An Advent Service of Lessons and Carols at St. Andrew's, Lake Worth

(Left)  Margo with Mase, organist at Trinity Episcopal Church, West Palm Beach for more than 30 years.

Larry and I were honored when Margo, ( the Martha Stewart of South Florida), asked us if we would participate in St. Andrew's  enhanced chancel choir at the Advent Service of Lessons and Carols on December 2.

The rehearsal the day before gave us the opportunity to practice with the new organ.

We both like to sing anyway. I'd love to be in the choir at my home church, St. Mark's Episcopal. But I live near Greenacres and work up in Riviera Beach and making a second round trip up to the north part of the county would be entirely too stressful. I'm pretty wore out when I get home from work. So practicing for a couple of hours at St. Andrew's was an opportunity to sing in a choir and have a great time.

One of the advent hymns we sang is Nova, Nova, page 266 in The Episcopal Hymnal. It's classified as "Holy Days and Various Occasions," but it certainly contains the message of Advent. It's a very old hymn, from the 1400's.  

I HAD to find a recording of Nova, Nova to ad to my iTunes Christmas playlist.  I struck gold and found several recordings of it. My favorite was on 100 Christmas Classics.  The gentleman singing the solo part had a beautiful voice with Scottish brogue.

Then Thursday morning, I'm sitting at my computer in the office at the VA. My door was open and I was listening to the Christmas music the secretary was playing on a CD in his computer. I had turned my ipod speakers off to listen to his music. Suddenly I hear, Nova, Nova which was the same recording as mine. He had purchased 100 Best Christmas Classics.

As their are some other beautiful Christmas carols on it, including my favorite, Once in Royal David's City, I'm going to go out and try to find it today. Mickey got his at Walmart where I flatly refuse to purchase anything so I'll just find it somewhere else.

Anyway, I digress.  At the reception afterward, Margo had mad a Christmas Village out of brownies complete with ice skating rink on the top tier of the village. 

The Sunday afternoon concert was well attended and challenged all of us to remember and reflect on Advent with a deeper appreciation for it's meaning as we await the celebration of the birth of Jesus.