This Advent: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

About this event

And what it actually means… By The Rev. Robyn M. Neville, Ph.D. If you’ve sung O Come, O Come, Emmanuel every Advent of your life, you already know the tune. What you might not know is that every verse comes from a set of seven ancient prayers called the O Antiphons — each one calling out to Christ by a different name: Wisdom, Lord, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Dayspring, King of Nations, and finally, Emmanuel itself. For over a thousand years, these seven verses were sung on the seven nights before Christmas Eve, one a night, building toward Christmas like a countdown. Each name reaches back into the Old Testament — to Moses, to Isaiah, to the house of David — and each one asks the same question in a different way: who is it, exactly, that we’re waiting for? This Advent, our adult forum will spend four Sundays working through all seven antiphons, two at a time, ending with Emmanuel itself on the fourth Sunday. It’s a chance to slow down and really sit with words most of us have sung a hundred times without stopping to ask what they mean. What to expect each week at our Adult Formation Hour ▶ Advent 1, November 29 | 9am Wisdom & Lord: Christ present at creation itself, and Christ as the God who spoke to Moses at the burning bush. Advent 2, December 6 | 9am Root of Jesse & Key of David: new life springing from an old, tired family line, and the one who holds the power to open doors we can’t open ourselves. Advent 3, December 13 | 9am Dayspring & King of Nations: light breaking into darkness, and a hope big enough for every nation, not just one. Advent 4, December 20 | 9am Emmanuel: the name that gives the whole hymn its title — not just what God does for us, but where God is: with us. Each session runs about 45 minutes and stands on its own, so don’t let a missed week stop you from joining the next one. fee, your questions, and — if you’re up for it — your singing voice; we’ll close each session with the verses that match that week’s antiphons. All…

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