Advent, Christmas and Epiphany
Be a part of A/V
A/V Guild members have a largely invisible but vital role each Sunday: they make sure that all parishioners can hear and see what’s going on during services and forums. If you can navigate a DVR or adjust the volume on your car stereo, you have more than enough technical skill to operate our camera and microphones. Most volunteers serve once a month at the service they regularly attend. We’re especially looking for people who’d like to help with sound and recording at Sunday Forums. Contact Elizabeth Terry (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) for more information.
Advent 2012
Live@5 Advent
Sun., Dec. 2, 5 pm
Join us in the church nave for a lively alternative Eucharist featuring the Gallery Choir as we celebrate the season of Advent. We will begin with a candle lighting and will explore the coming of Jesus through scripture and song.
Service of Lessons and Carols
Sun., Dec. 16, 5 pm
In the late afternoon as winter darkness descends, we gather in the church nave to hear the prophecies and rich music of Advent. Based on the traditional service from King's College, Cambridge, St. Columba’s adds its own touches with music by adult, youth, children’s and handbell choirs. The congregation joins in singing the great carols of the season. Child care is provided for infants through age 4.
Please note: This service replaces the 5 pm Eucharist.
Blue Christmas Service
Mon., Dec. 17, 7 pm
Are you facing the holiday after the death of a loved one or after a divorce? Maybe you have lost your job or are experiencing an emotional trauma. Or perhaps you feel pressured and overwhelmed by holiday preparations. This service reaches out to all who are burdened, providing a chance to acknowledge the “blue” feelings we may have at this time of year and encouraging us to offer them up to God.
Christmas 2012
Christmas Eve
Mon., Dec. 24
Children’s Christmas Services, 11 am & 4 pm
If you have small children or your own joy is kindled by being with children, this brief (30-minute) service is a good option. We sing a few simple carols, and at 11 am the Primary Choir also sings. In an unrehearsed pageant, we tell the Christmas story, calling children forward to the Bethlehem that we create in the crossing. Children are invited to come in costume as shepherds, angels or animals.
Festival Eucharist, 6 pm
As evening falls, the first Eucharist of Christmas draws a large congregation, so plan to come early, and be ready for the music prelude that begins at 5:40 pm.
Festival Eucharist, 8 pm
Join us for the full festival Christmas liturgy, with the St. Columba Singers, handbells and brass—but without the sung responses and incense that we include in the 11 pm Choral Eucharist. We invite you to come early to enjoy the music prelude that begins at 7:30 pm.
Festival Choral Eucharist, 11 pm
This glorious Eucharist with music from the St. Columba Singers, Gallery and Alumni Choir, handbells and brass, and the splendor of incense and ceremony, fills the whole church nave with a joyful crowd. Come early and let the music that begins at 10:30 pm help to kindle a spirit of gratitude and adoration, as we celebrate Christ’s birth once again.
Christmas Day
Tues., Dec. 25
Festival Christmas Eucharist, noon
Join us at noon for a full liturgy with a choir, recorders and carols to make worship the heart of your Christmas Day.
Christmas I
Sun., Dec. 30
On this first Sunday after Christmas, we keep to our regular worship schedule, but the forum, Sunday School and classes for youth and adults do not meet. After the 9 am service, we invite you for a time of fellowship as we take down some of our decorations and put them away until next year. With lots of help the work goes quickly.
Epiphany 2013
The Feast of the Epiphany
Sun., Jan. 6
Our celebration of the Incarnation of Christ is completed as we gather around the manger at Bethlehem with the magi. The season of Epiphany celebrates Christ as the light and savior of the world, reaching all human lives. At most services today you will see the three kings and their gifts. The forum, Sunday School and youth classes meet from 10:15 to 11:05 am. Following the 11:15 am service in the church nave, Diane Heath will play Suite for Organ, a 15-minute work in ultra-modern style that was written especially for our Flentrop and premiered at our New Year’s Eve concert. The piece was composed by Justus Parrotta, a former Boy Choir member who is now a doctoral student in composition.
Live@5 Epiphany and Twelfth Night Party
Sun., Jan. 6, 5 pm
All are invited to the Live@5 Epiphany service, a lively alternative Eucharist with contemporary music and multimedia storytelling.
Afterward, join us for a Twelfth Night Party, which celebrates the conclusion of the 12 days of Christmas and the beginning of Epiphany,
the season of light, with refreshments and entertainment for the whole family.
Photo: Wayne C. Fowler
