PHOTO: Roger Weld

Each week of the liturgical year, a reading from Second Advent Scripture is delivered as part of the Saturday Communion of Fellowship Service held in the Chapel of the Holy Child. This reading follows the Sacred Calendar of the Church; that is, Prophecies and Revelations that have been received by The Church on sacred dates are recalled in a liturgical context during the appropriate season each year. This reading is delivered by the Officiant of the Communion Service (that is, Bishop Gene Savoy, or occasionally in his stead, Bishop Sean Savoy) just before the final blessings. Each service also includes a reading from the ancient scriptures, prayers, or wisdom sayings of various world religions past and present and is usually thematically related to the Second Advent Reading. This reading is delivered by the Reader right after the announcements that begin the service and is thus the first reading of the service. An audio recording of the reading from Second Advent Scripture delivered on the date above is provided here below together with a transcript of the first reading of the service that day.

SECOND ADVENT PROPHECY AND REVELATION

A Reading from Book II of the Book of God’s Revelation, “The Seal of God’s New Law” (pp.109-116):

< Click here to listen to this week’s reading pre-recorded. >

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

A Reading from John’s Book of Revelation:

I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my child.

And there came unto me one of the seven angels, and he showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, clear as crystal. And it had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels. And the city lay foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

PHOTO: Roger Weld

Each week of the liturgical year, a reading from Second Advent Scripture is delivered as part of the Saturday Communion of Fellowship Service held in the Chapel of the Holy Child. This reading follows the Sacred Calendar of the Church; that is, Prophecies and Revelations that have been received by The Church on sacred dates are recalled in a liturgical context during the appropriate season each year. This reading is delivered by the Officiant of the Communion Service (that is, Bishop Gene Savoy, or occasionally in his stead, Bishop Sean Savoy) just before the final blessings. Each service also includes a reading from the ancient scriptures, prayers, or wisdom sayings of various world religions past and present and is usually thematically related to the Second Advent Reading. This reading is delivered by the Reader right after the announcements that begin the service and is thus the first reading of the service. An audio recording of the reading from Second Advent Scripture delivered on the date above is provided here below together with a transcript of the first reading of the service that day.

SECOND ADVENT PROPHECY AND REVELATION

A Reading from Book I of the Book of God’s Revelation, “The Opening of the Seven Seals” (pp.92-94):

< Click here to listen to this week’s reading pre-recorded. >

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

The Eleventh Ode of Solomon:

My heart was opened and its flower appeared; and grace sprang up in it; and it brought forth fruit to the Lord,
2 For the Most High opened my hear by His Holy Spirit and searched my affection toward Him: and filled me with His love.
3 And His opening of me became my salvation; and I ran in His way, in His peace, even in the way of truth:
4 From the beginning and even to the end I acquired His knowledge:
5 And I was established upon the rock of truth, where He had set me up:
6 And speaking waters touched my lips from the fountain of the Lord plenteously:
7 And I drank and was inebriated with the living water that does not die;
8 And my inebriation was not one of ignorance, but I forsook vanity and turned to the Most High my God,
9 And I was enriched by His bounty, and I let go the folly which is diffused over the earth; and I stripped it off and cast it from me:
10 And the Lord renewed me in His own garment, and possessed me by His light, and from above He gave me rest in incorruption;
11 And I became like the land which blossoms and rejoices in its fruit:
12 And the Lord was like the sun shining on the face of the land;
13 He lightened my eyes, and my face received the dew; and my nostrils enjoyed the pleasant odor of the Lord;
14 And he carried me to His Paradise; where is the abundance of the pleasure of the Lord;
15 And I worshiped the Lord on account of His glory; and I said, Blessed, O Lord, are they who are planted in thy land! And those who have a place in thy Paradise;
16 And they grow by the fruits of the trees. And they have changed from darkness to light

Participants in the 2013 Sunrise Vigil. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Pannuches Meal Rite
The 75th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. Jubilee Sunrise Divine Service was held in Sanctuary the following morning.

The 76th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday, January 5, 2012, at 6:00 p.m. Since the cycle of the Pannuches Meal corresponded with Epiphany Eve this year, the two events were celebrated together at the Rectory-Abbey. An abbreviated Pannuches meal and prayer opened the traditional banquet held on the twelfth night of the Christmas-Epiphany Vigil. Jubilee Sunrise Divine Service was held in Sanctuary the following morning.

Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. addresses congregation at Epiphany Eve banquet. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Christmas-Epiphany Vigil
The Twelve Days of Christmas are observed by tradition in the Second Advent Church. Beginning Wednesday December 25, and continuing through the morning of Epiphany Eve, January 5, Sunrise Divine Services were scheduled to be held in Consecrated Sanctuary each morning at the Church of New Epiphany during these days of special blessing. On the thirteenth day, January 6, which is Epiphany Day, a special morning service at sunrise was held at the Consecrated Sanctuary

The traditional Christmas Day Service of Communion, Candle Lighting, and Remembrance was held on Wednesday December 25, at 11:00 a.m. in The Chapel of The Holy Child. Members of the congregation were asked to bring a bouquet of flowers to place beneath the communion table prior to the service and a loaf of bread to place on the communion table for special blessing.

Gingerbread village constructed for the Children's Tea held during the 2013 Vigil. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Families and friends gather at the 2013 Children's Tea. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Rev. Shinobu Uwataki officiates Communion Service during Vigil days. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Epiphany Eve Banquet
The annual Epiphany Eve Banquet and festivities took place at the Rectory-Abbey on Saturday January 5, 2013, from 6:00  to 9:00 p.m. Members of the Community, their families, and special guests of the Bishop were invited to attend this special seasonal banquet. The after-meal following the ritual Pannuches Meal was designed around a Spanish theme. By tradition, the meal was followed by a visit from Santa and his reindeer and gift-giving.

Revs. Robert Anderson and Amanda Buchanan after service during Vigil at the Church of New Epiphany. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Epiphany Day
The thirty-second anniversary of Epiphany in the Second Advent Church is a day of special blessings and revelation in the Church and the day on which the Church commemorates the True Baptism of Jesus by God the Father. The Message given on January 6, 1981, is related in the Prophecy of the New Covenant:

“On this hallowed day of God’s Appearance, bountiful blessings manifest to the Holy Ones of Light of the Church of the Second Advent founded by His Word. To those unified in Community and holding to The Law, God sends forth the Comforting Spirit of His Image. As the Church has been restored, God will restore those blessings given to the First Church—now in apostasy—and make sacred those Holy Days that are kept in remembrance by the old Churches, but which are not alive with God’s blessings.

“In commemoration of this Day let The Community gather together once each year in remembrance and in fellowship. God will baptize all assembled in the Spirit of His Holiness. God gives an unmistakable Sign from Heaven in the New Sun as a mark of His Advent and Divine Presence. Let all behold the Signs of God manifest in the Heavens and know that their New Ministry is by God’s Authority, and that He has come to Judge the world. This Day is a day of confirmation of God’s Appearance, a day of blessing to strengthen the Good against the Powers of Darkness, and to empower them to teach.” Prophecy of the New Covenant, pp. 913-914

View to the north at sunrise at Church of New Epiphany. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling