The Christian Year

The Parish Church of St James
St. James's Road, Hampton Hill, TW12 1DQ (Parish Office 020 8941 6003)

WORSHIP/SERVICES
Section Contents: Services \| Christian Year and other Special Days \| Rites of Passage \| Christian Calendar \| Worship \| Worship/Services Through the Years

The Christian Year - Advent

The Advent Season begins on the Sunday four weeks before Christmas Day, either the fourth Sunday in November or the first Sunday in December. The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus which means arrival or coming. Advent is the beginning of the Christian Year. It has a twofold emphasis – both looking forward to the birth of Jesus at Christmas, but also looking to the coming of Christ in glory.

The four weeks of Advent are a season of expectation and preparation. We prepare to celebrate Christ’s coming at Christmas in his incarnation, his taking on of our humanity. Yet also we look to His final advent as judge at the end of time. In Advent we are not just directed to Christ’s birth, but perhaps uncomfortably, towards His judgement. This is a season for watchfulness and waiting. The colour for the season of Advent is purple.

The first Sunday in December is Advent Sunday and the All Age Service is a Christingle Service. St. James's Players accompany the hymns and play other music during the service. The uniformed groups (Guides, Brownies, Scout Group) join the service and participate by carrying their flags in a colourful parade through the church and, with the Sunday School, often act as sidespersons, read lessons, say prayers, sing, act a play or assist with Parish Breakfast.

Towards the end of the service, every member of the congregation is given a Christingle and then we all form a circle in the darkened church.

The Christingles are then lit, and we pray and then sing the last hymn together.

The Advent Wreath

We make an Advent Wreath which is a symbol of Advent. This is circular with four candles placed around it and a fifth candle in the centre.

The outer candles are lit week by week during Advent, one candle in the first week, two in the second week and so on. The candle in the centre, called the Christ candle, is lit on Christmas morning, to mark the birth of Christ, the light of the world. It is white, the colour associated with angels and the birth of Jesus. The unlit candles represent darkness which gradually gives way to the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son, Jesus, as the candles are lit week by week.

Christingle

Christingles were established by the Moravian Church in 1747 as a symbol of Christ's light and love. The Children's Society introduced them to the Church of England in 1968 and they have since become a regular part of celebrating the beginning of Advent.

Most Christingle celebrations take the form of a church service, but they can also take place at schools or other community venues. At St. James's Church the first Sunday in Advent always takes the form of a Christingle service. The children usually to help make the Christingles.

The Christingle itself is made up of the following:
• An orange which represents the world and all it provides.
• A lighted candle, stuck into the orange, which represents Jesus, the Light of the World and helps us see in the darkness.

• The red ribbon or tape around the middle of the orange shows God's love to be present everywhere, stretching to all.
• The four cocktail sticks bearing dried fruit and sweets stuck into the orange signify the four seasons and the fruits of the earth.
See the 2007 Christingle Service Sheet and the Intercessions written and read by the Jays Sunday School.

Jesse Trees

Jesse Trees are tree decorated each week, by the children, with ornaments or objects that represent Old Testament events from Creation to the Birth of Jesus. The ornaments are traditionally handmade, and are added as a group on each Sunday in Advent, with explanations of the symbols and a brief verse of Scripture from the story represented.

Jesse Trees date back to the middle ages. The Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1:"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit." It is a vehicle to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history. (Jesse was the father of King David.) The Branch is a biblical sign of newness out of discouragement, which became a way to talk about the expected messiah (e.g., Jer 23:5). It is therefore an appropriate symbol of Jesus the Christ, who is the revelation of the grace and faithfulness of God.

Our Jesse Tree
Starting on the first Sunday in Advent the Sunday School assembled a Jesse tree. The idea of a Jesse tree comes from Isaiah 11, 1-9 where God promises a discouraged nation that the glory they remember from David’s time will come again.

They will have another king from Jesse’s family, in whose reign the whole earth will know God. As Christians, we see that promise fulfilled in Jesus, and so we use a Jesse tree and decorate it with reminders of how God prepared the world for that kingdom. So the branch in the Baptistery grew with items that the children made each week from then until Christmas.

The Children’s Society

The collection at our annual Christingle Service always goes to The Children’s Society. This year, the charity celebrates 125 years of life saving work with some of the most marginalised children in our society. Its work remains as important today.

In 1881 Edward Rudolf founded the Church of England Waifs and Strays’ Society after two children who used to attend his Sunday school were found begging for food on the street. He couldn’t bear to see children so impoverished and without hope, understanding and support. And 125 years later the society he founded still feels the same way.

The world may be a very different place now, and The Waifs and Strays’ Society is now the Church of England Children’s Society, but sadly many of the problems that existed all those years ago still affect children today. For 125 years The Children’s Society has worked in partnership with the Church to support children in trouble with the law, disabled children, children at risk on the streets and young refugees, as well as tackling abuse and drug and alcohol issues affecting children:
• From enabling children to develop a trade to keep them out of trouble a hundred years ago, to current preventative and restorative justice work with young people.
• From providing safe, secure housing for young ‘waifs’ on the Victorian streets, to rescuing homeless children from the streets today, often reconciling them with their families.
• From assisting migrant children of the industrial revolution in the late nineteenth century, to supporting refugee children escaping persecution in the twenty-first century.
• From championing the rights of disabled children, promoting education and apprenticeships in the early twentieth century, to involving children with disabilities in the decisions that affect them to ensure they enjoy a full and active life today.
Times may have changed, and The Children’s Society is now able to help over 50,000 children and families a year, but the challenges remain the same. That’s why Christingle is so important.

The Christingle services provide vital funds to support today’s vulnerable children. Thanks to the continued participation of churches around the country, and the generosity of many people, The Children’s Society is in a stronger position than ever to continue its work for children.

Further Information
	Contact the Parish Office 020 8941 6003 or the The Vicar 020 8979 2069
	2006 Christingle Service Sheet \| 2007 Christingle Service Sheet \| 2007 Intercessions by the Jays
	Associated pages on this website: Christmas Through the Years: Advent Services (1884 December)
	Links to other websites: The Children's Society

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