Grace Cathedral

Dear Friends,

A very meaningful Advent, and Happy Christmas to everyone! This time of the year is so wonderful, and it is a signal pleasure to experience it at Grace Cathedral. Good cheer, renewed hope, and a sense of God’s holy peace come with the arrival of Christ in the world.

Because of the quirk of the calendar, Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year (4 Advent, to be specific); the clergy team thought we’d spell out the Christmas service schedule in this Congregation Update. You can also check the Grace Cathedral Christmas page as well if you have any questions.

Sunday, December 24: Christmas Eve

• The Fourth Sunday in Advent 8:30 am Morning Prayer
• 11 am The Bishop’s Christmas Pageant
• 4 pm Christmas Eve Lessons & Carols
• 7:30 pm Christmas Eve Choral Eucharist
• 11 pm “Midnight Mass” Choral Eucharist with Choir and Orchestra
• Choral Prelude at 10:30 pm

Monday, December 25: Christmas Day

• 11 am Christmas Day Choral Eucharist

We hope you can join us, either in person or virtually, in these celebrations and that you invite family and friends as well, in the spirit of the season. 

We at Grace Cathedral wish you a very blessed Christmas and look forward to worshiping together in the New Year! Here’s a Christmas prayer by Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, who spent some of his career in the Bay Area.

A Christmas Prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson

Loving Father, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,

That we may share in the song of angels,

The gladness of the shepherds,

And worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift

And good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings,

And teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children,

And Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,

Forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. Amen

The Rev. Canon Dr. Greg Kimura, Ph. D.
Vice Dean