Twelve Days of Christmas – 7th Day – Dec. 31st – FAMILY

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

TwelveDays-Slide87On this the Seventh Day of Christmas, Dec. 31st, the theological key word is FAMILY.  The theme music for today is Away in a Manger, attributed to James Murray (1887 A.D.).   In this video, I demonstrate the meaning of the word based on Scripture from both the Old and New Testament and illustrated with paintings, icons, mosaics, photographs and stained glass windows from the 6th through the 20th Century.

Watch the Video.   Listen to the Podcast version.

For tomorrow, Jan. 1st, the Eighth Day of Christmas, the key word is CHURCH.

May God continue to bless you in the coming New Year for all that you do in His Name.  Amen.

Twelve Days of Christmas – 6th Day – Dec. 30th – JOY

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

TwelveDays-Slide76For this the Sixth Day of Christmas, Dec. 30th, the key theological word is JOY.  Not surprisingly, the opening music is Joy to the World, first published by the prolific hymn-writer Isaac Watts in 1719 A.D. as a song about the Second Coming, in this case played on modern electronic instruments.   Joy to the World is Hymn No. 38 in the St. Chrysostom Hymnal, arranged to the tradition tune, Antioch, from a hymnal published in 1926 A.D.

The Twelve Days of Christmas video series is a celebration of key theological words or phrases, one each for the twelve days beginning on Christmas Day and ending of Epiphany Eve, Jan. 5th.  It has no connection whatsoever with the silly song of the same name.

Watch the Video.    Listen to the Podcast version.

The Key Word for tomorrow, Dec. 31st, is Family.

Thank you to all who have followed the Anglican Internet Church ministry online and in print in A.D. 2017.  You can subscribe to these Blog postings by clicking on the “Follow Anglican Internet Church” tab in the right column or forward the entries to friends, neighbors and family.

Twelve Days of Christmas – Day 5 – Dec. 29th – OBEDIENCE

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

TwelveDays-Slide54For this the Fifth Day of Christmas, Dec. 29th, the key word is OBEDIENCE.  The musical introduction is Cecil Francis Alexander’s carol for children, Once in Royal David’s City, written in 1848 A.D.  For this video the tune is Unser Herrscher.  Obedience means following the will of God, as both the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph did in the Nativity accounts in the Gospels.

Watch the video.   Listen to the Podcast version.

Tomorrow, Dec. 30th, the Sixth Day of Christmas, the key word is joy.

Twelve Days of Christmas – 4th Day – Dec. 28th – COMPASSION

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

TwelveDays-Slide43On this the 4th Day of Christmas, Dec. 28th, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the key word is Compassion.  The musical theme is a keyboard arrangement of
(or Nowell in Anglican usage).   It is more important than ever to rely upon the traditional message of the Christian Church.  The anti-religion/anti-Christian secularists have won if we forget the doctrines and the history the Church Universal has received and handed down since the time of the Apostles.   In this Christmas season remembrance of Compassion is important since persecution of Christians around the world is rising, with more evidence of it coming in almost daily.

Watch the video.   Listen to the Podcast version.

The video series celebrates one key word or phrase on each of the days from Christmas Day to Epiphany Eve (Jan. 5).  On the Fifth Day, Dec. 29, the key word will be Obedience.

Twelve Days of Christmas – 3rd Day – Dec. 27 – Peace

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

TwelveDays-Slide27For the Third Day of Christmas, Dec. 27th, the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, the key word is PEACE.  The opening musical theme is a French horn solo inspired by Silent Night (Joseph Mohr).

This episode includes five illustrations ranging from the 6th to the 15th Century and several quotations from the Gospel of St. John and the Epistles of St. Paul to the Romans, Galatians and Philippians.

The series offers one episode for each of the twelve days beginning with Christmas Day and ending on Epiphany Eve with a key theological word or phrase for each day.  I hope the episodes help you in the constant struggle against the over-commercialization of Christmas.  May God grant you His peace in your life and work.

Watch the Video.   Listen to the Podcast version.

Twelve Days of Christmas – Day Two – Dec. 26th – Forgiveness

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

TwelveDays-Slide13On the Second Day of Christmas, December 26th, the Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr, the key word is FORGIVENESS.  In the AIC Seasonal Video series, The Twelve Days of Christmas, the theme music for the day is an adaptation of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (Edward Hamilton Sears, 1846 A.D.).

At the Shibley household Christmas begins on Christmas Day and does not end until January 5th, Epiphany Eve.  We don’t take down the tree until 1/5 and leave the lights, inside and out, working through all twelve days.    I invite you to join the tradition and keep your lights burning.   And please join us daily for the remainder of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Tomorrow’s theme word is PEACE.

Watch the Video.    Listen to the Podcast

Twelve Days of Christmas – 1st Day – Dec. 25th – Love

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

TwelveDays-Slide4Merry Christmas to all the followers of the Anglican Internet Church around the world.  May the gracious Lord God bless you today and all the days to come.

Today is December 25th, the First Day of Christmas, and the Key Word is Love.  I invite you to enjoy this combination of art, music and theology and to join us again each day through the 12-day cycle ending on Epiphany Eve, Jan. 5th, with a key word or phrase for each of the days.  And No!  This series has nothing to do with the silly song of the same name.  In fact, it’s the opposite, offered in the hope of helping Christians return to a more spiritual-minded celebration of this glorious Feast.

Watch the Video.     Listen to the Podcast.

Lessons & Carols for Christmas Eve

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

LessonsCarols-Title2Here’s an encore performance of Lessons & Carols for Christmas Eve with Christian art through the ages blended with Scripture readings and music in the Anglican Christmas tradition.  The program has a bonus reading with voice responses from the AIC’s Antiphons for Christmas Eve which I used at my former parish.

The title picture is a stained glass window by F. X. Zettler, one of the foremost of stained glass artists in Europe, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Music includes Hark! the Herald Angels Sing; The First Nowell; Good Christian Men, Rejoice; It Came Upon the Midnight Clear; What Child is This?; Away in a Manger; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Joy to the World; Once in Royal David’s City; and, of course, Silent Night.

Watch the Video.      Listen to the Podcast.

Tomorrow I will begin posting links to The Twelve Days of Christmas series.   Please be sure to attend your local service of Lessons and Carols.

Great “O” Antiphons – O Emmanuel – Dec. 24th

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

The final Great “O” Antiphon episode is here, with O Emmanuel for Dec. 24th.  Many of Christianity’s problems in the modern world are owed to the Church’s reluctance to teach the kind of faith that generated the Great “O” Antiphons in the 12th C.  The hymn for today is, of course, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, sung by soloist Jared Haselbarth.  Mr. Haselbarth’s music is available in a boxed set of DVDs from nab audio.com.

For this occasion, I’ve integrated the Christmas Eve program from my former parish into the traditional wording.  For interested listeners/viewers the hauntingly evocative theme music for the series was purchased from a vendor who identifies the artist as Ricky Theory.

Watch the Video.      Listen to the Podcast

Later today I will post Lessons & Carols for Christmas Eve, an electronic version of the classic Christmas Eve service offered by nearly every Anglican parish everywhere but made available here for a wider audience.  The program leads into another series, The Twelve Days of Christmas, with a theme word or phrase for each day from Christmas Day to Epiphany Eve.

 

Great “O” Antiphons – O Rex Gentium – Dec. 23rd

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

O-Antiphons-Slide55Join us for today’s Great “O” Antiphons observation for December 23rd, when the key words are O Rex Gentium, or King of Nations.  This presentation was adapted, with illustrations and music, from the original 12th C. office.

Today’s hymn is The Coming of Our God by Charles Coffin, circa 1736 A.D.  In the St. Chrysostom Hymnal the same hymn (Advent Hymn No. 4)  is titled The Advent of Our King.  The soloist is Mr. Jared Haselbarth, whose music catalogue is available at http://www.nabaudio.com.  This and other teaching and worship videos are linked from the Digital Library page on this site.

Tomorrow there will be links to both the office for Dec. 24th, O Emmanuel, and also the AIC Seasonal Video, Lessons and Carols for Christmas Eve.

Watch the video.   Listen to the Podcast

The AIC urges you to attend a local Church for Holy Communion on Sunday, Dec. 24th, and, if available, a local Lessons and Carols service.  Our version of Lessons and Carols is available 24/7 via the Web.