Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2024

&

Christmas Day, December 25th, 2024

The Cathedral Church of St. Luke

in the

City of Portland

and the

Episcopal Diocese of Maine

Whoever you are,

and wherever you may be on the journey of the spirit, 

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

A Christmas Welcome

from the Cathedral Church of St. Luke!

Dear Friends-

The first service held at the Cathedral of St. Luke was on Christmas in 1868.  In the 156 years since, this community has sought to share the good news of Jesus Christ through worship, service to our community and fellowship.  We are glad that you have chosen to join us on this joyful occasion. 

The Christmas story told in the Gospel of Luke includes an angel appearing to shepherds watching their flocks proclaiming ‘the good news that will bring great joy for all the people’.  The angel was, of course, announcing our Savior’s unlikely arrival in a manger in Bethlehem.  The arrival of God, in the person of Jesus, is called incarnation.   

The Doctrine of the Incarnation says that God became human so that we might become one with him through his body. Jesus is 100% human while maintaining full 100% divinity. If the math sounds wrong it’s because this is a mystery, something we will never be able to fully grasp. The Apostle Paul calls it “the mystery of godliness” (1 Tim. 3:16).

In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes of how the Incarnation of Jesus transforms our relationship with one another.  He says, “The Incarnation is the ultimate reason why the service of God cannot be divorced from the service of others.”

As a cathedral, St. Luke’s is the seat of the bishop and chief mission church of the Diocese and people of Maine.  We gratefully serve the people of Portland and beyond by hosting the St. Elizabeth’s Essentials Pantry, the St. Luke’s Food Pantry and many other outreach ministries.   Information about our many outreach ministries, educational opportunities and history can be found on our website at www.stlukesportland.org

If you are visiting with us, I hope that you will find the Cathedral a place of welcome.  Thank you for sharing in the good news and joy of this blessed season. 

Merry Christmas!

The Rev. George R. Stevens

Interim Dean

Christmas Eve Family Service

5:00PM, Holy Eucharist, Rite II

in the Nave & Livestreamed

Christmas Eve 5:00PM Family Service Participants

Celebrant

The Reverend George Stevens, Interim Dean

Preacher

The Right Reverend Thomas J. Brown, Bishop of Maine

Assisting

The Reverend Rebecca A. Grant, Deacon

The Reverend Christopher Worthley, Assisting Clergy

Music Leader & Organist

Christian M. Clough, Canon for Liturgy & Music

Advent Wreath Prayers Leader

Mary Linneman

Lector & Prayers Leader

Mary Linneman

Ushers

Mary Linneman, Anna Messmer

Head Verger

Eleanor Roberts

Live Streaming

Jack Swanton, Sam Allen

Contributing Ministries

Acolytes, Vergers, The Flower Guild, The Altar Guild, The Kneeler Guild

Music copyrights granted under OneLicense.net #A-713087. Sources: The Hymnal 1982, Lift Every Voice and Sing II, Wonder, Love, and Praise, Voices Found, My Heart Sings Out, The Saint Helena Psalter, The Book of Common Prayer,, Enriching our Worship, The Holy Bible (NRSV). 

Christmas Eve Festal Eucharist

Holy Eucharist, Rite II

10:00PM in the Nave & Livestreamed

Prelude with Organ & Festival Brass beginning at 9:30PM

Christmas Eve 10:00PM Service Participants

Celebrant

The Right Reverend Thomas J. Brown, The Tenth Bishop of Maine

Preacher

The Reverend George Stevens, Interim Dean

Assisting

The Reverend Rebecca A. Grant, Deacon

Music Leader & Organist

Christian M. Clough, Canon for Liturgy & Music

Advent Wreath Prayers Leader

Susan McCuller

Lector

John Bancroft

Prayers Leader

Peter Bingham

Ushers

Peter Bingham, Melissa Coy, Susan McCuller, Gail Swanton

Thurifer

Michael Thorne

Head Verger

Eleanor Roberts

Crucifer

Alec Thorne

Acolytes

Liam Coy, Lucy Pride

Diocesan Banner

Randi Hogan

Bishop's Verger

John Hennessy

The Healing Team

Sara Schmalz, Judd Hume

Live Streaming

Jack Swanton, Sam Allen



Contributing Ministries

The Cathedral Choir, Acolytes, Vergers, The Flower Guild, The Altar Guild, The Kneeler Guild, The Healing Team

Members of the Cathedral Choir

* denotes guest singer

Terry Anderson • Georgia Bancroft • Onnie Benoist • Phoebe Blume • Robert Brokaw

• Linda Carleton •Joseph Colquhoun • Lynn Dalheim • Ellise Johnson • *Zen Kuriyama • Curtis Maurand • Jamie Moore Suezan Moore • Parker Roberts • Shana Rose • William Salomon • Connie Schmalz • Dan Schmalz *Simon Smith • *Marguerite Toscano

• Gay Tucker • Kathy Watt • Stacie Webb • *Toby Webb

Festival Brass & Timpani

Michelle Boggs, trumpet • Matt Lagarde, trumpet • Sophie Flood, French horn

Katie Schraeder, trombone • Tom Michaud, bass trombone • Mark Fredericks, timpani

Music copyrights granted under OneLicense.net #A-713087. Sources: The Hymnal 1982, Lift Every Voice and Sing II, Wonder, Love, and Praise, Voices Found, My Heart Sings Out, The Saint Helena Psalter, The Book of Common Prayer,, Enriching our Worship, The Holy Bible (NRSV). 

Christmas Day Service of Holy Eucharist

Holy Eucharist, Rite II

10:00AM in the Nave & Livestreamed

Christmas Day Service Participants

Preacher & Celebrant

The Right Reverend Thomas J. Brown, The Tenth Bishop of Maine

Assisting

The Reverend Rebecca A. Grant, Deacon

The Reverend Christopher Worthley, Assisting Clergy

Music Leader & Organist

Christian M. Clough, Canon for Liturgy & Music

Lector &Prayers Leader

Cynthia Morris

Ushers

Stan Kuziel

Live Streaming

Jack Swanton, Sam Allen

Contributing Ministries

Acolytes, Vergers, The Flower Guild, The Altar Guild, The Kneeler Guild

Music copyrights granted under OneLicense.net #A-713087. Sources: The Hymnal 1982, Lift Every Voice and Sing II, Wonder, Love, and Praise, Voices Found, My Heart Sings Out, The Saint Helena Psalter, The Book of Common Prayer,, Enriching our Worship, The Holy Bible (NRSV). 

Christmas Greens & Flowers

A Christmas Message from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe

The Nativity of the Virgin (18 century), Russian icon | Credit: Ivan Vdovin/Alamy

-Published by the Episcopal Office of Public Affairs

Dear People of God in The Episcopal Church:

Among the Christmas Gospels, Luke is surely the crowd pleaser. Nearly our entire visual vocabulary of Christmas—the manger, the shepherds, the angels—comes from the second chapter of Luke. Thanks to Luke, we all know the answer to the trivia question, “Who was Quirinius?”

But if you go to church on Christmas morning, or if your congregation’s custom is to read a last Gospel on Christmas Eve, you will hear the beginning of the Gospel of John, which includes other words we all know: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” Christmas does not truly begin for me until I hear those words.

While Luke paints us a picture of a noisy and chaotic birth, in John we encounter the powerfully quiet mystery of the Incarnation. John brings us the astonishing truth that God lived among us as a person, “full of grace and truth,” ready to share the pain and sorrow of being human. 

Especially this year, our hurting and divided world is desperate for the Incarnation. We live, as have many generations before us, in a time of fear, division, and instability. The Enemy has turned us against one another, sometimes in our own families and communities. The land of Jesus’ birth is torn apart by violence and tremendous suffering, and across the globe, we have hardened our hearts against the strangers among us. All too often, we hear voices that claim the mantle of Christianity calling most loudly for exclusion and conquest.

As Episcopalians, we must resist the urge to retreat from this broken world. Instead, we have been called to model our life together on a different vision of God’s kingdom. Contrary to the world’s expectations, we have bound ourselves together in a global community, following the Risen Christ together despite our differences. We know that death, suffering, and enmity are not the last word, and we proclaim it every time we gather at God’s table.

At Christmas, we can make our unity a witness to the world. Every day, in congregations and communities across our church, you are feeding the hungry, binding up the brokenhearted, caring for the vulnerable, and transforming lives through the power of the gospel. We can also proclaim God’s presence by giving to our church’s historic ministries that are working to alleviate suffering at home and abroad:

• Episcopal Migration Ministries, which is working to resettle refugees and create welcoming communities for migrants in the face of fear.

• American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which brings hope and healing to vulnerable families across the Holy Land.

• Episcopal Relief & Development, which advances lasting change in communities affected by injustice, poverty, disaster, and climate change.

Most of all, we can commit our lives to creating a world that is more just and more loving, in which the grace and truth that came down to us at Christmas is kindled all year long. Especially this year, as we begin our ministry together, I am grateful to be working toward this vision with you.

May God bless you and all those you love this Christmas and always.

The Rt. Rev. Sean W. Rowe

Presiding Bishop

stlukesportland.org

(207)-772-5434

Physical Address:

143 State Street, Portland, ME 04101

Parking Available at:

134 Park Street, Portland, ME 04101

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 4141, Portland, ME 04101