Tonight our youth led the congregation in its Advent Service of Joy & Light. Candlelit and serene, it was truly a wonderful service, with youth and adults offering inspired songs and articulate readings in anticipation of Christmas. What follows is the liturgy we used. The scriptures are taken from the NRSV, the numbers are those in the United Methodist Hymnal, and the other prayers, as well as the arrangement itself, are mine. Perhaps this will be a blessing to you this week as you wait and hope for the coming of the holy one.


Advent Service of Joy & Light
Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church

Words of Comfort and Hope: Isaiah 40:1-11
Reader 1: Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Reader 2: Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
Reader 3: A voice cries out:
Reader 4: “In the wilderness…”
Reader 5: “…prepare the way of the Lord,”
Reader 6: “make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
Reader 7: “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low;
Reader 8: the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
Reader 9: Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed
Reader10: and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Reader 3: A voice says, “Cry out!”
Reader 4: And I said, “What shall I cry?”
Reader 1: All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field.
Reader 2: The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Reader 7: surely the people are grass.
Reader 2: The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever
Reader 9: Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings;
Reader 6: lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
Reader 5: lift it up, do nor fear;
Reader 10: say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
Reader 8: See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
Reader 1: He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
Reader 2: he will gather the lambs in his arms
Reader 3: and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

Opening Prayer (Leader)
God of our coming and our going, God of our beginning and our ending, God of our living and our dying, come and be among us. Come as we share our hearts with one another through prayer and praise. Come as we fall silent and whisper your name. With our sisters and brothers in this place and with the communion of saints in all ages and places, we wait and hope to meet the holy one. Into this time of worship, into this season of expectation, into our very lives, O God, come.

Call to Silence: Let All Mortal Flesh (No. 626)
Silent Prayers

Praying the Psalms: Psalm 131
Reader 6: O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
Reader 8: But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul Is like the weaned child that is with me.
ALL: O ISRAEL, HOPE IN THE LORD FROM THIS TIME ON AND FOREVERMORE.

The Righteous Ruler: Isaiah 9:1-5; 11:1-9
Reader 10: But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness---on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
Reader 3: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
Reader 5: The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Hymn of Invitation: Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown (No. 386)

Remembering the Promise: Isaiah 9:6-7
Reader 4: For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Reader 2: His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Anticipating the Lord: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (No. 211)

Offering Ourselves Through Song
"Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus" (The Walton Family)
"Faithful Father" (Hinton Avenue Youth Praise Band)

The Word Made Flesh: Matthew 1:18b-23
Reader 8: When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”

The Magnificat: Luke 1:46b-55
Reader 7: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

Hymns of Praise: Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (No. 213) Marching to Zion (No. 733)

Exhortation for Patience: James 5:7-10
Reader 1: Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Affirming the Call: This Little Light of Mine (No. 585)

A New Song: Psalm 96
Reader 6: O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Reader 4: Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
Reader 2: Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.
Reader 10: For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods.
Reader 5: For all the gods of the people are idols, but the Lord make the heavens.
Reader 9: Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Reader 1: Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Reader 7: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts.
Reader 8: Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth.
Reader 3: Say among the nations, “The Lord is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.”
Reader 2: Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
Reader 4: let the field exult, and everything in it.
Reader 6: Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.

Sharing the Truth: Pass It On (No. 572)

Benediction: Wait and Hope!
Leader: In the darkness of your fear and doubt . . .
ALL: WAIT AND HOPE!
Leader: When all the world seems lost and your life is uncertain . . .
ALL: WAIT AND HOPE!
Leader: Expecting that God will do something new, even in these days, even in this place . . .
ALL: WAIT AND HOPE!
Leader: Awaiting the birth of the Messiah . . .
ALL: WAIT AND HOPE!
Leader: Sisters and brothers, wait and hope!
ALL: AMEN!

---Leading in Worship---
Readers: Meredith Bradshaw, Emma Clements, Jessica Dubuque, Rose Dubuque, Jeremy Hopkins, Caitlyn Koehn, JC Koehn, Lina Schneider, Casey Smith, Ashley Stollings, David Vaughan, Lin Walton
Musicians: Jessica Dubuque, Rose Dubuque, Babs Fickes, Isaac Hopkins, Lin Walton
Ushers: Emma Clements, Daiquan Harris, Caitlyn Koehn, Ashley Stollings

Let me tell you about my friend David Wernet. David is a committed, passionate Christian who devotes himself to sharing good news through music and testimony. When I spent a weekend last month serving as a reflection group leader for the Southeastern Jurisdiction's Exploring Ministries Conference at Lake Junaluska, his great energy and ideas enlivened our group's time together and helped us think critically and faithfully about our calling. During the event's Saturday evening worship service, we participated in a time of hand-washing (similar to a foot-washing service, but with an obvious alteration or two). Group members were invited to come up together, gather around a bowl of water, and "wash" one another's hands as a sign of our connection to one another and to Christ. As the leader, I began the circle by placidly washing my neighbor's hands, using little water and drawing little attention to myself, as seems to be the church's tradition in these sorts of moments. The other folks in the group more or less followed my lead, and things were progressing nicely, until we got to David. Rather than the meek and mild hand-washing we were expecting, David liberally poured water on his neighbor's hands and arms, splashing outside the basin and making a little too much noise. After a moment of surprised anxiety, in which I looked around to make sure no other group had noticed our unorthodoxy, it occurred to me that this was exactly what the whole ritual was all about. When Jesus washes his disciples' feet after the Last Supper, it's not a neat and easy process. He's not just sprinkling some water on them, patting them dry, and moving on to the next person. Instead, I imagine he's really getting about the work of washing, splashing water far and wide, maybe (hopefully) even spilling some into the whole of their lives. David got it. And his fearless faith helped me to get it as well.

After the service, Keri Stotts, another member of our group, invited the rest of us to join her for a word of spontaneous, grace-filled prayer in the lobby of the worship center. Actually, rather than inviting us to come, she told us that we would be having a prayer in the hallway and asked if we'd like to be a part of it. We prayed for vision and anointing and healing and salvation with an enthusiasm one rarely experiences in the safe confines of a United Methodist church. We prayed as though it didn't matter that the whole world was there to hear us say these crazy, vulnerable things in that circle. We prayed as though the One who forms and loves and calls us could hear. And it was good.

I could tell a million more stories of the ways my companions in Reflection Group #7 blessed my life during our time together---they shared their affirmations and fears with inspiring honesty, they brought with them unimaginable gifts for mission and ministry, they were even kind enough to help me make Flat Jordan's weekend a momorable one as well. But perhaps these brief anecdotes will offer you a glimpse of what a great, uplifting group I had the pleasure of leading.

On another, somewhat related note, I was in Alderman library yesterday researching for Lauren the late disillusionment of Evangelicals with the Carter administration when I randomly bumped into Scott Matthews. Scott, who spent his first year as a graduate student at UVA working as a T.A. for Julian Bond's civil rights class, was one of my very first teachers here at the University. With him I once took a walking survey of Charlottesville, exploring the places in our community where the travesties of racism and the effects of the civil rights movement are still being realized. It was one of the most remarkable experiences I've had as an undergraduate...and one of very few which have demanded that I repent of sin in order to learn who and where I am. And even though I've only talked with him a time or two since that Fall 2001 course we had together, he remembered my name immediately and we had a wonderful, half-hour conversation around the copy machine. As it turns out, our stories have remained connected in some pretty wild ways. We've both fallen completely in love with Charlottesville and are planning to spend an extra year here before delving deeper into the world of academia. We talked about books and dissertations, and music and movies, and our conversation was much more than just another break from studying. During that time, like the time I shared with David and Keri and the other folks in our group at Junaluska, I sensed that grace was especially close.

Advent is a season of spontaneous grace, a time when we believe, bravely and foolishly and eternally, that God is coming. During this time of anticipation and expectation, I hope you'll live into and out of these holy moments. Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Today is World AIDS Day. I needn't tell you the impact HIV/AIDS continues to have on our global community (the numbers alone are staggering---5 million new infections per year; 30 million people have died and over 38 million people are living with the virus today). The less well-known, but more important, fact about HIV is that there is much hope for people living with HIV and for those of us who love and care for them. As a sign of that hope, I had the privilege of taking part in a candlelight Vigil in Charlottesville tonight, alongside students from the University, support staff from the AIDS Services Group, and members of the community whose lives have been touched and transformed by HIV-positive loved ones. As we were marching from the Rotunda down University Avenue and Emmet Street toward the Barracks Road shopping center, my HIV/AIDS professor overheard me chatting with a local journalist about the changing face of HIV in our world (women infected through heterosexual sex are now the fastest growing population of AIDS victims, the disease is affecting people of color at startlingly disproportionate rates, the treatment today is such that HIV is very much a chronic illness more akin to diabetes than the plague, etc.) and asked me to speak a bit later at the Vigil. As it turned out, time ran short and I did not speak to the crowd there, but since I had spent the 23 minutes of silence (honoring the 23 years during which people have struggled with this virus) pondering what I would say, it seemed appropriate to share those thoughts here:

One of the things that this vigil aims to do and that our course in the School of Nursing does is help to put a face on the virus for those of us who know too little about it. On our way over tonight, Reba asked me to share a story with you about how that becomes real for us and connects to unexpected places in our lives. I'm in a random Biology class this semester with a creative writing assignment. For this, I was able to draw upon the information and resources we've received to write a letter to a friend who had recently been diagnosed as HIV-positive and share with him the hope that we're celebrating tonight. I was able to tell him about the innovating and exciting treatment options that are constantly evolving and becoming available for us. I told him about the strong network of education and support available to him here in Charlottesville and around the state. And I shared with him effective strategies for preventing the transmission of the virus, so that he can protect himself and those he loves...so that he can be himself and live his life to its fullest.

Sometimes a diagnosis of HIV can feel like a death sentence. The message of this vigil is that there's life with HIV, there's life beyond that diagnosis. The work you're doing tonight of advocacy and awareness helps us realize that life.