Online Worship - Sunday, November 29, 2020
First Sunday of Advent
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The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
~ Psalm 27:1
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This morning we begin the season of Advent! Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas. It is a season of hope and anticipation. I don’t know about you, but I need hope this year. We will bless our Advent wreath and light the first candle, we will start hearing the Christmas story, and hear from a wonderful guest preacher.
Please register your attendance here! You can also list prayer requests as well. To be added to the Prayer Chain click here.
See below for the Order of Worship.
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Sunday Worship
November 29, 2020 - 11 AM
First Sunday of Advent
The Order of Service
Welcome to Trinity online.
As we prepare for a time of worship, we invite you to find an intentional space in your home for worship. We encourage you to light a candle or place something that
reminds you of Trinity or your connection with God nearby. Children are invited
to take out their worship boxes to prepare for worship.
Prelude: Prelude in g minor - J.S. Bach
Harrison Cantrell, piano
Welcome and Announcements
As we light our candles in the sanctuary, I invite you to join us in lighting your own candle at home. As we place the cross in the holder, we invite you to place something that reminds you of Trinity or your connection with God in front of you.
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Call to Worship: (based on Isaiah 64:1-9)
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence.
Come Lord Jesus, Come!
To make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
Come Lord Jesus, Come!
From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you.
Come Lord Jesus, Come!
You are our God, and we are all your people
Come Lord Jesus, Come!
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Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel - Hymnal no. 211
The United Methodist Hymnal ©1989 The United Methodist Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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Blessing of the Advent Wreath
Christ came to bring us salvation and has promised to come again.
Let us pray that we always be ready to welcome him.
That the keeping of Advent may open our hearts to God’s love,
That the light of Christ may penetrate the darkness of sin,
That this wreath may constantly remind us to prepare for the coming of Christ,
and that the Christmas season may fill us with peace
and joy as we strive to follow the example of Christ.
Loving God,
your Church joyfully awaits the coming of its Savior,
who enlightens our hearts and dispels the darkness of ignorance and sin.
Pour forth your blessings upon us as we light the candles of this wreath.
May their light reflect the splendor of Christ,
who is Lord, forever and ever. Amen.
Lighting of the First Advent Candle
On this first Sunday of Advent, we light the candle of hope.
Hope is our assurance that God will finish what God has started.
Hope is our confidence that God will be faithful and forever present.
The Kingdom of God is drawing near.
May we prepare our hearts with God’s peace,
God’s justice, and God’s love.
Long before Jesus was born, people were being called by a faithful God to have faith and to follow, to come to the mountain of the Lord. The first candle is one of hope. As we light this candle, may God’s light shine in our darkness and show us the way of salvation.
We light the 1st candle with the candle-lighter or taper.
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Passing of the Peace:
We’d love to know you worshiped with us! Please register your attendance here. We also encourage you to comment during the service so we can be in community with you! Click here to sign up for all our eCommunications.
Children’s Time: The Stanford Family
We invite the children who are worshiping at home to pay extra special attention. Each week Hannah Day Donoghue will send out Children’s Worship Bulletin and Coloring Page for the children to do at home during this time.
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Anthem: All Things Bright and Beautiful - arr. Sandra Eithun
Trinity Ringers
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64 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4 From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.
5 You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.
The Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God.
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24 “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
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Sermon: Keep Awake ~ Pastor Brian Johnson
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Invitation to the Offering:
We invite you to consider giving on-line or giving by text! To give on-line, click here and click on the Giving tab. To give by text, text “GIVE” to 703-783-3034. Further instructions will follow. For further information about online giving, please see the Tithes & Offering announcement below.
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Offertory Prayer
All good gifts come from you, dear Lord,
and from these riches we bring this offering.
Help us to use it for the furtherance of your purpose in this place,
and for the benefit of those in need. Amen.
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Hymn: Blessed Be the God of Israel - Hymnal no. 209
The United Methodist Hymnal ©1989 The United Methodist Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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Dismissal with Blessing:
During this time, children are invited to take one of the stickers and place it on your clothing to remember that you are sent into the world remembering the love of God and Jesus Christ.
Postlude: Now Thank We All Our God - Bach/Means
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Sunday Morning at Trinity Church
The flowers on the altar are given to the glory of God.
Worship Online this Sunday: While we aren’t meeting in person, we will be worshiping online via livestream on Trinity’s Facebook page and through our website. Each Saturday evening, we will send out an email with links to the worship sites and the bulletin for worship that Sunday. This Sunday, we will invite you to be intentional about finding a space in your home to worship and to be truly present in a time of worship. For additional questions about how to worship online, please contact the Church Office.
Fellowship Time via ZOOM on Sunday after Church: After worship this morning, we invite you to a time of fellowship via Zoom led by our Program Director Hannah Day Donoghue! This will be a time for us to connect after worship, check-in, and to have a time of conversation about worship. Click here to join. For questions, contact our Program Director, Hannah Day Donoghue.
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Music Notes
Today’s “Prelude in g minor” BWV 861 is from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I by J.S.Bach (1685-1750). The two books of preludes and fugues in alternately major and minor keys – twenty-four in each – were not written in sequence or as a single concerted effort. They occupied Bach across most of his creative life, from his late twenties to about sixty. He completed Book I in 1722 and Book II a generation later in 1742. The significance of the title lies in Bach’s intent to prove the practicality of adopting a new system of tuning the clavier (a generic term for keyboard instruments at the time, but referring mostly to the harpsichord), namely by means of artificially dividing the scale into twelve equal semitones, hence overriding its natural acoustic divisions into unequal semitones which produced severe problems of intonation. A prelude can mean so many things that a single definition is impossible. As found in the WTC, each prelude is a free, improvisatory piece that examines from various angles a figuration, texture, melodic motif, rhythmic idea or some combination of these in a continuously unfolding musical discourse. This work is in the public domain. Notes by Andras Schiff
Today’s anthem is a 12-bell arrangement by Sandra Eithun of the familiar hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful. She is the director of the Silver Lake College Handbell Ensemble. She has over 300 pieces for handbells in publication as well as several sacred keyboard books and teaching collections for the incorporation of handbells in the music classroom. Note that today, rather than 6 ringers, we have 5, with one in the center ringing two bells in each hand. This advanced technique is called “four-in-hand”. The ringer holds two bells in each hand, positioned so that the clappers are at right angles to each other. We also have a guest substitute ringer today from Westminster Presbyterian Church; he also rings with Virginia Bronze, an auditioned choir.
Today’s postlude is an arrangement for organ by Claude Means of J.S. Bach’s chorale setting of “Nun Danket Alle Gott” from Cantata No. 79, first performed in 1725. In today’s arrangement, the hymn tune is played on the organ pedals, while accompanied on the manuals. “Now Thank We All Our God” is the most ubiquitous and versatile of all Lutheran hymns. It is found in all German hymnals and is a general sacred song of thanksgiving and praise, often called the “German Te Deum.” Its text can be dated to the centennial of Philipp Melanchthon’s Augsburg Confession that was celebrated in Saxony on June 25-27, 1630. Some notes from William Hoffman
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Trinity Community News & Prayers
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Trinity Church’s Weekly News
Youth Group is not meeting this week. We look forward to seeing you at our Virtual meeting on Sunday, December 6th. For more information contact Hannah Day Donoghue.
Advent Sermon Series (November 29, 2020 - December 27, 2020): It has been a been a dark and difficult year. Many of us enter this holiday season already exhausted, overwhelmed, and anxious with the brokenness of our present reality, wondering if and when hope will finally come. While we face darkness, Advent is a season of hope and light that reminds us that despite our dark our world seems, Jesus is coming. Jesus comes to shine a light in the midst of darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it. Join us these four weeks as we anticipate the light of the world.
Join the Trinity Prayer Chain: During times of trial and uncertainty, we pray to grow in our faith and encourage one another. To respond to our growing prayer needs, we will be starting an email prayer chain to share our prayer concerns with one another. We will share joys as well as concerns and needs. If you are interested in being part of this prayer chain or have a prayer request, please email us here.
Centering Prayer meets weekly on Wednesdays from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, via Zoom. Centering Prayer is a 20 minute practice to sit in quiet prayer to make ourselves open to God. A reading is shared by the leader with a short discussion prior to the prayer time. Click here to connect. For more information contact, Alva Smircina.
Christmas & Advent at Trinity Online: Click here to learn more about how you can celebrate Christmas and Advent at Trinity Online this year!
Christmas Trees Arrive Soon! Each December we serve as host to the North Ridge Citizens Association and Almost Heavenly Christmas Trees for the Annual Community Tree Sale. It’s a wonderful, friendly community tradition, to which anyone is welcome. This year the trees are on sale Friday, December 4th through Sunday, December 6th. To preorder a tree, questions, comments, or special requests, contact, Almost Heavenly Trees.
Rising Hope Angel Tree: It’s time to start leaning into advent and with it Christmas! With that comes our Angel Tree. This year, instead of having a tree, we will use this sign up: Trinity’s Rising Hope Angel Gift Sign Up Genius to sign up for our angels. Once purchased, the gifts should be wrapped and given a tag with the Child’s Name and Angel ID (number and letter of the Angel) visible. Drop off dates for gifts will be alongside the Rising Hope Food and Supply drive on: November 21st from 10 - noon, November 28th from 10 - noon, December 5th from 10 - noon. If you cannot make these dates work for drop off, please contact Mary Gillman to make alternate arrangements. Just a reminder, do not purchase additional things for your child and each item should be no more than $25. If you have any questions please email Mary Gillman.
Community Food Drive: Trinity is very excited to be a community missions partner with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in helping deliver food to our neighbors in need with this special project. A semi-truck full of food is coming from Salt Lake City and will be arriving on Thursday, December 3rd and Trinity’s parking lot will be the drop-off and distribution hub to a number of charities in our area. Participating groups also include: Christ Church’s Lazarus Ministry, Casa Chirilagua, and Grace Episcopal. We are looking for people to sign up to help with breaking down pallets and packaging for delivery, sign up by clicking here.) We will also need help with delivering packages to Rising Hope. Please contact Mary Gillman if you have any questions and if you’re able to help with delivery. Please consider signing up to help with this worthwhile community missions project.
Virtual Advent Party December 5th at 5 PM with Christmas Carols and Advent Wreath Making! Come join Linda, Pastor Grace and Hannah for a night jam packed with Christmas Carols, games, advent wreath making and community as we enter into this Advent season. Learn more and RSVP here.
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Online Donations to Trinity
Trinity is in the processing of switching our financial management system. If you still give through VANCO, you can access your Legacy VANCO account here. We encourage you to consider switching to Breeze, our new online management system. If you do switch,
please cancel your VANCO account first and then set up your new giving through Breeze.
Thank you for however you give, it is all very much appreciated! For additional questions or concerns, contact the Church Office.
Tithes and offerings may be sent to Trinity via normal mail (checks only) or via the online donation portal here. You may make online donations directly from your checking account with no check required to be mailed. This will help us immensely as our office will have limited hours to receive and process the checks. However, you may still give by mailing a check - whatever donation you want to provide will be very welcome.
We also have the capability to give by text. Just send a text that says “Give” to: 703-783-3034.
If you want more information on giving by texting works read on:
Step 1. Text the word “Give” - to 703-783-3034. Don’t worry - nothing will be charged to you until you enter your credit card or bank information.
Step 2. You will receive a text back to you saying, “It looks like you are a new giver ; to begin (a link to the text giving site will appear), click on it.
Step 3: A form will appear that will clearly say “Trinity United Methodist Church” at the top left. It will ask you to fill in the following information:
- Amount you want to give and the fund you want to give to. If you want to give a general offering, you don’t need to write anything! If you want to give to a specific fund, you can use one of the following funds: Lent; Flowers; Music; Pastor (For Pastor’s Helping Fund)
- How you want to give - credit card or direct deposit from your bank (called ACH bank transfer)
- If you select credit card, it will ask for your name, address, email address and credit card information.
- If you select ACH - it will ask for you name, address, email address and bank routing and bank account information
- At the bottom you can select one time gift or a recurring period. Suggest you select one time gift for the first time.
- That is it. Then click on Donate Now!
If you made a mistake or change your mind - no worries just send the word “refund” to the same number the last amount you sent them will be refunded to you! Also you can send the word “commands” that will give you a list of options on how to change your account or update your giving amounts.
Have you wanted to set up electronic giving for Trinity? Great! Here are the simple steps for you to follow:
That’s it! But here are a few more things to watch for and questions you’ll be asked:
- Enter the amount you would like to give.
- Select what fund to give to; to give your normal donation use “Pledge Giving”
- Then select one time gift or recurring gift. It helps our church greatly if you can select a recurring giving – either weekly, every 2 weeks, monthly or yearly.
- Select if you want to give by credit card or a direct deposit from your bank (called ACH).
- Next enter your credit card or bank information, address and email address
- And that is it.
As always, Trinity is very grateful for any gifts. It makes everything we do at Trinity possible.
If all else fails - please contact Rich McKinney. Thank you again for your giving - no matter how you give!
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Sunday, November 29th ~ First Sunday of Advent
11:00 AM Worship at via Facebook Live and Trinity Website
12:00 PM Fellowship Time via Zoom
5:30 PM Youth Group via Zoom
Wednesday, December 2nd
6:00 PM Centering Prayer via Zoom
Thursday, December 3rd
5:30 PM Chancel Choir via Zoom
Friday, December 4th
12:00 PM Northridge Association Christmas Tree Sale - Parking Lot
Saturday, December 5th
8 :00 AM Northridge Association Christmas Tree Sale - Parking Lot
10:00 AM Rising Hope Drive Through Food Drive - Parking Lot
10:00 AM Rising Hope Angel Tree Drop Off - Parking Lot
Sunday, December 6th ~ Second Sunday of Advent
11:00 AM Worship at via Facebook Live and Trinity Website
12:00 PM Fellowship Time via Zoom
12:00 PM Northridge Association Christmas Tree Sale - Parking Lot
5:30 PM Youth Group via Zoom
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