In January of 1872, Christina Rossetti published a little poem entitled, A Christmas Carol. The poem takes the birth of Jesus in the Judea, and creatively imagines the holy moment instead in the cold snowy England. Over time, the poem was retitled In the Bleak Midwinter, and set to music, becoming a beloved Christmas hymn that appears even in our Baptist hymnal.
This year for our worship in Advent, we will walk through the hymn by singing it verse by verse every week till finally singing the full hymn. Over 150 years later, Rossetti’s words are still powerful as the hymn moves from the bleakness of winter, to the warmth of Christ’s crib. The song seems to slowly pan, considering earthly bleakness, God’s willingness to have his son be born here, of angels singing, and ultimately how we might respond to the birth of Christ.
In the rapid pace of the Christmas season with an ever need to buy more and more, the haunting quietness of the hymn reminds us that Christ is born to build a different kind of kingdom. That this baby we are anxiously awaiting does not require gifts or money or other physical accoutrement, but our love and our lives.
This Advent season in our worship, we will slowly work towards the question, What Can I Give Him? How should we as Christ followers respond anew to the birth of Christ in this world?
December 1 | First Sunday of Advent
11:00 am Worship Service; Light the Candle of Hope
December 8 | Second Sunday of Advent
11:00 am Worship Service; Light the Candle of Hope; "Gloria" by Vivaldi presented by Sanctuary Choir
12:00 pm Elf Workshop for All Ages
December 15 | Third Sunday of Advent
11:00 am Worship Service; Light the Candle of Joy; Cloth in the Cradle Children's Liturgy
December 18 | Blue Christmas Service
6:00 pm Service in the Chapel
December 22 | Fourth Sunday of Advent
11:00 am Worship Service; Light the Candle of Love
December 24 | Christmas Eve
5:00 pm Candlelight and Communion Service
December 29 | Christmastide Worship
11:00 am Worship Service in the Great Room