Every Sunday and every holy day has two eves. The first eve begins at sunset on the evening of the day before the Sunday or the holy day and the second eve begins at sunset on the evening of the Sunday or the holy day itself. On both eves Christians have traditionally gathered to pray the office of Vespers, or Evensong. This office goes back to earliest times. A main element of the office was the lighting of the evening lamps and the singing of praise to Christ as the light. All Hallows Evening Prayer preserves this ancient tradition.
We are entering the Season of Advent, a season that begins the church year in the Western Church. During the Advent Season we observe “a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming.” A number of churches and families have adopted the custom of lighting a candle on an Advent wreath on each Sunday of Advent. An Advent wreath usually has four candles, one for each Sunday of Advent. It may also have a fifth candle, the Christ Candle, which is lit on Christmas Eve. All four or five candles may be lit through the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Families that are using All Hallows Evening Prayer as a part of their devotions and which observe this custom should light the appropriate number of candles on the Advent wreath before the Service of Light. For example, the appropriate number of candles for the Second Sunday of Advent is two. Two candles on the Advent wreath may be lit on both eves of that Sunday. During the singing of the hymn, “Creator of the Stars of Night,” other candles and lights may be lit. “Creator of the Stars of Night” is sung in place of the Phos Hilaron throughout the Advent Season. An appropriate Christmas carol is substituted for “Creator of the Stars of Night” on Christmas Eve.
If your family does not have an Advent wreath, you can still observe the custom of lighting a candle on each Sunday of Advent--one on the First Sunday of Advent, two on the Second Sunday, and so on. I use an adventsstake, a glass Scandinavian style Advent candle holder. A narrow rectangular tray that will hold four candles in a row also works.
The theme of this evening’s service is Jesus, the Messiah, the Promised One.
The link to this evening’s service is:
https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/11/evening-prayer-service-of-light-jesus_28.html#more
Please feel free to share this link with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.
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Previous services are online at:
https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/
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