We continue our series on Melodies of Hope: Hymns From Advent and Christmastide. Each year, our churches sing a familiar rotation of Advent and Christmas hymns, often without knowing their meaning and context. To provide a fresh take on the Christmas carol canon, we’ve enlisted eight worship leaders, songwriters and thinkers from around C4SO to tell us a favorite Advent or Christmas hymn, giving us historical and musical context, and a word of good news each hymn speaks to us today.

This episode’s song is “I Wonder As I Wander,” and our guest is Rachel Wilhelm, a singer/songwriter and the Minister of Music and Worship Arts Apostles Anglican Church in Knoxville, TN. She is also United States Team Leader for a ministry called United Adoration where she leads songwriting and worship arts retreats for local churches and their artists.

She co-founded Roots Worship Collective of Minneapolis during her time there, leading hymn sing events to promote Church unity, and has recorded several albums, EPs, and singles, including her first full-length album Songs of Lament in 2017, and her newest album, Requiem, released March 16, 2021.

You can connect with Rachel on her website.

The recording featured in this episode is Rachel’s own arrangement and recording of “I Wonder As I Wander.”

• Our Cycle of Prayer Spotlight ministry this week is Church of the Vine in Newburg, Oregon, led by the Rev. Sean Flannery.

We continue our series on Melodies of Hope: Hymns From Advent and Christmastide. Each year, our churches sing a familiar rotation of Advent and Christmas hymns, often without knowing their meaning and context. To provide a fresh take on the Christmas carol canon, we’ve enlisted eight worship leaders, songwriters and thinkers from around C4SO to tell us a favorite Advent or Christmas hymn, giving us historical and musical context, and a word of good news each hymn speaks to us today.

This episode’s song is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” and our guest is Zac Hicks, who has been pastoring and leading worship for over two decades in churches all across the US. He is author of The Worship Pastor, and the forthcoming Worship By Faith Alone. Zac is also a songwriter and producer, and you can find his music on streaming services everywhere, including under the name “Advent Birmingham.”

You can connect with Zac on Facebook or Instagram, or on his website.

The recording featured in this episode is “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” by The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, from the album Carols from King’s 2016.

• Our Cycle of Prayer Spotlight ministry this week is Christ our King Anglican Church in Azusa, California, led by the Rev. Daniel Stevenson.

Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:12:29 | Recorded on November 15, 2021

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We continue our series on Melodies of Hope: Hymns From Advent and Christmastide. Each year, our churches sing a familiar rotation of Advent and Christmas hymns, often without knowing their meaning and context. To provide a fresh take on the Christmas carol canon, we’ve enlisted eight worship leaders, songwriters and thinkers from around C4SO to tell us a favorite Advent or Christmas hymn, giving us historical and musical context, and a word of good news each hymn speaks to us today.

This episode’s song is “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People,” and our guest is the Rev. Dcn. Anna Purdum, a woman who wears many hats! She is a wife, a mother, a music teacher, and the Music and Worship Minister at Good Shepherd Anglican Church in Longview, Texas.

Anna is also a songwriter with eight recorded albums to her credit. Two of her albums, “Anglican Hymns” and “Anglican Hymns, volume II” contain hymn arrangements that she began recording with her husband and children during the Covid lockdowns of 2020, when her local parish moved to having church online. You can find all Anna’s music at her HearNow page.

The recording featured in this episode is “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People”, by Anna Purdum, from the album Anglican Hymns, Vol. II (2021).

• Our Cycle of Prayer Spotlight ministry this week is Christ Church in Austin, Texas, led by the Very Rev. Cliff Warner.
• C4SO recently started a Multiethnic Church Development Fund.
• C4SO welcomes the Rev. Canon Jay Greener as our new Dean for the Midwest.

We start a new series today called Melodies of Hope: Hymns From Advent and Christmastide. Each year, our churches sing a familiar rotation of Advent and Christmas hymns, often without knowing their meaning and context. To provide a fresh take on the Christmas carol canon, we’ve enlisted eight worship leaders, songwriters and thinkers from around C4SO to tell us a favorite Advent or Christmas hymn, giving us historical and musical context, and a word of good news each hymn speaks to us today.

Our guest is Cindy Rethmeier, a longtime songwriter and worship leader, and the hymn she talks with us about is Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus.

The recording featured in this episode is “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (feat. Christy Nockels) [Live]” by Chris Tomlin, from the album Glory In the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship (2009).

You can hear the antiphons Cindy mentioned here.

• All C4SO clergy, leaders, parishioners or people interested in the life of the diocese are invited to attend our virtual Diocesan Convention on Saturday, November 13, from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT. The Convention is a vital part of engaging in communal leadership of our diocese. During this time, we will be celebrating our 2021 growth and progress, sharing our vision for 2022, hearing from key leaders, and voting on important topics. Get more info and register here.
• Our Cycle of Prayer Spotlight ministry this week is Vintage Church in Santa Monica, CA, led by the Rev. Ger Jones.

In this final episode of our mini-series on church planting in C4SO, we discuss something that often happens in church planting, but isn’t talked about a lot: when church planting doesn’t work out, and the church needs to close its doors.

Our guests are the Rev. Kimberly Deckel and Rev. Andrew Stravitz, who were planting All Souls in Phoenix together, and the Rev. Adam Jones, who was planting Mercy Anglican Church in Seattle.

• All C4SO clergy, leaders, parishioners or people interested in the life of the diocese are invited to attend our virtual Diocesan Convention on Saturday, November 13, from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT. The Convention is a vital part of engaging in communal leadership of our diocese. During this time, we will be celebrating our 2021 growth and progress, sharing our vision for 2022, hearing from key leaders, and voting on important topics. Get more info and register here.
• Our Cycle of Prayer Spotlight ministry this week is Trinity Anglican Church in Atlanta, GA, led by the Rev. Kris McDaniel. Community Pastor Brad Mauldin joined us on the podcast to talk about how we can pray for Trinity.

We are hosting a mini-series on church planting in C4SO. Often church planting is a young person’s game, but in this episode, we discuss what it’s like to plant a church when you’re not so young anymore! Our guests are the Rev. Billy Steen, planting All Souls South Placer in Rocklin, California, and the Rev. John Gorin, planting Holy Trinity Church in Silicon Valley.

• All C4SO clergy, leaders, parishioners or people interested in the life of the diocese are invited to attend our virtual Diocesan Convention on Saturday, November 13, from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT. The Convention is a vital part of engaging in communal leadership of our diocese. During this time, we will be celebrating our 2021 growth and progress, sharing our vision for 2022, hearing from key leaders, and voting on important topics. Get more info and register here.
• Our Cycle of Prayer Spotlight ministry this week is Trinity Anglican Church in Marysville, CA, led by the Rev. Victor Shreffler.

We are hosting a mini-series on church planting in C4SO. In this episode, we discuss what it’s like to start gathering publicly for worship. Our guests are the Rev. Sandy Richter, who is planting Christ our Peace in Oak Park, Illinois, and the Rev. Austin Becton, who is planting Good Shepherd Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee.

You can find out more about Christ our Peace on Instagram or Facebook.

You can find out more about Good Shepherd on their website, or Instagram or Facebook.

• All C4SO clergy, leaders, parishioners or people interested in the life of the diocese are invited to attend our virtual Diocesan Convention on Saturday, November 13, from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT. The Convention is a vital part of engaging in communal leadership of our diocese. During this time, we will be celebrating our 2021 growth and progress, sharing our vision for 2022, hearing from key leaders, and voting on important topics. Get more info and register here.
• Our Cycle of Prayer Spotlight ministry this week is Saint Peter’s Church in Mount Pleasant, SC, led by the Rev. AJ Sherrill.