Dear Friends,
The first Sunday of Advent (the church’s “New Year’s Day”) is soon upon us, ushering the church’s observance of events surrounding the birth of Jesus, from those prophetic voices pointing towards the Promised One of Israel to the events in Bethlehem with angels and shepherds hailing the child, to (finally) those late-arriving Magi from the East bringing their gifts. You will find notices elsewhere in this newsletter about everything from the lighting of the Advent candles to the Service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas Eve (hint: we need readers for both). Since it falls in January, our service for Epiphany falls outside the scope of this newsletter, but it will happen on January 6 at 5:30 p.m.
One small part of the observance of the season is December’s group study. Usually it’s called a “book study,” but in this case there is no book that requires purchasing. “People Look East: A Study Pack on Advent Hymns” is a four-part series focusing on hymns that convey some part of the message of Advent, distributed as PDF documents rather than in book form.
These studies will be directly reflected in the church’s worship during Advent, as each hymn studied will appear to be sung in worship that day. In other words, after you join in for the study at 9:30 each Sunday morning from December 1-22, the hymn that is featured in that study will be sung as part of worship. Nothing like immediate follow-up on your study, is there?
Even if you are unable to attend the study sessions on Sunday mornings, you can follow along with the study pack throughout the Advent season.
Charles