Ministry & Liturgy October 2009, Vol 36 Num 8

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October 2009
Volume 36 Number 8

This is the night … O night divine

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(PDF format) $6

ON THE COVER:
"Archangel Paper-cut" by Nancy Chinn. Paper lace on painted paper. Commissioned by the 1997 Montreat Conferences on Worship and Music.

From Inside ML: Every year we bemoan the commercialism of the secular Christmas season, which starts earlier each year. Last year in my home state of New Jersey, it began before Halloween. I thought it might threaten Labor Day this year, but some stores had Christmas-in-July sales right in the middle of summer. With such focus on the “things” of Christmas, no wonder we struggle to find peace in an Advent that has all the outward calm of a runaway train. Celebrating the Christmas season definitely feels countercultural. Before we’ve finished the octave of Christmas, gifts have been returned and trees hauled to the curb. There’s not a seasonal song to be heard anywhere beyond church doors. Holding on to our Christmas joy seems almost impossible. In fact, it really is impossible if we celebrate it as an isolated moment in time without centering it in the liturgical year. (More)