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.
Please join us this week for Christmas Eve services in the Courtyard! We will also have a virtual service available at 5pm, which will be available here on our website, on Facebook, and sent to you via email.
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 20, 2020
Fourth 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:
The opening voluntary this week is the Prelude on "Rorate Caeli" by the French organist and composer Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968). The Gregorian Chant melody is given a beautiful, tranquil setting in the style of an ornamented chorale, where the tune is given a very elaborate, highly embellished treatment. The text, “Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One,” is from the opening words of Isaiah 45:8 in the Vulgate bible, a late 4th century Latin translation. By the 17th century, this text was merged with other passages to form the Advent Prose and applied to liturgies and choral music for the Advent Season. In the Roman Rite, this text is used as the Introit for the Fourth Sunday in Advent.
The text of hymn 56, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is based on an 8th century poem that has traditionally been used as antiphons attached to the Magnificat at Vespers from Dec. 17 through 23 with one antiphon sung each day as noted in our Hymnal 1982. The second word of each antiphon creates an inverse acrostic which if one verse is sung each day reveals the full text, ERO CRAS, on the day before Christmas Eve which is Latin for "I shall be present tomorrow".
"Dixit Maria" was written in 1591 by German composer and organist Hans Leo Hassler and is conducted by our Music Intern Ryan Davis. The text is Mary's response to the Angel Gabriel in the story of the Annunciation and is the final verse of the Gospel lesson from Luke appointed for this Sunday. Sung in Latin, it translates as:
Mary said to the Angel:
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord,
let it be done to me, according to your word.
The readings for this Sunday focus on Mary the mother of Jesus, and their lineage from David. The Gospel story of the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary is the origin of the Magnificat (‘My soul doth magnify the Lord’), best known as the first canticle at Evensong. The final organ voluntary is one of a series of ninety “Magnificat Fugues” written by the German composer Johann Pachelbel, a contemporary of J. S. Bach. Though most well known for his “Canon in D,” Pachelbel wrote a large body of fine organ music, including these fugues which were written towards the end of his life, and were often played to compliment the chanting of the Magnificat at Vespers services