Songs & Updates for Saturday, December 20, 2025

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4th Sunday of Advent
Image Credit: www.onewalk.com

Thanks for another strong Advent Mass last week! There were many great compliments afterward, especially on harmonies. I also appreciate everyone who came out (and braved the weather!) for the Pageant rehearsal Sunday morning. It should be a fun little program! Here's the audio.

Welcome to the final week of Advent! 

A reminder that we're meeting at noon on Saturday to prep for the Pageant. The tree-decorating event runs from 1-3 PM, but the Pageant itself will begin around 1:15-1:30. 

We'll be in the Hall, set up in the same corner as usual. I'll ask Karl (Facilities Manager) to move the keyboard for us. Joe will be handling sound (thanks, Joe!), and we can borrow books/stands from the Sanctuary. I'll share the final script once Laura sends the tweaks to number of verses, etc..  

The Pageant should be done by 2 PM. You're more than welcome to stick around for the festivities afterward! If there are no objections, let's meet in the Sanctuary @ 3 PM to work on 6:00 Christmas music. I don't want to monopolize your afternoon, but this will be our last chance to work that music on our own. Let's look at the following:

Please check the December plan for (what should be) final 6:00 PM music. We're doing most of the preludes and will take point on the Meditation. Violet will cantor the Psalm & Acclamation. Pretty much everything else will be done by the mixed group. 

Our large-group rehearsal will be on Monday, December 22nd @ 4 PM. I realize the timing isn't ideal, but it's the best we could come up with.

Finally, I haven't forgotten about our 4:00 Christmas folks! Most of that program is nailed down too, other than some preludes. Probably more on this soon. 

Be well, and have a great week!

(All Mass Parts, except the Gospel Acclamation, are from Mass of Joy & Peace, including the Penitential Rite, Holy, Eucharistic Acclamation 'B' (When We Eat This Bread), Doxology & Lamb of God)

Out: Karen, Frank

Entrance:
GC3 #398 - Prepare! Prepare! (Pishner)

**We'll use the same arrangement as last time. It's slightly long (especially with the candle-lighting), but I'd prefer not to cut verses if we can avoid it. I'm also glad to cantor again if no one else is interested :-).**

Candle Lighting:
GC3 #406 - Wait for the Lord (Ref x2) (Taize)

Penitential Rite (Lisa):
Mass of Joy & Peace

(no Gloria)

Responsorial Ps (Cris):
GC3 #037 - Ps 24 - We Long to See Your Face (Keil)

**We'll sing Refrain II - "Open wide your gates; let the King of Glory in!" Borrowing a page from the Sunday folks, it'll be marked on the hymn board with a '2' next to the page number.**

Acclamation (Jake):
SS #021 - Alleluia (vs 1) (Angrisano)

Preparation:
GC3 #422 - Gift of God (Haugen)

**We'll use the Advent refrain & verses. The refrain is sung twice the first time and once between verses. "Gift of God, O Emmanuel" will also be sung twice during each verse (where there's four bars of rest). I hope that makes sense! Please check the recordings for how this flows -- the Christmas verses have everything written out, while the Advent verses don't.**

(Mass Parts)

Communion:
GC3 #415 - My Soul in Stillness Waits (Haugen)

**Like last time, let's make sure we don't rush the tempo and are together on the fermata! There can be an instrumental before someone starts the singing (any takers?).**

Closing:
GC3 #409 -  People, Look East (Farjeon)

**For this tune, we'll sing the first verse a capella and melody-only. Then we'll add in accompaniment and parts. The last phrase of the verse will be used as an interlude (like this). 

One thing to keep in mind is the staggered parts on "People look East, and sing today...". These work best if we have voices on soprano, alto & tenor, but we could work around that if needed.**

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