These are resources for a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which we will have on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 20, 2020 at 11:00 am. The resources are gathered from a variety of sources and, while assembled mainly for The Anglican Church of St Thomas the Apostle, Kefalas, on the island of Crete in Greece, others may find them useful.

Share

This coming Sunday at 11:00 am we can meet online only, in accordance with the government restrictions. We will still have our annual Festival of Lessons and Carols, though, just online. You can join us by clicking this link or by entering the following into your Zoom application: Meeting ID: 850 4483 9927 Passcode: 010209. The order of service is below, and can also be downloaded (including the lyrics of the hymns as sung in the videos) as a PDF from here:

We will have three services of Holy Communion on Christmas Day at the Tabernacle of St Thomas, Kefalas:

9:15 am Said Book of Common Prayer Holy Communion
10:00 Said Common Worship Holy Communion
11:00 Said Common Worship Holy Communion with Hymns (also on Zoom)

If you wish to attend you must register in advance. To register please contact Pat Worsley by phone at +30 28257 71001 or by email at peter.worsley@btinternet.com; registration will be on a first come, first served basis. As of Thursday evening, December 16, we have two spaces available at the 9.15 service , one at the 10.00am service and the 11.00am service is full. You can attend the 11:00 am virtually on Zoom, and the Zoom link above will get you there.

Read & Reflect

Most parishes will not be having services of Lessons and Carols, but instead will be using the readings appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, which can be found here. If you would like to listen to a sermon on the readings for Advent IV, Fr Leonard Doolan of St Paul’s Anglican Church in Athens has sent us a prerecorded one here:

As we are holding our service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas, our readings are below.

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols for Christmas

Opening Hymn: Once in Royal David’s City

Welcome, Bidding, and the Lord’s Prayer

Hymn: Joy to the World

The First Lesson

Genesis 3.8-14: The Disobedience of Adam and Eve.

Following the lesson (and after every lesson) the reader will say,
“This is the word of the Lord” Please respond, “Thanks be to God.”

Hymn: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen

The Second Lesson

Genesis 22.1-19: God tests Abraham, and promises that in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

Hymn: The First Nowell

The Third Lesson

Isaiah 9.2,6,7: Isaiah foresees the coming Messiah.

Hymn: Unto Us a Boy is Born

The Fourth Lesson

Isaiah 11.1-9 – The prophecy of the Messiah’s kingdom of peace

Hymn: O Little Town of Bethlehem

The Fifth Lesson

Isaiah 60.1-6, 19 – The coming of the glory of the Lord

Hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

The Sixth Lesson

Matthew 1.18-23: The birth of Emmanuel.

Hymn: Away in a Manger

The Seventh Lesson

Luke 2.8-16: Jesus is born in Bethlehem.

Hymn: While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks By Night

The Eighth Lesson

Matthew 2.1-11: Wise men come from the east seeking Jesus.

Hymn 740: We Three Kings

The Ninth Lesson (Please stand, as you are able)

John 1.1-14: The Incarnation of the Word of God

Hymn: Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful)

The Blessing

May the Father, who has loved the eternal Son from before the foundation of the world, shed that love upon you his children. Amen.

May Christ, who by his incarnation gathered into one things earthly and heavenly, fill you with joy and peace. Amen.

May the Holy Spirit, by whose overshadowing Mary became the God-bearer, give you grace to carry the good news of Christ. Amen.

And the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be amongst you, and remain with you always. Amen.

Closing Hymn: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel