Telling the Story of Christmas: Family Service and Holy Communion
December 24, 2024 at 4:30 P.M.
Welcome to All Saints Episcopal Church for this wonderful Christmas celebration! How delightful to share this holy evening with you. Hymns are in the “Hymnal 1982” in the pew rack in front of you.
To help our younger readers and listeners, we’re using the “God’s Word, My Voice: A Lectionary for Children” version of the readings.
Prelude
Entrance Procession Hymn #87: Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Welcome and Bidding Prayer
Priest Dear People of God: In this most holy season, let it be our delight to hear once more the story of Jesus’ birth, the story of Christmas.
Let us hear the story of God’s love in sending the angel to blessed Mary to announce the good news of Jesus, and to hear her say yes to this good news with her whole heart. Then we journey with Mary to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, and to hear Mary’s song of praise to God. Finally, we take our place at the manger with Mary and Joseph, with all the shepherds and angels, and sing with joy to Jesus our savior.
All may be seated.
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke, Chapter 1, Verses 26b – 38
The angel announces the coming of the Messiah to Mary.
God sent an angel named Gabriel with a message for a young woman named Mary in Nazareth. She was engaged to Joseph, who was a descendent of King David.
Here was the message: “Greetings from God himself, Mary. You are special in God’s eyes. And God holds you close to his heart.” Mary couldn’t figure out what was going on and what the angel could possibly mean by that. Gabriel told her not to be afraid, that God had only good things in mind. “Here is the plan, Mary. You will conceive a baby boy and name him Jesus when he’s born. He will be great, the Son of the Most High, and he will reign over God’s people like King David did, but his kingdom will never end.”
Mary said, “But I’m not married. Why would you choose me to be Jesus’ mother?”
Gabriel said, “The Holy Spirit will make this happen, and you will be surrounded by God’s power as if it were incense. Your child will be holy. He will be called the Son of God. And guess what else? Your older cousin Elizabeth, who’s never been able to have children, is already six months pregnant. So you see, nothing is impossible with God.”
Then Mary said, “Okay. I am willing to work with God on this plan. I trust that God can do what he says he will do.” And then the angel left her alone to think about these things.
Instrumental Music
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke, Chapter 1, Verses 39 – 56
Mary visits her cousin, Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
Mary ran to see her cousin Elizabeth who lived in the hill country. When she cried out, “Elizabeth, it’s so good to see you!” the baby in Elizabeth’s belly jumped up and down.
Elizabeth all of a sudden was filled with the Holy Spirit and yelled, “You are so blessed, Mary! And the little one inside you is blessed as well. How God must love me to send the mother of my Lord to visit me. As soon as I heard your voice, this little guy inside me jumped up and down for joy. This is just as God said it would happen, and we are both so blessed to see things work out this way. God is good to us indeed.”
And Mary said, “My soul is so happy. I can’t stop singing about God’s kindness to me, a lowly servant. From now on, everyone will know that I have been blessed. God has done great things for me, and God’s name is holy. God’s heart goes out to those who walk the right way, in every generation, young and old. God is strong enough to scatter proud people in every direction. God picks up those who think they’re better than anyone else, and flings them off their fancy chairs, but he picks up those who are sad and lifts up their chins so they can hold their heads high again. God feeds hungry people the best food they’ve ever eaten. And when people with too much get in line, God says, ‘Enough already.’ God remembers his promise of mercy and has come to help out the people in Israel. God promised mercy to our ancestors, to all of Father Abraham’s children forever.”
Mary stayed about three months with Elizabeth and then went back home.
Instrumental Music
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke, Chapter 2, Verses 1 – 20
Jesus is born, and the angels and shepherds adore him.
In order to count how many people there were so that he could tax them, the emperor told everyone to go to their hometowns to be counted. So Joseph went with Mary, his fiancée, who was expecting a baby at any time, from Nazareth to Bethlehem. His family was descended from King David, and King David had lived in Bethlehem. While they were there, Mary delivered a baby boy, wrapped him up tight, and laid him in a feed trough in the barn where they were staying because the inns were all full.
Meanwhile, in the fields, shepherds were watching their sheep during the night. All of a sudden an angel stood right in front of them, and God’s glory was shining all around and they were scared to death. The angel told them not to be afraid because there was only good news. “This news is so good,” the angel said, “that everyone will be happy. Today in the city of David, the Savior whom everyone’s been waiting for was born. I want you to go find him. Here’s how you’ll know he’s the right baby: He’ll be lying in a feed trough all wrapped up in strips of cloth.”
When the angel said that, the skies burst into song, and angels filled up the entire sky, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to those on earth whom God loves.”
When the angels had gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and find this baby boy they were talking about.” So they ran and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the feed trough, just as the angel had told them. They told Mary and Joseph what the angel had said, about who this child was and would become. Everyone was amazed at their story. But Mary kept this entire story in her heart. The shepherds praised God for all that had happened that night, and went back to their sheep who had been wondering where their shepherds had gone.
Hymn #96: Angels We Have Heard on High
Priest Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born this day of blessed Mary: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Sermon
The people may be seated for the sermon.
Prayers of the People
Priest On this holy night of Christmas, let us pray for the world that Jesus Christ loves so much that he was born as a child among us, saying, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.”
Intercessor Holy God, help the church to reveal Your love, share Your truth, and work toward Your justice. Your Kingdom come,
People Your will be done.
Intercessor Holy God, help the leaders of the world work toward justice, freedom, and peace in all things. Your Kingdom come,
People Your will be done.
Intercessor Holy God, help us who are in need; help us who suffer from pain, broken hearts, loneliness, and poverty. Your Kingdom come,
People Your will be done.
Intercessor Holy God, help everyone on our hearts, especially those we name silently or aloud (People may add names or places to be prayed for, either silently or aloud). Your Kingdom come,
People Your will be done.
Intercessor Holy God, help us who grieve, hold forever in your love those who have died, and grant us that powerful hope in the resurrection. Your Kingdom come,
People Your will be done.
Priest O Holy God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, Your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Priest The peace of the Lord be always with you.
People And also with you.
The peace is briefly shared with one another.
The Offertory begins with the following:
Priest Through Christ let us offer to God a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving;
People With gladness we present the offerings of our life and labor to the Lord.
Offertory Hymn: Good Christian men, rejoice
After the Altar is prepared, the following is said:
Priest Everything in heaven and earth is yours, O Lord;
People All things come from you, and of your own have we given you.
The Great Thanksgiving – Nativity Eucharistic Prayer
Priest The Lord be with you.
People And also with you.
Priest Lift up your hearts.
People We lift them to the Lord.
Priest Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Priest It is right and it is good to praise you, God who reigns in Majesty. You are with us now as you have always been with us, and as you were before time began. You made us and everything that is, and you revealed the truth about Yourself to your chosen people. And as you had always planned to do, you sent Jesus, Your spoken Word made flesh, to dwell among us. Mary carried Jesus in her body, and on this holy night he was born, true God of true God, and fully human like us.
In awe of you and of this tiny Child who has come, we sing with the saints and angels in heaven:
Priest In this great gift of your Son that reverberates through time and throughout all creation, you save us, God, and you save all your beloved creation. We rejoice that Christ has taken upon himself our humanity and that he shares with us his divinity that we may become more like you and united with you forever.
On the night before he died for us, our Lord Jesus Christ took
bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and
gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body,
which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given
thanks, he gave it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you:
This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you
and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink
it, do this for the remembrance of me.”
Loving God, remembering now the suffering and death and proclaiming the resurrection and ascension of Jesus our Redeemer, we bring you these gifts. Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for us, your people, the Body and Blood of Christ. And send your Holy Spirit to renew us, to assure us of the gifts of Jesus, and to draw us into life with you Three who are One, the Holy Trinity.
Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty God, now and forever.
All Amen.
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
The bread is now broken, and a moment of silence is observed.
Priest Alleluia, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
People Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia.
Priest The gifts of God for the people of God.
People may be seated while waiting to come forward. All are welcome to share in communion. Gluten free bread is available. Hold out your hands to receive the bread. If you wish to come forward for a blessing only, cross your arms over your chest.
Choir Hymn
Communion Hymn #79: O Little Town of Bethlehem
After Communion, the priest says Let us pray.
Post-communion Prayer
Eternal God, heavenly Father,
you have graciously accepted us
as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ,
and you have fed us with spiritual food
in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood.
Send us now into the world in peace,
and grant us strength and courage
to love and serve you
with gladness and singleness of heart;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing
May Almighty God, who sent his Son to take our nature upon him, bless you in this holy season, scatter the darkness of sin, and brighten your heart with the light of his holiness. Amen.
May God, who sent his angels to proclaim the glad news of the Savior’s birth, fill you with joy, and make you heralds of the Gospel. Amen.
May God, who in the Word made flesh joined heaven to earth and earth to heaven, give you his peace and favor. Amen.
And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, be upon you and remain with you for ever. Amen.
Priest Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
People Thanks be to God!
Closing Hymn #100: Joy to the World
Postlude
Serving today:
Celebrant: Fr. Joseph Farnes
Eucharistic Ministers: Penny Sites & Duncan Nims
Altar Guild: Linda Stark
Usher: Laura Harbert & Ray Stark
Sunday School: Sue Nims & Barb Tool
Music Director: Shauna Emara
Camera: Aidan Sites