the gift

A rector’s notes article for October 22, 2018

Advent brings us to a season of gifts. The gift of family. The gift of celebration. The gifts that St. Nick leaves in your shoes on December 6. The gift of Bing Crosby singing Christmas carols. And the greatest gift we await is the coming of the Christ child.

For Advent this year, we will gather each Sunday at 9:30am in All Saints Chapel for “The Gift,” A Joyful Noise Eucharist. As we await the coming of the gift that is Jesus, we prepare ourselves with the stories that precede his arrival, the traditional songs that mark this season of life, and sharing in a reminder of what Christ has already done for us.

This service is dedicated to teaching our children in particular why we do what we do in church. From the prayers that we offer to reflecting on the stories of the gospels to sharing in Eucharist with one another, this service provides an opportunity for children to engage in church at their level (literally, we celebrate the Eucharist and share our stories seated around a low table so that everyone present is up close and personal with our practice).

I want to invite everyone to come and experience this service. To our younger children, I invite you to come and be part of a church experience where you get to see and touch church, where you get to be a part of the service, helping in the various roles and jobs that are needed to make church happen. To older siblings, parents, grandparents, and those that are simply interested, I invite you to come and experience church in a way that is both at once very familiar and a new experience. We will be celebrating each Sunday at 9:30am in All Saints Chapel.

I look forward to sharing in this preparation for “The Gift,” and I am excited to bring this new expression of our corporate worship to the people of St. Stephen’s.

If you would like to get involved in this service, please reach out! I’m still in need of a musician that can help lead some songs (they will repeat each week) for this service and am always open to having excited people be a part of church!