Vessel,

The Annunciation

The Fifth Story of The Christmas Cycle

Vessel, The Annunciation was first presented in 1986 as part of a service at Christ Church, Presbyterian, an adventurous and progressive congregation on the campus of the University of Vermont in Burlington. A seminal story, Vessel, The Annunciation generates and invokes the central image of Christianity—the essence of God born into the vessel of flesh.

Taking inspiration from the Protoevangelium of James, also called the Gospel of James, a 2nd century apocryphal text highly cherished in the Middle Ages and integrated into the common lore of Christ’s birth, the fifth story of the Christmas Cycle is also about the one who contained and supported the birth—the Virgin Mary. Where she came from, who she was, and how she came to this extraordinary circumstance.

The initiation of the miraculous child’s gestation is celebrated as taking place in Spring on March 25, nine months before the emergence of the Christ Child from the womb of winter on December 25. This is a Christmas story that takes place as the earth leaps toward bright and verdant richness in the Spring; and, it is a story that is also remembered during the feast days that celebrate the vessel of the Virgin Mary in the darkening nights of November and December.

A pre-talk with images and discussion precedes the story, describing the relationship of the Christmas season to the calendar of the natural world in the northern hemisphere, a time when the Earth is dreaming, and a great opportunity for deepening as a human being is present. Images from the story are also explored as a source of inspiration during this potent time of year.

For adults and children of all ages.

Please click on a photo to enlarge.

With Music by Evan Premo, Ruth Cunningham, Hildegard von Bingen, Victoria Fraser and Aurora Ancient Music