Christmas Service Schedule at St. John’s

Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) – 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Christmas Day (Dec. 25) – 10 a.m.

Sunday, Dec. 31 – 10 a.m. - Christmas Lessons & Carols with Holy Eucharist

Sunday, Jan. 7 – 5 p.m. - Epiphany Observance

Please join St. John's as we celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas season. You are always welcome at any of our services. More details about the schedule are below.

Sunday, December 24

In the traditional liturgical calendar of the church, which the Episcopal Church observes, there are no Christmas celebrations before the evening of December 24 (Christmas Eve). Because the 24^th falls on a Sunday this year, any morning services held that day are for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, not Christmas. (So don’t come to the 10 a.m. service on Dec. 24 expecting a Christmas service!)

10 a.m. – Fourth Sunday of Advent (Rite II)

Instead of our usual two Sunday services at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., on Dec. 24 we will have just one morning service, at 10 a.m. This will be our observance of the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

Following the 10 a.m. service, we will all pitch in to transform the church from Advent to Christmas. We will be decorating wreaths, garlands, adding candle decoration and attaching the aisle tapers to the pews – a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.

4 p.m. – Family Christmas Eve Service (Rite “III”)

This service will be in the style of our informal, family-friendly service, “Feast @ 5” (which is normally held at 5 p.m. on the first Sunday of the month). A “reader’s theater” style Christmas Pageant, with children and adults participating, will take the place of a sermon at this service. There will be Christmas carols, the reading of the Christmas story, and a spoken service of Holy Communion.

9 p.m. – Traditional Christmas Eve Service (Rite II)

Although held earlier than a “Midnight Mass,” this service will be in that style. We will pull out all the stops to celebrate the Incarnation of our Lord in high-church, Episcopal style. The choir will sing, special musicians will play, and the priest will chant the entire Eucharistic prayer. Incense will be part of this service.

Monday, December 25

10 a.m. – Holy Eucharist (Rite II)

This is the “quieter” Christmas service, a simple celebration of Holy Communion on the day of our Lord’s birth. There will be organ music and Christmas carols. No incense will be used at this service.

Sunday, December 31

10 a.m. – Christmas Lessons & Carols with Holy Eucharist (Rite II)

Christmas is not just one day, but a season lasting 12 days! On this 7^th day of Christmas, the first Sunday after Christmas Day, we will have a service of Lessons and Carols to help us contemplate the meaning and background of the Christmas story and to give us an opportunity to sing even more of the church's great wealth of Christmas songs. We will hear nine readings from scripture that tell the Christmas story from the prophecies through its fulfillment, and sing a Christmas carol after each reading. Holy Communion will be part of this service.

Sunday, January 7

5 p.m. – Epiphany Observance

Join us to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany (Jan. 6) on Sunday, Jan. 7 (a day later) at our monthly Feast @ 5 service, an informal, family-friendly service on the first Sunday of the month. We will celebrate the arrival of the magi or “wise men” (the three kings) to visit the Christ child. The service runs about 45 minutes and will be followed by dinner from Zameen's Mediterranean and a King's Cake.

Jan. 7 – 8 a.m., Holy Eucharist, Rite I and 10 a.m.  Holy Eucharist, Rite II –The two morning services will observe the liturgically correct “First Sunday after the Epiphany,” which commemorates the Baptism of Our Lord.