St. Gregory the Great Orthodox Church

A Western Rite Congregation of the Antiochian Archdiocese near Washington, DC

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December newsletter

December 2, 2023

Advent and Christmas, 2023

Drop down, ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.

Saturday, December 2: We begin the season of Advent with Vespers. The vestments will now be purple and we will sing the Advent Prose (the antiphon is above) at Vespers.

Sunday, December 3, the First Sunday of Advent: We will begin our collection of canned and packaged foods for the Food For Hungry People program of our Archdiocese. Our collected items will be given to Manna Food Center, a local food bank.

Thursday, December 7: We will celebrate the eve of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary with Mass at 7:00pm, preceded by Vespers and followed by a pot-luck supper.

Saturday, December 16: Our annual para-liturgical service of Lessons & Carols will take the place of Vespers at 6:00pm. There will be Scripture readings, hymns, and choir music for Advent to help us prepare for the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord. We begin the Advent “O” antiphons, sung before the Magnificat on the remaining evenings until Christmas.

Sunday, December 17 through Christmas Eve: Each evening, the Novena will be observed with Vespers at 6:00pm.

Sunday, December 24: In the morning, we will observe the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Confessions may be made after Mass. After coffee hour, we will decorate the church for Christmas and we ask that all who are able please stay to help.

Unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given.

Sunday, December 24: Vespers will be sung at 6:00pm, confessions will be heard at 8:00, and we will sing carols and hear choir music for Christmas at 8:30. The first Mass of Christmas will be celebrated at 9:pm, followed by a Nativity feast.

Monday, December 25: Mass for Christmas morning will be celebrated at 10:00am, followed by brunch.

Read the full December newsletter here.

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St. Gregory the Great Orthodox Church
A Western Rite Congregation of the Antiochian Archdiocese near Washington, DC
13407 Roxbury Rd · Silver Spring, MD · 301-288-4798
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