Last Sunday we came together to celebrate Advent Sunday and the Feast of St Andrew for our Patronal Festival a day early. The service was enhanced with recorded hymns chosen by Gail on the theme of ‘Hoping’. Waiting and preparing for the great light that is about to come into the world, the Christ child, the light that darkness does not overcome, reminded our Rector Andrea of her childhood in Salisbury where on Advent Sunday in the magnificent cathedral, the theme of Darkness to Light was commemorated by a wonderful act of worship. The service started in darkness with music and singing and gradually more light was introduced until the whole cathedral was filled with light.
The tradition of lighting one of our coloured candles each week in the advent wreath is carried out in many of our churches and we in our more modest way did exactly that. Andrea continued ‘In the spirit and language of Advent, the world is certainly hoping, waiting and anticipating the launch of a vaccine that will release us from the restrictions of our daily habits and the fear of disease’.
During Advent in this most extraordinary of years, we are once again following the Royal School of Church Music Advent pilgrimage with extra music and a theme for each week, with the theme next week being ‘Waiting’. Whilst in the Advent Season, we are looking forward to Christmas when we expect to have a carol service on Christmas Eve followed by our 10.00am Celebration of the birth of Christ on Christmas day when we anticipate returning to our maximum of 50 which in our church means max of 24 – what extraordinary times indeed!
There are some books for reading and study during Advent which have been recommended and they are Advent for Everyone through the apostles by Tom Wright, Journey to the manger by Paula Gooder and The Art of Advent by Jane Williams, wife of Rowan Williams. These can be ordered on line or on application to our rector Andrea.