Christ Church Cathedral

Mobile, Alabama

Cathedral E-News December 26, 2014

The First Sunday

after Christmas

All Years

RCL

Deember 28, 2014

The Holy Eucharist

Rite II

10:00 am

St. John the Baptist
Icon
Source: St. Tikhon's Monastery Press

THE COLLECT

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Service Bulletin

Cathedral Notes & Prayers

The Lectionary Page

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MINISTERS FOR SUNDAY

Celebrant and Preacher

Dean Gibson

First Reading

Kennon Drew

Second Reading

Kennon Drew

Intercessor

Lynn Yankie

Chalice Bearers

Lynn Yankie, Bill Skinner

Crucifers

Charlie Ramo, Annabelle Ramo

Acolytes

Yates Grehan, Ellie Grehan, Julianna Ramo,William Russell, Carson Russell

Children's Chapel

Brie Zarzour, Jordan Chow

Altar Guild

Nance Stephens, Lynn Yankie

Flower Guild

Robbie Lynn Irvine

Ushers

Mark Weeks, Paul Clinton, Carter Drane, Fred Hoffmeyer, Chris Hume, Gene Moree

Hospitality Team

Marianne Hall, Chambliss Brister, Kim Ellis,Valerie Hines, Lucy Moore, Kristyn Seawell

WORSHIP NOTES FOR THIS SUNDAY

First Sunday after Christmas Day December 28, 2014

Our celebration of Christ's birth began on Christmas Eve, continued on Christmas Day, and will still be going on this Sunday, the first Sunday after Christmas Day and the fourth day of Christmas. While the spending frenzy of the culture culminates in the gift-giving of Christmas Day and then moves on to the next thing, in the life of the Church that day is the beginning, not the end, of Christmas. We have twelve whole days, until the Feast of the Epiphany, to celebrate the light of Christ that has come into the world.

Our collect for this Sunday thanks God for pouring "upon us the new light of [His] incarnate Word" and asks God to grant "that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives." Our readings from scripture elaborate on the divine gift we have received. Isaiah strikes a note of rejoicing, his "whole being" exulting in God's gift of salvation. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul reminds us that through Christ's birth we have become the children of God by adoption, and because we are children, "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts." The gospel for this Sunday is always the magnificent opening of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Word became incarnate in this world, and yet the world did not know him. But to all who receive him, he gives "power to become children of God." We have seen his glory, John proclaims, "the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth," and "[f]rom his fulness we have all received, grace upon grace."

I hope that you will make time to reflect daily during this Christmas time on the grace God has poured into our lives. In our worship, we will give thanks for the light that has been given to us, and we will be strengthened to let that light shine forth in our lives. On Christmas Day, I recited a couplet that Lord George Carey shared recently in the Daily Mail. Learned long ago, he finds it relevant today: "Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem is born, if he's not born in thee, thy heart's forlorn." May these twelve days of Christmas be for us all a time of joyful celebration of Christ's birth in our hearts.

The Very Reverend Beverly F. Gibson

Dean

Christ Church Cathedral

"Worship Notes for this Sunday" are posted and archived

each week on our new website here:

http://www.christchurchcathedralmobile.org/worship-notes-for-this-sunday

MUSIC NOTES FOR THIS SUNDAY

First Sunday after Christmas Day December 28, 2014

We will celebrate the First Sunday after Christmas Day this week at Christ Church Cathedral. Although December 25 has come and gone, it is still the Christmas Season. Though difficult for me to understand when I was in my confirmation class as a child, Christmas really is its own liturgical season! So, come to church this week ready to sing more carols and listen to Christmas readings from scripture.

Sunday's Gospel is the famous beginning from St. John's Gospel. In this reading, the author relates a poetic description of Christ's Nativity that goes beyond the narrative of its temporal and physical occurrence. In fact, these first paragraphs in John's Gospel are nearly a summary of Christ's identity. These words draw us forward into the personhood of Christ beyond the manger. To that end, our offertory anthem will be A Stable Lamp is Lighted. This piece, composed by David Hurd (b. 1950), draws connections between Jesus' birth and the events at the end of his earthly life. The lyrics are by Richard Wilbur (b. 1921), an award-winning American poet. As an aside, Wilbur wrote some of the lyrics for Leonard Bernstein's (1918-1990) setting of Candide. His text for this Sunday's anthem bears quoting here.

A stable lamp is lighted

Whose glow shall wake the sky;

The stars shall bend their voices,

And every stone shall cry.

And every stone shall cry,

And straw like gold shall shine;

A barn shall harbor heaven,

A stall become a shrine.

This child through David's city

Shall ride in triumph by;

The palm shall strew its branches,

And every stone shall cry.

And every stone shall cry;

Though heavy, dull, and dumb,

And lie within the road-way

To pave his kingdom come.

Yet he shall be forsaken,

And yielded up to die;

The sky shall groan and darken,

And every stone shall cry.

And every stone shall cry,

For stony hearts of men:

God's blood upon the spear-head,

God's love refused again.

But now, as at the ending,

The low is lifted high;

The stars shall bend their voices,

And every stone shall cry.

And every stone shall cry,

In praises of the Child

By whose descent among us

The worlds are reconciled.

This piece and Sunday's Gospel passage are similar: both texts elude to the fullness of Christ's mission. We will also sing other carols on Sunday including Joy to the world, the Lord is come!, It came upon the midnight clear, and The snow lay on the ground. However, our sequence hymn will be Let all mortal flesh keep silence. Though normally thought of as an Advent hymn, I found the text particularly poignant for Sunday because of its emphasis on silence, awe, and reverence at the presence of Christ. As we think on the Incarnation, I hope we will all be filled with reverence and wonder. The church, in her wisdom, gives us weeks after December 25 to bask in the glow of Christmas after all the shopping and eating is over. Let's take advantage of it!

Christopher W. Powell

Organist and Choir Master

CPowell@christchurchcathedralmobile.org

"Music Notes for this Sunday" are posted and archived

each week on our new website here:

http://www.christchurchcathedralmobile.org/music-notes-for-this-sunday�

CATHEDRAL NOTES

CATHEDRAL OFFICE

HOLIDAY HOURS

The Cathedral office will be closed New

Year's week from Tuesday, December 30

through Friday, January 2. The office will

resume normal business hours from 8:00

a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 5.

Please make note the office will be open on

Monday, December 29 in order to take

care of your end of the year pledge

payments.

WEDNESDAY NOON

EUCHARIST

Resumes Wednesday, January 6

ORDINATION TO THE

PRIESTHOOD

Saturday, January 10

10:00 a.m.

If you'd like to help with the Ordination

and Reception on Saturday, January 10,

please sign-up on the form at the ministry

table or contact the Cathedral Office

by calling

438-1822

or by emailing

office@christchurchcathedralmobile.org.

Staffing Needs:

* Greeters: 8:30 a.m. until 9:45 a.m.

We will need 10 to 12 greeters stationed

around the campus.

* Ushers: 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.

Wewill need ushers to hand out bulletins,

assist during the service and help

prepare the church for Sunday.

ALTERNATE ROUTE TOCHURCH

Sunday, January 11

Due to possible traffic delays and to help

ensure the day runs smoothly for our

members and the participants in the First

Light Marathon, you may want to take an

alternate route to church on Sunday,

January 11. The marathon route is

available at www.firstlightmarathon.com.

EPIPHANY CONCERT-

HILDEGARD, HOWELLS,

HOOK & HASTINGS

Sunday, January 11, 2015

at 4:00 p.m.

An hour-long concert featuring a sung

medieval play by Hildegard von Bingen,

the first recorded composer of Western

music, organ/choral pieces by Herbert

Howells, the English romanticist, and the

sounds of the Victorian era Hook &

Hastings pipework of our organ, dating

from 1907.

This program will also feature a

reflection on Hildegard by

The Very Reverend Beverly F. Gibson, Ph.D., Dean.

WALK ABOUT-PRESENTATION

OF CANDIDATES FOR THE BISHOP ELECTION

You may meet the candidates at the Walk

Abouts. Walk Abouts are open to every

member of parishes in the Diocese of the

Central Gulf Coast.

Registration begins

Friday, January 2.

Monday January 19

Lunch-11:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

St. Francis of Assisi, Gulf Breeze.

Walkabout-6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Church of the Nativity, Dothan.

Tuesday January 20

Lunch-11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

St. Mary's, Andalusia.

Walkabout-6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

St. John's, Monroeville

Wednesday January 21

Walkabout-6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

St. Paul's, Daphne

EUCHARIST WITH THE BISHOP CANDIDATES

Wednesday, January 21

2:30 p.m.

Christ Church Cathedral

Cathedral Notes will be posted each week on the

News/Events page on our new website here:

http://www.christchurchcathedralmobile.org/newsevents.html

CATHEDRAL PRAYERS

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servants the help of your power, that their sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

WE PRAY FOR:

Members:
Brink Brinkley, John Wade Thurber, Nick Nichols, Butch Trawick, Billie van der Giessen, Peter van der Giessen, Patti Biel, Alice Carwie, Raymond Fields, Lisa Williams, Fairley Morton, David Sanders

Friends & Family:
Leland Moore, Sr., Deborah Beverley, Peggy Naughton, Gary Davis, Harrison Leff, Michael Cameron, Nancy & Don Cameron, Rob & Amy Archer Ellis, Dottie McCord, Joyce Lee, Davis Nelson, Michael Sumrall, Gwen Cook, Alfred Showers, Michael Daves, Michael Sumrall, Jim Elia, Anne Brown, Mark Brown, Harriett Lillich, Bonnie Orillion, Dave Carlyn Block, Rachel McClanahan, Beverly Schubert, Tom Cunningham, Francis Grace Hirs, Norma Beazley, Curtis Bullock,
Valerie Boatman, Ann Jones, Hank Wozniek, Lisa Thompson, Stella Phillips, James Thomas, Ted Fraiche, Mark Miles, Susan Guilian, Tot Swanson, Art Swanson, Hayden Jenkins, Maggie Jenkins, Betty Ruth Patek, Carolyn Pryor, Merle Findley, Louise Douglas, Shirley & Dunlap Peeples, Steve Harris, Sandy Fortner, Johnny McLeod, Marian Macpherson Currie, Jim & Dianne McCall, Mary Lou Peake, Bill Goodloe, Kit & Roger Geil and the Geil family, Angel & Larry
Torres, Kathy Boucvalt, Bill Stevens, Mancil Lee, Ginger Simpson, Karen Sentilles, Lila Fisk, Kendall Stanton, Tracey Johnson, Joe Lowrey, Temple Webber, Celeste Hall, Joel Hopper, Betty Browder, David Lannie, The Rev. Mark Wilson, Allan Tucker, Wyatt Ison, Sallie Jackson, Curt Kennington, Kathy Sanders, Davis Sarrett, Willie Stanton, Clarise Waters, Glenn Hill, Leslie Ellis Sharbel, Cora Lemmon, Dewey Hardeman, Humphrey Godfroy, Marian Hall, Homer Kemp, Jane Behlen, Katie Sippel, Dan Jones, Florence Tucker, Betty Larison, Kathy Brook Palefsky, Mike Barnett, Bill Miles, Frankie Garner, Eleanor
Taylor, Bill Hamilton, Carrier Yankie, Carolyn Graham, Ralph and Catherine Neal, Willie Stanton, Jr.

For Those Serving in the Military:
Darrien Gibson, Kelley Hood, Evan Sizemore, Robert McNeil, The Rev. Bowen Woodruff, Daniel White-Spunner Reed, Jonathan Duralde, Ron Lansong, Sam Garcia, Chris Marslender, Jerry Olin, Abby Hutchins, Tyler Gamble, Jean-Michael Lemieux, Albert Robinson IV, Michael Nassar, Josh Power, Ryan Anthony Thomas, Randy Johnson, Susan Reniewicz, Brian Caselton, Brian Hudson, Keith Moss, Ryan Walker, Tyler Oubre, Brian Pennell, John Snyder, Louis Coggin, Jason Norris, Conner Thigpen, Zack Miller, Parker Hollinghead, Todd & Jordana Mouthaan

Repose of the Soul: Ben Reeves

Anglican Cycle of Prayer: The Anglican Church of Bangladesh

Cathedral Cycle of Prayer: St. James', Eufaula, Alabama; the ministry of Sara Phillips, Pastoral Leader of St. Mary's, Coden
Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer: The Church in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Saint Stephens AME Church, Mobile

Prison Ministry Cycle of Prayer: Escambia County Jail, Pensacola, Florida

Cathedral Prayers will be updated weekly on our new website here:

http://www.christchurchcathedralmobile.org/cathedral-prayers.html

THE MESSENGER: DECEMBER 2014

Lay Minister Schedule for December 2014 & January 2015

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL MISSION

The Cathedral is the spiritual center of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast. The Cathedral is a dynamic and evolving church that serves as a liturgical, educational, and pastoral center for Diocesan life. It serves as a visible symbol of unity and promotes growth, hope, and a deepening trust in the Lord. The Cathedral is a place where the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be faithfully preached and responded to, and it will model new concepts and ideas for education, evangelism, and outreach to which the Gospel calls us.

Cathedral of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast

Clergy and Staff

The Right Reverend Philip Menzie Duncan, II, Bishop

The Very Reverend Beverly F. Gibson, Ph.D., Dean
The Reverend Daniel Andrew Wagner, Deacon
Christopher William Powell, Organist and Choir Master
Carolyn S. Jeffers, Provost
Brenda J. Stanton, Financial Secretary
Marla J. Reis, Cathedral Secretary
Polly M. Garner, Assistant to the Provost
Deidre and Joe Williamson, Nursery
Judy J. Jones, Housekeeping

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Questions, suggestions, changes?

Please email

Cindy McCrory:

christchurchcathedralmobile@gmail.com

Carolyn Jeffers:

office@christchurchcathedralmobile.com

Christ Church Cathedral 115 South Conception St. Mobile, AL 36602

251.438.1822 251.433.3403 fax
www.christchurchcathedralmobile.org