A SERVICE OF ADVENT LESSONS AND CAROLS WITH HOLY COMMUNION DECEMBER 16, 2018 10:00 A.M. THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE HOLY COMFORTER CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA WELCOME TO HOLY COMFORTER! The people of Holy Comforter joyfully welcome you to this historic church. We are happy that you are here, and we hope you will find your worship today meaningful and inspiring. If you are looking for a church to call your own, we hope you will consider our parish. At the root of all we do is our desire to live out the Great Commandment of Jesus Christ: to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Holy Comforter has made a difference in our lives, and we believe it can do the same for you. In peace, The Rev. Greg Brown Rector ! A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SERVICE OF LESSONS AND CAROLS The famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first held at King’s College, Cambridge, England, on Christmas Eve 1918. It was planned by Eric Milner-White; at age 34, White had just been appointed dean of King’s after experience as an army chaplain. This experience convinced him that the Church of England needed more imaginative worship. The original service was adapted from an order drawn up by Bishop E.W. Benson, later Archbishop of Canterbury, for use in a wooden shed, which then served as his cathedral in Truro, on Christmas Eve 1880. A. C. Benson recalled, “My father arranged from ancient sources a little service for Christmas Eve – nine carols and nine tiny lessons, which were read by various officers of the church, beginning with a chorister, and ending, through the different grades, with the bishop.” Almost immediately other churches adapted the service for their own use. Its fame began to grow when the service was first broadcast in 1928 and, with the exception of 1930, it has been broadcast annually, even during World War II, when the ancient glass (and also all heat) had been removed from the chapel and the name of King’s could not be broadcast for security reasons. Sometime in the early 1930s the BBC began broadcasting the service overseas. In these and other ways the service has become public property. From time to time King’s College receives copies of services held in the West Indies or the Far East and these show how widely the tradition has spread. The broadcasts have become part of Christmas for many far from Cambridge. One correspondent writes that he heard the service in a tent on the foothills of Everest; another, in the desert. Visitors from all over the world are heard to identify the Chapel as “the place where the Carols are sung.” Wherever the service is heard and however it is adapted, whether the music is provided by choir or congregation: the pattern and strength of the service, as Dean Milner-White pointed out, is derived from the lessons and not the music. “The main theme is the development of God’s loving purposes...” seen through the windows and words of the Bible. Local interests appear in the bidding prayer, and personal circumstances give point to different parts of the service. This service at Holy Comforter is particularly Advent-focused, with lessons and music carefully chosen to illuminate the four-week season of waiting and expectation. The carols and anthems heard this morning are designed to support the readings which they follow – each of which tells but a portion of the prophetic story of Christ’s coming among us. !2 VOLUNTARY An Advent Prelude (Charles Callahan, b. 1951) Two Advent Hymns (arr. Mary Ann Archer) Mary Ann Archer, flute WELCOME PROCESSIONAL HYMN (please stand) Come, thou redeemer of the earth Come, thou redeemer of the earth ## & œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ 1. Come,œ thou˙ Re - deem - er of the earth,˙ andœ 2. Be - got - ten of no hu - man will, but 3. O e - qual to the Fa - ther, thou! Gird 4. From God the Fath - er he pro - ceeds; From 5. Thy cra - dle here shall glit - ter bright, And 6. All laud, e - ter - nal Son, to thee Whose ? # œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ # œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ 3 ## œ œ ˙ œ ˙ ˙ œ ˙ & ˙ œ ˙œ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ 1. man - i - fest thy vir - gin birth: Let ev - 'ry age a - 2. of the Spi - rit thou art still The Word of God in 3. on thy flesh - ly man - tle now; The weak - ness of our 4. God the Fath - er back he speeds; His course he runs to 5. dark - ness breathe a new - er light, Where end - less faith shall 6. Ad - vent sets thy peo - ple free, Whom with the Fa - ther œ œ ? # ˙ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ # œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ 6 # # ˙˙ œ ˙ ˙ & œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ 1. dor - ing fall; such birth be - fits the God˙ ofœ all.˙ 2. flesh ar - rayed, the pro - mised fruit to all dis-played. 3. mor - tal state With death - less might in - vig - o - rate. 4. death and hell, Re - turn - ing on God's throne to dwell. 5. shine ser - ene, And twi - light ne - ver in - ter - vene. 6. we a - dore And Ho - ly Ghost for ev - er - more. ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ? ## ˙ ˙ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ !3 THE BIDDING PRAYER (please stand or kneel) Officiant Beloved in Christ, the season of Advent bids us prepare ourselves both for the celebration of Christ’s nativity as also for the day when he shall come to judge the hearts of us all. So, in sorrow and penitence, let us confess our failures and shortcomings, and renew in ourselves the vision of God’s perfect kingdom, which is the end of all our strivings and the consummation of God’s loving purposes for us. In word and music we will give voice to the hope set forth in the scriptures, that God’s kingdom will come; and, with John the Baptist and the Blessed Virgin Mary, we will prepare for its coming, celebrating its dawning in the birth, life and death of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. But first let us pray for those who, by reason of their adversity, yearn especially for its coming: the hungry and the homeless, the sick and the sorrowful, the lonely and the unloved; those who sit in the darkness of despair or who walk in the shadow of death. Let us pray for the leaders of the nations and for all who strive for the establishment of justice, righteousness and peace; and, that it may bear witness to this hope in a world divided by wrath and sorrow, let us pray for the well-being and unity of Christ’s body, the Church. May the Lord when he comes find us watching and waiting. Amen. THE FIRST LESSON Adam and Eve rebel against God and are cast out of the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:1-15 CHOIR ANTHEM We are waiting for the Lord (William T. Paxson) David Duggan, soloist We are waiting for the Lord. Earth is dark, the fires dim; come, Lord Jesus, enter in. Come and help us by your birth; come and brighten all the earth. Free your people from the grave; come, Lord Jesus, come and save. Take the ancient sin away; come, Lord Jesus, show the way. O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel. THE SECOND LESSON God comforts his people and calls on them to prepare for redemption. Isaiah 40:1-11 CONGREGATIONAL HYMN (please stand) #67 Comfort, comfort ye my people ✙At this time, children ages 3 to the second grade--and any adults who wish to accompany them--are invited to follow the small wooden cross down the center aisle for children's chapel in our parish hall. Older children are welcome to participate as leaders and helpers. Everyone will return at the Peace, in time for Communion. ✙ THE THIRD LESSON The scribe Baruch urges the people to look East because salvation is at hand. Baruch 4:36-5:9 CHOIR ANTHEM People, look East (arr. Craig Phillips b. 1961) People, look east. The time is near People, look east and sing today: Of the crowning of the year. Love, the bird, is on the way. Make your house fair as you are able, Trim the hearth and set the table. Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim People, look east and sing today: One more light the bowl shall brim, Love, the guest, is on the way. Shining beyond the frosty weather, Bright as sun and moon together. Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare, People, look east and sing today: One more seed is planted there: Love, the star, is on the way. Give up your strength the seed to nourish, That in course the flower may flourish. Angels, announce with shouts of mirth People, look east and sing today: Christ who brings new life to earth. Love, the rose, is on the way. Set every peak and valley humming With the word, the Lord is coming. Birds, though you long have ceased to build, People, look east and sing today: Guard the nest that must be filled. Love, the Lord, is on the way. Even the hour when wings are frozen -Text by Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) God for fledging time has chosen. !4 THE FOURTH LESSON John the Baptist prepares the way. Luke 3:1-6 CONGREGATIONAL HYMN (please stand) #75 There’s a voice in the wilderness crying THE FIFTH LESSON The Lord will be among us; we are summoned to rejoice and sing.