An Adventure in Ministry

It came upon a midnight clear. This is a fascinating carol. The first verse reads: “It came upon a midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth, To touch their harps of Gold; ‘Peace on the Earth, Goodwill to men, From Heaven’s all-gracious king.’ The world in solemn stillness lay To hear the angel’s sing.” Sometimes I wonder what it must have been like when the angels sang. Last week I went to see ‘Messiah’ sung by the local choral society, and I think it have me a glimpse, especially in the Hallelujah Chorus! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if the angels came today, to our society. Now I know it would probably look nothing like this…but just imagine     The second and third verses of this Carol give a great truth. The second verse reads: “But with the woes of sin and strife, The world has suffered long, Beneath the angel-strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong, And man, at wa...

In my consideration of Advent and with Christmas approaching I have been thinking a lot about Mary and the part she played in the Christmas Story. The beautiful hymn 'Gabriel's message' kept running through my mind. Why not take a moment and listen to the song The words to this song are beautiful. They say: The angel Gabriel from heaven came,  His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame, 'All hail' said he  'Thous lowly maiden Mary' Most highly favoured Lady, Gloria! 'For known a blessed mother thou shalt be; All generations laud and honour thee, Thy son shall be emmanuel, by seers foretold' Most highly favoured Lady. Gloria! The gentle Mary meekly bowed her head; 'To me be as it pleases God,' She said 'My soul shall laud and magnify his Holy name' Most highly favoured lady. Gloria! Whilst considering the Christmas story and Mary, I can't help but wonder whether it wasn't quite so ne...

At the Salvation Army in Mold we have a coffee shop and throughout Advent we are pausing on a Wednesday and Saturday morning to consider some of carols we sing at Christmas and what they mean.  On Saturday we started thinking about advent and the carol O come O come Immanuel. The words are beautiful.  1. O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. 2. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o'er the grave.   3. O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight! 4. O come, Thou Key of David, come, And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery.   ...