Our service on Advent IV followed the theme of ‘Preparing‘ and we in St Andrew’s have, for some time, been preparing for our services over the Christmas period thus we were pleased that even in the latest lockdown rules we were able to open for a Carol Service on Christmas Eve. This time-served tradition of our Anglican churches with the help of Iona community and recorded carols were supported by our own Soloists and we were able to hear ‘The Angel Gabriel from Heaven came’ arranged by our organist and ‘Tell out my soul’ sung by our soloist Laura and especially ‘O Holy Night ‘ sung by two of our soloists which we see is the favourite Carol UK wide this year! It was of course composed in the early part of the 19th century by Adolphe Adam but we used the well known arrangement by John Barnard. Unfortunately we could not stream this service for copyright reasons! But we heard (and saw on our screen) ‘The Shepherd’s Carol’ illustrated by amazing images, a truly magical service.
On Christmas Day in the severe weather, although we are able to seat up to the maximum of 20 we were surprised to have a very modest attendance! For the full Eucharist of the Nativity using our own singers we used the Ukranian liturgy with the Hebridean Gloria sung gloriously by Laura for the last time for at least 21 days owing to the travel restrictions.
However we moved on to Christmas I and the marking of St Stephen’s Day, Saint and Martyr and listened to wonderful singing with the combination of the Kyrie and Sanctus sung in Greek which was new to many ! coupled with the Iona Gloria in Latin and a John Bell Agnus in English – a broad church ?? All the music was enhanced by live playing on the organ of ‘Joy to the World’, ‘In the bleak midwinter’ to the Harold Darke setting and sent out to the ‘First Nowell’ followed by a soft rendering of ‘Silent Night’ as we dispersed.
And you may well be asking what was our Rector Andrea saying over these services in her messages? She concentrated on the number of times the phrase ‘Do not be afraid’ occurred in relation to messages from the Angels and that this is exactly how we should be looking to the future with the help of modern angels in the NHS and our fantastic scientists who in an accelerated tsunami of effort and cooperation have produced not one but several vaccines to help protect us all. So ‘Do Not Be Afraid’ is the message as we move into 2021 full of hope and faith. Happy New Year to you all. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people”. Luke 2 10
So, let us banish our fears, difficult though that might seem, and look beyond ourselves to embrace this joy. And what a joy it is!