Lessons and Carols

A Service of Lessons and Carols
Third Sunday of Advent, December 12, 2021, 11:00 a.m.

PRELUDE: I Wonder as I Wander—John Jacob Niles; Jennifer Weiman, mezzo soprano; Meribeth Risebig, oboe
The Bidding Prayer:

Dear People of God: In the season of Advent, it is our responsibility and joy to prepare ourselves to hear once more the message of the Angels, to go even to Bethlehem and see the Son of God lying in a manger. Let us hear and heed in Holy Scripture the story of the God’s loving purpose from the time of our rebellion against God until the glorious redemption brought to us by the holy Child Jesus; and let us look forward to the yearly remembrance of his birth with hymns and songs of praise.
But first, let us pray for the needs of the whole world; for peace and justice on the earth; for the unity and mission of the Church for which he died, and especially for the Church in our country and in this city.
And because he particularly loves them, let us remember in his name the poor and helpless; the cold, the hungry and the oppressed; the sick and those who mourn; the lonely and the unloved; the aged and the little children; as well as those who do not know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, let us remember before God his pure and lowly Mother, and that whole multitude which no one can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, and whom, in Jesus, we are one for evermore. And now, to sum up all these petitions, let us pray in the words which Christ himself has taught us…

UNISON: Our Father Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever. Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN:  Comfort, Comfort Now, My People  GTG#87
1^st LESSON:  Isaiah 60: 1-5, Isaiah 60:1-5
CHORAL ANTHEM: Prepare the Way, O Zion (Mark Schweizer)
2^nd LESSON:  Jeremiah 31:31-34
CHORAL ANTHEM: Of the Father’s Love Begotten, (Divinum Mysterium), arr. Stephen Casurella
3^rd LESSON:  Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN:  Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming GTG#129
4^th LESSON:  Isaiah 11: 1-4a, 6-9
CHORAL ANTHEM: Hark! A Thrilling Voice— Ian Higginson
5^th LESSON:  Luke 1: 26-35, 38
CHORAL ANTHEM: The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came, arr. Richard Shephard
6^th LESSON:  Isaiah 35: 1-6
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN: On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry    GTG#96
7^th LESSON:  Isaiah 7:14
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN:  What Child Is This?   GTG#145
8^th LESSON:  Micah 5: 2, 4
CHORAL ANTHEM: The Bird of Dawning:  Roland Martin
9^th LESSON:  Luke 2: 8-16
CHORAL ANTHEM: The Wexford Carol— arr. Larry Finke
WELCOMING

EEK! The Musical

The singers:
Neal Long, tenor
Joshua Stark, baritone
Jennifer Weiman, mezzo soprano
Emma WitbolsFeugen, mezzo soprano
Oboist: Meribeth Risebig

Cast of EEK! The Musical
Narrator/introduction:         Josh Stark
Innkeeper:                             Neal Long
Innkeeper’s spouse:              Emma WitbolsFeugen
Innkeeper’s mother-in-law:  Jennifer Weiman
Joseph and Mary:                 Trail White and Thonette Ryan
The Mice:                               Elijah Irwin, Reese Capps, Zack Capps

Upcoming special services:
Illuminated Christmas Eve- Experience the Thrilling Message and Beauty of the Nativity Story!
Friday, December 24, 2021, 7:00 p.m.
    While the Nativity Story is read, and carols sung, global art is displayed on the big screens. Experience firsthand a message of Divine Love and Compassion to give us power to transcend the sufferings of our times just as the Holy Family had to do in their own time. Art by—Marc Chagall—Frank Wesley—Laura Wright Pittman—Henry Ossawa Tanner—Vassily Kandinsky—Charles White—Rosemary Namuli—Bethel AME Church—Jane Ray—He Qi—Fritz Eichenberg—Time Magazine Best Photos of 2021—Anni Brink—Salvador Dali—James Reid—Rembrandt—Paul Gaugin—Cheryl Fagua