Shine Thou upon us, Lord,

Shine Thou upon us, Lord
True Light of men, today,
And through the written Word
Thy very self display;
That so from hearts which burn
With gazing on Thy face,
Thy little ones may learn
The wonders of Thy grace.

2Breathe Thou upon us, Lord,
Thy Spirit’s living flame,
That so with one accord
Our lips may tell Thy name;
Give Thou the hearing ear,
Fix Thou the wandering thought,
That those we teach may hear
The great things Thou hast wrought.

3Speak Thou for us, O Lord,
In all we say of Thee;
According to Thy Word
Let all our teaching be;
That so Thy lambs may know
Their own true Shepherd’s voice,
Where’er He leads them go,
And in His love rejoice.

4Live Thou within us, Lord;
Thy mind and will be ours;
Be Thou beloved, adored,
And served with all our powers;
That so our lives may teach
Thy children what Thou art,
And plead, by more than speech,
For Thee with every heart.

John Ellerton, 1881                                                              Tune: Leoni

"If the chickadees coming to the feeder are fluffed fat as tennis balls the temperature is in the low thirties, plenty cold enough for a muffler."  Hal Borland

"Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people the grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may, for love of you, delight in your whole creation with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, for ever and ever. Amen."  The Collect of the Day

"The Sentences" 
 William Croft

I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord :
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shalt stand
at the latter day upon the earth.
And though after my skin worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God:
whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.

We brought nothing into this world,
and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;
blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live,
and is full of misery.
He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower;
he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.
In the midst of life we are in death:
of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord,
who for our sins art justly displeased?
Yet, O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty,
O holy and most merciful Saviour,
deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.

I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me,
Write,
From henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord:
even so saith the Spirit:
for they rest from their labours.
Amen.

For Keeping Christmas

Listening to these ancient words for Advent Three
​
​Of the Father's love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!

​O that birth forever blessèd,
When the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bore the Saviour of our race;
And the Babe, the world's Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face,
evermore and evermore!

​O ye heights of heaven adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him,
and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing,
Evermore and evermore!

​Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving,
And unwearied praises be:
Honour, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory,
Evermore and evermore!