The Lead

Episcopal News Service reports that the Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will preach at the Christmas Eve service to be broadcast on CBS. The service will air from General Theological Seminary:

The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) spent last week putting the finishing touches on an hour long television program, Christmas in Chelsea Square, that will air over CBS stations nationwide on December 24th at 11:35 pm (EST). The 194-year-old seminary was selected by the network last summer to produce the annual television special. The central portion of the program features a traditional Christmas service of lessons and carols for which the homilist is the Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop and Primate, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori.
Also featured are excerpts from a reading of Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem that begins, “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” as well as a brief segment that introduces viewers to the Seminary’s history and present day mission. General is known for the beauty of its Episcopal liturgy and music as well as its idyllic campus located in the Chelsea district of New York City on property donated by Moore and known as Chelsea Square. Nearly all the network’s affiliates will broadcast the annual Christmas special.

Comments (9)

Congratulations to General and to the PB. This is a fantastic opportunity.

Posted by Jim Naughton | December 20, 2011 7:08 PM

Hopefully, someone will YouTube it so that those of us in services at that time, and lacking Tivo and/or DVR can still see it!
Thanking whoever that is in advance,
Lauren

Posted by laurenstanley | December 20, 2011 8:23 PM

Let's see. 11:35 p.m. December 24. Oh, it's Christmas Eve and time for all good little Christians to be at Midnight Mass.

So what are GTS and the PB broadcasting? Why Lessons and Carols and A Visit from St. Nicholas (no doubt from Moore's original manuscript).

If you want a Eucharist you'll have to go to the Romans. Episcopalians wouldn't want to be insensitive to anyone.

Posted by Paul Woodrum | December 21, 2011 9:30 AM

Yikes. Episcopalians take the cake for looking gift horses in the mouth. I wouldn't imagine it has anything to do with being insensitive. It has to do with what can be accomplished to introduce our church to a broader audience within the confines of a television show. CBS doesn't just hand over free time for whatever we want to put on. It is necessary to work with them to meet some of their needs to.

Posted by Jim Naughton | December 21, 2011 9:46 AM

Thanks for your comments, Jim. A team of students, staff, and faculty actually made all the decisions about the CBS special in consultation with the network. Their format in the past had focused on beautiful music and scripture readings. We tried to stay within these guidelines but in a way that was distinctly Anglican/Episcopal. There's a preview on our website now (www.gts.edu) along with info about how to view it after Christmas. Bruce Parker (VP GTS)

Posted by Bruce Parker | December 21, 2011 2:14 PM

If you were writing the Presiding Bishop's sermon for her, what would you want her to say? - at this particular point of the church year, at this particular point of national and global history?

Posted by Jesse Zink | December 21, 2011 4:06 PM

Great question. Thanks.

Posted by Jim Naughton | December 21, 2011 4:09 PM

Thanks to Jim and Bruce for their gentle admonitions to stop fussing about the broadcast schedule. I still have a VCR so I have set it to record (since we will be in church at the time) but I'm glad to see that the service will be on YouTube beginning on the 27th. (We had a heads-up on this broadcast service because a member of our parish is a GTS student -- though I didn't see her in the preview!)

Posted by Bill Moorhead | December 21, 2011 10:11 PM

Well, I'm home this Christmas Eve, and I've seen it.

In one sentence: "Hey, everybody, Episcopalians are slobs just like everybody else, we're just smugger about it."

It is possible for recorders to sound in tune, I promise!

(At least they sorta did Anglican Chant in public.)

I'm presuming (hoping-against-hope) having the choir arranged around the altar was the producers' idea...

Our +Kate was fine, I guess....

I suppose I should take comfort in the sense that CBS didn't know what they wanted to do, either.

Posted by Howard Preston Burkett | December 25, 2011 12:53 AM

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