Sunday, Dec 2/18 Bulletin
December 2, 2018 1st Sunday in Advent
(Portions of the service that are in BOLD are to be said by all.
All points marked * those who are able are invited to stand.)
Approach
Gathering song VU #62 – “Once in Royal David’s City”
Welcome, and Announcements
Lighting the Candle / Response “Give Us Hope”
Give us hope for the world, while we’re waiting,
Give us hope for ourselves, we pray,
Give us hope for your love and your healing,
Give us hope for a brand new day.
Light a candle, light a candle,
Light a candle while we wait and pray.
Light a candle, light a candle,
Light a candle of God’s hope.
Call to Worship
One: In Advent we watch and wait, and prepare to welcome the Christ Child into the world.
All: Come, Jesus, come!
One: In Advent we prepare for a life of discipleship, and watch faithfully for signs of God’s light breaking into the world.
All: Come, Jesus, come!
One: As we wait, dear One, we watch for signs of your action in the world, actions of compassion and grace breaking in.
All: Come, Jesus, come!
One: Holy God, we recognize that we do not know the day or the hour, but we know that the day is near.
All: Come, Jesus, come! Be born anew in our world and in our lives.
* Opening Hymn VU #2 – “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”
Prayer of Approach and Confession
In this season as the days grow shorter and the shadows lengthen, we gather in eager expectation for the Light of the World to dawn. Help us, God, to lay aside all the works of night and even our cynicism as we enter this sacred season. During this hour of worship, send your Spirit to empower us to live in the light with hope. Holy and Loving God, we give thanks for the promise of this sacred season and for the joy we find in the Christ Child. Yet even as we rejoice, we recognize that we often fail to live with the hope of redemption. In this season of anticipation, we know that we are easily distracted by our own projects and preparation. We lose focus on the one who is the Source of our joy. Forgive us, God, and restore our hope in you. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Passing of the Peace
Recognition of National Day of Remembrance & Action on Violence Against Women
Recognition of National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
One: We are a people who live into the hope that is symbolized in this first Sunday of Advent. We know that it is one thing to hope, but hope is more than just something we think, it must also be accompanied by our actions to bring about change. We hope for a world where any and every woman will no longer be faced with violence because of their gender. We hope for the day when anger towards women will be replaced with anger towards injustice, misogyny, and patriarchy. I invite you, therefore to join me in the following litany.
One: Jesus, who tipped over the tables in the temple, take from us the anger which keeps us from listening to another’s point of view.
All: Give us the anger that insists the powerless be heard.
One: Jesus, who drew the line in the sand, take from us the anger which wounds members of our community.
All: Give us the anger that insists on our differences being thoroughly and respectfully aired.
One: Jesus who sat with the woman at the well, take from us the anger which masks our own insecurity and prejudice.
All: Give us the anger that will not let injustice or half-truth go unchallenged.
One: Let us use our anger to work towards equality and the end of misogyny and hatred in our world.
All: We offer this to you today, God who is our hope in all things. Amen
* Hymn MV #179 – “Sisters Let Us Walk Together”
The Word
& Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 33: 14-16
Luke 1: 39-55
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
THANKS BE TO GOD!
Meditation – “A Glimmer of Hope?”
(a quiet time for your personal reflection and prayer)
Anthem – “A Child of Hope”
The Response
* Offering / Response:
In this Advent time of waiting
May we serve the Prince of Peace,
Share our gifts with those around us,
Joy and hope in all increase.
Dream the vision, tell the story,
Healing bring to those in need,
Share the promises once more,
Christ is near, who came before.
Communion Liturgy
One: God’s Banquet is coming. The time we await when all will gather from North, East, West and South.
All: A banquet where the rich and powerful will sit with the weak and poverty-stricken. A table where young and old will learn from each other. A time when all will sit together in peace, “and the wolf will lie down with the lamb”.
One: Here at this table we get a foretaste of God’s banquet. This is indeed God’s table, not the church’s, and so all who seek to follow The Way are welcome to eat and drink from it.
All: Come and taste the grace eternal, come and see that God is good.
One: God is with us
All: We are not alone
One: Christ is present here
All: The Spirit moves within us
One: Let us give thanks to God
All: In memory and in hope
One: Blessings be to you, Creator God, who in the beginning brought light and life to the world and who continues to bring it love and light everlasting.
All: Your song of wisdom echoes through the ages, your ancient promise still brings us hope.
One: Over the ages you have called people to embrace your hope and share your love.
But even when they have closed their ears to the song you did not stop singing.
You sent prophets and messengers to your people, reminding them of the promised time of peace and justice that would surround the world.
All: They came in the midst of our despair and filled us with hope.
One: And then you came to a young woman named Mary and laid out the promise in a new way
All: Promising her a son, who would be called Jesus.
Promising her that in her son the world would be changed.
One: And now as we prepare for that child to be born, we echo the ancient cry:
All: O come, O come Emmanuel
One: And also we lift our voices in song, singing together the praises of ages (MV #203 tune: Kingsfold)
O holy holy holy God,
O God of time and space.
All earth and sea and sky above
bear witness to your Grace.
Hosanna in the highest heav’n,
creation sings your praise.
And blessed is the One who comes
and bears Your name always
One: Yet even now, as we prepare to celebrate his birth, we remember the life that this baby will live.
All: We remember how he broke the bonds of human tradition to show all what the Banquet of Hope could be as he ate openly with the despised and the outcast of his world.
One: And we remember one special meal, foretaste of the banquet that is to come, that he ate with his closest friends.
All: Gathering them together in an upper room to share the story of liberation, he prepared them for liberation.
One: And at the end of the meal he took bread, blessed and broke it, then passed it to them saying:
All: Take and eat. This bread is the body of Life, broken by the world. Eat it in remembrance and in hope.
One: After that he took the cup, blessed it, and passed it to them saying:
All: This cup is the sign of the New Covenant. Whenever you drink it remember me, for I shall not eat or drink again until the time of the heavenly banquet.
One: Remembering the birth of the child in the stable, we remember also his life, his death and his resurrection.
All: We remember how he poured his love out all he met and look forward to his return and the coming reign of peace, love, and justice.
One: And in our remembering we sing the mystery of faith (MV #204 tune: Kingsfold)
Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen,
Christ will come again!
Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen,
Christ will come again!
Time for all ages
* Closing Hymn VU #7 – “Hope Is a Star”
* Commissioning / Benediction
* Response:
Saviour, dwell with us that we
May go forth, your light to be.
Send us out, good news to sing;
Hope, peace, joy, and love to bring.
God incarnate, with us dwell.
Come, O come, Emmanuel.
Come, Lord Jesus, don’t delay;
Shine your hope through us this day.
Saviour, dwell with us that we
May go forth, your light to be.
***
Rev. Patrick Woodbeck, Minister Laura Steidl, Music Director Heather Karavas, Office Administrator Myrna Hagues, Organist Nancy Sulkers, Liturgist Gina Grant, Custodian
Welcome Ministry: Joyce Muir, Jane Hares, Darlene Scott
Communion Servers: Bob Harrison, Doug Waldron, Sylvia Warrington, Nancy Sulkers
