Advent - a Question for our non-LDS Christian Members

[_Albion]

The church I attend lit the first advent candle during service this morning and the sermon was on the first part of Luke 1. The color scheme above the altar/pulpit was changed in accordance with the season. This evening will kick off a series of advent "dinners" which will involve a simple meal, short sermon from the Biblical account, seasonal music, and then small group discussions around the various dinner tables. Today is also the start of the the new collective church calendar.

[_Chap]

It's nice to see this thread again.

I see that the link to 'O come o come Emmanuel' in my post above is now broken. So here is another one, cleverly done but in the original Latin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRi1GDoaQu4

Here are the words as sung in this version, plus the common (slightly approximate) translation:

Veni veni, Emmanuel
captivum solve Israel,
qui gemit in exsilio,
privatus Dei Filio.
R: Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel,
nascetur pro te Israel!

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
R: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel,
shall come to thee o Israel!

Veni, O Iesse virgula,
ex hostis tuos ungula,
de specu tuos tartari
educ et antro barathri. R.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse's stem,
from ev'ry foe deliver them
that trust Thy mighty power to save,
and give them vict'ry o'er the grave. R.

Veni, veni O Oriens,
solare nos adveniens,
noctis depelle nebulas,
dirasque mortis tenebras. R.

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death's dark shadow put to flight. R.

Veni, Clavis Davidica,
regna reclude caelica,
fac iter tutum superum,
et claude vias inferum. R.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heav'nly home,
make safe the way that leads on high,
that we no more have cause to sigh. R.

Veni, veni, Adonai,
qui populo in Sinai
legem dedisti vertice
in maiestate gloriae. R.

O come, o come, Thou Lord of might,
who to thy tribes on Sinai's height
in ancient times did give the law,
in cloud, and majesty, and awe. R.

I hope to post another Advent link on Tuesday, when it becomes available.

[_Gunnar]

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread. My family started our own new advent tradition tonight (an admittedly multi-cultural spiritual, rather than purely Christian, event for us).

I thought I'd share this little tidbit: Building on the ideas Chap had shared, I made use of the symbolism of absolute darkness, into which came the single candle of hope by which we read the selected scriptures and quotes. Being 11, my daughter is not exactly scared of the dark, but she was quick to note how darkness can make us afraid and feel alone.

When we finished and she was walking away to get ready for bed, she flipped on an electric light and said, "Dad, I've never appreciated how special light is as I do right now."

Again, thank you to everyone who shared a little of your light with my family.

(by the way - this was the version of "O Come O Come Emmanuel" chosen for tonight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecnS6q2TWC4)

Thanks for that link to Chanticleer! They are my favorite a capella singing group. I once had the opportunity to attend one of their live concerts. It was easily one of the most memorable and cherished experiences of my life!

[_azzolina]

For those of us who read the daily office the O Antiphons have special significance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Antiphons

[_honorentheos]

It's nice to see this thread again.

I see that the link to 'O come o come Emmanuel' in my post above is now broken. So here is another one, cleverly done but in the original Latin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRi1GDoaQu4

Here are the words as sung in this version, plus the common (slightly approximate) translation:

Veni veni, Emmanuel
captivum solve Israel,
qui gemit in exsilio,
privatus Dei Filio.
R: Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel,
nascetur pro te Israel!

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
R: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel,
shall come to thee o Israel!

Veni, O Iesse virgula,
ex hostis tuos ungula,
de specu tuos tartari
educ et antro barathri. R.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse's stem,
from ev'ry foe deliver them
that trust Thy mighty power to save,
and give them vict'ry o'er the grave. R.

Veni, veni O Oriens,
solare nos adveniens,
noctis depelle nebulas,
dirasque mortis tenebras. R.

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death's dark shadow put to flight. R.

Veni, Clavis Davidica,
regna reclude caelica,
fac iter tutum superum,
et claude vias inferum. R.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heav'nly home,
make safe the way that leads on high,
that we no more have cause to sigh. R.

Veni, veni, Adonai,
qui populo in Sinai
legem dedisti vertice
in maiestate gloriae. R.

O come, o come, Thou Lord of might,
who to thy tribes on Sinai's height
in ancient times did give the law,
in cloud, and majesty, and awe. R.

I hope to post another Advent link on Tuesday, when it becomes available.

Thanks for the updated link, Chaps. Very nice to hear a classic with a twist I hadn't heard before.

I also hope whatever the link you anticipated becoming available today comes through.

[_honorentheos]

Thanks for that link to Chanticleer! They are my favorite a capella singing group. I once had the opportunity to attend one of their live concerts. It was easily one of the most memorable and cherished experiences of my life!

You're very welcome. My wife loves a capella groups, sang in her high school a capella choir, and really is the reason I'd even heard of Chanticleer. So she probably deserves the thanks more than me.

[_Chap]

Thanks for the updated link, Chaps. Very nice to hear a classic with a twist I hadn't heard before.

I also hope whatever the link you anticipated becoming available today comes through

Here is the link I promised: Advent choral evensong from St John's College, Cambridge, last Sunday.

http://www.sjcchoir.co.uk/node/721

That link takes you to an explanatory page, from which you can click on the link to go to the main recording of the service.

Enjoy while you can: it will only be there for five days. This will not be to everybody's taste, perhaps, but for those who have known this tradition, is is difficult not to be stirred, even if one no longer believes.