December 3, 2009

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

This weekend we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent. You are invited to join other parishioners in Advent Reflections, a time of reflection on the season and the scriptures of Advent, on Sundays, 9:30 - 10:15 am. Led by Marianne Evett, the group will reflect on the Lessons for each of the Sundays of Advent. You can find the assigned passages if you click here.

This is the season that we make our personal pledge of time, talent, and treasure in response to the abundance of gifts that we have received. For information about making a pledge, please click here.

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

The reading from Baruch is a prophecy of hope for all creation: "Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God. Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God; put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting; for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven ... Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them." (Baruch 5:1-9)

Canticle 16, The Song of Zechariah, expresses the hope of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace." (Luke 1: 68-79)

The reading from Philippians is Paul's prayer of hope: "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:3-11)

The Gospel of Luke presents John the Baptist, who heralds the coming of the Messiah: In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" (Luke 3:1-6)

Please join us for the Holy Eucharist this weekend, Saturday at 5:00 pm and Sunday at 10:30 am.

Sincerely,

David A. Killian
Rector

Worship Services for

The Second Sunday of Advent, December 5-6, 2009
Saturday, December 5, at 5:00 pm — Preacher: The Rev. David A. Killian
Sunday, December 6, at 10:30 am — Preacher: The Rev. David A. Killian

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