It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas New Advent Hymns set to familiar Christmas Tunes by Pastor Pamela Gonzaléz Foreword by Herb Brokering. OMM BK99-02 ORDER NOW--In Stock $6.25+ S&H ISBN 0-9639663-8-3 Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 99-76279
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Rev. Gonzaléz, a parish pastor and former Lutheran deaconess, has penned 25 new hymns (using texts taken from the RevisedCommon Lectionary) exploring the preparation themes of ADVENT and set them to the traditional tunes of Christmas carols. This collection is thoroughly indexed and cross-referenced for easy use. As she writes in her Preface: "We love Christmas... but what our hearts truly yearn for is Advent: the forgotten season, the four weeks before Christmas, the pregnancy before the birth, the anticipation before the reality. What we really need is not another month of Christmas, but a true Advent season: a time to prepare, to wait, to turn, to repent, to hope, to imagine...." Dr. Herb Brokering, himself a pastor, poet and hymnwriter, writes in the Foreword: "For many years I have written new texts to old tunes. It is a fine art; Pam does it well. Her new words fit the meter and mood of the familiar tunes. Pam chooses contemporary images and paints them on a background of Scripture. She blends colors of faith and grace with hope. her words match the mood of the songs. She decorates Advent with the right colors to prepare the mind for Christmas. The songs fit spiritual needs of individuals, children, schools, congregations, families in preparation for Christmas." REVIEWS:
"Here is a great resource for a congregation's Advent Hymnody! Pamela J. Gonzaléz, using Advent lectionary texts as her inspiration, Christmas tunes as her structure, and her own gifts of words and faith has written hymns with clear Advent messages that are both theologically sound and structurally solid. Her poetry is simple and profound. Congregations and choirs will enjoy singing her Carols for the Advent Season.
Dr. Frank L. Benz Dean of the Luther Academy of the Rockies, Professor Emeritus, Wartburg Theological Seminary
"Here is a gentle sequence of songs and carols - new words, glad breathless lines, a bright expectant Advent joy. The rhythms of the poetry rejoice in the old familiar rhythms and melodic flights of the music. Sing the old carols new."
Walter Wangerin, Jr., Poet, pastor, professor and prolific author
"People love to sing Christmas carols. These songs allow them to sing the familiar tunes, while not rushing the season and still observing Advent. It's a wonderful idea."
Louise Williams, Executive Director of the Lutheran Deaconess Association, President of DIAKONIA of the Americas and the Caribbean
"The season of Advent is a treasure and one of my favorite times in our worship cycle. Pam Gonzaléz has given us a wonderful gift. These carols will increase our appreciation of the great blessings of Advent and take us deeper into the ancient gifts."
Bishop Allan Bjornberg, Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas New Advent Hymns set to familiar Christmas Tunes by Pastor Pamela Gonzaléz Foreword by Herb Brokering.
Item Number: OMM BK99-02
Price: $6.25 plus S+H
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