“The World in Solemn Stillness Lay”: Learning to Wait in Silence
The lyrics from Edmund Sears’s classic carol “It Came upon the Midnight Clear” feel out of touch, don’t they? After our busy party schedules, the piles of emails and snail mail asking for year-end donations, and the pressure to shop-‘til-you-drop (or click-‘til-you’re-sick), it’s hard to find much in the way of “solemn stillness.” Would we even hear the “heavenly angels sing” today? Yet, Sears—and Scripture—invite us to a different celebration of the season. For generations, Advent has been a season of stillness, solemnity, and silence. Together this season, let us learn to wait, to listen, and to prepare for the quiet coming of the baby who changes the world.
11/30: Habakkuk: Silence in the Chaos (Habakkuk 1.1–4 and 2.1–4)
12/7: Isaiah: Silence and Trust (Isaiah 30.15–21; Isaiah 35)
12/14: Different worship experiences for the 8:38 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. services:
- 8:38a worship—Zechariah: An Unexpected Silence (Luke 1.5–23)
- 11:00 a.m. worship—Choir Cantata: Christmas is Calling You Home
12/21: Different worship experiences for the 8:38 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. services:
- 8:38a worship—Carol Sing in sanctuary
- 11:00 a.m. worship—Zechariah: An Unexpected Silence (Luke 1.5–23)
12/24: Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Worship:
- Lessons and Carols, with Sermon
- Mary: Enough Silence to Ponder (Luke 2.15-19)