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Gathering and Announcements
Prelude Lumen Abbie Betinis Grace Notes
Translation: Receive this light and pass it on. I give that you may give.
Call To Worship
Welcome to worship.
Welcome to worship.
I am glad you’re here.
I am glad you’re here.
Surely God is in this space.
Surely God is in this space.
I see God in your face.
I see God in your face.
Let us worship together.
Let us worship together.
Hymn of Preparation People, Look East 202 UMH
Preparing the Advent Wreath
How shall we make this place a reminder of our need of repentance and that faithfulness and integrity that comes from God our maker and redeemer?
Let us prepare the Advent Wreath:
Lighting of the Advent Wreath
How does a weary world practice peace?
By listening before we speak and saying sorry when we need to.
By advocating for justice and caring for our neighbor. By practicing Sabbath and forgiving seventy times seven.
By choosing grace over hate and opening the door for each other.
There are a million ways to practice peace. So today we light the candle of peace as a reminder and a charge.
With God’s help, may we bring peace into a weary world. Amen.
Scripture Reading Isaiah 40:1-11
Anthem Creator of the Stars of Night Conditor Alme Siderum Grace Notes
Gospel Reading Luke 1:24-45
Scripture Hymn Blessed Be the God of Israel 209 UMH
Message
Response to the Word
We believe that joy is a sacred gift,
existing on a plane deeper than happiness, stemming from the truth that we belong to God. We believe that joy is not meant for isolation. Joy is meant to be shared, weaving us together in laughter and in hope. And when joy feels impossibly out of reach, we believe that part of being sacred community is leaning on one another. So together we say: I will share my joy when yours runs out. You will share your joy when mine runs out. And in doing so, we will both see God. Amen.
Invitation to Offering
Loving God, the source of our joy, as we turn our hearts toward your Word, we ask that you would soften us. Soften the callouses on our hearts. Weave yourself in between the cracks in our spirits. And plant hope where there is room.
And as you do this, like flowers toward the sun, we will turn ourselves toward you,
eager to hear a Word so good that we cannot help but ask ourselves, “How can this be?”
With openness and gratitude we give and with openness and gratitude we pray, Amen.
Offertory Dr. Dan Cummings, piano
Doxology Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow 94 UMH
Prayer of the People and Lord’s Prayer
God of today and God of tomorrow,
We come to you this morning
to thank you for the way that joy binds us together.
Thank you for contagious laughter,
for inside jokes,
for stories around dinner tables that can make us laugh until we cry. Thank you for comedy shows,
for the familiar sound of a loved one’s chuckle,
and for the universality of smile lines.
What a gift you have given us.
Our text today reminds us that joy is better when shared, so today we thank you in particular for the Elizabeths and the Marys in our lives.
Thank you for the people who spark joy in us.
Thank you for the people who pull us out of our shells,
who teach us how to dance and show us how to laugh. Thank you for those who declare, “Blessed are you.”
In a moment of gratitude, we silently lift their names to you now.
Holy God, although we know that joy is better when shared, there are days when that is easier said than done. Like Elizabeth, who stayed in isolation for months after receiving her good news, we too have a tendency to choose fear over joy. Without the help of someone at our door, we can often keep our joy to ourselves.
So gracious God,
when those days come,
when the waters of fear rise,
when isolation steals our joy,
comfort us.
Comfort us like a shepherd with their flock.
Gather us into your arms and carry us to safer ground
that we might experience joy in the ways you have in store for us.
And until that promised day,
like Mary and Elizabeth,
we will do our best to keep finding one another.
Like Mary and Elizabeth,
we will do our best to open the door to one another, to you, and to the joy that connection brings.
Together we unite our voices in hope, praying the words your son taught us to pray, saying together: Our Father (Creator)...
Confession
Family of faith, one of the ways we find joy in a weary world is through connection. The prayer of confession is a place of connection with God.
In the prayer of confession we get to come before God with our full, messy, honest selves. And in the midst of that mess, God tells us that we are loved, claimed, and forgiven.
There is no greater joy than that.
So join me in the prayer of confession, not because you have to, but because you can. Let us connect with our merciful God.
God of laughter,
God of open front doors
and family reunions,
we confess that we often doubt good news.
We move through this world
waiting for the other shoe to drop,
waiting for life to fall apart,
waiting for our humanity to get the best of us.
Instead of leaning into joy, we lean into scarcity.
We lean into fear.
We lean into isolation.
Forgive us for forgetting that joy is amplified when shared.
Heal the wounds we have from past hurts, and teach us how to throw open our doors like Elizabeth. Show us how to find joy in connection.
Amen.
Pardon
Faith family,
I imagine that when we come before God with the truth of our lives,
God meets us like Elizabeth meets Mary in our scripture today. The door is thrown open. There is laughter. There is joy. There is embracing—and it is holy.
So trust this; believe this:
You are claimed. You are loved. You are forgiven. And you are sent to serve. Find joy in that.
Amen!
The Peace
Regathering Hymn He Came Down TFWS (vs 2) 2085
The Great Thanksgiving
May you know that the God of comfort is with you.
And may you see the God of hope with you.
Open wide our anxious hearts!
We open them to God’s peace.
Let us give thanks and share our joy.
In this space and time, we offer God our love and praise.
The dawn of hope rests on the horizon, and beams of love reach our doubting hearts. We celebrate the newness of this season- Waiting to see how the Christ will appear in our world. Even in our despair, a glimmer of hope reaches into our twilight
Beckoning us to breathe and wait…
Our story tells us that the Christ child whose birth we anticipate, will one day sit at tables with strangers and friends, building relationships filled with love and grace.
We see this as he fed the multitude, turned water into wine, and ate with dear ones the night before his death.
He took the bread, blessed it, and broke it.
Take and Eat in remembrance of me.
He took the cup, and in his blessing, reminded them that when they sipped from the fruit of the vine to drink in remembrance of him.
Jesus. The Christ. Emmanuel – God with us.
Light of the World. The Word of Life.
No matter how we know him, or what name we call him, He is our hope, our peace, our joy, and our love. May the Spirit bless us and these elements as we commune to remember him.
For the nourishment of spirit, mind, and body, for hope that we begin to see, and for comfort from the Prince of Peace, we share our gratitude, Gracious God. Encourage us in these shortened days. Through the long nights of this season, May your hope carry us until dawn arrives again.
Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,
all honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and forever. Amen.
Prayer After Receiving
Musical Prayer After Receiving I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light 206 UMH
Charge and Benediction
Family of faith, as you leave this place, you go into a weary world.
So speak tenderly. Do the good that is yours to do. Choose connection.
Hold onto hope. And remember that Christ took on flesh for you. You are God’s beloved. So go rejoicing. The world needs it. Amen.
Musical Benediction Dr. Karen Marrolli, mezzo-soprano
Postlude Dr. Dan Cummings, piano
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