Advent Week 1 - Hope

One of the marks of being United Methodist is that we sing our theology.  That is one of the things that many congregations have missed most in  this pandemic - the ability to sing their faith in community!  But whether you sing only with a mask or sing quietly to yourself music still gives us a way to declare what we believe. 

Whether you sing from the hymnal or not, the words of the songs that we sing should reflect the theological theme of the day and be in concert with what the congregation believes about who God is and who we are in relationship to God and each other.  The music of the songs sung should evoke the type of emotions that match the mood trying to be created in its place in the service. 

So I thought that this year, as we journey toward Christmas, we could think about what some of our favorite Christmas Carols tell us about who we believe Christ to be.  The facts in these articles over the next few weeks come from “The Stories of Christmas Carols” by...continue reading