CHRISTMAS SUNDAY On Sunday, December 20th, at 10:00 AM we will have our traditional Christmas Sunday celebration, with the story of the Annunciation and Birth read by Bridget Peters, Storme Odell and Tony Brainerd. The readings will be interspersed with the beloved Christmas carols, God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen and Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming and It Came Upon the Midnight Clear. Ted and Dotti Unkles will light the four Advent candles, Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, with the children’s help, reminding us that Christmas is not here yet, even though we already have begun the celebration.
Continue reading Upcoming Service Notes: Christmas Sunday, Christmas Eve, and the Sunday after Christmas
All posts by Bridget Peters
Advent and Christmas Books for Children (and Adults,Too)
Here are some favorite Advent and Christmas and Hanukkah books for children (but we know some adults who read these every year)! They are all beautiful and deeply moving. We have provided Amazon links because of the information that Amazon provides, but we urge you to support a locally owned bookstore.
Click on the title for information:
Favor Johnson: A Christmas Story, by Willem Lange, Illustrated by Bert Dodson
A Christmas Like Helen’s by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, illustrated by Mary Azarian
The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco
The Story of Holly & Ivy, by Rumer Godden, illustrated by Barbara Cooney
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski, illustrated by P.J. Lynch
The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate by Janice Cohn, Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston, pictures by Barbara Cooney
The Night Tree by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by Ted Rand
The Gift by Aliana Brodmann, Illustrated by Anthony Carnabuci
Lucy’s Christmas, by Donald Hall, Illustrated by Michael McCurdy
More Classic Advent and Christmas Music
Here are two more musical Advent/Christmas resources. The first is the 2014 service of Lessons and Carols from the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, in England. For a real treat that will enrich the experience greatly you can read the program handed out that evening by clicking here.
The second resource is another John Eliot Gardiner performance of a masterpiece of J. S. Bach, the Christmas Oratorio. This is a long piece–it is actually six cantatas put together to form the Oratorio. It is well worth listening to in entirety, but you could spread it out over six days of Christmas as it was originally performed. Below are links that give information and translations.
Click here for a good introduction to the Oratorio. Click here for background details on Bach’s Christmas Oratorio Parts One through Six. Below are very useful translations of each Part. (Click on the English-3l.)
Part One: English-3I
Part Two: English-3I
Part Three: English-3I
Part Four: English-3I
Part Five: English-3I
Part Six: English-3I
Sermon, December 13, 2015
Rejoice Always: Christ Is Near
Rev. Thomas Cary Kinder
The Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ,
Bradford, Vermont
December 13, 2015 Third Sunday of Advent, Sunday of Joy, Pageant Sunday
Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-9
Last Sunday I talked about how refuge is at the heart of our religion. Refuge is a place where we are free from the pursuit of danger or trouble and can live in peace. Mary and Joseph were refugees the night Jesus was born. Today there are Syrian refugees and many others, including neighbors in Bradford seeking refuge from the ravages of war, addiction and poverty. The truth is, we all are refugees. We all seek peace from whatever threat or trouble pursues us. To feel we have found refuge is to feel deep joy.
Brother Lawrence was the 17th Century working class Frenchman who developed the practice of the presence of God. Here is one of his Spiritual Maxims: “The greater the perfection a soul seeks, the more dependent it is on grace, and the help of God is more necessary for it each moment for without it the soul can do nothing; the world, human nature and the devil together wage a war so fierce and so continual that without this actual help and this humble and necessary dependence, they will carry the soul away in spite of itself; this seems hard on human nature but grace makes it acceptable and a refuge.”
Continue reading Sermon, December 13, 2015
A new rug & pillows in the children’s area
The children’s area just got more cozy! We have a new rug and some floor pillows for comfy lounging.
The Children’s Pageant and Candle Lighting on the Third Sunday of Advent
On December 13, the children performed their annual pageant, and afterwards, lit the three Advent candles of hope, peace, and joy.
Click the arrows under the photo to scroll through the album.
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Upcoming Service Notes: December 13, 2015 and Christmas Services
This Third Sunday of Advent will be a mix of Advent and Christmas as we rejoice in the Children’s Christmas Pageant and light the Advent Candle of Joy. Once again this year the Pageant will be based on the Gloria and Bill Gaither song, “Come and See What’s Happenin’ in the Barn!” sung by John Atwood, Randy and Storme Odell, Bridget Peters and Marcia Tomlinson, with Randy Odell on guitar. The same performers will also sing “Light of the Stable” by Elizabeth & Steven Rhymer as the Anthem. (You can hear an Emmylou Harris recording of it here. “Light of the Stable” is the second youtube recording on that page.)
The congregation will sing O Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World and Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (set to the beautiful tune, Hyfrydol). We will end again this week by singing the benediction set to the music of the oldest Advent hymn, the plainchant Conditor Alme, that has been sung daily in monasteries during Advent since the 7th Century. Continue reading Upcoming Service Notes: December 13, 2015 and Christmas Services
Sermon, December 6, 2015
Refuge: By the Tender Mercy of Our God
Rev. Thomas Cary Kinder
The Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ,
Bradford, Vermont
December 6, 2015
Second Sunday of Advent, Sunday of Peace
Micah 5:2-5a; Luke 1:68-79
Peace requires certain conditions
in order for us to experience it.
We long to feel peace inwardly,
we long to live in peace outwardly,
and when the conditions are not right
and we cannot find peace,
we suffer. When we suffer long enough
and deeply enough, we will feel moved
to go searching for those conditions
that will make for peace,
and we will do whatever it takes to find them.
A place that has the conditions
that make for peace is called a refuge.
A person who is searching for that place
is called a refugee.
Refuge and refugees are at the heart
of all three Abrahamic religions.
Continue reading Sermon, December 6, 2015
Community Carol Singing
Bradford Teens are sponsoring a Christmas Carol Sing-a-Long to be held on Friday, December 18th at 6:00. Gather at the Bradford Town Gazebo and join the teens and sing along with Randy Odell playing his guitar to your favorite Christmas Carols. All ages are welcome. Bring the children and start a new Christmas tradition.
Responding to the Syrian Refugee Crisis
At the beginning of Tom’s sermon on December 6, he mentioned Ahmad Majid and his family, which includes his pregnant wife, along with a small group of refugees from Syria. This past summer Anemona Hartocollis, a journalist with the NY Times, joined this small group of desperate people as they traveled from Syria to find sanctuary. To read a full account of their story please click this link: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/22/world/europe/syrian-refugees.html?_r=1
The Missions and Social Action Committee of our church has attended a couple of informational sessions to see how the people of the Upper Valley can be of help. A group of several churches and synagogues is forming and researching ways to assists families in need. On January 31, the Missions and Social Action Committee will be providing the sermon for the morning centered on the topic of our response to this refugee crisis. Please feel free to talk to Holly Young, Lucia Button, or Tina Towle, or you can also contact Ginny Moore at 802-222-9675 or via e-mail (VirginiaMJMoore@gmail.com) if you would like more information or would like to help out.