Details of our service times during Advent, Christmas and Epiphany have now been confirmed by Parish Council.
Normal weekday services will continue except between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. When a major holy day occurs on a weekday, the usual 8.30am Morning Prayer service will become a Eucharist.
Advent
The season of Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year, and extends across the four Sundays prior to Christmas. This year, Advent 4 is also Christmas Eve. The liturgical colour for Advent is purple (representing the call of God's kingdom on our lives, as purple was associated with the Emperor in Ancient Rome), and a common symbol for Advent is the advent wreath with its four coloured candles and a central white candle. as we light each successive candle at the first service of week, we offer prayers for different spiritual blessings.
Sunday, December 3 • First Sunday of Advent
8.00am Christ Church Cathedral: Sung Eucharist
9.30am Christ Church Cathedral: Eucharist
5.00pm Holy Apostles, Copmanhurst: Eucharist
Sunday, December 10 • Second Sunday of Advent
8.00am Christ Church Cathedral: Sung Eucharist
9.30am Christ Church Cathedral: Eucharist
11.00am All Saints, Lawrence: Morning Prayer
Sunday, December 17 • Third Sunday of Advent
8.00am Christ Church Cathedral: Sung Eucharist
9.30am Christ Church Cathedral: Eucharist
6.00pm Christ Church Cathedral: Carols & Nine Lessons
Sunday, December 24 • Fourth Sunday of Advent
8.00am Christ Church Cathedral: Sung Eucharist
11.00am Holy Apostles, Copmanhurst: Eucharist
11.00am All Saints, Lawrence: Eucharist
Christmas
The common name for this festival of Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is derived from the older name, Christ Mass (just as halloween is derived from All Hallows Eve). In the Western Churches the celebration last 12 days, as the old Christmas Carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, reminds us. (Sadly, that song also reminds us that religious prejudice and fear of people whose religious practices are different from our own is not a new thing.) In the Eastern Churches, Christmas is celebrated on several different dates, with January 6 (our Twelfth Day, the Feast of the Epiphany) as the most common date. The liturgical colour for this special season is white or gold.
Sunday, December 24 • Christmas Eve
5.00pm Christ Church Cathedral: Children’s Service
11.00pm Christ Church Cathedral: Carols
11.30pm Christ Church Cathedral: Midnight Mass
Monday, December 25 • Christmas Day
9.30am Christ Church Cathedral: Sung Eucharist
Sunday, December 31 • Feast of the Holy Family
8.00am Christ Church Cathedral: Sung Eucharist
Sundays after Epiphany
The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord Jesus Christ marks the end of the Twelve days of Christmas. It is special day to celebrate the visit to the Christ Child by the Oriental sages (the magi, or even "wise men") who were not part of the Jewish faith tradition but sensed God calling them closer in the birth of Jesus. The Sundays that follow Epiphany invite us to explore different ways that God is revealed to us today: in Jesus, in nature, in the Bible, in other people, etc. The liturgical colour for the Sundays after the Epiphany is green, even though the proper colour for Epiphany is white or gold.
December 31—January 21
The only service on a Sunday during this period will be the 8.00am Eucharist at Christ Church Cathedral.
Sunday, January 7 • Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus (8.00am Sung Eucharist)
Sunday, January 14 • Second Sunday after Epiphany (8.00am Sung Eucharist)
Sunday, January 21 • Third Sunday after Epiphany (8.00am Sung Eucharist)
Sunday, January 28 • Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Australia Day Celebration in both morning services at the Cathedral.
8.00am Christ Church Cathedral: Sung Eucharist
9.30am Christ Church Cathedral: Eucharist