Advent & Christmas at Grace
We can’t wait to welcome you to Advent and Christmas at Grace Church, in-person and online. Browse our services, events, and FAQ below.
Mark your calendar for Christmas Eve services at 4pm and 8pm.
Advent Evening Grace
Dec 3rd – 7pm
An Advent themed Evening Prayer service including beautiful music, candlelight, and a message that helps us lean into the hope and anticipation of this season. Childcare is available for littles. RSVP for dinner preceding the service. In-person and live-streamed. Childcare is available.
St. Nicholas Sunday
Dec 7th – 9am & 11am
St. Nicholas joins us for a special Children’s Moment at each service. After worship at 9 and 11 there are lots of crafts for kids in the Multipurpose room, as well as, supplies to create an Advent Wreath for your home.
Lessons & Carols
Dec 14th – 6pm
Joining a long Episcopal & Anglican tradition, this service features readings, choir anthems, and congregational singing that prepares us for Christmas. Our kids portrait the nativity scene in a tableau accompanied by our adult and kids choirs. In-person and live-streamed. Childcare is available.
Christmas Eve Family Service
Dec 24th – 4pm
Festive music, an inspiring message, and beautiful liturgy come together to help us remember the miraculous reality that God is with us in Christ, Immanuel. Music is accompanied by our band and string instruments with folk carols and hymns. Children’s ministry and childcare are available during the service. In-person and live-streamed.
Christmas Eve Evening Service
Dec 24th – 8pm
Festive music, an inspiring message, and beautiful liturgy come together to help us remember the miraculous reality that God is with us in Christ, Immanuel. Music is accompanied by our choir and string instruments. Incense will be used at this chanted Eucharistic service. Children are welcome in the service. In-person and live-streamed.
Feast of the Epiphany
Jan 6th – 7pm
This festive evening service (with incense and chanted liturgy) recalls the magi being led by the star to worship young Jesus and the Holy Family. A dinner precedes the service as we celebrate the end of the 12 days of Christmas, and the gift of Christ’s revelation of God in the flesh. Children’s ministry and childcare are available during the service. In-person and live-streamed.
For four Sundays leading up to December 25th, liturgical churches around the world are in a season of preparation for Christmas called “Advent.” The word Advent means “coming” and it is a season of expectation and anticipation. We wait with eagerness for Christmas Day when we remember the birth of Jesus. As we look back 2000 years and remember Jesus’ first coming, the Sunday readings in Church also invite us to look forward to Christ’s final coming. We live in a tension during this season, remembering God’s promises fulfilled in the Messiah’s birth. But also the hope of God’s Kingdom come in fullness - when peace, justice, and love reign. The season invites us to make room in our lives for Christ to come and dwell with us. So how will you prepare for Christ’s Advent this year?
Many households enjoy the tradition of lighting a special wreath during the four weeks of the season. The four candles mark the Sundays of the season. Purple or blue reminds us of Jesus’ royal kingship and the penitential preparation of this season. The pink candle recalls the joy of this season. On the First Sunday of Advent, we light the first candle and then an additional candle on each Sunday until Christmas. The Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve. The candles used in the Advent wreath remind us that the incarnation has transformed the darkness of hatred and evil into the light of joy and love. Therefore, many people attach a theme for each candle: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
Nicholas, who inspired Santa Claus, was born during the third century in the village of Patara. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343.
The word Immanuel means “God with us”. This word first appears in the book of Isaiah, “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” (v. 7:14). Isaiah gives this prophecy at a time when Israel is surrounded by hostile armies and the future is uncertain. Over and over again the prophet Isaiah urges Israel to place their trust in God’s promise and their hope in His presence.
In the Gospel of Matthew 1:23, these words of Isaiah are repeated at the coming of Jesus. As Christians, we believe that Jesus fulfills the promise, he is Immanuel, “God with us”. While he is given the proper name Jesus, he is also given the title Immanuel. It is one of many titles given to Jesus, such as Lord, Comforter, King, Shepherd, etc. This is the title we hear most at Christmas, because it speaks to the beauty of the incarnation, of God coming to be with us in the form of a child in a manger. It is also a title that’s echoed in Jesus’ own words at the end of Matthew, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (28:20).
It’s more than just a Christmas Carol - in liturgical churches, like the Episcopal Church, the season of Christmas lasts from Christmas Day until January 6th, which is known as Epiphany. So we sing Christmas songs throughout the season and then on Epiphany we celebrate the arrival of the wise men! In some cultures and traditions 12 gifts are exchanged – one on each day – rather than all at once like in the United States. The carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” may date all the way back to the 16th century and some scholars believe it was used as an instructional song with hidden references to the Christian faith. For example, the “true love” mentioned is not an earthly suitor, but God himself. The “me” who receives the presents refers to every baptized person who is a part of the Christian faith. (Dennis Bratcher, source).
The familiar hymn, “We Three Kings of Orient are…” has become part of the popular Christmas story, but it actually contains a few misnomers. First these men were not really Kings, but magi – they were astrologers who were very well educated. Noticing a new star, they followed it to Jesus. Second, we aren’t sure how many men came… the Bible doesn’t say. Third, they weren’t from the Orient, but more likely from Persia.
The Bible never mentions the visit of the Wise Men to the manger, only the shepherds. It says that the Magi visited Jesus at his house (Mt 2:11) and scholars believe this was probably sometime after his birth (possibly a year later) when they would have had time to decipher and follow the star.
You may have heard the names Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar – these names were given to the Magi in a later meditation, written centuries after the Gospels.
After the 12 days of the Christmas Season is when we remember the Three Kings, or the Magi’s visit to Jesus – on January 6th each year. This feast day of the church is called Epiphany. The season after Epiphany focuses on the theme of the revelation of God in Christ (so all Jesus teaches us about God).
Epiphany means revelation or manifestation. In the Christian calendar, this day reminds us that Jesus Christ is the clearest revelation of who God is… he makes God’s nature and character clear to us. Christians believe this because we believe that Jesus is both human and divine incarnation. The feast of the Epiphany marks the Wise men’s visit and the shining star reminds us that Jesus shows us the way to God.