that the church has always used that language, the coming of Christ, because it speaks to a deep truth.
SPEAKER_02: Christ is coming.
SPEAKER_02: Christ is always coming, always entering a troubled world, a wounded heart.
SPEAKER_02: And so we light the first candle, the candle of hope, endear to express our longing for peace, for healing, and the well-being of all creation.
SPEAKER_02: Show us the creative power of hope.
SPEAKER_02: Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you that we may walk in the light of Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And blessed be God's kingdom now and forever.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_02: Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.
SPEAKER_02: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name through Christ our Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: The Lord be with you.
unknown: And with thy spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_02: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility.
SPEAKER_02: That in the last day when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal.
SPEAKER_02: Through him who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: As you're being seated, our children are invited to children's church in the Christ hall with Mr.
SPEAKER_02: Alex in the back.
SPEAKER_04: The word that Isaiah, son of Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_04: In days to come, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills, all the nations shall stream to it.
SPEAKER_04: Many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his path.
SPEAKER_04: For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_04: He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate over many peoples.
SPEAKER_04: They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.
SPEAKER_04: Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
SPEAKER_04: O house of Jacob, come.
SPEAKER_04: Let us walk in the light of the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people.
SPEAKER_04: Praise be done.
SPEAKER_04: The Psalm today is Psalm 122.
SPEAKER_04: We will read responsively by the half verse.
SPEAKER_04: Now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_04: Jerusalem is built as a city and is a unity with itself.
SPEAKER_04: To which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, the assembly of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: For there are thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
SPEAKER_04: I pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_04: May they prosper who love you.
SPEAKER_04: Peace be within your walls, and quietness within your towers.
SPEAKER_04: For the sake of my kindred and companions, I pray for your prosperity.
SPEAKER_04: Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek to do your good.
SPEAKER_03: How it is now the moment for you to wake from the sleep.
SPEAKER_03: For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers.
SPEAKER_03: The night is far gone, but the day is near.
SPEAKER_03: Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
SPEAKER_03: Let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling in drunkenness, not in debauchery or licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.
SPEAKER_03: Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.
SPEAKER_03: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus said to the disciples, About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father.
SPEAKER_02: For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
SPEAKER_02: For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.
SPEAKER_02: Then two will be in the field, one will be taken and one will be left.
SPEAKER_02: Two women will be grinding meal together, one will be taken and one will be left.
SPEAKER_02: Keep awake, therefore.
SPEAKER_02: For you do not know on what day your Lord is coming, but understand this if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
SPEAKER_02: The gospel of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: And of course, it is the coming, not of the guy in the red suit.
SPEAKER_02: We're trying to get ready for the birth of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: And this is a pretty solemn time.
SPEAKER_02: This is new in sort of human evolution.
SPEAKER_02: Consider that a hundred years ago, before electricity, the days were really short.
SPEAKER_02: And candles are relatively expensive.
SPEAKER_02: So this was naturally a contemplative time of the year when there was, frankly, less time for being productive.
SPEAKER_02: So people used this time historically to meditate, to think about how to adequately prepare themselves for the Lord coming on Christmas.
SPEAKER_02: In that sense, this is pretty similar season to Lent getting ready for Easter, and hence you've got color similarity.
SPEAKER_02: In general, you'll often see Advent as purple with the rose candle, although it has softened.
SPEAKER_02: We're fortunate that we have a Marian blue set.
SPEAKER_02: That's the name of this color, like the Virgin, right?
SPEAKER_02: Little bit softer than purple, but still a color of royalty and turning inward in preparation.
SPEAKER_02: Now, good news, and you heard this in the introduction, Jesus is coming again this year.
SPEAKER_02: And we say this is coming.
SPEAKER_02: And we ended last week when we thought about the stations of the cross with frankly, how we need that in the world.
SPEAKER_02: How we need God's kingdom as God imagines it.
SPEAKER_02: And so we're invited in the next four weeks.
SPEAKER_02: Even though Jesus is coming, he will not need diapers this year, nor will he need a car seat or a crib.
SPEAKER_02: Instead, we're invited to prepare for his coming by cultivating within ourselves and our community hope, peace, joy, and love so that when the Christ child arrives, he will find a ready welcome.
SPEAKER_02: Now the text today is a little bit jarring because it's about when do you know?
SPEAKER_02: How do you know?
SPEAKER_02: And for about 150 years, a very small group of Christian folk have decided that there's this thing called the rapture they need to get ready for it.
SPEAKER_02: I want to make sure you hear that.
SPEAKER_02: 150 years, that's how old that made up word is.
SPEAKER_02: It shows up nowhere in the Bible in this passage, has nothing to do with a rapture.
SPEAKER_02: Nothing.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, what we often don't get is that the Caesars called themselves sons of God.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus calls himself the Son of Man.
SPEAKER_02: Do you notice that?
SPEAKER_02: In direct contrast to the Caesars, Jesus says, here's where you'll find God.
SPEAKER_02: Not in high and lofty things, but in ordinary things.
SPEAKER_02: And I suspect this is why we hear this on week one.
SPEAKER_02: Get ready, because Jesus shows up in a food trough.
SPEAKER_02: He doesn't show up on a velvet cushion on top of the birj khalifa in Dubai.
SPEAKER_02: He shows up under an overpass.
SPEAKER_02: Don't miss it.
SPEAKER_02: If you're like me, you usually do.
SPEAKER_02: You usually do.
SPEAKER_02: And I want to suggest that part of the reason we might miss the Christ, at least this week, because we misunderstand the difference between hoping and wishing.
SPEAKER_02: Wishing.
SPEAKER_02: We use these words so synonymously, don't we?
SPEAKER_02: Gosh, I hope the sermon's short today.
SPEAKER_02: That's a wish.
SPEAKER_02: You can't change that.
SPEAKER_02: Gosh, I hope the weather is nice.
SPEAKER_02: That's a wish.
SPEAKER_02: You can't do anything about that.
SPEAKER_02: Nothing.
SPEAKER_02: Nope.
SPEAKER_02: Brene Brown's been really helpful.
SPEAKER_02: She says quite frankly that the difference between, or really a helpful way to think about hoping, is with this little acronym that many of you in the business world have heard before.
SPEAKER_02: Wishing is about wanting stuff to happen.
SPEAKER_02: Hope is about setting goals, like smart goals, and working toward them.
SPEAKER_02: SMART goals.
SPEAKER_02: I don't want to bore you.
SPEAKER_02: Does anybody not know what that is?
SPEAKER_02: Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely, goals.
SPEAKER_02: You could say, I would like to run a marathon next year, and if you just show up on race day, it probably won't go well for you because you wished for that.
SPEAKER_02: No, when you hope to complete a marathon, you will incrementally train.
SPEAKER_02: You will say, aha, I know what it takes to attain that goal.
SPEAKER_02: That's running 26.2 miles.
SPEAKER_02: That's what it takes, right?
SPEAKER_02: Time, that's up to you.
SPEAKER_02: Some races disqualify you if you take too long.
SPEAKER_02: But of course, you understand that if you'd like to work up to that goal, you will have to start by running some.
SPEAKER_02: And then some more.
SPEAKER_02: Until you can get up to at least 22 miles.
SPEAKER_02: That's what everybody says.
SPEAKER_02: I do know a guy who only ran 18 and then tried to do the marathon and then he he hit the wall in mile 22.
SPEAKER_02: Finish the race.
SPEAKER_02: That's me, by the way.
SPEAKER_02: So really it's a good idea to do 22 miles if you want to finish the race running.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah?
SPEAKER_02: So this is a thing that we do.
SPEAKER_02: We set smart goals.
SPEAKER_02: Goals toward what?
SPEAKER_02: And this I submit to you is what we're, I think, being asked to contemplate this week.
SPEAKER_02: What is it we hope for, and how is that different from what God hopes for?
SPEAKER_02: Again, out there we might conflate the word wish with hope, but in here, hope is about the world as God imagines it.
SPEAKER_02: And I want to tell you in general, I don't always hope for that.
SPEAKER_02: I wish for something less.
SPEAKER_02: So if you want to know what hope looks like, read the Isaiah passage.
SPEAKER_02: God hopes that we will take weapons designed for destruction and turn them into tools for cultivation.
SPEAKER_02: The languages turn the spear into the pruning hook.
SPEAKER_02: You know, I met a Mennonite guy about four or five years ago at a clergy conference.
SPEAKER_02: Part of his ministry was actually taking guns that he uh people donated and turning them into things like this.
SPEAKER_02: He even took automatic guns and put like a hoe spade at the end and an extension so you could hoe with an AK-47.
SPEAKER_02: Of course, that's crazy sounding, and it's what God hopes for.
SPEAKER_02: If I asked you, well, I'm gonna just talk about myself.
SPEAKER_02: If you asked me, what do you hope is going to happen in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia?
SPEAKER_02: I would probably tell you a wish instead of a hope.
SPEAKER_02: I'd probably tell you, I wish side Q would lose.
SPEAKER_02: That's a wish, it's not a hope.
SPEAKER_02: What does God hope for?
SPEAKER_02: God hopes that they'll turn their weapons into opportunities for making peace.
SPEAKER_02: The fact that I would be happy to settle the conflict in favor of one side instead of the community of the other means I need Advent again.
SPEAKER_02: I will probably need it again next year because there'll probably be some other conflict in the world, or with people I can't get along with in my own family.
SPEAKER_02: What do I usually wish for?
SPEAKER_02: I wish they would change their mind to my own or just leave.
SPEAKER_02: That's wishing.
SPEAKER_02: It is not like hope at all.
SPEAKER_02: I hope you hear this.
SPEAKER_02: This is what we're asked to think about with less daylight.
SPEAKER_02: This is what we're asked to imagine with less daylight.
SPEAKER_02: What do we wish for?
SPEAKER_02: What does God hope for?
SPEAKER_02: And can we convert our wishes into God's hope?
SPEAKER_02: Because what we're being told is be Be ready.
SPEAKER_02: And I'm not ready.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not ready.
SPEAKER_02: I would miss the Son of Man in the Russian army like that.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
SPEAKER_02: Where your wishes and hopes are different.
SPEAKER_02: But I suspect we've all got some room.
SPEAKER_02: And this is the holiness of Advent is to swap out our wishes for God's hopes.
SPEAKER_02: Now, I want to tell you there's this lovely thing up here that I think is really helpful.
SPEAKER_02: That's a great blue heron up there, and it arrived this week.
SPEAKER_02: A parishioner donated that in memory of a couple of folks in their life anonymously, and there it is, it's a great blue heron.
SPEAKER_02: And I love it for a few reasons, if you didn't mind me saying.
SPEAKER_02: Of course, you see them all the time in the bird sanctuary we live in.
SPEAKER_02: It's a great blue heron, it's not a pelican.
SPEAKER_02: I want to make sure you know.
SPEAKER_02: That's that.
SPEAKER_02: It's made out of all kinds of things.
SPEAKER_02: It's a little bit hard to tell from where you're sitting, so I'm going to walk you through some of the things it's made from.
SPEAKER_02: The artist was inspired when somebody donated to her a church organ.
SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's similar to us.
SPEAKER_02: Instead of making it playable, though, you'll notice she turned the keys into the wings.
SPEAKER_02: This was an unplayable organ.
SPEAKER_02: This was junk that she turned into wings.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you can tell, but that leg coming out is actually a drum stand, like that would hold a cymbal or a snare drum.
SPEAKER_02: And right where the hip comes in, it's a baseball.
SPEAKER_02: And if you look carefully, you'll see a Texas license plate over there.
SPEAKER_02: And some of that glittering metal are some old shoehorns.
SPEAKER_02: Around the neck are little picture hangers, you know, like you put on the back of a picture when you want to hang it on a nail.
SPEAKER_02: And there's some earthquake straps for a water heater up there, too.
SPEAKER_02: On the bottom are some old keys and a bicycle chain.
SPEAKER_02: And of course, the thing you can't really see from here is that there's some gray army soldiers.
SPEAKER_02: In case you're wondering about the feathers, those are zip ties.
SPEAKER_02: Some of the feathers are just pieces of an old screen with staples in them.
SPEAKER_02: When you get up close, you can see all that from where you're sitting.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe you can't.
SPEAKER_02: Of course, what I love about this, quite frankly, is that I think it represents God's hope.
SPEAKER_02: All kinds of, well, stuff we might be done with.
SPEAKER_02: People we might be done with.
SPEAKER_02: God is able to knit together into the body of Christ on earth.
SPEAKER_02: That's our hope.
SPEAKER_02: There's even army people up there.
SPEAKER_02: God would like to knit them in to the kingdom of God on earth.
SPEAKER_02: What doesn't fit?
SPEAKER_02: Well, nothing.
SPEAKER_02: Isn't that great?
SPEAKER_02: A master artisan is able to take what seems like junk and put it together into something beautiful, and of course, that artisan is God, and if we're so willing, we can join God's imagination as well.
SPEAKER_02: Do we need folk who help protect resources and natural disasters like hurricane straps for a water heater?
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely we do, and I hope for those people.
SPEAKER_02: Do we need people that help hang lovely images in the world that hold them up?
SPEAKER_02: Images of the Son of Man being born under an overpass.
SPEAKER_02: Heck yeah, we need those people.
SPEAKER_02: Do we need people who have keys that can open locks or can lock people into places of isolation and despair and prejudice?
SPEAKER_02: We do need people with keys and we need to turn them open, yeah?
SPEAKER_02: That's what God hopes for.
SPEAKER_02: God hopes that we will work with seemingly disparate and maybe at some times junky folk to turn into a beautiful body of Christ on earth.
SPEAKER_02: I don't usually hope for that.
SPEAKER_02: I hope people will just go away or be quiet.
SPEAKER_02: I should say I wish for that.
SPEAKER_02: It's not like God's gonna zap you when you wish instead of hope.
SPEAKER_02: It's not like that.
SPEAKER_02: It's just that we won't be ready to see the Son of Man when he shows up right in front of us.
SPEAKER_02: And that's our loss, not God's.
SPEAKER_02: God can play the long game.
SPEAKER_02: We're invited to consider that our time is short.
SPEAKER_02: So why would we want to waste it on wishes when we get to hope instead?
SPEAKER_02: This I put to you is what Advent's all about.
SPEAKER_02: I'll tell you, sometimes I don't even know what I really deeply hope for.
SPEAKER_02: Often before I go to sleep at night, I start thinking about things I wish for, like the work I'm gonna do tomorrow and the notes that I need to write and the calendaring and this sort of business.
SPEAKER_02: I fall asleep thinking about that stuff.
SPEAKER_02: And I have an opportunity, this Advent, to fall asleep hoping with God instead of wishing for tomorrow.
SPEAKER_02: And we say this, and I think this is what I love about this piece up there, because whether you think you're an organ key or an old key or a drum stand or an old baseball or a license plate, we can do more together.
SPEAKER_02: And this is our invitation from God with God is to put ourselves together into a body of Christ on earth and to re-engineer our military technology or our weapons of war, whether they're physical or words that we say to other folks, to create a sustainable future, to nourish one another, to be the body of Christ on earth.
SPEAKER_02: Please join me as we pray our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed.
SPEAKER_05: We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
SPEAKER_05: We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from the light, true God and true God, begotten made, of one being with the Father.
SPEAKER_05: Through him all things were made.
SPEAKER_05: For us, he became now from heaven.
SPEAKER_05: By the power of the Holy Spirit, he became according to the birth of Mary, and was made man.
SPEAKER_05: For our lady between God and Father, he suffered and was buried.
SPEAKER_05: On the third day he rose again, according to the scriptures, heaven in heaven, and in speaking at the right hand of the Father.
SPEAKER_05: He will come again and glory to touch the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
SPEAKER_05: We believe in the Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
SPEAKER_05: With the Father and Son, he has worshiped and glorified.
SPEAKER_05: He has spoken to the prophets.
SPEAKER_05: We believe in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
SPEAKER_05: We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
SPEAKER_05: We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the Lord.
SPEAKER_05: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And for calling us to serve you and among your people.
SPEAKER_00: Continue, we pray, to equip us with all we need to tell others of you and glorify your name in all we do.
SPEAKER_05: Lord, Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_00: We pray for the leaders of all nations that they may seek to do your will for the welfare of the people they lead and serve.
SPEAKER_00: We pray for those holding public office in our nation, that they may be guided by your gifts of wisdom and charity.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you, Creator God, for the beauty, majesty, and abundance of your creation, especially for its manifestation here around Clear Creek, Clear Lake.
SPEAKER_00: Keep us mindful of the holiness and fragility of our earthly home and all creatures who dwell therein, that we may rejoice in being stewards and peacemakers.
SPEAKER_05: Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_00: O God, giver of all things, we thank you for the abundance of grace poured out upon us.
SPEAKER_00: May we with grateful hearts show compassion through our thoughts, words, and deeds for those who are hungry, homeless, neglected, abused, exploited, or in any other need.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, healer of bodies and spirits, may your healing hand touch all who suffer in mind, body, or soul.
SPEAKER_00: May those who attend to them use their God-given skill, wisdom, and compassion to restore them.
SPEAKER_00: We pray especially for Chris, Sue, Kevin, Jan, Miriam, Celia, Derek, John, Pam, Nick, Robert, Valerie, and Mona.
SPEAKER_00: You are invited to name your own celebrations or petitions silently or loud.
SPEAKER_00: Trusting that you are able to do more than we ask or imagine, we give you thanks, Lord Jesus, for graciously restoring those who have battled and survived serious illnesses and near-death situations.
SPEAKER_00: That by your help and the help of those sent to them, they may continue to serve you in this life according to your will.
SPEAKER_00: We are especially grateful for.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Almighty God, he have mercy on you.
SPEAKER_02: Forgive you all your sin through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: The peace of the Lord be always with you.
SPEAKER_05: And also with you.
SPEAKER_02: If you're new to us or haven't done this before, in the room right behind the one we're sitting in, we call that the Narthex, there's these little cards that say welcome.
SPEAKER_02: And we'd be tremendously grateful if you'd fill one out so we have your a record of your visit today.
SPEAKER_02: And thanks for worshiping with us.
SPEAKER_02: There's a little handout in the Narthex that has some December announcements, but I want to go over a few opportunities.
SPEAKER_02: Some of them are on that and some aren't.
SPEAKER_02: The first is that today at 4 p.m.
SPEAKER_02: we're having an Advent Reef Making workshop.
SPEAKER_02: It'll be a tabletop version of this with four lovely candles.
SPEAKER_02: And in my home, we use this every night when we have dinner.
SPEAKER_02: We light the candle for the week, and by the end, the hope candle is like pretty much burned out, and the love candle is pretty high.
SPEAKER_02: But this is a thing we do, and there's a little prayer tab that goes with it if that's a way to help guide your piety through Advent.
SPEAKER_02: So again, that'll be at 4 o'clock in Christ Hall.
SPEAKER_02: And the only thing you need to bring if you want to come are some hand trimmers.
SPEAKER_02: We we trim real greenery and we sort of pin it to a wreath.
SPEAKER_02: And if you choose about$5 in a donation for the supplies, and you you get a lovely Advent wreath at the end, like I said, that hopefully is meaningful to your family this holiday season.
SPEAKER_02: This coming Wednesday, we're hosting an artist reception for Tobin Bortner.
SPEAKER_02: We've enjoyed his work in the hallway for about two months.
SPEAKER_02: It's coming down on Thursday, and so he's having a reception at the end instead of the beginning.
SPEAKER_02: The benefit, of course, is that you get to hear like what Tobin was thinking when he made these and his sort of technique, and he'll walk you through some of the hidden messages because you don't have to look very hard.
SPEAKER_02: There's hidden messages in all these portraits.
SPEAKER_02: So that'll be from 6 to 7.30.
SPEAKER_02: Come enjoy a glass of wine and uh little nibbles and get to meet with Tobin.
SPEAKER_02: He'll also have some 2023 calendars of his work if you're interested in those.
SPEAKER_02: Uh this coming Saturday, there is a fresh food distribution, uh, 7.45 till 9.30 in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: You don't have to sign up, and those times are reliable.
SPEAKER_02: That's when we start.
SPEAKER_02: We're always done by then.
SPEAKER_02: Uh we'll probably give food out to about 90 cars, uh, representing 375 people.
SPEAKER_02: So it's it's lovely work to do in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: That's on Saturday.
SPEAKER_02: Next Sunday, there's a lot of things.
SPEAKER_02: Next Sunday, Bishop Monterosso will be visiting with us.
SPEAKER_02: This is his annual visit, and we'll be confirming nine folk.
SPEAKER_02: That'll be here at the 10:30 service.
SPEAKER_02: It's a lovely thing, and you're going to hear this opportunity when somebody's coming up to get confirmed, if you know them, or you'd like to know them more, or you would just like to uphold them in their confirmation vows.
SPEAKER_02: Get out of your seat and come put your hands on their shoulder or the shoulders of the person behind them.
SPEAKER_02: This is a lovely practice that we do in the diocese to stand in solidarity with one another in confirmation.
SPEAKER_02: So that will be next Sunday at 10:30.
SPEAKER_02: Um the following Sunday, this will be the 11th of December, is our lessons and carols.
SPEAKER_02: That'll only be at the 10:30 service, and our choir will be leading us through a series of Advent carols and readings.
SPEAKER_02: Um the 18th is St.
SPEAKER_02: Thomas Day, and you know St.
SPEAKER_02: Thomas did go to India, so on the 18th we'll enjoy music from the sitar at the 10:30 service only.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, so that'll be on our patronal day, the 18th.
SPEAKER_02: And then you'll see on that handout our Christmas services.
SPEAKER_02: So uh Christmas Eve, that's a Saturday.
SPEAKER_02: 3:30 is a family service with a spontaneous Christmas pageant.
SPEAKER_02: It's 40 minutes.
SPEAKER_02: You get the Eucharist, you go home, it's lovely.
SPEAKER_02: 5 o'clock and 9.30 are our high holy kind of solemn masses.
SPEAKER_02: And if you come at 9 on Christmas Eve, you'll have a chance to sing uh Christmas carols till about 9.30, and then we'll start the service at 9.30.
SPEAKER_02: And it's midnight mass, but it's it's midnight somewhere, right?
SPEAKER_02: So we'll start at 9.30.
SPEAKER_02: And if you come to that service, we'll have champagne and chocolate after the service to celebrate uh the birth of the of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: So that'll only be after the 9:30.
SPEAKER_02: Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, and we'll have one service at 9 a.m.
SPEAKER_02: So uh that's the schedule, and and you'll see it.
SPEAKER_02: Um I also want to raise up to you two more two more opportunities.
SPEAKER_02: I know that's a lot.
SPEAKER_02: Uh we could do more together, right?
SPEAKER_02: That's what we say.
SPEAKER_02: So, two more opportunities.
SPEAKER_02: On Lessons and Carol's Day, that's the 11th, um, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center will be here accepting donations and and look, they're down.
SPEAKER_02: Every time I go, they say, please give us whatever you can.
SPEAKER_02: Uh blood, platelets, plasma.
SPEAKER_02: It's kind of the easiest thing to do.
SPEAKER_02: I mean, just to be honest, I can't talk about this enough because I hit my five-gallon mark this year.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know what to do about the Ukraine.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know, but I do know I can give blood.
SPEAKER_02: And people need it.
SPEAKER_02: So if you're not sure what to do and you're able to give blood, I really want to encourage you to take advantage of this.
SPEAKER_02: There's a QR code because they ask you to sign up.
SPEAKER_02: We'll have it in Christ Hall from eight at from nine till about one o'clock on the 11th, the blood drive.
SPEAKER_02: Last push is it foyers.
SPEAKER_02: This is a potluck dinner group for eight people.
SPEAKER_02: Is uh we're the deadline to sign up for that, I think, is next week.
SPEAKER_02: You can do that with either Lila or myself.
SPEAKER_02: And again, I just want to encourage you.
SPEAKER_02: This is a really easy way to make potentially lifelong friendships within the congregation by going to a potluck or two.
SPEAKER_02: Well, four, actually.
SPEAKER_02: Um just want to encourage you to think through that.
SPEAKER_02: Continue to walk in love.
SPEAKER_02: As Christ first loved us and gave himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God.
SPEAKER_07: And almost for an apple, an apple that he talked, as glorious when the apple taken, had the apple taken.
SPEAKER_02: All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.
SPEAKER_02: This is the table not of the church but of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: It is made ready for those who love him and those who want to love him more.
SPEAKER_02: So come, you who have much faith and you who have little.
SPEAKER_02: You who have been here often and you who have not been for a long time or ever before.
SPEAKER_02: You who have tried to follow and you who have failed, come.
SPEAKER_02: Not because the church invites you, it is Christ, and he invites you to meet him here.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord be with you.
SPEAKER_02: It is very meet, right, and our bound and duty that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father Almighty, everlasting God, because thou didst send thy beloved Son to redeem us from sin and death, and make us heirs in him of everlasting life.
SPEAKER_02: That when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee and singing.
SPEAKER_02: He made there a full and perfect sacrifice for the whole world, and did institute, and in his holy gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that, his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again.
SPEAKER_02: For in the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus took bread.
SPEAKER_02: And when he given thanks to thee, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat.
SPEAKER_02: This is my body which is given for you.
SPEAKER_02: Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_02: Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup of wine.
SPEAKER_02: And when he given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink this, all of you.
SPEAKER_02: This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for all, for the remission of sin.
SPEAKER_02: Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_02: Wherefore, O Lord and Heavenly Father, we thy people do celebrate and make with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy son hath commanded us to make, having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming again with power and great glory.
SPEAKER_02: And we most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us, and with thy word and Holy Spirit to bless and sanctify these gifts of bread and wine, that they may be unto us the body and blood of thy dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: And we earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness to accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, whereby we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies.
SPEAKER_02: Grant, we beseech thee that all who partake of this holy communion may worthily receive the most precious body and blood of thy Son, Jesus Christ, and be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction.
SPEAKER_02: And also that we and all thy whole church may be made one body with him, that he may dwell in us and we in him, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom and with whom and in whom.
SPEAKER_02: In the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: And now, as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to pray, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_05: Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we free of those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine kingdom, and the power and the glory forever and ever.
SPEAKER_05: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: These are the gifts of God for you, the family of God.
SPEAKER_02: Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith and with thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_02: And I invite you to the rail for intention that's dipping to your left, my right.
SPEAKER_02: If you prefer to drink from a chalice, that will be to your right, my left, and reminder that you can skip either element and receive a blessing by crossing your arms.
SPEAKER_02: Almighty and ever-living God, we most heartily thank thee for that thou dost feed us in these holy mysteries with the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood of thy Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and thou securest thereby of thy favor and goodness towards us, and that we are their remembers incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, the blessed company of all faithful people, and are also heirs through hope of thy everlasting kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: And we humbly besee, O Heavenly Father, stow to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in.
SPEAKER_02: Through Jesus Christ our Lord, do him with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all our in glory, world without end.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Take your encouragement from Christ that your joy may be complete.
SPEAKER_02: We will share in the Spirit, we will find consolation and love.
SPEAKER_02: Practice a ministry of humility and compassion, for God is at work in you, empowering you.
SPEAKER_02: We will welcome Christ into our hearts.
SPEAKER_02: We will go forth in hope and in peace.