ADVENT EVENTS
SONGS OF ADVENT
Sundays, November 15 - December 6, 9:15 AM
Room 100 & Zoom
Learn about the composer, lyricist, and inspiration behind a different Advent hymn each week.
Sundays, November 15 - December 6, 9:15 AM
Room 100 & Zoom
Learn about the composer, lyricist, and inspiration behind a different Advent hymn each week.
- November 15 - Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
- November 22 - Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
- November 29 - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
- December 6 - In the Bleak Midwinter
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT
Sunday, December 13, 9:30 AM
Fellowship Hall
A congregation-wide event! Children and youth will rehearse during the Sunday school hour beginning in November.
MEN’S CHRISTMAS CAROLING
Tuesday, December 15, 6:30-9:00 PM
Spread the joy of the season by caroling for members of our church family that have been unable to join us regularly in person. We will meet at the church, warmup, then travel together to sing, returning to the church at about 9:00 PM. No musical talent is required!
Sunday, December 13, 9:30 AM
Fellowship Hall
A congregation-wide event! Children and youth will rehearse during the Sunday school hour beginning in November.
MEN’S CHRISTMAS CAROLING
Tuesday, December 15, 6:30-9:00 PM
Spread the joy of the season by caroling for members of our church family that have been unable to join us regularly in person. We will meet at the church, warmup, then travel together to sing, returning to the church at about 9:00 PM. No musical talent is required!
CHRISTMAS EVE
5:00 PM - Family-friendly service
Stories, songs with guitar accompaniment, and permission to wiggle around a bit. In person only.
8:00 PM - Traditional candlelight service
Lessons and carols with Communion, featuring music from our chancel choir and church orchestra. All are welcome for Communion. In person and live-streamed.
5:00 PM - Family-friendly service
Stories, songs with guitar accompaniment, and permission to wiggle around a bit. In person only.
8:00 PM - Traditional candlelight service
Lessons and carols with Communion, featuring music from our chancel choir and church orchestra. All are welcome for Communion. In person and live-streamed.
resources
Devotional booklet
Readings for each week of Advent. Print copies are available in the Narthex. A digital version is available from the church office upon request.
Materials to borrow from the CPC Library
Readings for each week of Advent. Print copies are available in the Narthex. A digital version is available from the church office upon request.
Materials to borrow from the CPC Library
- For Adults - standalone devotionals and holiday fiction.
- For Children - picture books and DVDs for a faith-filled Advent and Christmas.
WHY WE USE BLUE ADVENT CANDLES
Many Christian denominations — Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, and Catholic (to name a few) — use a color called “Sarum Blue” during Advent. Sarum Blue (sometimes simply called Advent blue) is a deep, rich blue traditionally associated with the medieval Sarum Rite, a liturgical rite developed at Salisbury Cathedral in England. It is not a single standardized shade, but it is typically a dark, slightly purplish or royal blue.
Historically, both Advent and Lent used penitential purple. Over time, churches wanted to highlight that Advent is not primarily about penitence but expectant hope and joyful preparation for Christ’s coming. Blue visually separates Advent from Lent’s more somber penitence, while signaling Advent's character of anticipation, watchfulness, and longing.
Blue has long been associated with:
The return to Sarum Blue for Advent derives from the Sarum liturgical tradition (11th–16th centuries). That tradition marks a time when the church revived Anglo-Catholic and medieval practices in the 19th century. Sarum Blue returned with them and has spread to many Protestant liturgical traditions.
Historically, both Advent and Lent used penitential purple. Over time, churches wanted to highlight that Advent is not primarily about penitence but expectant hope and joyful preparation for Christ’s coming. Blue visually separates Advent from Lent’s more somber penitence, while signaling Advent's character of anticipation, watchfulness, and longing.
Blue has long been associated with:
- Hope — like the deep blue of the night sky before dawn.
- Mary — who embodies waiting and expectancy in the Advent story.
- Heaven — pointing toward the divine breaking into human history.
The return to Sarum Blue for Advent derives from the Sarum liturgical tradition (11th–16th centuries). That tradition marks a time when the church revived Anglo-Catholic and medieval practices in the 19th century. Sarum Blue returned with them and has spread to many Protestant liturgical traditions.
MORE ABOUT THE ‘UNTIL THE DAWN' THEME
This year's Advent theme, Until the Dawn, comes from the talented folks at A Sanctified Art. As in previous years, we will be using materials created by them throughout Advent.
Every Advent, we light candles and speak of hope. We wait for the good news that God is born. We prepare with pageants and presents. Yet, in the midst of our busy waiting, we know all too well that the world is not as it should be. Wars rage on, violence persists, new tragedies unfold. God’s promises are real, and God’s promised day has not yet come. This tension keeps us yearning—for a new day, a new way, a world made new.
This series focuses on the actions we can take as we move through the night with hope for tomorrow. Night is a time when the way forward may seem unclear, when our senses are heightened and fear may creep in. And the darkness also brings gifts— rest, regeneration, dreams, intimacy with God. In our sacred stories, angels often arrive in the night, calling for courageous action and singing good news. In the night, Mary’s labor pains crescendo and Christ is born. In the night, shepherds and Magi follow the stars to get closer to God. And so, in the metaphorical night, we will carry on with the work that is ours to do.
Just as surely as the sun rises, God’s steadfast love and mercy are made new every morning. As we move toward the horizon, we will cry out, start somewhere, speak up, take courage, build up, and choose joy. These actions will help us resist despair and put our prayers in motion. Until the day when God’s love reigns and all the earth echoes shalom, let us keep moving, singing, resisting, and rejoicing— trusting that God joins us in the work of Advent.
Every Advent, we light candles and speak of hope. We wait for the good news that God is born. We prepare with pageants and presents. Yet, in the midst of our busy waiting, we know all too well that the world is not as it should be. Wars rage on, violence persists, new tragedies unfold. God’s promises are real, and God’s promised day has not yet come. This tension keeps us yearning—for a new day, a new way, a world made new.
This series focuses on the actions we can take as we move through the night with hope for tomorrow. Night is a time when the way forward may seem unclear, when our senses are heightened and fear may creep in. And the darkness also brings gifts— rest, regeneration, dreams, intimacy with God. In our sacred stories, angels often arrive in the night, calling for courageous action and singing good news. In the night, Mary’s labor pains crescendo and Christ is born. In the night, shepherds and Magi follow the stars to get closer to God. And so, in the metaphorical night, we will carry on with the work that is ours to do.
Just as surely as the sun rises, God’s steadfast love and mercy are made new every morning. As we move toward the horizon, we will cry out, start somewhere, speak up, take courage, build up, and choose joy. These actions will help us resist despair and put our prayers in motion. Until the day when God’s love reigns and all the earth echoes shalom, let us keep moving, singing, resisting, and rejoicing— trusting that God joins us in the work of Advent.