The Hanging of The Green Wednesday, December 3, 2014 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary St. Luke s United Methodist Church Yorktown, VA
Hanging of the Green Service December 3, 2014 PRELUDE THE CHIMING OF THE HOUR WELCOME We gather this evening as we eagerly await the coming of the Light of the world to bring us new life and new hope. Advent is a time of expectation and preparation. Let us prepare our hearts and this house for the birth of Jesus. HYMN, No. 202 UMH People Look East (During the singing of the final verse those who have volunteered to hang the wreaths and place evergreens are invited to go to the narthex.) SCRIPTURE, Mark 1:1-3 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight (NRSV) THE CALL TO WORSHIP, Isaiah 2:2-3 (NRSV) In days to come the mountain of the Lord s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. How shall we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, the King? With branches of cedar, the tree of royalty. How shall we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, the eternal Christ? With garlands of pine and fir, whose leaves are ever living. How shall we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, our Savior? With wreaths of holly and ivy, symbolizing His passion, death and resurrection. How shall we prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus, the Son of God? By hearing again the words of the prophets who foretold the saving work of God. Glory to God in the highest! SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 60:13 "The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify where my feet rest.
MUSIC: Priere (Wreath processional during music) Gerad Peterson THE EVERGREEN The most striking and universal feature of Christmas is the use of evergreens in churches and homes. Holly and ivy, along with pine, fir and cedar are called evergreens because they never change color. They are ever-green, ever- alive, even in the midst of winter. The red berries of the ivy are a symbol of the blood Christ shed for our sins. The blue berries of the cedar remind us of Mary s sapphire robe. Early Christians placed evergreens in their windows much like we still do today, to indicate that Christ had entered the home. The evergreens symbolize the unchanging nature of God and remind us that everlasting life is ours through Jesus Christ. There are many legends associated with the Bible. Let us begin this legend with the recorded event written in Scripture and recorded by Matthew about Mary and Joseph s flight to Egypt. The Gospel writer says, An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. And the angel said to him: "Rise up and take the Infant Jesus and his mother and escape with them to Egypt. Stay in Egypt until I bid you return. You are no longer safe. Go, for Herod sends his soldiers to seek out the Child and destroy Him." So Mary and Joseph and their Infant Child left the warmth and security of their land and journeyed into Egypt. One story says they hastily gathered their belongings and escaped into the night. They must run from the jealous wrath of Herod and his men. They must escape from the death decree handed down by Herod. No one could know their destination. Secrecy was the only way, lest their families and friends come under the decree of death. Over rocky hills and dusty roads, they traveled wearily; Mary and the Infant on the back of a donkey; Joseph, alert and watchful, walking beside them. With heavy saddened hearts and fearful weary bodies, they made their way all night long and into the following long day. In the afternoon they saw dust in the distance behind. Fast riding soldiers came, soldiers sent from Herod, sent to carry out Herod's dreadful mission. Where could they hide? Where could the Holy Family find protection? The hillside was barren, offering no shield. Quickly, a frightened Joseph guided Mary and her child into a clump of cedars on a hill. Immediately, the bare cedar twigs greened with color, thickened with growth to shield the Holy Family. The white berries of the cedar tree turned to sapphire blue to match the robe that Mary wore that day. So Mary, mother of Jesus in a robe of sapphire blue could blend with cedar trees, and go unnoticed by passing, hunting soldiers. Since that day, cedars and plants like them have never shed their leaves; never lost their green; for they sheltered the Holy Family. Forever green, to honor the day they received the Infant Christ Child. Evergreen, everlasting, eternal, green branches are a part of our preparation, our waiting: a symbol of hope, a symbol of eternity, a reminder of love received. Evergreen is a symbol of the eternal promise of renewal, a symbol of the eternal and everlasting God. (The Advent Wreath begins to be trimmed.)
THE ADVENT WREATH Advent wreaths have their origins in the folk traditions of northern Europe, where in the deep of winter people lit candles on wheel-shaped bundles of evergreen. The greenery and candlelight gave comfort at this darkest time of the year, Later, Eastern European Christians adopted this practice and by the sixteenth century, Advent wreaths became what we know them as today. Both the evergreen and candles are circular in shape and symbolize ongoing life, reminding us of the continuous power of God, which has no beginning and no end. An advent wreath contains five candles. The three purple candles in the advent wreath symbolize the coming of the Messiah, or Christ, from the Royal line of David. In Biblical times the color purple was always reserved for royalty as it was expensive and rare. Each candle itself symbolizes hope, peace and love. These candles are lit on the first, second and third Sundays of Advent. The fourth candle is pink and represents joy. The fifth candle is known as the Christ candle. It is white and the only candle placed inside the Advent wreath. The Christ candle is lit on Christmas Day and points to Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Light of the World. THE CHRISMON TREE Chrismons are a relatively new addition to the Christmas tradition. Chrismons originated at Ascension Lutheran Church in Virginia in 1957 by Francis Spencer. Feeling that the traditional brightly colored Christmas ornaments were just not appropriate for a place of worship, she began looking for something that would better reflect the Christian faith. Many of the symbols used are quite ancient, such as the star of David, the Greek letters for Alpha and Omega and Icthys known as the fish symbol. A Chrismon is a monogram of Christ, proclaiming the name, the life, and the saving acts of Jesus the Christ. Chrismons are hand made Christian symbols and are not to be bought or sold. This year, we are very excited to show our new Chrismons, handmade by our own members. At St. Luke s, we are truly blessed to have an elaborate and extensive selection of Chrismons to decorate the trees in our sanctuary and in The Grove. THE FISH The FISH is the most ancient symbol for our Lord, and was used as an easily recognized secret sign by early Christians. The Greek word for fish, ichthus (pronounced ik-thoos), is formed by using the first letter of each of the words in Greek which stand for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. Since non-christians did not suspect its secret meaning, the image of the fish offered protection from persecution. THE BUTTERFLY The butterfly is a symbol of Christ s resurrection and eternal life. It comes out of the cocoon with a body able to soar into the sky. THE CROSS There are many designs for the symbol of the cross. The cross is always a symbol of Christianity, because Christianity was founded not only on the birth and teachings of Jesus of Christ, but on his death on the cross AND his resurrection. THE TRIANGLE The triangle in different shapes represents the Trinity Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
THE DOVE The dove reminds us that our souls go to heaven, as Jesus did when he left earth. It also is a symbol of peace, for the Prince of Peace. THE HEART The heart is the symbol of love, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. (During the singing of the following hymns the children are invited to come forward to decorate the Chrismon tree) HYMN, No. 2092 TFWS Like a Child {Remain seated} No. 2095 TFWS Star-Child {Remain seated} (During the singing of the final verse those who volunteered to carry in a poinsettia are invited to go to the narthex.) THE POINSETTIA Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. Flower of the Holy Night The poinsettia, known as the Flower of the Holy Night originates in Mexico. The Aztecs saw the poinsettias as a symbol of purity. Later a legend is told of a child who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The child was told by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Beautiful red "blossoms" sprouted from the weeds and became what we now know as poinsettias. The star-shaped leaf calls to mind the star that stood over the Christ child on that first Christmas night. The red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus. HYMN, No. 211 UMH O Come, O Come, Emmanuel {vs 1-4} (Poinsettia processional while hymn is sung) THE NATIVITY (During this reading the nativity will be set.) One of the most heart-warming expressions of Christmas is the Nativity. The Nativity speaks of the mystery of God's wisdom. Why God chose to send his son into our world as a baby of humble birth, born in common surroundings, we do not know. What we do know is that God reached out to all people including the poor and wealthy, the simple and the wise, the powerless and the powerful. All who found him knelt before him in humility. Knowing God is possible because he came to us, at our level. Whenever we see a Nativity we find ourselves with Mary and Joseph; with the Shepherds, and with the Wise Men; bowing before the manger, overwhelmed by God s expression of love in coming to us. In 1224, Saint Francis of Assisi had the idea of creating a living picture of the birth of Jesus, as a way to bring the story to life for the local villagers. He took a group of poor country folk to a rocky cave. When they saw the live nativity Saint Francis had prepared for them, they cried out in wonder. There in the cave was a manger filled with fresh hay; a live ox and donkey stood beside the manger; real people played the parts of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, and a lifesized wax baby lay in the manger. As the people watched, Saint Francis explained the story, how a poor king born in a stable brought hope of a better life to everyone. His listeners began to realize the beauty of the Christmas message. In years to follow, people set up their own manger scenes and the custom quickly spread throughout the world.
The Nativity is a visual proclamation of the Christmas story. Each piece of the Nativity unfolds the story of Christ s birth. As in the day of Jesus birth, so today his coming brings joy and hope to all who believe in him. (Following the service the Nativity set will be moved to the Narthex.) THE GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS From the beginning of Christmas celebrations, gift giving has been a part of the season. The three kings gave of their precious treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh, while the Shepherds gave of themselves. Both express the Gift of God in giving Christ as the Savior of the World. Unique in our history of generous givers is the story of the Bishop of Myra in Lycia in the fourth century A.D. Born the only son of wealthy Christian parents.he is reputed to have been wealthy, his emblem being three purses and three golden balls. This was the symbol of rich Italian families of his time The good Bishop gave his money away secretly to those whom he found in need. He was deeply interested in young people, giving his wealth especially to maidens whose lacked a dowry and to needy boys. Gifts coming from unknown sources were commonly attributed to him and parents customarily gave him credit for their gifts to their children. The discovery of his generosity was found out by the father of three daughters, who had no dowry. In the cover of night, he took a bag of gold and threw it in at the open window of the man's house. Here was a dowry for the eldest girl and she was quickly married. At intervals Nicholas did the same for the second and third; at the last time the father was on the watch, recognized his benefactor and overwhelmed him with his gratitude. His name survives today as the human embodiment of unselfish giving. Today we know him as St. Nicholas. CLOSING HYMN, No. 585 UMH, This Little Light of Mine -DIFFICULT FOR THE CONGREGATION THE PROCLAMATION Advent makes innkeepers out of all of us, asking each of us to make room for the arrival of Christ The King. Let us, today, prepare Him room in our hearts, our lives, and our homes!
Upcoming Opportunities Thank you for joining us for our Hanging of the Green service tonight. We hope you enjoyed learning about the meaning behind the many decorations used during Advent and Christmas time. Please join us Sundays for worship at 8:30, 9:45, 11:00 AM or 5:05 PM. Bibles for our 2nd Grade students On December 7, 2014 at the 9:45 AM worship service, St. Luke s will give Bibles to all our children in Second Grade. Students should go to Sunday school class as usual. Their teacher will bring them into worship where the Bibles will be presented to them. Then after the new year, Pastor Clara will lead them during Sunday School in how to use their Bibles. Please consider joining us for The Drive-Thru Nativity Friday, December 12 th and Saturday, December 13 th from 5:30-8:00pm each night. Bring your friends and family and drive through the story of Christ s birth, His life, death, and resurrection. College Student (and Those Out of High School in their early 20s) Gathering with Clergy The tradition continues! Get ready for Christmas by catching up with each other and your clergy on Fri, December 19th, 6:00 PM. Enjoy good company and good food with the Gestwicks and the Hamptons, 105 Castellow Court, Yorktown, VA. Please contact the church office, 898-3017 to let them know you are attending. Again this Advent season we are offering a Blue Christmas Service, Sunday, December 21st at 4:00 PM. Although the holidays are often associated with joy and fun they can be a very sad time for people. For some it might be the first holiday season without a loved one, for others they might be going through grief due to divorce or deployment, for others it may be seasonal depression. Whatever the cause of your sadness we invite you to our Blue Christmas Service to remember your reasons for sadness and pray for God s hand to touch your pain with God s healing power. Join us Christmas Eve for one of our four services at 5:00, 7:00, 9:00, or 11:00 PM. Every service will include Communion. Children are welcome at all services but our 5:00 PM service allows them to actively participate in the service. 5:00 PM Our Spontaneous Christmas Pageant in the Grove. Through a series of readings and hymns our children will be guided through a pageant experience to learn the story of Jesus birth. 7:00 PM Service of Lessons and Carols in the Grove. Through a series of lessons and carols we will learn the story of Jesus birth. This service will conclude with a candle lighting. 9:00 PM Festival of Lessons and Carols in the Sanctuary, This service will conclude with a candle lighting. 11:00 PM Festival of Lessons and Carols in the Sanctuary. This service will conclude with a Candle lighting.