Order of Worship

10 December 2023

Welcome to Shadow Rock UCC and to the season of

Advent! Joy is often a companion to many other

emotions. We can feel joy in addition to feeling many

other things at once: grief, anticipation, anxiety,

excitement, disappointment, exhaustion. Perhaps many of us live with the myth that joy is not something we deserve—or that it is wholly out of reach. But our joy is rooted in the truth that we belong to God. Can you tether yourself to that deep truth? You deserve to feel joy—fully. The world needs your joy, even if you are weary. Our joy is better when it is shared.

The Second Sunday of Advent

Prelude ~ Top of the World

Shared by Travis Meyers

Welcome and Announcements

Shared by Pastor Ken

Opening Words

Led by Pastor Ken

One: Who are we and what are we called to do?

All: We are the sensitive and responsive ones called

to create a world where every person is radically

affirmed and barriers between people become

bridges of inclusion, justice, and spirituality.

Singing Our Welcome For the Season

~ Good Christian Friends, Rejoice!

1. Good Christian friends rejoice,

With heart and soul and voice;

Give ye heed to what we say, Jesus Christ is born today.

Ox and ass before him bow, and he is in the manger now,

Christ is born today, Christ is born today!

2. Good Christian friends rejoice,

With heart, and soul, and voice;

Now ye hear of endless bliss, Jesus Christ was born for this!

He hath opened heaven’s door,

And we are blest forevermore.

Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!

3. Good Christian friends rejoice,

With heart, and soul, and voice;

Now ye need not fear the grave,

Jesus Christ was born to save!

Calls you one and calls you all to gain the everlasting hall.

Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!

Lighting Our Second Advent Candle for Joy

Led by Judy Schwiebert

One: Last Sunday we lit the candle of hope.

We light the candle of hope again as we remember that Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, will come again to bring everlasting peace.

The candle for hope is lit.

One: The second candle for our Advent celebration is the

Candle of Joy. When the angel Gabriel told Mary that a

special child would be born to her, she was filled with joy.

She sang a song that began with the words: “My soul

magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

One: Just as the birth of Jesus gave great joy to his mother, so his presence in the world gave joy to those who had none

before. He healed them and gave them hope and peace

when they believed in him. From hope, peace, and love

grows joy.

One: We light the candle for joy to remind us that when Jesus is born in us we have joy and that through him there will be everlasting joy on earth.

The candle for joy is lit.

One: Let us pray.

Thank you God for the joy you give us. We ask that as we wait for all your promises to come true, and for Christ to

come again, that you would remain present with us.

Help us today, and every day to worship you, to hear your word, and to do your will by sharing your joy with each other. We ask it in the name of the one who was born in Bethlehem. Amen.

May a quiet joy break out in our noisy world this Christmas.

Silence

Quiet Place



In this quiet place

In this quiet place

Help me be still and know

How I can give, and how to   forgive

In this quiet place

In this quiet place

Help me be still and know You

Like Jesus in the manger

Let me be in this quiet place

Let me see your path for me

Let me trust in your grace

In this quiet place

In this quiet place

Help me be still and know

How to be true in all I do

In this quiet place

In this quiet place

Help me be still and know

You

Celebrations and Celebration Song

Led by Pastor Ken

At this time, we share moments from our lives: birthdays,

anniversaries, and words of peace and justice. We celebrate

sorrows and grief as part of our comprehensive view of life.

Give voice to goodness!

Offerings and Offertory ~ Old Church Choir

Shared by Travis Meyers

Dedication of Our Offerings

Led by Judy Schwiebert

One: Because we can hope, we know that we can give, expecting what we offer to be multiplied many times over, knowing that it will create positive change.

All: In this Advent season, we dedicate our offerings to the building of a more hopeful and peaceful world.

One: May the Christmas story with all its power bring alive our individual hopes into one large outpouring that is significant, life-affirming and blessed for all people.

Word About Life For Today

Shared by Pastor Ken             

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt with joy in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit of Life and Love and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you, Mary, among

women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

Words For Mission   

Led by Judy Schwiebert

One: Celebration need not cease.

All: It can echo in our lives, in our words, in our deeds,

in our moods, in our dreams.

One: These are the times!

All: We are the people.

One: All of Creation is blessed!

All: May we love all and serve all!

One: May God be with you.

All: And also with you.

One: Amen.

All: Amen.

Sending Forth Song ~ God Rest You Merry Gentlemen

1. God rest you, merry gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay,

Remember Christ, our Savior was born on Christmas Day;

To save us all this Christmas hour, If we have gone astray.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,

O tidings of comfort and joy.

2. From God our Heav’nly Father, A blessed angel came,

And unto certain shepherds, Brought tidings of the same:

How that in Bethlehem was born, The Son of God by Name.

Chorus

3. The shepherds at those tidings rejoiced much in mind,

And left their flocks a-feeding, In tempest, storm, and wind:

And went to Bethlehem straight-way, The Son of God to find.

Chorus

Sermon Reboot is ON for today.

This is a time to talk about the message and explore together using the ORID Art Form Conversation methodology. What is ORID? It stands for Observation, Reflection, Interpretation, and Decision. You will get the hang of it.