Monday's Catch: 'Keeping the Twelve Days of Christmas' And More

Keeping the Twelve Days of Christmas
Whether we have had a meditative and reflective Advent or have been non-canonically celebrating Christmas since All Hallow’s, the 12 days are approaching, and it is wise to ask how we will keep them. As with all the Church’s seasons, there are some wonderful opportunities. I’d like to suggest a few ways of keeping merry not for one day, but for the season. Let’s mark the 12 days even if the commercial world has moved on to New Year’s and — God help us — Valentine’s Day.

How You Can Help Your Community Trust Your Church Again
This post is focused on how people outside your church see your church and, more importantly, what you can do about it.

Building community trust is still a task facing local churches just a little more than a week away from the beginning of 2025.

Christians in the Twenty-First Century: Churchgoers or Disciples of Jesus?
Like the preceding article, this article was also written in 2023. It is as relevant today as it was then, arguably even more so.

Christianity Today removed the article to which this article is linked.

5 Lessons for New Church Planters
Here are five lessons I’ve learned recently that I’m clinging to today and will return to as our church matures.

What was the star that the wise men followed?
At Christmas, we remember the wise men who followed a star to Bethlehem. But what was the star? This is the story....

Five Powerful Prayers for Your Christmas Eve Service
Most churches will have more guests during a Christmas Eve service than in any other service throughout the year. What will you say to God with all these new people listening? As pastors, we have the unique opportunity in a Christmas Eve service to lead our congregations—and numerous guests from the community—in prayer. These five prayers can serve as guides, helping to set a joyful tone and celebratory atmosphere for the birth of Jesus.

How (Not) to Use AI: Three Principles
This article might have been better if ChatGPT had written it. But I think I’m better off for having it written it myself. And in the long run, that’s more important to me.

Teens and Church: 6 Things Young People Need From You
Asking what teens want from church is the wrong question. What teenagers desire from a faith community doesn’t compare to what they need. So let’s look at the topic from that angle.

Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, December 22, 2024) Is Now Online

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

An ancient tradition from the earliest days of Christian Morning Prayer is the singing of one or more Laudate Psalms, Psalms of Praise, at the conclusion of the psalmody. These hymns of praise gave Morning Prayer its older name of Lauds.

This Sunday’s Laudate Psalm is a metrical paraphrase of the Great Doxology, Psalm 150, “Blessed Be the Lord Our God,” written by the Scottish hymn writer, James Quinn. The tune is FESTAL SONG (“Rise Up, O Me of God, The Hymnal 1982 #551; The United Methodist Hymnal #576), composed by William H. Walter. The melody of the tune, played on the piano, is recorded on the audio file. The entire melody is played as the introduction. There are no vocals on the audio file.

Read the words of the hymn before attempting to sing it to familiarize yourself with them. If you are not familiar with the tune, hum along with the introduction. If you have not yet grasped the tune, you may also want to hum along with the first verse before attempting to sing the hymn. If you don’t yet feel confident to sing the hymn, read the words again while playing the piano accompaniment. The hymn will be repeated on future Sundays to help you learn it.

Last Sunday we took a look at the Song of Zechariah, a prophetic song found in Luke’s Gospel. In this Sunday’s message will be looking at a second prophetic song found in that gospel—the Song of Mary—and what we can learn from it.

Readings: Micah 5: 2-5a, Hebrews 10: 5-10, and Luke 1: 39-56

Message: A True Mark of God’s Favor

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/12/sundays-at-all-hallows-sunday-december_21.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Sundays at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing each lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows each lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Sundays at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Important Notice: Please feel free to share comments related to the contents of the service but please do not link your comments to webpages or websites advertising products or services. This typically inflates the stats for the service and creates a false picture of how many people have viewed the service and benefitted from it.

Saturday Laniappe: 'Winter solstice is having a moment — in churches, too' Ad More

Winter solstice is having a moment — in churches, too
In mainline Christian circles, winter solstice celebrations and longest night services are growing in popularity.

What is Christingle?
Every year, thousands of children across the UK attend a Christingle service at a local church. This is the story....

The Christingle Service is a seasonal celebration that I would like to see introduced in Episcopal and other Anglican churches in the United States, and in United Methodist and other Methodist churches too. It offers an annual special event to which the public can be invited, establishing another point of contact between a church and its community.

Churches offer ‘Blue Christmas’ for those grieving, suffering loss
Many churches across the United States are offering a special worship service known as “Blue Christmas” to minister to those dealing with personal loss during the holiday season.

See also: Religious traditions can help with holiday blues, mental health experts say

Pastoral Letter Addressing Plight of Migrants, Immigrants and Refugees
The Council of Bishops of th United Methodist Church has released a pastoral letter addressinng this critical topic.

Churches consider what sanctuary might look like in Trump's second term
The news that Trump may rescind a policy discouraging immigration officials from arresting people at churches is making some church leaders reconsider sanctuary.

Diocese of Easton Considers ‘Creative Options’
The Diocese of Easton’s Standing Committee has called for a “period of discernment” after Bishop Santosh Marray announced his intention to resign from leading the rural diocese on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in the fall of 2026. The Standing Committee seeks clergy and lay volunteers to serve on a discernment committee that will recommend steps for the diocese’s future.

Presiding bishop election, Title IV cases and ‘clergy shortage’ among top ENS stories of 2024
The three stories that interested me the most was the acceleration of the trend toward diocesan merger, the response of dioceses and congregations to the perceived "clergy shortage," and the progress in the ecumenical dialogue with United Methodist Church (UMC). In the UMC the two annual conferences and the missionary district that have jurisdiction in Kentucky are now served by one bishop, perhaps a portent of things to come in the Episcopal Church in Kentucky. Only one Episcopal church in my region of Kentucky has a full-time priest of its own. The other churches must either share a part-time priest or employ the services of a supply priest. The UMC has a significantly different view of the bishops, ordained ministry, and lay presidency from the Episcopal Church. Accommodating the Episcopal Church's view has a strong likelihood of proving harmful to the UMC.

Wait, We’re to Blame?
The greatest mistake of the past generations of Christians in this country was trying to Christianize the culture without evangelizing the people.

Christmas Worship Can Win the Battle – for Our Hearts
Christmas worship is a means put in our hands for the gradual conquering of our own hearts – and the hearts of others – by the God of Christmas.

‘A mega-mechanism for bonding’: why singing together does us good
Carols and choirs are enjoying a boom in popularity, and science is showing how they improve lives.

A reminder of the benefits of singing for congregations for churches that have devalued the importance of congregational singing in the life, ministry, and worship of the local church.

Online Content and Streaming Tips for Families at Christmas
Online content and streaming now dominate children’s free time. And Christmas vacation brings even more down time—and screen time—for kids. This holiday season, and all year long, partner with parents to help families stream good news of great joy into their homes.

Friday's Catch: 'Christmas in a world of conflict: where is God, and what is His plan?' And More

Christmas in a world of conflict: where is God, and what is His plan?
As Christmas approaches, the lights and celebrations often stand in stark contrast to the turmoil gripping our world.

It’s Not Dead
The end is nigh for the Anglican Church of Canada, says David Goodhew. In fact, the end has already come and gone. We are left watching its taillight disappear into the clouds as we wring our hands in sorrow, pining for the old days.

Growth Through Grace in Waco, Texas
In the heart of Waco, Texas, stands a stone church. On a pleasant corner lot, with its bell tower and rose window, the unsuspecting passerby might consider St. Alban’s a charming sight but lacking the ability to speak to today. Instead, through the Church’s traditions, St. Alban’s offers a crucial and relevant message of grace and forgiveness.

Episcopal Church-affiliated university loses accreditation, will appeal decision
A historically African American university affiliated with the Episcopal Church has had its accreditation revoked due to financial woes, though the academic institution is appealing the decision.

Are There Folks Who Oppose Homosexuality But Support Same-Sex Marriage?
...are there many people out there who favor same-sex marriage but believe that homosexuality is wrong? The GSS (General Social Survey) can certainly help us tease that apart.

Related article: Burge: Evangelicals remain outliers in opposing both homosexuality and same-sex marriage

Burge also has an article on the Church Answers website, How the Rise of Evangelical Distrust Is Making Evangelism Harder, but you must be a Church Answers member to read it.

9 Ways to Help Those Who Are Suffering
...how do we help those who are suffering? How can we grow in showing up with love and wisdom?

A Christmas Sermon 1,700 Years Old
Help can come from the most unexpected places: You can look to the Church Fathers to help prepare your Christmas message.

4 Deadly Dangers In Shortcutting Quality Exegesis
Shortcuts in exegesis result in a passage idea that does not carry the true content--nor the character--of the passage on which we claim to be preaching.

Service Project Ideas for Youth Groups: 10 Meaningful Ways to Volunteer
Finding impactful service project ideas for youth groups can be challenging. Youth ministers have busy teaching schedules, and teens have packed calendars. But volunteer projects build servant leaders and selfless attitudes.

Thursday's Catch: 'Partnering to Plant: Seven Ways Churches Can Collaborate' And More

Partnering to Plant: Seven Ways Churches Can Collaborate
Here are seven ways we’ve benefited from the help of other churches in our town and region, along with some biblical principles that account for why these other churches have been so helpful to us.

Faith communities must protest Trump's deportation plans
U.S. faith communities have long served as the moral compass of the nation in moments of crisis.

See also: American views on illegal immigrants aren’t as clear cut as MAGA thinks

Trump’s new ICE policy attacks the church
Last week, the incoming Trump administration announced it will rescind a 2011 ICE policy that keeps government officials from entering sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals to carry out immigration raids and deportations. The mere thought of this change should be concerning for Americans who care about basic decency and human rights.

No Christmas is Perfect and That’s Okay
Today I want to share four steps to embracing imperfection during the holidays. These four steps can reduce stress, bring you closer to God, and make your Christmas celebrations even more meaningful.

The meaning and story of some of our most beautiful and historic Christmas carols
The carol has remained a central part of our seasonal tradition for people of Christian faith and none. It is one of the few remnants of explicitly religious heritage that England has, and has even survived atheist attempts to sabotage it by rewriting the words to be more acceptable to secular ears.

iPad Preaching with a Virtual Whiteboard, what I Learned
In my teaching on Sunday mornings in my church I occasional use a tool that turns my iPad into a virtual whiteboard. I use an app called Airsketch which allows me to connect my iPad to our church’s local wi-fi network which in turn allows the computer which drives our projector to put the image of my iPad on the screen. It’s a nifty technique and I’ve learned a few insights from its use.

How to Develop a Church Outreach Plan from Your Demographic and Psychographic Report
The demographic and psychographic information about your church is vital to establishing a healthy outreach plan. Jess and Thom show how this plan can be developed for your church.

Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, December 19, 2024) Is Now Online

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

Have you ever gone to a concert of a favorite singer or band, planning to take photos and record music with your smart phone, only to discover that you forgot to recharge your phone? The battery is dead! Or gone primitive camping, planning to cook your meals over a campfire, only to discover that forgot to bring a lighter or matches? There you are in the backcountry, miles from civilization, with no way to start a fire!

The Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts (the Girl Guides in Canada and the United Kingdom) have a motto, “Be prepared.” As we shall see in this Thursday evening’s message, it is a good motto for Christians too.

Reading: Luke 25: 1-13

Message: Are You Ready?

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/12/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows_18.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing a lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows the lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Thursday Evenings at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Wednesday's Catch: '7 Christmas Eve Service Ideas That Work' And More

7 Christmas Eve Service Ideas That Work
Make an effort to create a special service on Christmas Eve.

Has Your Leadership Peaked? The Theory of the 10 Year Run.
It's a very real thing for leaders to run out of fresh strategy, new approaches, innovations and best ideas long before their time in leadership is over.

Coming Back From Betrayal Trauma
...one significant area in which pastors still feel bruised by the events of 2020 is the sudden, hurtful and often unexplained departure of close friends from their church.

What Is the Earliest Complete List of the Canon of the New Testament?
Was the canon of the Bible settled before Athanasius’ famous Festal Letter? Michael J. Kruger thinks so.

12 Fresh Ways to Read Your Bible in 2025
Anew year offers a new opportunity—an opportunity to rethink and refresh the way you read your Bible. While some have found a pattern or habit they love and will never deviate from, others like to look for new ways to read, digest, and apply the Word. For those who may be interested in trying something new, here are a few ideas that may be worth considering.

The One Thing You Need to Do to Grow
"I want to give you the only thing you have to do to grow spiritually, at least the main one. Ready?"

The Increasing Value of Christian Testimonies
There are various ways we might seek to commend the gospel to people today. But one of the best, in that it addresses questions of both relevance and goodness, is to share our testimony.

How to Mobilize Your Church for Evangelism 

Here are a few lessons that could help any church that’s working to become more faithful and effective in sharing the good news.

Tuesday's Catch: 'Does It Matter If Your Church Feels Outdated?'

Does It Matter If Your Church Feels Outdated?
God has placed you in this decade to do His work. Is your church proclaiming “Today is the day of salvation” in today’s words and methods?

Leading (and Loving) a Dying Church
How can you lead (and love) a church that is dying? Thom and Sam discuss this listener-submitted question. No church should die, but some will. Some pastors must shepherd congregations on what amounts to spiritual hospice care. It’s a difficult calling, but there are some ways to glorify God, even as a church goes through the process of closing.

Yes, a free and fair press is under assault by Trump and MAGA
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States can’t stay off the political hot seat. There’s a bill now before the U.S. Senate, known as the PRESS Act — the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act — that would prevent the government from forcing journalists to reveal their sources.

See Also: Why we can’t trust ABC News

Is the Kingdom of God a Fortress or a Seed?
The kingdom of God is a different kind of kingdom than the world’s kingdoms.

Audio Mixing 101
One of the hardest things to teach a new sound operator is how to mix. It requires the development of an “ear” for what to change, when to change it and what levels are appropriate....

Natality and Formation
This essay is part of a series on Natality, a conversation about child-bearing, family life, birth rates, and the presence or absence of children in churches.

3 Reasons Why Evangelism Is a Primary Means for Spiritual Growth
...sharing our faith is critical to our spiritual growth and the lack of doing so impedes our Christian growth.

How Can I Prepare to Be a Missionary?
If you are a Christian and are convinced that God has called you to serve as a missionary, here are ten things you can do to prepare yourself.

Monday's Catch: 'The Essential Purpose of the Church' And More

The Essential Purpose of the Church
When you think of church, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

Why Are 30% of Your “Active” Church Members Absent on a Given Sunday?
Are any of you old enough to remember “perfect attendance awards”?

The little-known history of the Nativity play
In the run-up to Christmas, primary schools and Sunday schools often put on Nativity plays. This custom, however, is a surprisingly modern tradition. Here is its story.

True Organizational Change Requires a Little Chaos
Have you ever heard this quote? “Chaos often breeds life, while order breeds habit.” – Henry Adams, American Historian.

7 Essential Qualities for Facing Looming Ministry Transitions
By intentionally cultivating these seven qualities, pastors can do more than survive the transitions in the year ahead.

Keith Getty urges worship artists to prioritize depth over trends, talks power of Christmas hymns 

In an age when worship music trends come and go, modern hymnwriter Keith Getty is making a different appeal to artists and congregations alike: prioritize depth and scriptural soundness over popularity.

10 Mistakes I Made When Reading the Bible
Your reading experience will be far richer if you learn—as I’m doing—to avoid these common mistakes.

Have You Lost the Ability to Think Deeply?
We need to ask ourselves if entertainment is affecting our spiritual growth.

Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, December 15, 2024) Is Now Online

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent, also called Gaudete Sunday, It takes its name from the Latin word Gaudete, “Rejoice,” a reference to Philippians 4: 4-7. On Gaudete Sunday churches which have an Advent Wreath light the third candle, the pink candle, on the wreath. In some churches rose pink vestments are worn on this Sunday and the Holy Table and pulpit-lectern are hung with rose pink paraments.

In this Sunday’s message we take a look at a prophetic song found in the Bible and long used in Christian worship, a song taken from the story of John the Baptist whose ministry is the focus of this Sunday’s gospel reading and has implications for every Christian.

Readings: Zephaniah 3: 14-20, Philippians 4: 4-7, and Luke 3: 7-18

Message: “Prepare the way of the Lord….”

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/12/sundays-at-all-hallows-sunday-december_14.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Sundays at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing each lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows each lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Sundays at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Saturday Lagniappe: 'Making the Most of Your Church Database' And More

Making the Most of Your Church Database
You have access to so much attendee and guest data. The question is, are you using your church database well?

For four weeks in a row I attend a Episcopal church to evaluate what it was doing in key areas and to identify where it might make improvements. Among the things that I discovered was that it was not keeping a record of who was attending its services or gathering contact information on first time worship visitors for follow-up purposes. This was surprising as it is a standard practice in most churches. The one exception with which I am acquainted was a dying church whose shrinking congregation eventually disbanded and sold their church building.

Why the religious beliefs of Trump defense pick Pete Hegseth matter
Hegseth’s Christian views have been shaped by a 20th-century movement, Christian Reconstruction, which seeks to make America a Christian nation built on biblical law, writes a religion scholar.

Why Christians should demand the establishment of the ERA now
The authors of this article argue that it is time for the Equal Rights Amendment to be added to the US Constitution and encourage readers of the article to urge President Biden to make its addition to the constitution a part of his legacy.

26 Questions Every Communicator Should Consider
Mastering communication is not the goal. Maximizing your communicative ability is the target.

Short Bible Messages for Youth: Make an Impact on Teens
Check out these five Bible-based messages that teenagers need to hear from you.

See Also: Raffle Basket Ideas for Awesome Youth Ministry Fundraisers

Christmas Craft Ideas for Children’s Ministry: Telling the Nativity Story
Christmas craft ideas for children’s ministry teach about Jesus’ birth in fun, hands-on ways. Crafts are an excellent way to make Bible lessons meaningful and memorable. Whether you teach preschoolers or older kids, crafting reinforces the Christmas story through creativity and joy.

See Also: Kindness Object Lesson: Teach Children to Build Up Others

Friday's Catch: 'Receiving the Christ Child' And More

Receiving the Christ Child
There is plenty of room in our churches these days. Yet there are few children. Many western “mainline” churches, especially the Anglican churches, are not unique in this regard.. We are merely following the trend. In the United States, in Europe, in Australia, in China — and in parts of Africa, too — birthrates are falling or have already fallen or will soon fall below replacement levels.

Top Leading Ideas Talks Podcast Episodes of 2024
Please share these podcasts with your colleagues, congregations, and friends.

Oldest Christian artefact north of the Alps unearthed in Germany
Archaeologists in Germany have confirmed the discovery of a 1,750-year-old amulet containing a silver scroll, now recognised as the oldest physical evidence of Christianity north of the Alps.

Examine Your Life
The media loves a good scandal, and it seems like pastors are a favorite target. Don’t get me wrong, many of the pastors who end up the subject of criticism have behaved in ways that invite public scrutiny and even judgment. This article is not a defense of pastors and church leaders who have crossed moral, emotional or financial lines. It is a heartfelt plea for all people in church leadership to realize that our witness and the witness of the church can be greatly compromised when we don’t tend to our own souls.

What to Do When People Let Us Down
Have you ever poured your heart into a project only to be let down by the very people you expected to support you? That’s quite a letdown question to begin this conversation, but it’s a reality we as leaders must face. As leaders, it’s tough to face the reality that sometimes, despite our best efforts, people just don’t show up or come through or do what we expect. People let us down.

Full Time Worship Ministry? Get a Real Job!
Now that I have your undivided attention, I do believe that full time worship ministry is indeed a worthy calling and vocation that requires preparation, education and skills. And yes, it is a real job. But what if opportunities were no longer available for you to lead worship vocationally? What if you needed to voluntarily or were asked involuntarily to step aside from full-time worship ministry for an interim or extended period of time? What if you are unable to land a worship ministry position after graduation? What would or could you do to provide for your family while still responding to God’s call? Some of us have found ourselves in that situation only to realize we are not trained or are not training to do anything else.

Helpful Hacks for Preaching from a Manuscript
The aim of manuscript preaching is to make it look like you’re not preaching from a manuscript, which isn’t easy. I’ve had my fair share of fumbles along the way. But those fumbles have taught me some things.

See also: The Frankenstein Sermon

What If We Let the Bible Form Us in 2025?
Each one of us will be formed into the image of something or someone in 2025. Whether the formation comes from CNN or FOX News, social media algorithms, or addictive substances, none of us will make it through the year unformed.

3 Means God Uses to Change Us (and 3 Ways We Change)
Christian anthropologist Paul Hiebert explains that the “biblical view of transformation” includes “both a point and a process; this transformation has simple beginnings (a person can turn wherever he or she is), but radical, lifelong consequences.” Hiebert continues, “It is not simply mental assent to a set of metaphysical beliefs, nor is it solely a positive feeling towards God. Rather it involves entering a life of discipleship and obedience in every area of our being and throughout the whole story of our lives.”

Thursday's Catch: 'Special Events: A Step in Evangelism' And More

Special Events: A Step in Evangelism
Special events are one of the tools we can use for training people to get comfortable talking with others, inviting them to our weekend worship gatherings, and eventually sharing their faith. Event evangelism can include the more popular ones like Easter and Christmas, but also can include Parent/Child Dedications, Mother’s and Father’s Day, and the beginning of a new sermon series.

The Most Common Barriers to Growth in Churches Today
Jess and Thom look at some of the most common barriers in churches while answering the “why” behind each one. Some of the challenges are the same as in past years, but the reasons behind them are often not.

Faith, Family, and the Village
If moral and spiritual divisions in our Christian communities have led to the fragmenting and dispersal of the “village,” then the vocation of churches in the coming years will be to rebuild in some sense what has been lost. Obviously this will look very different than it has in the past. The task of forming coherent and relationally close communities, in which the generations are not tied together by kinship or culture, presents certain kinds of challenges. But they are gospel challenges that derive from the heart of Christian teaching, the reality of Jesus Christ, in whom all nations and generations find their hope and salvation.

Who will be the next archbishop of Canterbury?
The Christmas Day sermon by the archbishop of Canterbury is the centerpiece of the Church of England’s seasonal celebrations. However, with the resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby, Anglicans will have to make do with a homily from the bishop of York before they tuck into the Christmas turkey.

Faith leaders express dismay amid report Trump will allow immigration raids at churches
‘I have 30 kids in a Sunday school class — I don’t know who is documented and undocumented,’ said one Latino pastor.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation Are Not the Same Thing
Too many people confuse forgiveness with reconciliation. What is the difference between the two and why does it matter so much?

8 Essential Components of Any Small Group Leaders Training
If companies provide training for employees, how much more important is it for the church to provide training for its frontline leaders?

How To Cope With Loneliness During the Holidays
When faced with loneliness, there are two primary ways we can address it: by changing our external circumstances or by shifting our internal perspective.

Gifts that aren't things: presents for your loved ones that won't end up at the back of a cupboard
...it can be a blessing to give experiences rather than things for Christmas presents. There are many options that can lead to treasured memories rather than fuller cupboards.

Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, December 12, 2024) Is Now Online

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

In Norway and other Scandinavian countries, it is a tradition to light a candle in the evening each of the Sundays of Advent. The Advent candleholder (typically red) is called an adventsstake and has four candles, one for each Sunday of Advent. Each candle represents how Jesus brought light to the world.

Lighting candles not only brighten a room on a dark Scandinavian winter night, but it also creates a more prayerful atmosphere. Even if you don’t have an adventsstake or Advent wreath, you may want to light one or more candles for this evening’s service.

In this evening’s message we take a look at how we may become an obstacle to others hearing the good news and what we can do about it.

Reading: Luke 23:1-36

Message: The Face in the Mirror

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/12/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows_12.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing a lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows the lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Thursday Evenings at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

No Priest? No Problem!

By Robin G. Jordan

Due to declining church attendance and a clergy shortage, it is becoming increasingly common in the Episcopal Church for congregations to have no priest of their own and to share a priest with one or more other congregations or to undergo lengthy periods between priests during which it must engage the temporary services of a supply priest once or twice a month. As a consequence, it is also becoming increasingly common for the laity to take a more active role in planning and conducting Sunday worship. This article was written to help those planning services for Sundays on which no priest is available.

The Book of Common Prayer (1979) provides congregations with three options for priestless Sundays--Festal Morning Prayer, a Service of the Word, and a Service of the Word with Communion. In this article I will look briefly at each option, beginning with Festal Morning Prayer. I will also share a number of things that I learned from my own experience as a worship planner and from my study of liturgics and church music and related subjects and which may prove helpful to those planning Sunday worship for their congregation. I am going to post separate tutorial articles on each option.

Festal Morning Prayer

Festal Morning Prayer differs from the weekday Office in a number of ways. At Festal Morning Prayer the invitatory psalm, the psalm or psalms appointed for the day, and the canticles after the lessons are sung. A sermon is preached after the Lessons or after the Collects. A hymn or anthem is sung after the Collects and an offering may be taken. The prayer for missions is omitted and a general intercession follows the hymn or anthem. At the weekday Office the congregation is typically small. The psalms and the canticles are usually recited. A few such congregations may sing them, but they are atypical. There is no sermon. No hymn or anthem is sung after the Collects. These are important differences. When they are not respected, the result will be a service that is far from satisfactory as the principal service on a Sunday morning.

A Service of the Word

In the Additional Directions for the Holy Eucharist, on pages of 406-407, The Book of Common Prayer makes provision for a Service of the Word comprised of following elements:

Hymn, psalm, or anthem (optional)
Opening Acclamation
Decalogue (optional)
Sentence of Scripture (optional)
Invitation to Confession
Confession of Sin
Absolution/Prayer for Pardon
Gloria or some other song of praise, Kyrie, or Trisagion
Salutation
Collect of the Day
First Reading
Psalm, hymn, or anthem
Second Reading
Psalm, hymn, or anthem
Gospel Reading
Sermon
Creed
Prayers of the People
Concluding Collect
Hymn or anthem (offering)
The Lord’s Prayer
The Grace, a blessing, or the Peace

The Penitential Order may be omitted and the service may begin with a hymn, psalm or anthem, followed by the Opening Acclamation and the Gloria in excelsis or some other Song of Praise or the Kyrie or the Trisagion, depending upon the season of the Christian Year or the occasion. The service may be led by a deacon or a lay person.

Among the advantages of this service is that it will largely be familiar to a congregation that has been regularly celebrating the Holy Eucharist on a Sunday morning.

A Service of the Word with Communion

A third option is a Service of the Word with Communion. This option is open to congregations to which the bishop has assigned a deacon. It does require the authorization of the bishop. It consists of a Service of the Word as previously described to which is added the distribution of communion from the reserved sacrament. Details of the manner in which the communion may be distributed from the reserved sacrament are also found in the Additional Directions for the Holy Eucharist, on page 408.

Things That I Have Learned

When he visited the smaller congregations in his episcopal area in the Diocese of Southwark, the Rt. Rev. Michael Marshal, then Bishop of Woolwich, found that these congregations typically tried to imitate the worship of larger congregations with dismal results. In his book Renewal In Worship (Morehouse-Barlow, 1982, 1985), he encourages smaller congregations to tailor their services to their particular circumstances—size, musical resources, place of worship, ministry target group, and so on--rather than trying unsuccessfully to model their services on the worship of the cathedral and the collegiate chapel. It is good advice.

For example, a small choir does not have enough voices to sing a four-part anthem. However, it would have no difficulty in singing a new hymn as a unison anthem. The congregation also has a member who is a percussionist in his high school band and can play a cajon or box drum or a djembe. Steven P Starke has written a hymn, “All You Works of God Bless the Lord,” metrical setting of the Benedicite, set to LINSTEAD, a tune that Doreen Potter adapted from a Jamaican folk melody and to which the hymn, “Let Us Our Talents and Tongues Employ” is also set. It can be sung to the accompaniment of a hand drum and hand clapping. It also has an easy-to-learn refrain. After learning the hymn, accompanied by the youth on the cajon or djembe, the choir introduces the hymn as the first canticle of Festal Morning Prayer. When the hymn is used again at Festal Morning Prayer on a subsequent Sunday, the congregation is invited to join in the refrain. The hymn is repeated on several more Sundays and becomes a part of the congregation’s repertoire.

It is wise to consider first time worship visitors and first time worship viewers, if the service is live streamed on the internet or broadcast on cable TV, in planning services. They are going to react differently to a service than cradle or long-time Episcopalians. For example, most of them are not accustomed to reciting lengthy texts, and the experience has a high likelihood of discouraging them from returning for a second visit or in the case of a first time viewer to click away to something more interesting.

It also makes good sense to do what one can to improve the congregation’s music ministry, building on the congregation’s gifts and strengths, regularly evaluating the congregation’s weekly worship service and considering ways of improving the service.

It is a mistake to underestimate the role that music plays in the life of the Church. The songs used in the liturgy are not just embellishments to the liturgy but an integral part of the congregation’s worship, of its corporate prayer. They are also an important means of transmitting and reinforcing the faith and values of a congregation. The members of a congregation are more likely to remember and assimilate the lyrics of a hymn that they have heard and sung a number of times than they are the words of a sermon that they heard only once.

Group singing, which includes congregational singing, researchers have found, raises oxytocin levels in individual human beings. Oxytocin is critically involved in social bonding. It also reduces stress and improves mood. Group singing also fosters and strengthens group identity and group unity. These are important considerations in a time of declining church attendance. Enthusiastic group singing stimulates enthusiasm for the group in its members and increases the likelihood that they will invite others to join the group. The enthusiasm of the singers can also be infectious and make a first time worship visitor not only want to join in but also return for a second visit. Recitation of lengthy texts has not been shown to have these effects.

Researchers have also found that the quality of the music in the worship of a congregation plays a key role in the decision of unchurched or lightly churched individuals to begin regularly worshiping with that congregation and eventually becoming a member of the church. These individuals used the attention that was given to the music as a major indicator of how seriously the congregation took the worship of God. This was found to be the case whatever the style of music that the congregation used in its worship.

It must be noted that music quality and music style are not the same thing albeit people are apt to confuse the two.

Whoever is planning the service needs to work closely with whoever is selecting the music for the service. The selection of the music can make a significant difference in the service, and it is not a good idea to leave its selection solely to the church’s music minister, presuming the church has one, music group leader, or accompanist. The right choice of songs can lend vitality to a service. The wrong choice can cause a service to drag or worse.

Knowledge of how to choose and use hymns, psalms, canticles, anthems, worship songs, and service music in liturgical worship is indispensable as is familiarity not only with The Hymnal 1982 and its supplements, official and unofficial, and their predecessors such as More Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Hymns II, and Songs for Celebration, but also the hymnals and hymnal supplements of its sister churches like the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church of England, the Church of Ireland, and the Scottish Episcopal Church and mainline denominations like the Disciples of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church. So is familiarity with the music published by Augsburg-Concordia, Band Camp, Getty Music, GIA, Hope Music Publishing, Northwestern Publishing House, and OCP in the United States, Kevin Mayhew, Jubilate Hymns, and Resound Music, in the United Kingdom, and other publishers of sacred music. This includes the songs of music groups like City Alight, Emu Music, Liturgical Folk, Sovereign Grace, and The Braeded Chord, and those of song writers like Richard Bruxvoort Corrigan, Elisa Massa, Andrea Sandefer, and Karen Young Wimberly. A large part of their repertoire is suitable for use in liturgical worship and may have specifically been written for that purpose.

A congregation can benefit from the use of a variety of styles of music in its Sunday worship, particularly if it is seeking to reach and engage families with young children. Songs with repetitions and refrains and memorable lyrics not only enable young children to join in the congregational singing but also non-literate adults, neurodivergent individuals, and people with learning disabilities.

The importance of being intentional in introducing new music cannot be overemphasized. This can be done in a number of ways. Preludes and postludes can be used to introduce new tunes. One way of introducing a new song is to have a cantor, small ensemble, or choir sing several verses and then have the congregation join in on the final verse. In the early days of St. Peter’s of the Lakes, Gilbertsville, Kentucky, a new church plant launched in 1980, the congregation devoted time after the service on Sunday morning to learning new service music for the upcoming season. During the first decade of its existence, St. Michael’s, Mandeville, Louisiana, a new church plant launched in 1985, we used pre-service congregational rehearsals to teach and practice new music. At the Church of the Beloved, Madisonville, Louisiana, a new church plant launched in 2002, we used CDs of the worship songs used in what was originally a weeknight service to teach the songs to the congregation and to accompany the congregational singing. 

The value of sizing up the community in which the congregation’s place of worship is located and the outlying districts and of familiarizing oneself with the demographics and psychographics of the area, the prevalent culture of the area, any subcultures, popular musical tastes and preferences, and so on also cannot be overemphasized. This will help worship planners identify connections and potential connections with the residents of the area and factor them into their worship planning.

For example, Mandeville, Louisiana in the 1980s was a community with a rapidly growing population. A number of new subdivisions had sprung up on the edges of the town. When we sized up the community, we found that the segment of the population that was experiencing the most rapid growth was families with teenagers or young children. The lion’s share of these families came from diverse religious backgrounds or had no religious background at all. A number of these families were mixed—one or both parents had previously been married and one or more children from a previous marriage. A number of them had a mixed religious background, typically Protestant and Roman Catholic. Episcopalians who had not yet found a church home formed an extremely tiny segment of the population. We made the largest population segment our primary ministry target group. In selecting hymns, we used the Ecumenical Hymn List which listed hymns found in a number of denominational hymnals and the tunes to which they were set, hymns and tunes that were likely to be familiar to unchurched couples and individuals with a Protestant background. We also selected hymns, songs, and service music from several Roman Catholic hymnals and music collections. (Interestingly a number of hymns, songs, and service music in these hymnals and music collections originally came from Anglican, Lutheran, and other Protestant sources.) Additionally, we used a number of worship songs from the Episcopal Church’s Community of Celebration and later on the Vineyard Movement. This particular blend of music, the liveliness of the congregational singing, and the warmth and friendliness of the congregation were often given by newcomers as the reasons that they had decided to attend St. Michael’s.

I now live in a region of Kentucky which for a number of years was the site of a shape-note hymn sing that attracted people from around the country. A number of the region’s churches use shape-note hymns in their worship. Blue-grass music and gospel songs also have a following in the region. To build a musical bridge with the area’s residents, I would incorporate a number of shape-note hymns, shape-note hymn tunes, and gospel songs into the repertoire of my congregation. I might consider planning a musical evening hosted by the church and featuring a particular style of music popular in the area, a music evening to which the public would be invited.

Among the characteristics of dying churches which researcher have identified is that they bear little or no resemblance to the neighborhoods or communities in which they are located and have negligible connections to that neighborhood or community. This knowledge hopefully will motivate us to build bridges to our own neighborhood or community through our congregation’s worship as well as its ministries and special events.

A notion that worship planners for a congregation need to quickly disabuse themselves is that making superfluous additions to a service enriches the worship of the congregation. These additions typically take the form of extra prayers and other devotions. All these additions do is unnecessarily lengthen the service and increase the likelihood that people will experience the service as dull and uninteresting. A service can become so cluttered with such embellishments that it loses its basic shape. A time-tested liturgical principle is “LESS IS MORE.”

For example, the Holy Eucharist has its own entrance rite which already contains a number of redundant elements. It does not need anything more tacked on it. Long and verbose forms of the Prayers of the People are not anymore prayerful than a short litany. They are not going to impress God with their wordiness. We have Jesus’ word for it.

The Rt. Rev. Wayne Smith, Bishop of Missouri, now retired, wrote Admirable Simplicity: Principles for Worship Planning in the Anglican Tradition (Church Publishing, 1996). It is a “overview of the nature of Anglican worship and the inherent simplicity within the rites and rubrics gleaned from primary and secondary sources in the tradition, combined with a good dose of reason.” The late Rev. Dr. Marion J. Hatchett, longtime professor of liturgics and church music at the School of Theology, the University of the South Sewanee, Tennessee, and author of Commentary on an American Prayer Book; A Liturgical Index to The Hymnal 1982; A Guide to the Practice of Church Music; Sanctifying Life, Time, and Space: A Introduction to Liturgical Studies, and other works recommended Bishop Smith’s book to be read not only by clergy and church musicians but also members of parish worship committees and any others involved in liturgical planning. Reading Professor Hatchett’s own books would also benefit worship planners as would reading those of Howard Galley, Leonell Mitchell, Boone Porter, Charles Price, William Sydnor and others who played a critical role in the compilation and introduction of Episcopal Church’s 1979 revision of The Book of Common Prayer. While one does not have to be a bookworm to do worship planning, it does not hurt to be well-read.

The best way to enrich the worship of a congregation is not through the addition of extra prayers and other devotions to the liturgy but through the creative, thoughtful choosing and using of music in the liturgy. For example, the selection of bright, vigorous hymn to get the Holy Eucharist off to a good start, a lively setting of the Gloria in excelsis or some other song of praise to keep it moving, an anthem for the Gradual, one based upon the psalm appointed for the day and highlighting the vocal talents of the choir, a rousing alleluia to greet Christ in the Gospel, a period of silent reflection after the Gospel reading, a meditative hymn that echoes of the themes of the readings at the offertory, and a medley of songs in which the communicants can join without books or service leaflets in their hands as they go forward to receive the sacramental bread and wine and experience a foretaste of the joyous procession of the redeemed at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. These are just some ways a celebration of the Holy Eucharist can be transformed.

The liturgy, whether it is Festal Morning Prayer, a Service of the Word, or the Holy Eucharist, is the work of the whole people of God, gathered as a worshiping assembly on Sunday morning or some other occasion. Everyone has a role to play, including the children. When we segregate the younger children in another room from the adults and the teenagers and do not involve them in the worship service, we should not be surprised that when they grow older, they migrate to some other church or drop out of church altogether. It is desirable that worship planners routinely re-evaluate and rethink the role of the children in the service. When I visited St. John’s Murray, Kentucky in the late 1980s or early 1990s, a team of preteen girls collected and presented the offerings of the people. This is one way of involving the older children. At St. Michael’s I recruited and trained teenagers and older children to read the lessons and to lead the Prayers of the People. I also established a rota of families with young children to serve as gift bearers. The gift bearers would bring forward the alms basins and the bread and wine. I left it to the discretion of the parents who carried what since they knew their child or children better than I did.

The music director and I were careful to include at least one song in which the younger children were able to participate, a song with repetitions or a refrain or both. The simple hymns and songs in Songs for Celebration and Come Celebrate and several Roman Catholic music collections proved very useful. We also chose service music—Gospel Acclamation, Santus-Benedictus, Memorial Acclamation, Fraction Anthem--that was not too difficult for the younger children. The music director, an elementary school teacher who played the piano, had previously directed a children’s choir and she taught hand gestures to the younger children to go with the songs. We also hosted family nights at which a meal was served and at which the adults joined the children in singing familiar songs and learning new ones after the meal. The music director accompanied the singing on the piano and I served as song leader. I later wrote an occasional paper for the diocese’s committee on liturgy and music on integrating children into Sunday worship, based upon what we had learned during that time as well as what I had gleaned from the literature on all-age or multigenerational worship.

In one church plant in which I was involved, the sermon was preceded by a children’s moment after which the younger children were dismissed and went to a adjoining room where they took part in a planned learning activity conducted by members of the children’s ministry team. At the offertory they rejoined their parents and at communion time went forward with their parents to receive communion. On occasion the children brought with them banners, placards, and other items that they had made and carried them in the offertory procession.

In a time in the history of the Church in which those who attend a church attend less often than they once did and a large number of people no longer attend a church at all, we need to be more mindful of how we worship. It makes a difference. One of the realities of life is that people will invest in activities that interest or excite them, activities that give meaning to their lives. If they are not getting anything out of what they are doing, they will stop doing it. They will find something else to do.

Those who have responsibility for planning the worship of a congregation can make its worship an experience toward which the congregation genuinely looks forward each Sunday, an experience that invigorates and strengthens their faith and sends them back into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Or they can make the congregation’s weekly worship service something that the congregation attends out of a sense of duty and obligation, hoping to please God by their presence and to earn God’s favor, something at which the members of the congregation go through the motions, but their hearts are not in what they are doing, and their minds are elsewhere.

Among the things that churches have learned from the COVID-19 epidemic is that if a family or individual attends a church primarily out of habit, that family or individual may experience a change in habits during a prolonged absence from the church and may replace church attendance with other activities on Sunday morning.

It is possible to make a congregation’s weekly worship service a more meaningful experience for those who attend without resorting to gimmicks and the like, an experience that will cause them not only to return week after week but also to invite family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, classmates, and others to join them. The first step is to identify the congregation’s strengths, what it has going for it. In the process it may discover that it has more strengths than it realizes. The next step is to identify where the weekly worship service might be improved, what can be done better than it is presently done. The third step is to develop and implement specific actions that can be taken to make these improvements, building whenever possible upon the congregation’s strengths.

For example, a congregation may have members who are able to play musical instruments such as the cello and the flute. In place of a organ prelude, an instrumental piece performed on the cello or on the flute might be used as the prelude. A congregation may have choir with enough voices to sing an easy or moderately difficult SATB or SAB anthem. For a particular Sunday the choir might learn and perform a variable psalm to a plainsong chant for Festal Morning Prayer, and sing this psalm at the appropriate place in the service in addition to or in place of a anthem after the Collects. On that particular Sunday the congregation can sing a seasonal hymn or a general hymn of praise after the Collects.

A common problem that those planning their congregation’s weekly worship service face is that they do not have a clear idea of what belongs in the service and what does not or even worse they have the wrong idea. It is important for worship planners to recognize mistakes when they make them and to learn from their mistakes. Refusing to admit that they have made a mistake and to correct the mistake is not a good attitude to take. It can result in a worship experience that is mediocre at best, and which can hinder the congregation’s spiritual growth.

It is helpful to take a pastoral view and to see a congregation’s weekly worship service as a form of spiritual care that is extended not only to the members of the congregation but also to first time worship visitors and first time worship viewers. If we value someone, if they matter to us, we will want to do right by them. We will want to provide them with the best spiritual care that we can offer. We are not going to settle for anything less. We will want to see them grow spiritually, to bloom and to bear fruit. Consequently, we will always have an eye open for where there may be room for improvement, for where we can do better.

When it comes to worship, what honors God the most is offering God the best that we can offer, not the best that St. Ambrose’s or St. George’s can offer. Just as the attention we give to the music of our weekly worship service can reveal to a visitor or an online or cable TV viewer, how much we value the worship of God so can the attention that we give to worship planning can reveal how much we value God and the people of God.

Our Lord summarized what J.B. Phillips in his translation of the New Testament renders as “the essence of true religion” in the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40):

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

We give expression to how much we love God and how much we love our neighbor not only in the way that we live our daily lives but also in the way that we worship on Sundays and other occasions. What we do and how we do it reveals how much we value God and our neighbor; how much they matter to us. This is not lost on visitors and online and cable TV viewers. It may intrigue them enough to return for a second or third visit or visit our church in person for the first time. In fact, it says more about how welcoming we are as a congregation than someone reading a statement at the beginning of every service that we are a congregation that welcomes all people.

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Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, December 8, 2024) Is Now Online

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

We are apt to let Christmas overshadow Advent. What may be described as the hustle and bustle of the secular Christmas season, which begins on the day after Thanksgiving Day and in some retail stores before then, has come to influence the life of the Church and our lives too. In this Sunday’s message we explore how we might make our yearly observance of Advent more spiritually meaningful.

Readings: Malachi 3: 1-4, Philippians 3: 1-11, and Luke 3:1-6

Message: How to Keep a Holy Advent

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/12/sundays-at-all-hallows-sunday-december.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Sundays at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing each lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows each lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Sundays at All Hallows be a blessing to you.