Advent 2018
Advent is a time of anticipation, reflection, and preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ. During the four weeks of the Advent season, we focus on the coming of Jesus as Messiah in our worship, study, and activities at Christ Church. Please join us in these weeks of mindful watching, waiting and expectation. Worship December 2 - First Sunday in Advent Choral Eucharist will be offered at the 9:15 and 11:15 am liturgies with Advent musical offerings by the Christ Church Choir. At 5:00 pm, a special Advent Choral Evensong will take place in historic Christ Church. All are invited to attend. December 9 Second Sunday in Advent There will be special music for morning worship, featuring collaborations with our Christ Church choirs and special guests. December 16 - Third Sunday in Advent - Lessons and Carols The 9:15 and 11:15 am Liturgies will offer a grand variety of music including our Adult Choir, Christ Church Trebles, X Choir, Hand Bell Choir and violin, oboe, English horn, trumpet, and organ. December 23 - Fourth Sunday in Advent All services will take place in their regularly scheduled locations, at 8:00, 9:15 and 11:15 am.
Healing Services A Healing Eucharist is offered each Wednesday in Advent at noon, at Christ Church, Frederica. X Church X Church is offered each Wednesday in Advent at 6:30 pm, at Christ Church, Frederica. Escape the hustle and bustle of the season with the peaceful and contemplative prayers of X Church. (X Church will be on holiday hiatus on December 26th and January 2nd.) Christmas Eve Services December 24 - Christmas Pageant 4:00 pm Service - Parish Hall This energetic liturgy centers around our Christmas Pageant where sheep, angels, shepherds, Joseph, Mary and more come to life as we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. December 24 - Christmas Eve 6:00 & 8:00 pm Services These liturgies will offer festive Christmas selections from our Christ Church Choir of Men and Women, Christ Church Trebles, harp, organ, and brass. December 24 - Christmas Eve 11:00 pm Service This traditional midnight liturgy offers harp, organ, and soloists. Christmas Carols abound! (Nursery care for infants to children age four will be available at 4:00 and 6:00 pm on Christmas Eve.) Christmas Day Services December 25 - Holy Eucharist Service at St. Ignatius - 10:30 am Join us for this morning of rejoicing and praise!
Christmas Poinsettias You may purchase beautiful poinsettias to honor a loved one and decorate our worship spaces for Christmas. The cost is $30 per poinsettia and checks should be made payable to the Christ Church Altar Guild. Please send checks and the names of those you wish to honor to Ethel Horton, at 402 Palm Court St. Simons Island, 31522 by Sunday, December 16. Grow and Learn Advent Devotionals Living Well Through Advent 2018: Practicing Generosity with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind, is this year s Advent meditation booklet from Living Compass. Copies will be available to pick up in the church office, or you may download a copy at http://www. livingcompass.org/advent Adult Sunday Morning Advent Study The Redemption of Scrooge is an Advent Study that shows us how the teachings of Jesus can be found in Dickens Christmas classic. From the ghosts of Christmas past, to the life of the present and the resurrection of Christmas future, this Advent study will bless us everyone and reinvigorate our spiritual journeys as we look at this familiar story through the lens of faith. Join the Sunday morning Adult Class as they go from Bah, Humbug! to a blessed Advent and a Merry Christmas. Everyone is welcome. The Class meets in the Parish House every Sunday from 10:30 to 11:15 am and the Rev. Dr. Robert W. (Bob) Brown is the leader.
Thursday Advent Book Study at 1:00 pm The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus s Birth by Marcus Borg and John Crossan. In this book, the authors help us to see this well-known narrative afresh by answering the question, What do these stories mean? in the context of both the first century and the twenty-first century. They successfully show that the Christmas story, read in its original context, is far richer and more challenging than people imagine. The study will begin on Thursday, November 29, at 1:00 pm, in the Vestry room and will meet weekly throughout Advent. The book may be purchased on Amazon for $15.75. Contact Mother Ashton at ashton@ ccfssi.org for more information. Advent Wednesday Offerings - Sacred Music of Advent Father Tom Purdy, Kathleen Turner and Randy Seigel will host a music-themed series for Advent. Join us for lunch at 12:30 pm, following the Healing Service. The programs will take place on Wednesdays, at 1:00 pm, in the Parish Hall. Week 1 December 5 - Compare and Contrast Settings of Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus. Father Tom s creative use of posing questions and engaging discussion will structure the program. Week 2 December 12 - The Music-O-Gram: Exploring the creation of musical road maps based on settings of Comfort, Comfort Ye My People led by
Kathleen Turner. The art of the Music-O-Gram will be explained in a comfortable, user friendly setting, after which participants will have the opportunity to create their own Music-O-Gram. Week 3 December 19 - Rediscover a childlike sense of play and awake your artist s soul! Randy will guide participants especially those who claim they aren t artists through an easy, relaxed and fun intuitive drawing process that includes live musical meditations by Kathleen Turner on the piano. Special Events December 1 - Breakfast with St. Nicholas Join us for breakfast on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 9:00 to 11:30 am in the Christ Church Parish Hall. This is an event for all ages, but particularly special for families with children. A hot breakfast is served beginning at 9:00 am. Activities and games especially geared towards families follow breakfast and St. Nicholas will read a very special story to all. December 2, 9, 16 & 23 - Christmas Pageant Rehearsals We will prepare for the annual Christmas Pageant on the four Sundays of Advent, following the 11:15 am service in the Parish Hall. On Dec. 2 there will be tryouts for speaking roles, Dec. 9 will be rehearsal for speaking roles only, Dec. 16 will be rehearsal for all roles and Dec. 23 will be the final dress rehearsal. For more information contact Mother Katie at katie@ccfssi.org.
December 9 - Youth Trip to Jekyll Island On December 9, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, we will be taking our children and youth to Jekyll Island to see the lights. Contact Mother Katie at katie@ccfssi.org for more details. December 21 - Parents Day Out 9:00 am 2:00 pm - Christ Church is offering a Parents Day Out on Friday, Dec. 21, so parents of children 12 and under have an opportunity for last minute Christmas errands. Parents may spend time with their children at the church during this event, as well. The day will include lunch, snacks, games, and more! Please contact Miss Kathleen at kathleen@ccfssi.org to sign up your children for this event. Advent Generosity Angel Tree for Morningstar Children The Angel Tree will be back this year and set up in the Parish Hall. Simply stop by and choose an angel! This year we are helping the children of Morningstar feel the spirit of Christmas by gifting them with one wish from their Christmas list. Please return wrapped gifts with the angel affixed to the outside, to the Parish Hall by Friday, December 14. Carols of Advent and Christmas - Christ Church Frederica Children and Youth The Choristers, Trebles, Youth, and Young Adults offer a collection of traditional carols of Advent and Christmas. It is our gift to you in thanksgiving for our great cloud of witnesses and in anticipation of God s plan for what is to come. The CDs will be available Sunday, December 9. As
the value of children s voices singing of Christ s birth is priceless, donations are welcomed and will support the St. Cecelia Series. (If donating by check, please write St. Cecelia Series in the memo line.) Christmas at Sea Please help the mariners who visit the Port of Brunswick feel the warmth of love at Christmas this year by making them shoe box gift boxes. Collect 12-15 small items, such as toiletries, socks, caps, stationery, pocket Bibles, wrapped snack foods and other small gifts, place them in a shoe box, wrap it in Christmas paper, and bring it to church office in the Parish House by New Year s Eve. Contact Mother Becky at becky@ccfssi.org for a complete list of items needed. Christmas Food Baskets Our annual collection of food for Christmas food baskets for needy families in our community begins December 8 and continues through December 16. Please bring non-perishable food items for Christmas dinners to either St. Ignatius or the Christ Church Parish Hall. You may also donate cash or checks, marked
for Christmas baskets. Volunteers are needed to help assemble and distribute the baskets on Thursday, December 20, beginning at 9:00 am. For more information about how you can help, please contact Jeannie Wade at jswade125@att.net. December 16 - EYC Christmas Food Basket Service Project and Christmas Party Calling all EYC members to help prepare for Thursday s food basket packing. We ll have fun and fellowship and serve others all at the same time. Join us at 12:30 pm. December 20 - Christmas Food Basket Packing and Delivery 9:00 am - 1:00 pm - Join us in the Parish Hall for this time of fellowship and outreach as we assemble and then deliver the Christmas food baskets to local families. Help Create Wreaths for Our Churches All those who are interested in learning how to make a wreath or would like to make a wreath for Christmas to adorn the walls of one of our worship spaces are welcome to come join the Altar Guild and Flower Guild in the Parish House on Thursday, December 20 at 9:00 am. The only things you need to bring are clippers and your gloves, we will provide cedar and wreath forms. Or just come have a cup coffee and enjoy the fellowship. For more information, please contact Anna Belle McCaskill at abmcf@att.net. Backpack Buddies All are welcome to join the Backpack Buddies for the final packing of the first school semester on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 1:30 pm, in the Parish Hall. This school year, the Backpack Buddies program is feeding
240+ disadvantaged local children. Hunger is a persistent problem in Glynn County and affects 61%, or more than 8,000 school age children. Though students have access to two meals per day at school during the week, on the weekends and holidays, nutritious food can be scarce and even non-existent. You can honor a loved one this Christmas by sponsoring weekend food for a child for an entire school year for $100, or for one semester for $50. For more information, please contact Susan Shipman at susanshipman@att.net. ECW Missions New ECW cookbooks and cookie tins are in! Make these a gift of choice during this upcoming holiday season and remember those on your gift list with a remembrance from Christ Church, Frederica. Both are available for purchase in the church office in the Parish House. Cookbooks are $20 and cookie tins are $15. ECW Scholarships As we open our hearts and give gifts during the holiday season, don t forget that the ECW scholarship fund is a great way to honor or memorialize someone special and still pass the gift on into the future. The scholarship fund is growing and you can be a part of it by making a donation as an expression of thanks or as a memorial. Some young person in the future will benefit from your generosity and will thank you for it. Contact Jane Watson, at janewwatson@bellsouth.net, for more information.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14 6329 Frederica Road St. Simons Island, GA 31522 912.638.8683 ccfssi.org