General Chat

http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/events/chapel-services/nine-lessons.html A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is the Christmas Eve service held in King's College Chapel. The Festival was introduced in 1918 to bring a more imaginative approach to worship. It was first broadcast in 1928 and is now broadcast to millions of people around the world.

The service includes carols and readings from the Bible. The opening carol is always 'Once in Royal David's City', and there is always a new, specially commissioned carol. It is distinct from Carols from King's, which is a carol service pre-recorded for BBC television, also broadcast on Christmas Eve.

How far is it to Bethlehem?
Not very far.
Shall we find the stable room
Lit by a star?

Can we see the little Child?
Is He within?
If we lift the wooden latch
May we go in?

May we stroke the creatures there
Ox, ass, or sheep?
May we peep like them and see
Jesus asleep?

If we touch His tiny hand
Will He awake?
Will He know we've come so far
Just for His sake?

Great kings have precious gifts
And we have naught
Little smiles and little tears
Are all we brought.

For all weary children
Mary must weep
Here, on His bed of straw
Sleep, children, sleep.

God in His mother's arms
Babes in the byre
Sleep, as they sleep who find
Their heart's desire.


"How Far Is It To Bethlehem?" is a traditional English Christmas carol. The lyrics were written by Frances Chesterton and the music is based on a 16th-18th century tune called "Stowey". This song is also known as, "The Children's Song Of The Nativity".

http://www.thesacredpage.com/2016/11/first-sunday-of-advent-2017.html There is a very ancient tradition in the Church of reading the Book of Isaiah during Advent.

Isaiah 2:1-5:

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
the mountain of the LORD’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

It's Christmas!
So Merry Christmas Everybody


Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall
It's the time that every Santa has a ball
Does he ride a red nosed reindeer
Does a ton-up on his sleigh
Do the fairies keep him sober for a day.

So here it is Merry Christmas
Everybody's having fun
Look to the future now,
It's only just begun.

Are you waiting for the family to arrive
Are you sure you got the room to spare inside
Does your granny always tell ya
That the old songs are the best
Then she's up and rock and rollin' with the rest.

So here it is Merry Christmas
Everybody's having fun
Look to the future now
It's only just begun.

What will your daddy do when he sees
Your mama kissin' Santa Claus
Ah ah

Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall
Are you hoping that the snow will start to fall
Do you ride on down the hillside
In a buggy you have made
When you land upon your head
Then you been slayed.

So here it is Merry Christmas
Everybody's having fun
Look to the future now
It's only just begun.

Dear Elizabeth,
<3


When the song of the angels is silent and still, when the star in the sky departs
And the shepherds their flocks to the fold have returned, then the real work of Christmas starts.

With the hungry to feed and the broken to heal, the lost and forgotten to find
And the fighting to still and the nations rebuild, and to reconcile all mankind.

When the song of the angels has faded away and long gone are princes and kings
When the gifts are set down and the carols all sung, then the real work of Christmas begins.

The imprisoned to free, the hostage release, and to reconcile people apart
To bring peace among folk and peace to the world, to make music within the heart.

Dear Joyous

Hello

This one is for you:


"When the Christmas candles are burned out,
the carols have gone,
the star is set,
all the radiant song filled night has passed.

Thou Alone, the Eternal, remains and Thou art enough.

Remain with us,
more beautiful,
more beloved and
more real, than any of the romance that clusters around thy birthday."


Take gentle care
With best wishes
Elizabeth, EOS
xx

http://www.carols.org.uk/ba32-o-holy-night.htm

The words and lyrics of the old carol 'O Holy Night' were written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. Cappeau was a wine seller by trade but was asked by the parish priest to write a poem for Christmas. He obliged and wrote the beautiful words of the hymn. He then realised that it should have music to accompany the words and he approached his friend Adolphe Charles Adams(1803-1856). He agreed and the music for the poem was therefore composed by Adolphe Charles Adams. Adolphe had attended the Paris conservatoire and forged a brilliant career as a composer. It was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5n6X9sUznI
O Holy Night : Kings College, Cambridge

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rl895

Like a candle flame
Flickering small in our darkness
Uncreated light
Shines through infant eyes

God is with us, alleluia
God is with us, alleluia
Come to save us, alleluia
Come to save us
Alleluia!

Stars and angels sing
Yet the earth sleeps in shadows
Can this tiny spark
Set a world on fire?

Yet his light shall shine
From our lives, Spirit blazing
As we touch the flame
Of his holy fire

This carol marks Christmas for tens of millions of people in France.
It is always sung in a simple way at the midnight mass with a children's choir. This year will be especially poignant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKr-29cOf64

Il est né, le divin Enfant

Chorus:
Il est né le divin enfant,
Jouez hautbois, résonnez musettes !
Il est né le divin enfant,
Chantons tous son avènement !

Depuis plus de quatre mille ans,
Nous le promettaient les prophètes
Depuis plus de quatre mille ans,
Nous attendions cet heureux temps.

Chorus

Ah ! Qu'il est beau, qu'il est charmant !
Ah ! que ses grâces sont parfaites !
Ah ! Qu'il est beau, qu'il est charmant !
Qu'il est doux ce divin enfant !


He is born, the Heav'nly Child,
Oboes play; set bagpipes sounding
He is born, the Heav'nly Child.
Let all sing His nativity.

'Tis four thousand years and more,
Prophets have foretold His coming,
'Tis four thousand years and more,
Have we waited this happy hour. Chorus

Ah, how lovely, Ah, how fair,
What perfection is His graces,
Ah, how lovely, Ah, how fair.
Child divine, so gentle there.

The French don't muck about waiting for Christmas lunch and their prezzies. They have a serious dinner Christmas Eve with all the extended family and open their prezzies then. Yes, all the kids stay up late too.

http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/8203-Christmas-quiz-week-Advent-know/story-28254642-detail/story.html

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. But what does it mean?

Without giving too much away, Advent is a term from the Latin word 'adventus' and is a time of waiting for the arrival of Christmas, the coming of Jesus to earth when he was born as a baby at Bethlehem about two thousand years ago.

But how much do you know about this period other than pieces of chocolate behind the doors of your Advent calendar?

Try our quiz below to see:

Read more: http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/8203-Christmas-quiz-week-Advent-know/story-28254642-detail/story.html#ixzz3sumK0YoZ

Dear All

Hello

A small prayer for the new year:


"Dear God, bless our new year,

giving us,

time for the task

peace for the pathway

wisdom for the work

friends for the fireside

love to the last".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Take gentle care
With best wishes
Elizabeth, EOS
xx

As with gladness, men of old
Did the guiding star behold
As with joy they hailed its light
Leading onward, beaming bright
So, most glorious Lord, may we
Evermore be led to Thee.

As with joyful steps they sped
To that lowly manger bed
There to bend the knee before
Him Whom Heaven and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy seat.

As they offered gifts most rare
At that manger rude and bare;
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King.

Holy Jesus, every day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.

In the heavenly country bright,
Need they no created light;
Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown,
Thou its Sun which goes not down;
There forever may we sing
Alleluias to our King!

1. O sing a song of Bethlehem,
Of shepherds watching there,
And of the news that came to them
From angels in the air:
The light that shone on Bethlehem
Fills all the world to-day;
Of Jesus’ birth and peace on earth
The angels sing alway.

2. O sing a song of Nazareth,
Of sunny days of joy,
O sing of fragrant flowers’ breath,
And of the sinless Boy:
For now the flowers of Nazareth
In every heart may grow;
Now spreads the fame of His dear Name
On all the winds that blow.

3. O sing a song of Galilee,
Of lake and woods and hill,
Of Him who walked upon the sea
And bade its waves he still:
For though, like waves on Galilee,
Dark seas of trouble roll,
When faith has heard the Master’s word,
Falls peace upon the soul.

4. O sing a song of Calvary,
Its glory and dismay;
Of Him who hung upon the tree
And took our sins away:
For He who died on Calvary
Is risen from the grave,
And Christ our Lord, by Heaven adored,
Is mighty now to save.

Even my cat managed to write a verse...


All those play things just for me,
So nicely hanging in the tree.
I'll paw and claw,
Till they fall on the floor,
And then race like mad out the door.

There was a young Xmas-time elf
Who greatly admired himself.
He climbed up the tree,
A fairy to see,
But fell down and left with a skelf!

When Rudolph got hurt in a fight

he couldn't lead Santa that night

too much Christmas cheer

and eggnog, and beer,

his red nose was shiny, all right!

A blizzard blew in Christmas eve,

and just as St. Nick went to leave,

"That's great," Santa said,

"I'm off back to bed,

it's lucky I'm just make-believe!"

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.

http://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2014/12/reverend-thurman-on-christmas.html

Dear All

Hello


This is one of favourite prayers for Christmas:


"When the Christmas candles are burned out,

the carols have died away,

the star is set,

all the radiant song-filled night has passed,

Thou alone, the Eternal, remainest,

and Thou art enough.


Remain with us, more beautiful,

more beloved,

more real than any of the romance

that clusters around thy birthday".


Taken from the "The Friendship Book", published in 1991.


Take gentle care
With best wishes
Love from Elizabeth,
xx

Gentle nudge please

Thank you
xx