Ruth 1:1-5, 8-17; Luke 1:39-45 | As we add figures to our nativity scenes, it may be tempting to think about each individual character in isolation. But throughout the story, there’s an emphasis of being together in community. The angels appear to numerous shepherds in the fields, and Mary – after hearing the news she is to bear God’s Son – goes to her relative Elizabeth’s house. The story of Christ’s incarnation includes so many people, walking together, because they need one another to discover what God is doing in their midst. In the same way, throughout Scripture, and throughout our lives, we need one another for protection, for sanctuary, and to discern what God is up to in our lives and communities. So as you continue through the Advent season, braid yourself together with us in community, as we hear God’s invitation to dwell in us, as Emmanuel, and as we are sent to become Christ’s sanctuary for all God’s people.
Sunday, December 8, 2024, Second Sunday in Advent Bulletin
Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.Prayer by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org. Gathering: Light Dawns on a Weary World. Text and Music: Mary Loise Bringle, William P. Rowan. Text and Music: © 2000, 2002 GIA Publications, Inc. Covered under One License
subscription. Hymn of the Day: To Be Known. Text: Anna Strickland, A Sanctified Art 2024. Music: John Baptiste Calkin, 1872. Text and Music: © 2024 A Sanctified Art. Public Domain. Covered under A Sanctified Art LLC. Offering: Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming. Text: German carol, 15th cent.; tr. Theodore Baker, 1851-1934, sts. 1-2; Harriet R. Krauth, 1845-1925, st. 3; John C. Mattes, 1876-1948, st. 4 Music: Alte catholische geistliche Kirchengesänge, Köln, 1599; arr. Michael Practorius, 1571-1621. Text and Music: © Public Domain. Sending Song: He Came Down. Text: Cameroon traditional. Music: Cameroon traditional; arr. John L. Bell, b. 1949. Arr. © 1986 Iona community admin. GIA Publications, Inc. Public Domain.