the fourth sunday of advent - St. John's Cathedral, Hong Kong

21ST DECEMBER 2014
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
8.00am Said Eucharist
Celebrant and Preacher:
The Revd John Chynchen
9.00am Sung Eucharist & Sunday School Pageant
Celebrant: The Very Revd Matthias Der
Preacher: The Revd Catherine Graham
Deacon:
The Revd John Chynchen
Setting:
Communion Setting (Margaret Rizza)
Hymns:
309, 360, 256, 422
Anthem:
Ave Maria (Robert Parsons)
10.30am Sung Eucharist (in Mandarin)
Celebrant and preacher:
The Revd Peter Koon
11.45am Eucharist—Provincial
Celebrant: The Revd Robert Martin
Preacher: The Revd John Chynchen
Setting:
Communion Setting (Leonard West)
Hymns:
309, 360, 256, 422
2.00pm Sung Eucharist (in Filipino)
Celebrant and Preacher:
The Revd Dwight dela Torre
6.00pm Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Officiant: The Revd John Chynchen
Welcome to all who worship here today. Visiting communicants, of whatever Christian
tradition, are invited to receive communion here. Gluten-free communion wafers are available
on request at all
Eucharistic services in this Cathedral. Please enquire of the Sidesmen or
Servers for directions to the distribution.
Please turn off your mobile phone or switch to SILENT.
THIS WEEK AT ST JOHN’S CATHEDRAL
MON 22nd DEC
8.00am Said Eucharist
12.30pm Meditation Group
1.00pm One o’clock Prayers (Nave)
TUE 23rd DEC
8.00am
1.00pm
3.00pm
7.00pm
WED 24th DEC
Christmas Eve
Said Eucharist
One o’clock Prayers (Nave)
Tuesday Tots
Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF)
8.ooam
1.00pm
1.15pm
Said Eucharist
One o’clock Prayers (Nave)
Lunchtime Recital— “The Many Moods of Christmas”
The Baptist Convention of Hong Kong- Sunshine Chorus
3.00pm Short Crib Service
5.00pm Christingle Service
11.00pm Midnight Mass of the Nativity & Blessing of the Crib
THU 25th DEC
Christmas Day
8.00am
9.00am
10.30am
11.45am
2.00pm
Said Eucharist
Sung Eucharist
Sung Eucharist (Mandarin)
Christmas All Age Worship
Sung Eucharist (Filipino)
FRI 26th DEC (PH)
9.00am
Said Eucharist
SAT 27th DEC
8.30am
12.30pm
3.30pm
4.00pm
6.00pm
Said Eucharist
Said Eucharist (Filipino)
Youth Fellowship (Cantonese)
Andrew Fellowship (Cantonese)
Said Eucharist (Cantonese) (Anticipated Sunday Service)
SUN 28th DEC
Readings:
Isaiah 61.10-62.3
Psalm 148
Galatians 4.4-7
Luke 2.15-21
The First Sunday of Christmas
8.00am Said Eucharist
Celebrant and Preacher: The Revd Nigel Gibson
9.00am Sung Eucharist
Celebrant: The Revd John Chynchen
Preacher: The Revd Nigel Gibson
10.30am Celebrant and Preacher: The Revd Peter Koon
11.45am Eucharist-Common Worship
Celebrant: The Revd Desmond Cox
Preacher: The Revd Nigel Gibson
2.00pm Sung Eucharist (Filipino)
Celebrant and Preacher: The Revd Dwight dela Torre
6.00pm Christmas Choral Evensong
Officiant: The Revd Nigel Gibson
Preacher: The Revd Robert Martin
Information about St John’s Cathedral and its ministries can be found at the Welcoming Table after the
9.00 am service, on the notice boards and on the website: www.stjohnscathedral.org.hk.
Clergy are here to listen and help - please feel free to speak to one of them after the services, or make
contact during the week: St John’s Cathedral, 4–8 Garden Road, Central. (花園道4-8號) Tel: 2523 4157
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COLLECT, POST COMMUNION PRAYER, READINGS AND MUSIC
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT
WREATH
Voice one—On this fourth Sunday in
Advent we light the candles of Hope,
Peace, Joy again. (lights first two
purple candles and one pink candle).
Voice two—Today, we light a fourth
candle and name it Love. (lights last
purple candle).
Voice one—This candle reminds us of
Mary, Jesus’ mother. She was a person
who had a lot of courage. This candle
reminds us of a mother’s love for her
child, Jesus, who was God’s own Son.
Voice two—This candle is a symbol of
God’s love that was born in baby Jesus
on Christmas Day. It is a symbol of
God’s love that is alive in us each day
too.
All O God, come, travel with us
through Advent. Give us
courage to spread love in the
world. Amen.
COLLECT
God our redeemer, who prepared the
Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother
of your Son: grant that, as she looked
for his coming as our saviour, so we
may be ready to greet him when he
comes again as our judge; who is alive
and reigns with you, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
FIRST READING
2 Samuel 7.1-11, 16
Now when David, the king was settled in
his house, and the LORD had given him
rest from all his enemies around him,
the king said to the prophet Nathan,
‘See now, I am living in a house of cedar,
but the ark of God stays in a tent.’
Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that
you have in mind; for the LORD is with
you.’
But that same night the word of the
LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell my
servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are
you the one to build me a house to live
in? I have not lived in a house since the
day I brought up the people of Israel
from Egypt to this day, but I have been
moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.
Wherever I have moved about among all
the people of Israel, did I ever speak a
word with any of the tribal leaders of
Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd
my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you
not built me a house of cedar?’ Now
therefore you shall say to my servant
David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I
took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my
people Israel; and I have been with you
wherever you went, and have cut off all
your enemies from before you; and I will
make for you a great name, like the
name of the great ones of the earth.
And I will appoint a place for my people
Israel and will plant them, so that they
may live in their own place, and be
disturbed no more; and evildoers shall
afflict them no more, as formerly, from
the time that I appointed judges over my
people Israel; and I will give you rest
from all your enemies. Moreover the
Lord declares to you, David, that the
Lord will make you a house. Your house
and your kingdom shall be made sure
for ever before me; your throne shall be
established for ever.
This is the Word of the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.
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COLLECT, POST COMMUNION PRAYER, READINGS AND MUSIC
MAGNIFICAT
1. My soul doth magnify the Lord : and
my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Saviour.
2. For he hath regarded : the lowliness
of his hand-maiden.
3. For behold, from henceforth : all
generations shall call me blessed.
4. For he that is mighty hath magnified
me : and holy is his Name.
5. And his mercy is on them that fear
him : throughout all generations.
6. He hath shewed strength with his
arm : he hath scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts.
7. He hath put down the mighty from
their seat : and hath exalted the humble
and meek.
8. He hath filled the hungry with good
things : and the rich he hath sent empty
away.
9. He remembering his mercy hath
holpen his servant Israel : as he
promised to our forefathers, Abraham
and his seed, for ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and
ever shall be : world without end.
Amen.
SECOND READING
Romans 16.25-end
To God who is able to strengthen you
according to my gospel and the
proclamation of Jesus Christ, according
to the revelation of the mystery that was
kept secret for long ages but is now
disclosed, and through the prophetic
writings is made known to all the
Gentiles, according to the command of
the eternal God, to bring about the
obedience of faith – to the only wise
God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be
the glory for ever! Amen.
All
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This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL READING
Luke 1.26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel
was sent by God to a town in Galilee
called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to
a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David. The virgin’s name was
Mary. And he came to her and said,
‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is
with you.’ But she was much perplexed
by his words and pondered what sort of
greeting this might be. The angel said
to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you
have found favour with God. And now,
you will conceive in your womb and
bear a son, and you will name him
Jesus. He will be great, and will be
called the Son of the Most High, and
the Lord God will give to him the
throne of his ancestor David. He will
reign over the house of Jacob for ever,
and of his kingdom there will be no
end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can
this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel
said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come
upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you; therefore
the child to be born will be holy; he will
be called Son of God. And now, your
relative Elizabeth in her old age has
also conceived a son; and this is the
sixth month for her who was said to be
barren. For nothing will be impossible
with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I,
the servant of the Lord; let it be with
me according to your word.’ Then the
angel departed from her.
All
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
POST COMMUNION PRAYER
Heavenly Father, who chose the
Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of
the promised saviour: fill us your
servants with your grace, that in all
things we may embrace your holy will
and with her rejoice in your salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
MUSIC, ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SERVICES
Local Community Christmas
Celebrations at St John’s.
During the Advent Season St John’s
Cathedral plays host to a variety of
Christmas Concerts and Carol Services
organised by local businesses charities
and schools. You may be interested to
know who has visited us this year.
2nd Dec - ‘Light Up a Life Concert’
Society for the Promotion of Hospice
Care
3rd Dec - ‘A Celtic Christmas’
Celtic Connections Chamber Choir
4th Dec - ‘Christmas Concert’
LGT Bank
8th Dec - ‘The Fayre of St John’s’
Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre
9th Dec - ‘Christmas Concert.’
The Cecilian Singers
10th Dec – ‘Solicitor’s Carol Service’
Linklaters
11th Dec – ‘Christmas Carol Concert’
French International School
15th Dec – ‘Carol Concert’
Peak School
16th Dec – ‘Carol Service’
Goldman Sachs (Asia) Ltd
17th Dec – ‘Christmas Gala’
Die Konzertisten
18th Dec – ‘Carol Service’
St Paul’s Co-Educational College Alumni
22nd Dec – ‘Carol Service’
St Paul’s Co-Educational College
Each one of these concerts is led or
hosted by one of our cathedral clergy as
part of our ongoing outreach to the local
community.
It is great joy that our beautiful cathedral
church can be used by the local
community in such imaginative way
during this Advent season.
St John’s Cathedral
CHRISTMAS SERVICES
Wed 24th December
Christmas Eve
3.00pm Short Crib Service
5.00pm Christingle Service
11.00pm Midnight Mass of the
Nativity and Blessing
of the Crib
Thu 25th December
Christmas Day
8.00am Said Eucharist
9.00am Sung Eucharist
10.30am Sung Eucharist
(Mandarin)
11.45am Christmas All Age
Worship
2.00pm Sung Eucharist
(Filipino)
Sun 28th December
The First Sunday of Christmas
(Sunday Services as normal)
6.00pm Christmas Choral
Evensong
Wed 31st December
New Year’s Eve
11.00pm Watchnight Eucharist
A service to welcome the New Year
We wish a blessed Christmas to all our
visitors.
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PRAYERS
ANGLICAN CYCLE OF PRAYER
Pray for the church of Kontagora
(Lokoja, Nigeria) and The Rt Revd
Jonah Ibrahim.
HONG KONG SHENG KUNG HUI
(Anglican Church of Hong Kong)
CYCLE OF PRAYER
Please pray for Paul, our Primate and
Archbishop; Peter, Archbishop
Emeritus; Andrew, Bishop of Western
Kowloon; Timothy, Bishop of Eastern
Kowloon and all the faithful members
of the HKSKH, both clerical and lay.
DIOCESAN CYCLE OF PRAYER
Pray for The Province of Hong Kong
Sheng Kung Hui; for the Most Revd Dr
Paul Kwong, the Archbishop Emeritus
Dr Peter Kwong, the Rt Revd Andrew
Chan, the Rt Revd Timothy Kwok, the
Bishop Emeritus Thomas Soo and the
Rt Revd Louis Tsui, and all Provincial
Clergy of HKSKH; for the "Bishop's
Hill" preservation cum redevelopment
project; for the ministry of pastoral
care, missionary and the long-term
development of the Hong Kong Sheng
Kung Hui.
SJC CYCLE OF PRAYER
Pray for St John’s Cathedral, Discovery
Bay Church, St Stephen’s Chapel,
Stanley and Emmanuel Church; for
Dean Matthias, the Chaplains/Priestsin-Charge and staff. Pray for Cathedral
Staff, the Cathedral Choir, and SJC
Lunchtime Recitals.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray for those who are sick.
Bessie Chan Siu Oi, Carl Ye, Richard
Firth, Adam Thompson, Amy Chan Siu
Yuk, The Revd Canon David Dang, Sue
Fletcher, Felix Chan, Ophelia Chan,
Esther Tai, Toung Ming, May Cheng
Wai Sheung, Daisy Chan, Chong Hang
Yung Sebastian, Bronwyn, Juliet
Vasantraj, Revd Johnny Chan, William
Lam, Susana Westlake, Sherry,
Raymond Cheung,
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Jun Clarke, Barbara Saunders, Shelley
Connolly, Bill Cox, Stephen Farmer,
Simon Freeberne, Sin-Joh Chuang,
Maria Erlyn Carbon, Revd Susan
Hewitt, Isaac Wiens, Thomas Wong,
Perronnelle Laskey, Karen Kwong Lee
Yuen Kwan, Sidney Poon, Charles
Dickson, Marlou Calalo, Robert Lee,
Betty Bolloni, Margaret Pini, Carl Ka
Tat Wong, Dennis Shea, Edith Hall,
Brenda Bishop, Martine Porter, Betty
Taylor, Lee Yuk Ying, Parveen
Nadeem, Conor Henderson, Wendy
Larkin, Juvy Bustamante, Wing Sung,
Stephen A Isidro, Robert Trout, Ho Yiu
Sing, Gener Galapon, Novel Chan, Bill
Galvin, Revd Peter Frowley, Philip
Law, Makiko Hardy, Arthuro Canuto,
Wong Lee Mo Fong, Chai Ching Pau
Nyin, Elena Hutchinson, Edward
Wong Kar Yue, Fiona Bamber, Donna
Mae Cuaresma, Inger Kvan, Stephanie
Ng , Abigail Sun and Gerald Bishop.
Please pray for Faithful Departed.
Alma Martin
Prayers will be offered for those
named above during the weekday
Eucharists.
A PRAYER FOR HONG KONG
Lord God, we ask for your blessing
on the people of the Hong Kong SAR:
at this time of divided opinions
strengthen those who work for
mutual understanding; make our
hearts open to hear and embrace
those who hold different views from
ourselves; and may our leaders work
together to seek the common good.
We pray in the name of one who
spread healing and reconciliation
among all people, Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
NOTICES
EDUCATION FOR MINISTRY (EfM)
English-speaking group-enrolment
for 2015 year
What is EfM?
ST JOHN’S MIDNIGHT MASS
CHRISTMAS EVE at 11.00pm
Wednesday 24th December 2014
TICKETS (FREE SEATING)
EFM is for those who want to discover
more about Christianity and their
ministry as baptised Christians. It is a
comprehensive educational programme
involving an intensive study of
Christianity.
Each Christmas Eve St John’s
welcomes over 1300 people to our
Midnight Mass of the Nativity and the
numbers are growing. Unfortunately,
the cathedral only seats a modest 550
people.
Participants learn from their own
experience, from other Christians and
from the traditions of Christianity found
in Scripture and in the history of the
Church. Each week there are assigned
readings and the group meets at the
Cathedral to discuss what they have read.
Groups are led by accredited Mentors. No
specific qualifications are needed to join a
group, beyond an ability to read English
discerningly and make the necessary time
commitment for the meetings and the
weekly readings.
As this is such a popular service we
will be issuing tickets again this year to
ensure that there is a fair distribution
to members of the cathedral
congregations and the wider
community.
The English-speaking Education for
Ministry (EfM) group, meets at 7.00pm
on Monday evenings, and is now recruiting new members for the 2015 year which
starts on 9th February.
An enrolment form can be obtained at the
Cathedral office and should be returned
to the office on or before 12th
January 2015 with a cheque for
HK$2,500 payable to "St John's
Cathedral" by hand or mail addressed
to EfM, St John's Cathedral, 4-8 Garden
Road, Central, Hong Kong.
Due to unprecedented demand,
kindly note that all the allocated
tickets for Midnight Mass this
year have now been distributed.
The remaining 100 tickets will be
distributed at the cathedral door from
9.30pm on Christmas Eve. Please
note that these tickets will be limited
to ONE per person and must be collected personally on the night.
For those without tickets there will be
some limited standing room in the cathedral. There will also be overflow
provision for worshippers in both the
Li Hall and the North Garden. Holy
Communion will be distributed by the
clergy in both venues.
A further fee will be payable later depending on the size of the group.
OPEN AIR CAROLS
BY CATHEDRAL BRASS
You will be contacted by phone or email
as indicated in your enrolment form.
Thank you for your interest in EfM.
If you enjoy the traditional Christmas
sound of a brass band playing carols
out of doors, make sure you are in the
grounds of St Johns on Tuesday
23rd December at lunchtime.
For inquiries please contact John Davison
on ejd@kly.com.hk or Evelyn Chan on
chanevelyn@yahoo.com.
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ST JOHN’S CATHEDRAL MINISTRY TEAM
Dean: The Very Revd Matthias Der
Clergy Ministry Co-ordinators:
Communications & Publicity—The Revd Nigel Gibson
Fellowship & Community Building—The Revd Desmond Cox
Nurturing & Spirituality– The Revd Will Newman
Outreach & Evangelism—The Revd Mark Rogers
Pastoral Care—The Revd Catherine Graham
Worship & Music—The Revd Robert Martin
Chinese Ministry—The Revd Peter Koon & The Revd Wu Wai Ho
Filipino Ministry—The Revd Dwight dela Torre
Outreach Ministries:
Cathedral Bookstore
CLARES/Castaways
Helpers for Domestic Helpers
HIV Education Centre
Mission for Migrant Workers
Prison Ministry
SJC Counselling Centre
Honorary Chaplains:
The Revd John Chynchen
The Revd Hugh Phillipson
The Revd Philip Wickeri
The Revd Jenny Wong Nam
Executive Administrator:
Viola Ip
For further information
on the life and ministry of St John’s Cathedral,
please visit our website at
www.stjohnscathedral.org.hk
or call the office at 2523 4157.
Welcome to St John’s Cathedral!
Please complete this form and hand it to one of the Clergy, a Sidesman or
the Welcome Table.
Surname:
First Name:
__________________________________________________
Name of spouse (if applicable)
__________________________________________________
Names and ages of children (if applicable)
__________________________________________________
E-mail: __________________________ Phone: _____________
Please circle as appropriate:
I attend the 8.00am/9.00am/10.30am/11.45am/2.00pm/6.00pm service.
I am interested in finding out about: Sunday School / Cathedral Choir /
CLARES / Baptism & Confirmation / Flower Guild / Sidesman / Servers
Guild / Fellowship Group / Stewardship Scheme / Uniformed Group.
Other questions / information:
__________________________________________________
Information provided will be treated as confidential.
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