“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.’”

Advent is the tension-struck time of preparation. In Bible Study on Monday nights and Tuesday mornings, we’re discussing The Rev. Fleming Rutledge’s book Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ. It’s easy to think about the “once” part of this - Jesus’ life, death and resurrection two thousand years ago. In Bible Study, however, we are talking about the “future” part of this equation - the uncomfortable yet necessary discussion of the second coming of Christ. We are preparing for the coming of Christ - which we understand both spiritually and literally. These days, people are afraid of talking about the end of times. Hearing “the end is near!” is not inspiring words for most, but historically the church has understood that Jesus promises that something better is on the horizon. I believe Rutledge is helping point our gaze to this and inviting us to intentionally prepare. 

Advent, for the past several decades, has been viewed as a penitential season as Fr. Duncan spoke about last week in his sermon last week. This is because many people treat this season like another Lent. When Fr. Duncan approved Blue Vestments for St. John’s Church to be bought, I was overjoyed! Not only because I look good in blue, which I do, but because blue is the color that represents hope! Blue, for me, separates and differentiates the liturgical seasons of Lent and Advent. 

The time of preparation that we know of: with the Advent calendars and ABC’s Christmas Movie Countdown, is what society tells us to focus on: the preparation for Christmas. The church has been trying to refocus us; as Rutledge puts it, “Advent observance is called as a countermeasure” against a world and society that tells us we are just in a time of Christmas-lite. My friends: We. Are. Not. 



Advent is about the preparation of the second coming. It is a challenging place for us to dwell in, think about, and wrap our heads around. Let us start with something simple: a promise. Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead and His Kingdom will have no end. Familiar words from our creed. We know that Jesus has a kingdom that is not of this world, where He reigns supreme, and death has no power. This is what we believe. We wait in hope for the second coming of our Savior. While we wait, “disappointment, brokenness, suffering, and pain that characterize[s] life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come.” Life still happens. Just because we believe in the second coming, doesn’t mean that life is hunky dory in the meantime. It will be hard and staying the course of believing is challenging in itself. It is in the “Advent tension” where “the church lives its life.” 

Last week, we lit our first candle of Advent which focused on hope which will remain with us the entire Advent season. This week, we focus on the gift of peace. It is hard to find peace during this time of the year as there are so many distractions from peace, like with sales at Target or on Amazon. It’s hard to settle ourselves and just be with Jesus. Jesus has many titles: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, but my favorite is the Prince of Peace. May the Prince of Peace guide you into the way of peace - bringing you into a state of contemplation, wondering the following questions:

• What do I believe about the second coming of Christ?

• Am I prepared to encounter Jesus, face to face?

• Do you remember God’s promise of grace? That grace is given, not earned, and that you are highly favored by God?
• 
  

We do not have to have all the answers right now. We do however need to place ourselves in a place of trust and direct ourselves to face the apocalyptic unveiling God is revealing to us. I will see you Sunday as we gather and light another candle in our Advent wreath. We stand together in tension, yet in unity, by preparing a way for the Lord. May we make straight His paths. 

Your partner in hope and in peace,

Fr. James 

Join us for Sunday Worship at 8:00 am and 10:00 am in the church or remotely on Zoom and Facebook.

8:00 am - Rite I Holy Eucharist

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83803451202

Facebook Live Stream: https://www.facebook.com/stjohns1745/live_videos/

Bulletin: Rite I Advent

9:40 am - Sunday School meets in the Canterbury Corner

10:00 am – Rite II Choral Eucharist

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86739553648

Facebook Live Stream: https://www.facebook.com/stjohns1745/live_videos

Bulletin: Rite II Advent

The Music

Processional Hymn: 56 vs 3-4 O come, o come Emmanuel

Gradual Hymn: 616 vs 1-3 Hail to the Lord's anointed

Offertory Anthem: LEVAS 270 "Lamb of God" by Marjorie Landsmark-DeLewis

Communion Hymn: Taize #20 “O Lord Hear My Prayer/The Lord is My Song"

Recessional Hymn: 66 Come thou long-expected Jesus 

Our 3-week Advent series will focus on the early history of slavery in Huntington. It begins on Tuesday, December 6th with a presentation by Craig Townsend, the Diocesan Historian in Residence for Racial Justice and Director of the Parish Histories project, followed by two other programs on December 13th and December 20th. 

Join us (Zoom only):  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84931783406

Tuesdays in Advent

6:30 pm - Evening Prayer

7:00 pm - Program

8:00 - Closing Prayer

Pick up your order in the Great Hall

Saturday, December 3rd - 10:30 am to 1 pm

Sunday, December 4th - between or after the services until 12 noon

Thank you for supporting our Youth Group's annual Christmas wreath and flower sale!

Giving is at the heart of what we do at St. John’s

Until Sunday, December 4th

Our adopted family of four includes single mother, Marines, who recently had open heart surgery and is unable to work, along with her three children, Carlos, 16, Joelis, 10 and Joseph, 10.

There will be a poster board in the Great Hall for you to select a gift you’d like to offer. In addition to wrapped gifts, the family would accept and appreciate gift cards. 

Please wrap each gift in holiday wrapping paper and label it with the first name of the child or adult from this household and place in the box in the Great Hall, or in Deacon Claire’s office.

Any questions, please contact Carol Goldbaum or Deacon Claire.

Wednesdays & Thursdays at 12 - 1pm

To continue to be welcoming neighbors in the village, St. John's Church opens its doors to Huntington during the week!

On Wednesdays - Noonday Prayer will start at 12:15 for any who are interested in attending this brief in person service.

On Thursdays - The sanctuary will be open for individual prayer and quiet contemplation. Our Artist-in-Residence, will play on the following dates:

December 8th - "24 Bach Preludes from WTC I"

December 22nd - "Christmas Songs from around the World"

If any one feels called to join in this ministry and help expand it, please reach out to Fr. James at jreiss@stjohnshuntington.org . All are welcome!

Advent Retreat with Fr. Anthony Jones - Saturday, December 10th. Join us for breakfast at 9:00 am. The program will follow.

REGISTER FOR THE ADVENT RETREAT

If you are interested in exploring your spirituality and deepening your connection to others, consider joining us. For more information please contact Patti Aliperti at silverymoon33@yahoo.com. All are welcome! 

St. John's Spirituality Group meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Our next meeting will be on December 8th at 5pm in the Canterbury Corner and on Zoom. This month, Fr. John leads discussion and reflection on...

"Broadway Comes to St. John's!"

If you are interested in exploring your spirituality and deepening your connection to others, consider joining us. All are welcome. For more information, please contact Patti Aliperti at silverymoon33@yahoo.com.

To join on Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87441402327

This Christmas remember your Loved Ones, or offer Special Thanksgivings, by making a donation for this year’s Christmas Poinsettias. 

Forms are due on Wednesday, December 14th

Order forms can be found at the back of the church and on the St. John's website or by using the link below:

ALTAR GUILD CHRISTMAS POINSETTIA ORDER FORM

If you are unable to download and print the form, you may send an email with all the necessary information to Coral (cfreas@stjohnshuntington.org) in the Parish Office and send your check made payable to "St. John's Altar Guild" with "Poinsettia" written in the memo to:

St. John's Church

Attn: Altar Guild

12 Prospect Street

Huntington, NY 11743

On December 8th at 7:00 pm, please join us for a special Blue Christmas Healing Liturgy - a safe and loving offering of prayer and healing.

As we have move through Advent: a season of preparation and expectation, we begin to see lights on houses and trees throughout our community. There is a sense of hope and joy in the air as we hear many of our favorite Christmas songs play over and over on our radios or in the shopping malls. But joy is not everyone’s experience at this time of year.  

Isaiah 40:1 says, “Comfort, comfort my people, says God.”

There are moments in our lives when we need comfort: tough times when we yearn for consolation. The suffering people who looked for the long-awaited Messiah were given a hope-filled image of God in the writings of Isaiah. It expresses the belief that no matter what happens to us, God will be there to comfort and support us. 

Christmas can be a time for many who need that reassurance and comfort. Perhaps we are grieving over the loss of a loved one, struggling with illness, or have experienced the loss of a job. We wonder how we will get through the holidays. 

Blue Christmas, a service of wholeness and healing is a safe and loving time for those seeking comfort, hope and wholeness, shared in the good news of “God with us: Immanuel!”

The Long Island Gay Men’s Chorus presents “A Visit from St. Nick and a Rockin’ Holiday” – a wide-spanning musical revue of yuletide favorites and a fabulous glitter-flecked musical retelling of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Showtime is 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 12 Prospect St., Huntington. $25; tickets available online at ligmc.org/concerts and at the door.

In place of Evensong this December, we will be having a traditional Lessons and Carols service at 7:00 pm on Thursday, December 15th. We will have readings that point us to the Christ Child being born, preparing us for Christmas, along with hymns – led by our choir and Artist-in-Residence, Alex Pryrodny. We hope you join us for this wonderful and holy prayer time to prepare for the annual remembrance of the newborn king. 

Take a joyous break from the holiday rush and join us for our annual concert of Christmas songs, carols and stories featuring the musical talents of

Leslie McBride, soparano

Leslie Valentine, mezzo-soprano

Douglas Purcell, tenor

Larry Long, bass

Christine Doré, piano

Join us in the Great Hall afterwards to meet the artists and enjoy some Christmas cheer. Tickets are $20, $10 for children and available at the door or online:

PRESALE TICKETS ONLINE

Contact the Parish Office for more information at (631) 427-1752 or info@stjohns1745.org.

Sing Noël is our most anticipated concert of the year and is attended not only by members of our parish, but by many friends and acquaintances in our community. Your help is needed to share the joy of this Christmas tradition here at St. John’s. For the reception, we need finger food donations and beverages, and help setting up and cleaning up. Perhaps you could get a poster or two from the back of the church and hang them in a local business you frequent. But, most of all, please join us for some Christmas music and stories and to share a cup of cheer! Please see Leslie Valentine to offer your help or email leslieval@aol.com.

SING NOEL POSTER

There will be a Christmas Pageant rehearsal on Saturday, December 17th from 9:00 am to noon. The Christmas pageant will be presented at the 10:00 am service on Sunday, December 18th. Invite your friends and family to celebrate with us!

To sign your child up and to offer your talents to help make this a very special day, please see Christine Dore (doreivory@optonline.net).

Confirmation is the sacrament when individuals choose to confirm the promises that were made for them at their baptism. The church recognizes one’s full membership and it is the day a bishop seals one with gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Confirmation classes start in January, meeting an hour before Youth Group, and the Rite of Confirmation will take place at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City on June 3, 2023 at 11:00 am. For information about Confirmation, please contact the Parish Office, info@stjohns1745.org or see Fr. James after services.

CONFIRMATION CLASS REGISTRATION FORM

Bible Study meets regularly Mondays at 6:30 pm and on Tuesdays at 11:00 am on Zoom with Fr. Duncan and Fr. John.

Monday Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83373971746

Tuesday Zoom link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82553627635

Advent Bible Study - Join us in Advent as we read and discuss Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge.

 Dec 5, 6 - Waiting and Hastening the Kingdom Yet to Come (3 sermons)--pp. 75-94

 Dec 12, 13 - Waiting and Hastening the Kingdom Yet to Come (3 sermons)--pp. 95-114

 Dec 19, 20 - The Universal Grip of the Enemy (3 sermons)--pp. 115-133

If you would like to remember a loved one or give thanks for an important event with altar flowers or Perpetual Light, please complete an Altar Flower Form and return it to the Parish Office with your check made payable to "St. John's Altar Guild."

ALTAR FLOWER ORDER FORM

Altar Flowers will not be available during Advent. Please remember your loved ones on Christmas Eve with a poinsettia.

We pray for Richard, Barbara, Edward, Christine, Fred, Ana, Patti, Cole, Luke, Cassandra, Valarie, Danielle, Amy, Kate, Cheryl, Anne, Carmen, Lou, Sue

Recently departed: Edith Seymour, Elizabeth Ayers, Kay Gorman, Audrey Eisser

The Perpetual Light is given in loving memory of Oswald Burnett by Janice Burnett and Andria Burnett Wetsell

We have begun a new prayer list in Advent. Please send your prayers or updates to prayers@stjohns1745.org or call Coral in the Parish Office, 631-427-1752, ext. 101.