Welcome to Sundays at Home
As we worship remotely during this time of change, each week you’ll find Sundays at Home with Trinity Episcopal Church. We will be featuring the full service recording, as well as the sermon and anthem on their own.
Good morning and welcome to Trinity! So glad you are tuning in virtually for today’s service. If you would like to join us for an in-person service we have started Holy Eucharist in the Courtyard each Sunday at 10am. Simply bring a chair, mask, and a heart for worship.
Once again, thank you for tuning in and for being faithful with your time, talents, and treasures.
Grace and Peace!
Rev. Jonathan V. Adams
Worship for December 6, 2020
Second Sunday of Advent
Please view the embedded video of our service below by clicking on the grey arrow in the middle of the image.
About the Music:
"Messiah" by George Frideric Handel
In all three years of the lectionary, the Gospels for the second Sunday of Advent quote Isaiah's prophecy of John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord. However, it is only in this, Year B, that we read the source of these quotes from Isaiah 40 which are also used in the opening movements of George Frideric Handel's beloved oratorio, "Messiah". For our video service this Sunday we offer this as a special extended Offertory Anthem with our own Metropolitan Opera Tenor, Michael Forest, singing the recitative "Comfort Ye" and aria "Every Valley" followed by the chorus "And the Glory of the Lord", all accompanied with strings and organ.
Organ Voluntaries:
The organ voluntaries for this Sunday are drawn from the set of variations by organist and composer Bruce Neswick entitled "Partita on Winchester New". Comprised of six movements, this work is based on the hymn tune named after the famous English cathedral city of Winchester called "Winchester New", to distinguish it from an already existing tune known as "Winchester Old". We sing the text "On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry" to this tune at #76 in the Hymnal 1982, which correlates with this week's Gospel lesson. The Prelude is variation IV, a haunting setting named "Aria" and for the Postlude I'm playing the exuberant variation VI, "Toccata".
Bruce Neswick, b. 1956, has held numerous posts in churches such as Washington National Cathedral, St. John the Divine in NYC, and is currently at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. He has numerous compositions to his credit, and was on the faculty at Shenandoah University's Church Music Institute several years ago.