The holy season of Advent is upon us and so we begin a new year of the church. Advent is a season rich in f r a g r a n c e s, s i g n s a n d symbolism. The royal purple colour of the vestments and candles symbolising penitence and waiting, the green Jesse Tree adorned with symbols and signs from the Old Testament, signs from the prophets and patriarchs pointing across the centuries to a little town outside Jerusalem. Advent has become somewhat overwhelmed by the frantic preparations for Christmas but still we can make space to prepare ourselves. All of the elements of our modern Christmas can be found in the past. They originated from the religious preparations. Even still, today, in our preparations  it is not so much a question of ‘either, or’ but other ‘both, and’. Because we only have a limited window of four Sundays I particularly love the hymns of Advent. They are so specific that they can only be sung in Advent. They all reach back to tell the wonderful story of God’s love for His people, the dreams and fervent wishes of the prophets that a messiah would come, the admonitions of John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord and the wonderful ‘yes’ of a young woman called Mary. These four great themes are symbolised in the Advent wreath and the candles lit on each Sunday.There is a lovely line in the hymn ‘O little town of Bethlehem’. It goes ‘the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight’. Our deepest need and our fervent hope in the midst of the many challenges that we face is the light of that ‘radiant dawn’, a dream of a vision of the great beauty and promise that lies ahead while all seems bleak at the present moment.  In the tender, loving mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,  to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ St. Luke 1. 78 - 79

What is a Jesse Tree? A Jesse Tree is like a ‘christian Christmas tree’! Instead of tinsel and flashing lights however, this tree is decorated differently. The eleventh chapter of the book Isaiah in the Old Testament describes the ideal king in the line of Israel’s great king, David. The first verse of that chapter says, ‘A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots.’ Jesse was King David’s father. The image of a branch growing out of the roots of Jesse points to a new king in David’s line. Christians know that this means Jesus who is a descendent of Jesse. There was an old custom in Europe and early America of hanging symbolic ornaments on a Christmas tree during Advent. The symbols on the "Jesse Tree” remind us that our belief grows out of deep roots of thousands of years of ancestors in the faith. A Jesse Tree, therefore, is like a visible family tree for Jesus Christ. The symbols represent people from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) who are Jesus ancestors. An apple reminds us of the story of Adam and Eve and rainbow points us to Noah. Abraham is represented by a tent symbol, reminding us that he was ‘first of all’ a wandering Aramean, called by God to lead God’s people. Issac’s symbol is a ram while Jacob is represented by a ladder. And so the tree is adorned with similar symbols representing Jesus ancestry, descended from Jesse and all the way back to ‘Father’ Abraham.

The

beginning of St. Matthew’s Gospel describes Jesus lineage from Abraham. A Jesse Tree is Jesus family tree.

Tickets are available from Lorna O'Donovan and will be distributed for sale to parishioners and from Parish Facebook page; https://bantry.click/Facebook or online by using this link https://bantry.click/Raffle

Following the worrying news last week I am pleased to tell you that George Draper has had an opportunity to fully inspect the belfry with an experienced colleague. They have also been able to rectify the damage and alleviate the immediate danger. Minor works will be carried out in the months ahead to repair the weather damage to the stonework. We are so truly grateful to George, as always, for his kindness and generosity. We are blessed.

+++ Service Details All the service in the parish are live-streamed on the following links https://kilmocomogueparish.link/Brendan https://kilmocomogueparish.link/James and on YouTube https://kilmocomogueparish.link/YouTube Sunday, December 4th St. Brendan’s Church, Bantry St. James Church, Durrus

The Second Sunday of Advent 10am Holy Communion 2 11.45 am Holy Communion 2

Sunday, December 11th St. Brendan’s Church, Bantry St. James Church, Durrus

The Third Sunday of Advent 10am Holy Communion 2 11.45 am Holy Communion 2

Sunday, December 18th St. Brendan’s Church, Bantry St. James Church, Durrus St. Brendan’s Church, Bantry

The Fourth Sunday of Advent 10am Holy Communion 2 11.45 am Holy Communion 2 8pm Bantry Community Carol Service