Merry Christmas!
After a lazy morning yesterday, I hung out with my mom a little. Then we went to church. A lot.
First, we went to the 3pm service with Harold and Beth. We were in the congregation for this service.
The church was pretty.
After a quick run to Walmart, we went to the 5:30 service. We sang at this one. It was packed.
There were chairs set up in the back.
There were musicians at all the services, but the 5:30 had the most, including my niece Anna.
She’s playing violin.
My eyes were leaky a lot during the music because it was so good and the words of the music were great. The surprise tears of the night came during “Of the Father’s Love Begotten”. I love how old the song is. The tune is 800 years old! The words are even older: 1600 years! It’s so cool we’re still singing these words that Christians have used for so long.
Good job, Aurelius!
After the 5:30, my mom and I went to her house for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner: beef stew. Mmm… it was good…
Then we went to the 9:00 service. It was much less attended than the other two, but it was still nice.
The congregation still sang the carols loudly
I understand the leaky eyes. Due to a cold I’ve have, I couldn’t sing. I thought I would be disappointed, but I wasn’t. Listening to all of the singing and all of the musicians while reading the words gave me leaky eyes. The last two verses of “Now Sing We Now Rejoice” especially.
Merry Christmas, Brad! Christ the Savior is with us “evermore and evermore.”
Love, Love, Love ALL Your Pictures…..Makes Me Feel Like I’m Right There With You!! The Poinsettia Cross Is Gorgeous!!! The Music At St. John’s Is ALWAYS So Beautiful!! I’m so glad that you are with your mom…..I think of her so often!! CHRISTMAS {{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}} To Both Of You & The Rest OF The Seward Royuks & Friends Too!!!! <3 Aunt Bev 🙂
I, too, tend to get leaky during “Of the Father’s Love”. At our congregation, pastor (aka Thurman) usually sings the first verse alone, then the choir on verse two, then everyone for the final verses. The way things swell gets to me, I think.
Now to totally ruin the holiday mood: does anyone else think of Edgar Allen Poe when they read or hear “Evermore and evermore”? …yea, I’m just a bit twisted, I know.
Blessed Christmas to all – glory to God in the highest.
I read the title as ‘crunchy’. Oops.
Merry, merry Christmas! Paul Soulek posted music from the 5:30 service and it was lovely. “Where shepherds lately knelt” always gets me. 🙂