From RevKev, Pender’s Associate Pastor – “As it was, so it is, Christmas about Jesus. We are all distracted by the glitz and festivities, but let us hear the sound of Angels and the call to worship our Newborn King. Just in time for Christmas, a gift from God to you: A baby in a manger who would love us through and through.
Just In Time For Christmas, the latest album release by JC Reigns. 100% of the sales from this CD go to Western Fairfax Christian Ministries to support their mission of providing life-essential support to those needing assistance.
CDs available for purchase at Pender UMC, Fairfax Va and the WFCM Thrift Store in Chantilly, Va. Visit www.jcreigns.org for more information and for a link to purchase digital copies.”
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strainsCHORUS:
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song? Chorus
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him Whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King. Chorus
See Him in a manger laid
Jesus Lord of heaven and earth;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
With us sing our Savior’s birth. Chorus
This is a traditional French carol (Les Anges dans nos Campagnes) that was translated into English by Bishop James Chadwick.
This carol commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child.
In 2009, Andrea Bocelli and David Foster collaborated to produce a Christmas album with a number of other music legends. This is “Angels We Have Heard on High” with choir and orchestra.
Isaac Watts wrote the words to “Joy to the World” in 1719, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The hymn originally glorified Christ’s triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a song celebrating His first coming. Only the second half of Watts’ lyrics are still used today.
The music was adapted and arranged to Watts’ lyrics by Lowell Mason in 1839 from an older melody which was then believed to have originated from Handel. The name “Antioch” is generally used for the hymn tune.
As of the late 20th century, “Joy to the World” was the most-published Christmas hymn in North America.
All of the mystery, the awe, and the palpable excitement of that night are imaginatively captured in a Christmas mosaic that combines fragments of the familiar with Pepper Choplin’s always-unique perspective in word and music. “Night of the Father’s Love” skillfully guides the listener through the Christmas story, as though hearing it again for the first time.
Three narrators interject with familiar scripture passages and personal reflections, while an intriguing array of musical styles beautifully express the essence of Christmas: the gift of the Father’s love.
The Cantata will be presented by Pender’s Adult Choir and orchestra on December 16, 2012 at the 8:15 and 11:00 Services.
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