Good day,

Well, just another day of Advent remaining. Time sure flies.  Please check out the December 14th deanery post regarding the Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning worship services in our deanery: https://algomadeanery.com/

A few big heads up…

Each Thursday in January I’ll be leading a prayer study, 4-5pm in the Trinity Centre. We will talk about prayer and try out different types of prayer based on a book by Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell (Prayer: Where to Start and How to Keep Going).

Lenten Retreat: Saturday, March 1, 9:30am – noon in the Trinity Centre. We’ll learn a bit about Lent and spend some time in scripture study and in self-reflection. 

Lenten Zoom Bible Studies: every Monday, 7pm – 8pm through Lent.

And now…A Liturgical Note For You:
Christmas Eve morning? Christmas Eve day? This is the mainstream culture’s way of referring to December 24th.  In the world of Christian liturgy – and hopefully, in the lives of Christians – this nomenclature does not exist. We follow the ancient biblical thinking of days – the new day begins at sunset, the eve. Whereas the dominant culture says a day runs from 12am until 11:59pm, the original thinking was that a day encompassed one sunset to the next sunset. This means that the new day is acknowledged as of the Evening Prayer liturgy. If you have a church calendar, you will notice that December 24 is blue because it is not yet Christmas Eve – this year, it is the Fourth Tuesday of Advent. In brackets you will see that the colour for the Eve changes to white or gold. This is because it is only in the evening that the day changes to Christmas Eve.

Here are a few liturgical notes about the Christmas season that you might be interested in knowing.  Traditionally, we have 12 days of Christmas (hence the song with that name) that began on Christmas and carried through until the eve of the Epiphany on Jan.5.  In more recent decades, the Church marks out the Christmas season slightly differently. We first have what is called the octave of Christmas.  This is the Church’s way of saying this feast is a big deal and we carry on the intensity of the celebration for eight full days until Jan.1st (The Holy Day of The Naming of Jesus).  The Christmas season itself goes on until the conclusion of Evening Prayer on the Holy Day of The Baptism of the Lord. In this way, the Epiphany is included as part of Christmas because it is an important part of the Christmas story. This also, however, highlights the Baptism of the Lord as a climactic observance in the portion of the Church year from the First Sunday of Advent until the beginning of Lent. 

About the crèche: Before the service for The Epiphany of the Lord, the shepherds and animals are usually removed from the crèche and the Wise Men are added. If you’re interested, the Church of England provides “Acclamations at the Presentation of the Gifts”, p.163 here: www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/times-and-seasons/epiphany.  It is after the last liturgy of the Baptism of the Lord when the crèche is removed from the church.  

For Your Devotions: Wednesday, December 25th is The Birth of the Lord. I don’t think I need to say more about this particular feast. It is the remembrance and celebration of the day God became flesh and dwelt among us.

Thursday, December 26th is the Holy Day of St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr. The alternate date for this Holy Day is August 3rd. Stephen is the first recorded martyr who died for his faith in Jesus Christ and thus is often referred to as the “protomartyr.”  We first hear of Stephen when he is one of the seven deacons chosen and ordained in Acts 6.  It wasn’t long before a deadly plot was hatched against this preacher of the Good News and Stephen was charged with blasphemy then stoned to death. Luke makes sure we know that the person before whom Stephen’s killers laid their garments was none other than Saul (later called “Paul”, who would become one of the Lord’s greatest disciples).  More info:   https://www.thoughtco.com/saint-stephen-542519   

 Friday, December 27th is the Holy Day of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist. The alternate date for this Holy Day is May 6th. John is also called “Saint John the Divine.” In Christian tradition, John is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, he is the son of Zebedee and brother to James, and generally credited as being the author of three letters and the Gospel of John.  Some also attribute the Book of Revelation to him as well. Of course, scholars debate whether or not he actually wrote those things but, regardless, he was an important leader in the early Church in Jerusalem.  John was also one of the three apostles (Peter, James, John) who formed Jesus’ intimate inner circle.  For more information – and some interesting legends:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-the-Apostle

December 28th is the Holy Day of The Holy Innocents. The alternate date for this Holy Day is January 11th.  This is the remembrance of the innocent children slaughtered in Bethlehem on the order of King Herod the Great in his attempt to kill Jesus. This feast most likely originally shared the day of The Epiphany but eventually was designated its own day of observance.  It was a day of fasting and mourning. In fact, in medieval England, children were reminded of the solemnity of the day by being whipped in bed.  What a way to start your day!  For more info:  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Feast-of-the-Holy-Innocents

In the hope and joy of Christ,

Susan