Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.  A voice cries out: 
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
Isaiah 40:1, 3
A    N E W    S E A S O N.              P R E P A R E     T H E     W A Y.        A     N E W     Y E A R.
A   D   V   E   N   T      2 0 2 0          A T         G   O   O   D     S   H   E   P   H   E   R   D
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Wednesdays at 7pm on ZOOM immediately preceding
​Evening Prayer with Mo. Joyce
When we sing hymns, even hymns we know well and hold dear, we don’t always stop to look at what they are saying and what distinctive theological perspective they express.
But Advent is a season that invites us to slow down, pay attention, and prepare ourselves to welcome Christ anew into our lives.
On 3 successive Wednesday evenings in December, you are invited to join our Priest-in-Charge, Brooks Graebner, for an opportunity to look more closely at three great Christmas hymns and what they proclaim. All three were produced by Anglicans, and as we shall see, they reflect the underlying theological convictions of their authors.

On December 2,
we’ll examine “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (H-87)” by Charles Wesley, who, along with his brother, John, were leaders in the Evangelical Movement of the 18th century.

On December 9,
we’ll turn to “O Come, all ye faithful (H-83)” by the 19th-century Anglo-Catholic priest, Frederick Oakeley.

And on December 16,
we’ll conclude the series by looking at “O Little Town of Bethlehem (H-79)” by the Broad-Church priest and bishop, Phillips Brooks.

All sessions will start at 7:00 p.m., and conclude in time for us to join in Evening Prayer with Mother Joyce at 8:00 p.m.
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Never miss a session.
Visit the full playlist HERE.
Originally conceived as an in-person offering for parishioners and the wider neighborhood alike, the rapidly shifting pandemic landscape required us to move the open house online. 
All are still welcome to enter into what we hope will be a virtual sanctuary as we bring our sacred spaces to you for quiet prayer and reflection set against a backdrop of seasonal selections from our local musicians' community.
If you have missed the glorious sounds of live music in the church, this is the perfect opportunity to refuel and refresh as we prepare the way for the Word made flesh. And knowing that a year like this one calls for the balm of familiar comforts, we will be including some beloved Christmas carols in the repertoire because if ever a year needed as much Christmas as it can get, 2020 is it.
Sleepers, wake! Come and see!
Every Saturday morning during Advent
available for on-demand streaming beginning at 10:00 a.m. on our parish website, our parish YouTube channel
​and our Facebook page.
THE LINEUP
Saturday, November 28      I Advent
Emily Burgess, organ
Saturday, December 5         II Advent
Laura Byrne, harp
Pamela Nelson, flute
Saturday, December 12       III Advent
Avery Seiger, violin
Dwayne Holloway,  organ/piano
Saturday, December 19       IV Advent
Paul Neebe, trumpet
HELP WANTED:
Sign up HERE to be a volunteer docent.
This Advent, our friends at Raleigh Mennonite Church are delighted to host Carole Baker's art installation,
Mary: The Paper Doll Project.
Baker created four life-size Marys representing four Marian visitations from around the world. This exhibit is interactive as the outer garments are interchangeable. You'll be able to change them, just like a giant paper doll. Baker created the exhibit to explore the universality and particularity of Mary.
 
The exhibit will be housed in the connector between the church and the parish life center. The doors on either side of the connector will remain open at all times when the exhibit is receiving visitors ensuring the air in the space remains circulating for safety, and additional safeguards are to be in place as well.
 
Come and interact with the Marys:
​Dec 5-23, Wednesdays from 4-6 pm and Saturdays from 1-3 pm.
​We require social distance, masks on, sanitizer or gloves before handling the exhibit, and one person or group admitted at a time. 

We invite you also to check out this short video Duke Chapel produced when it hosted the installation a couple years back.