Advent - It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

It came upon the midnight clear,
that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth
to touch their harps of gold:
‘Peace on the earth, goodwill to all,
from heav'n's all-gracious King!'
The world in solemn stillness lay
to hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,
with peaceful wings unfurled;
and still their heav’nly music floats
o'er all the weary world:
above its sad and lowly plains
they bend on hov’ring wing;
and ever o'er its Babel-sounds
the blessèd angels sing.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife
the world has suffered long;
beneath the angel-strain have rolled
two thousand years of wrong;
and warring humankind hears not
the love-song which they bring;
O hush the noise of mortal strife,
and hear the angels sing!

For lo, the days are hast'ning on,
by prophets seen of old,
when with the ever-circling years
comes round the age of gold;
when peace shall over all the earth
its ancient splendours fling,
and all the world give back the song
which now the angels sing.

Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810-1876)

I was up at the sharp end of church again this morning, as the first acolyte. Happily, I made no mistakes today (that I’m aware of!), and feel I’m settling well into the sanctuary team now. A group of us went straight from coffee to the venue for our friend Christine’s 80th birthday party tomorrow, to help her and her husband put up balloons, banners and glittery bits, set out tables and chairs, and arrange tablecloths, plates and glasses. It all looks lovely now, and we hope Christine can relax tomorrow at her party and mingle with her 70 or so guests.

The nativity in my blip is tiny, just a couple of inches tall, and was made in Venice from glass which is where I got it from. I’ve worked some magic with a couple of editing apps to set the scene on a clear and starry night.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jAq29n4BGoA