For those of us in the Protestant tradition, Epiphany is one of those dates on the church calendar that is often overlooked. In the Western Church, Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th. In the Orthodox tradition, Epiphany is celebrated on January 19th. This is due to a difference in calendars. The Gregorian calendar is used in most of the world and for the international date and time standard (ISO). But in some parts of the [...]
One of the things I love about the Christmas season is the music, especially the old traditional Christmas carols. Many of them date back to the 19th century, but some date to the 17th and 18th centuries or are set to music that is much older. One of my favorites is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. According to C. Michael Hawn, its origins can be traced to an 8th or 9th century Latin antiphon. An [...]
When I was a child, we had an Advent Calendar that my Mom had made. It was made of red felt with white felt numbers to count the days and little ribbons under each number where she would tie Brach’s Christmas Nougat candies. My sisters and I looked forward each evening to taking one more candy off and seeing Christmas get one day closer. I don’t know about you, but for me, the Advent calendar [...]
Have you ever sat back and thoughtfully read through the first few chapters of Genesis? Have you ever really contemplated Creation? The story begins with, “In the beginning… God” In eternity past, before Creation, before time as we know it began, there was the Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. In Colossians, we read, Col. 1:15 [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all [...]
