Hanging of the Greens Service 2021

Join us at 6:30pm on November 28th, 2021 as we begin Advent and celebrate the timeless tradition of “the hanging of the greens.”

Bulletin

• Welcome and Announcements
• Prelude
• Bringing in the Light of Christ
• Call to Worship
  • Leader: In the days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hill; all nations stream to it. Many people shall come saying,
  • All: Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that God may teach us His ways and that we may walk in God’s path.
  • Leader: And with what shall we come to God’s house?
  • All: With branches of cedar and holly, evergreens and pine! Make the church fragrant with the smell of living things! Hang the greens, listen to the words of the prophets, and let us prepare both this space and our hearts for the One who comes to give us second birth!
• Hymn of Praise
  • Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
• The Meaning of the Advent Wreath
• Lighting of the Prophet’s Candle
• Litany of the Greens
  • L: How shall we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, the King?
  • P: With branches of cedar, the tree of royalty.
  • L: How shall we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, the eternal Christ?
  • P: With garlands of pine and fir, whose leaves are ever living, ever green.
  • L: How shall we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, our Savior?
  • P: With wreaths of holly and ivy, symbolizing his passion, death and resurrection.
  • L: How shall we prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus, the Son of God?
  • P: By hearing again the words of the prophets who foretold the saving work of God.
  • L: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
  • All: Glory to God in the highest!
• “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” (vs 1,2) 211
  • The Prophet: Jeremiah 23:5-6
  • The Evangelist: John 12:12-13
  • The Meaning of the Cedar
• “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” (vs 3,4) 211
  • The Prophet: Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
  • The Evangelist: John 3:16
  • The Meaning of the Garlands & Wreaths
• “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed” (vs 1,3) 203
  • The Prophet: Isaiah 53:1-9
  • The Evangelist: John 1:9-14
  • The Meaning of the Holly
• “0 Come, All Ye Faithful” (vs 1,3, 4) 234
  • The Prophet: Isaiah 60:1-5a
  • The Evangelist: 1 John 1:5-10
  • The Meaning of the Poinsettia
• “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (vs 1,3) 230
  • The Prophet: Psalm 103:1-5
  • The Evangelist: 1 Peter 2:23-25
  • The Meaning of the Mistletoe
• “Joy to the World” (vs 3) 246
  • The Prophet: Genesis 1:1-4
  • The Evangelist: John 1:1-5, 8:12
  • The Meaning of the Lighting of the Tree
• The Blessing of the Chrismon Tree

Holy Lord, we come with joy to celebrate the birth of your Son, who rescued us from the darkness of sin by making the cross a tree of life and light. May this tree, arrayed in splendor, remind us of the life-giving cross of Christ, that we may always rejoice in the new life that shines in our hearts. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

• “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light”
• The Gifts of Christmas
• Hanging of the Chrismons
• Presentation of the Manger
• Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
  • Great is Thy Faithfulness
• Joy to the World
• Taking the Light of Christ into the World
• Postlude