At 10:30 morning worship this Sunday, December 2, Tyrone Presbyterians will greet the new church year and the season of Advent 2007 by lighting the Advent Wreath, singing Yuletide anthems and carols, and hearing Mark Liller’s message entitled “On Time”.
As worshippers enter the 1927 gothic sanctuary on December 2, they will encounter an altar and pulpit adorned in royal blue to signal that the royal infant King Jesus soon will appear. Thanks to the efforts of the Growth and Spiritual Enrichment Committee, led by Elder Cummins McNitt and Deacon Sally Miller, two chancel Christmas trees, along with evergreen boughs bathed in white light will surround the altar and pulpit.
For years, at Christmas time, Tyrone Presbyterians have brought evergreens indoors as an outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual life brought to humankind by the arrival of Christ on Earth. The Advent Wreath, with its five candles, will form one of the focal points in this forest of green at the front of the 1927 gothic Presbyterian sanctuary. The white Christ candle will stand in alone in the middle of this holiday wreath. The four outward candles of the Advent Wreath symbolize four spiritual gifts brought to earth by the Messiah – Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace.
On the first Sunday of Advent December 2, long-time church member Betty Rodgers will lead the audience in a responsive reading about Christ as the hope of the world. At the close of the Advent Wreath ceremony, the church choir will echo the hope theme when they sing a 1972 Hispanic anthem by Alberto Taule entitled “All Earth Is Hopeful”. Finally, at the conclusion of worship, the audience will share their holiday hope for peace on earth, good-will to all when they sing the 1955 benediction carol by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller entitled “Let There Be Peace On Earth”.
Presbyterian preaching pastor and Epworth Manor chaplain Mark Liller will deliver an Advent message entitled “On Time”. Using the lectionary reading from Matthew 24: 36 to 44 as the scriptural foundation for his homily, Pastor Liller will remind the audience that Christ came into the home of ordinary people, in a small town, in a foreign-occupied land with infertile soil, in a primitive age. Yet God, who is the Lord of time, transformed these less than ideal circumstances into the perfect time and place for the arrival of the savior of the world.
As Christmas time draws near, why not set aside sixty minutes of time this Sunday, December 2 to join Tyrone Presbyterians at 10:30 a.m. while they greet a new church year, sing the carols of Advent, and hear the message about God’s time of hope. Church members encourage people all over the community to join them in this opening service of Advent 2007 as they gather strength for the journey to Christmas, especially when they unite their voices to sing this prophetic carol – “There’s A Song In The Air / There’s A Star In The Sky / There’s A Mother’s Deep Prayer / And A Baby’s Low Cry / And The Star Rains Its Fire, While The Angels Do Sing / For The Manger Of Bethlehem Cradles A King!”
