One of the greatest poems in the

history of literature is found in the

first chapter of Luke’s Gospel. It is

usually called the “Magnificat,” which

comes from the Latin word for

magnify and is used extensively in

every branch of the Christian tradition.

It is used during the main evening

prayers in the Roman Catholic Church

(called Vespers) and Lutheran church,

during Evensong in the Anglican

Church, and every Sunday at dawn in

the Eastern Orthodox Church. In

Protestantism, the Magnificat is

traditionally sung or read during

worship services throughout the

season of Advent. It is not surprising,

then, that many of the greatest

musical geniuses have written musical

compositions for the song – Vivaldi,

Bach, Rachmaninoff in days gone by

and John Rutter and Arvo Pärt in our

own day.

The reason is not hard to understand.

The Magnificat is the song that Mary

sings at the news that the Holy Spirit

would come upon her and she would

conceive a child who would be the Son

of God. As she is coming to grips with

this news, she goes to see her relative

Elizabeth. Elizabeth was already

pregnant with John the Baptist and

when Mary enters their house, the

child within Elizabeth’s womb leaped

in recognition. Elizabeth herself is

filled with the Holy Spirit and she

exclaims in joy,

“Blessed are you

among women, and

blessed is the fruit of

your womb!” At this

Mary breaks into song

– a song that expresses

her joy, wonder, and excitement of

what this news will mean.

The song itself is very similar to the

song of Hannah in the Old Testament

(1 Samuel 2), in both their themes

and expressions. Both of them are

celebrations of a son who is to be

born to them. Both of them rejoice in

what God will do through this child.

And both of them, significantly,

celebrate not only what God is doing

for them but for all of Israel. After

all, Hannah’s child, Samuel, would

usher Israel out of her days of dark-

ness and into the coming days of

light (1 Samuel 3). Mary’s child, Jesus,

would do the same. Hannah’s child,

Samuel, would be the kingmaker in

Israel. Mary’s child, Jesus, would be

the messianic king himself. And so

the parallels are significant. In fact,

Mary was probably patterning her

song after Hannah’s so as to make

the connection between the two

births.

During Advent this year, we are

going to spend the season reading

and meditating upon the Magnificat.

(continued on page 2)

The Wonder of Christmas Luke 1:50-53

Were You There on That Christmas Night? Cantata

The Fullness of Christmas Luke 1:54-55

The God of Christmas Luke 1:46-55

The song itself falls into three parts. Verses 46-49 praise God for his work in Mary’s life. Verses

50-53 praise God for his work in the world. Verses 54-55 praise God for his work in Israel. But all

three parts interlock with one another and share many of the same themes.

Each week during Advent we will look at one of these parts (the third Sunday in Advent will

be the cantata instead of a sermon) and we will meditate upon the experience of Christmas

(vv. 46-49), the wonder of Christmas (vv. 50-53), and the fullness of Christmas (vv. 54-55). On

Christmas Day, we will look at the song as a whole and reflect on the God of Christmas.

My prayer is that as we immerse ourselves in this beautiful and glorious song, we will, like

Mary, be stirred to praise, joy, and gratitude. So come during Advent and together let’s join her

chorus; let’s magnify the Lord and rejoice in God our Savior!

Brookdale News is a

monthly publication of

Brookdale Church

203 South 31st Street

St. Joseph, MO 64501

Phone: 816-279-0983

Fax: 816-279-7684

Website:

www.brookdalechurch.com

Editor: Terri Lansbury

E-mail:

terri@brookdalechurch.com

LADIES -

Don’t miss the

PARTY!

The Christmas season is filled with special activities. We hope you and your family will take time away from the “busy-ness” and join us for worship. Here are a few special events you won’t want to miss!

On Sunday, December 11th we will all worship together at a combined service at 10:00. Our choir, along with several guests and orchestra members, will bless us with a performance of Lloyd Larson’s Christmas musical, “Were You There on That Christmas Night?”

There will be a reception in Fellowship Hall after the worship service.

The holidays can be especially difficult for those who are struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one. This annual “Service of Remembrance” is a wonderful and meaningful worship service, whether your loss happened years ago or more recently. Join us at 4:00 p.m. on December 18th.

Get ready for this year’s children’s Christmas musical on December 18th, during the 11:00 worship service. This new musical version of the story of Jesus’ birth introduces you to some entirely new, fictional characters, and wonders what it might have been like had they enjoyed a “front row seat” to the events of that holy night!

Bring your family and share in this beautiful candlelight worship service at 7:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Help us celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ -- the true reason for the season!

Happy thanksgiving Brookdale family!!

Sunday, November 20th was our (who knows

actually how long it's been going on) annual

youth turkey scavenger hunt! This year

brought in lots of first time participants who

were energized and excited to go out and

serve our community and have a really great

time doing it. We

had four teams

go out searching

the city for any

and all the

thanksgiving

food items they

could find.

After an hour and a half of hard

work, after all the points were

counted, and all the turkeys added

up we had collected enough to

feed 28 families!!! We gave some to our lovely

Mark Twain families, some to the amazing

ministry that Earnestine Blakely is doing, and

some to another great ministry in the south

end.

Thank you so much to everyone who drove

our kids around and to those who brought in

food or anxiously awaited the arrival of one of

the teams to come pick it up. Until next year!!

Gobble Gobble

Here’s a little sneak peek at the awesome preparations that are happening with our

Christmas play this year. The children are doing an excellent job learning their lines

and knowing the songs. Back in July and August as I was searching for the perfect

play, I would hear songs that were cute and see plays

that looked as if they would be good, but nothing really grabbed my

attention until I listened to the first song of this play, “All About that

Baby.” All I could think was “Wow” because it ties into our new vi-

sion.

Here is a small part of this awesome

song: “We’re a people in darkness and

we wanna see the Light, see the Light!

Who will save us? Who will comfort

those who cry? Who will free us? Is he

right before our eyes? How long must

we wait for deliverance? When will God

turn His head and hear us and bring

peace and hope to a broken world,

and bring peace and hope to a broken

world?”

The people were waiting and hoping

for the Messiah. What great news the

shepherds shared that night after

their encounter with the angels. I be-

lieve the shepherds in this play are just as excited to share the good

news with all of you as they have been practicing for several weeks

now. You won’t want to miss the shepherds, angels, towns people,

wise men, Mary, Joseph, and the rapping sheep.

1 - Barbara Colby, Stef Mooney

3 - Gemma Parker

4 - Kelsey Taylor

5 - Suzanne Shepherd

6 - Alice Denver, Scott Hinde

8 - Mary Hinde, Martiena Richter

10 - Elizabeth Dean, Ann Weston

11 - Sarah Williams, Linda Wise

17 - Austin Hudgens

21 - Chelsea Shepherd

23 - Ralph Colby, Matt Nelson, Mike Skaith,

Wilma Stanton, Christina Wilhoit-Samaritoni

25 - Ben Hoffman

26 - Brent Colgan

27 - Andy Davis

28 - Tiffany Wilhite

29 - Julie Colgan, Ava Schweder

30 - Paul Young

31 - Naomi Kammerer, Kathy Thompson,

Logan Wing

January

4 - Renee Beggs, Faith Beier

7 - Sharon Patton

8 - Paige Lemon

On November 13, Dominic Wilhoit received the sacrament of Baptism and was welcomed as a communicant member of Brookdale Church. His mother, Christina Wilhoit-Samaritoni, was welcomed as a full member of Brookdale. Congratulations to them both, and welcome to the family!

Dear Brookdale,

Thank you for the love and support you gave during a very difficult time. Also, thank you for the

beautiful mum in memory of my dad, Larry Hausman. Blessings, Julie Colgan

Caleb Thornton, grandson of Rick and Susie Thornton, shows off the tree

he helped decorate in Fellowship Hall. THANK YOU to the entire crew,

who helped with the decorating in preparation for Advent and Christmas

— Kevin and Lanette Bocquin, Mark and Janelle Sonnenmoser, Mike and

Judy O’Donnell, Sondra Quick, Dawnelle Rohde, John Winslow, and Rick,

Susie, Caleb and Alex Thornton. You guys did a great job!

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Go and do likewise

Hundreds of thousands of refugees—many from the war-torn

countries of Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan—are streaming across

Europe right now in hopes of building a new life. Samaritan's

Purse is responding to this crisis by providing physical relief and

offering the hope of the Gospel to these displaced families.

Samaritan’s Purse has staff in Greece and in Croatia, working in

Jesus’ Name to provide relief to vulnerable people. They we are

focusing on providing shelter, clean water, and sanitation, includ-

ing heated shower containers and hand washing stations. The teams have installed flooring, tarps, and

heaters for winter shelters in Greece and are working to improve conditions within transit centers on a daily

basis. They're also working to distribute backpacks filled with

food, hygiene items, ponchos, hats, blankets, and other necessi-

ties. Partners in Macedonia, Serbia, and Hungary are meeting

similar needs in those countries.

While others are involved in screening, registration, and transpor-

tation, Samaritan’s Purse is focused on helping these families by

supplying them with essential resources and aid in Jesus' name.

If you would like to be a part of this effort, send your gift to

Brookdale and mark it “refugees”.