New Traditions for Advent and Christmas 2020

Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, all the earth! The glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Sound familiar? This is the opening line of the Advent Liturgy. Some say change is constant. Perhaps true. A certain constant is the coming of Christ.

Sunday worship in the sanctuary at 10:00am continues, including Advent. You may attend in person or online. To avoid the disappointment of the sanctuary being full, continue to register online or by calling the church office during the week before you plan to attend in person.

You are invited to worship in the sanctuary on Christmas Day at 10 a.m. and New Year’s Eve at 11:30 p.m. (please register).

For Christmas Eve services this year we are excited to offer a virtual musical montage: a collection of photographs taken of Central Moravian Church at Christmastime, performances of “Stille Nacht” and “Morning Star” by child soloists, a Mainstreet Brass prelude, a reading of the Nativity story, and the glorious sounds of the choir and congregation taken from the 2005 “Christmas Eve at Central Moravian Church” CD. Provide your own cookie, chocolate milk, and beeswax candle. Need a candle? Let us know – we have some available in the office.

A link to the church’s YouTube Channel where the Christmas Eve montage will be posted at www.centralmoravianchurch.org on December 20, 2020.  Don’t worry – we’ll remind you about this in our weekly email newsletter.

For those who do not have internet access, a limited number of DVDs will be available.  Please contact the church office if you would like one.

In addition, there will be two online musical experiences.  Becky Lepore will present an Advent and Christmas organ recital as well as a Christmas Contemplative service featuring original solo piano arrangements of reflective and meditative Christmas carols in the serene setting of Old Chapel.  Both of these musical events will be available on the church’s YouTube channel and linked from our website beginning on the first Sunday of Advent, November 29th.

Like you, we look forward to being able to return to the traditions we love about this season: the Advent workshop, joyfully filling the sanctuary for three services on Christmas Eve, hosting the putz. While these things aren’t feasible this year, we rejoice in new experiences that will become tomorrow’s traditions.

In the Advent liturgy, the leader invites us to Shout for Joy! Rejoice! Open our eyes and see the glory! And we jubilantly reply: “Rejoice Greatly, shout for Joy! See, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and brings salvation.”