UNION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF HANCOCK
We respect tradition — and we welcome inclusive language about people and expansive language about God. Please pray using words most meaningful to you.
Open and Affirming of ALL God’s Children
Drawing © Caleb Edwards
“When despair for the world grows in me….I come into the peace of wild things…”
~ Wendell Berry
Second Sunday of Advent - Peace - December 8, 2024, 2024
This service will be in-person and on Zoom at 10 a.m.
(Recorded for Facebook and YouTube)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 822 2425 2518 Passcode: 755650
The first pew in front of the pulpit has books and quiet activities for people of all ages.
Please borrow something that suits you, and return it after the service.
Silent Prayer
God of peace, show us the way. When we feel far from home, caught up in conflict, or weighed down by worry, give us your peace. Remind us of your presence every time we encounter the serene beauty of creation. Fill us with that serenity, and make us instruments of your peace. Come, Jesus, Come! Amen
* Indicates points in the service when we stand in body or spirit
Announcements
Prelude Pastorale Air with Variations Murschhauser/ Lani Smith
Welcome
*Advent Candle Lighting
Reader One: The prophet Malachi calls us to watch for the messenger God will send us, a messenger who burns with a passion for God’s coming salvation.
Congregation: In a world driven by a passion to maintain the status quo, we choose to live with a passion for God’s peace, to listen to those who call us to righteousness, and to submit ourselves to God’s grace, that we might be refined and purified until we reflect God’s love throughout the earth.
Reader Two: We light this candle of peace as a sign of our commitment to passionately pursue the work of making peace in our hearts, our families, our communities, and throughout the earth until God’s kin-dom comes on earth as it is in heaven.
*Introit One Candle is Lit (vs. 2) Music and lyrics on last page of bulletin
*Call to Worship
One: Oh, Bethlehem Candle!
All: Oh, Candle of Peace!
One: We beg of you—Please, please burn.
All: A candle, a star, a glimmer–in the winter of our Spirits!
One: Fan the flame of peace in our Inner Being,
All: that we may glow with your Ancient Love,
One: Fan the flame of peace in our Inner Being,
All: that we may kindle Hope in a weary world.
*Passing of the Peace (ASL) and Lighting of Peace & Justice Candle
“Having loved enough and lost enough, I am no longer searching, just opening. No longer trying to make sense of pain, but trying to be a soft and sturdy home in which real things can land.” ~ Mark Nepo
*Hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel R. #114
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, thou Day-spring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, thou Wisdom from on high, and order all things, far and nigh;to us the path of knowledge show, and cause us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind;
bid envy, strife and quarrels cease, fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
*Invocation (in unison)
Today, we honor our bone-deep longing for peace. We call our neighbor beloved. We call the person across the ocean from us sibling. This Advent, may we be guided by those who practice robust peace, that is to say: Not just the absence of violence, but the presence of justice. The presence of solidarity. Oh, how we dream of a world where all beings are kept safe! Come, Holy Spirit, come!
Children’s Message Cottontail
from “All Creation Waits: TheAdvent Mystery of New Beginnings”
Written by Gayle Boss. Illustrated by David G. Klein
Greek Scriptures Luke 1:26-38
Contemporary Reading excerpt from “Amazing Peace” Maya Angelou
Special Music Alleluia for Advent Carols set by Patrick M. Liebergen
Message
*Hymn Mary, Woman of the Promise B. #123
Mary, woman of the promise; vessel of your people's dreams:
Through your open, willing spirit waters of God's goodness streamed.
Mary, song of holy wisdom, sung before the world began:
Faithful to the Word within you, as you bore God's wondrous plan.
Mary, morning star of justice; mirror of the Radiant Light:
In the shadows of life's journey, be a beacon for our sight.
Mary, model of compassion; wounded by your offspring’s pain;
When our hearts are torn by sorrow, teach us how to love again.
Mary, woman of the gospel; humbled home for treasured seed;
Help us to be true disciples, bearing fruit in word and deed.
Prayers of the People – Sharing Joys & Concerns
Our Mother, who is in heaven and within us, we call upon your names. Your wisdom come. Your will be done, in all the spaces in which you dwell. Give us each day sustenance and perseverance. Remind us of our limits as we give grace to the limits of others. Separate us from the temptation of empire, and deliver us into community. For you are the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us, and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen
Lead me Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my face.
For it is thou Lord, thou Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.
Invitation to Offering –
Inspired by the words of poet, Mark Nepo, and practicing peace with our lives—let us be soft and sturdy places for one another to land. We gather our offerings, that it may be so.
Offertory The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came Basque Carol/ Robert Lau
*The Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God for all that love has done; Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Amen
*Prayer of Dedication (spoken in unison)
Soft and Sturdy God—bless our offerings to what is real: our care for one another, our sacred interdependence, the hope we are tending for tomorrow. Amen
*Hymn I’ve Got Peace Like a River B. #478
I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river,
I've got peace like a river in my soul.
I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river,
I've got peace like a river in my soul.
I've got joy like a fountain, I've got joy like a fountain,
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul.
I've got joy like a fountain, I've got joy like a fountain,
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul.
I've got love like an ocean, I've got love like an ocean,
I've got love like an ocean in my soul.
I've got love like an ocean, I've got love like an ocean,
I've got love like an ocean in my soul.
I’ve got faith like an anchor, I’ve got faith like an anchor,
I’ve got faith like an anchor in my soul.
I’ve got faith like an anchor, I’ve got faith like an anchor,
I’ve got faith like an anchor in my soul.
*Benediction
*Sung Blessing All Good Gifts the tune is the refrain from R. #528
All good gifts around us come forth from God’s own love,
So, thank you, God, we thank you, God, for all your love.
Postlude Comfort, Comfort Ye, My People Tune: Geneva/ Mc Connell
(Please remain seated for the Postlude)
Support our Church Financially
Please visit Hancock (Maine) UCC on Facebook or our new webpage www.hancockucc.com
or visit this link to our PayPal account: paypal.me/hancockucc
or mail offerings to:
Union Congregational Church, PO Box 443, Hancock, ME 04640 (Attention: Treasurer)
Contact Us
207.422.3100 207.323.6743
Many thanks to those who make this service possible –
in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Music Minister – Debbie Riley
Deacons – Everett Espling & David Wildes
Liturgist – Jodie Kimmel
Audio-Video Support – Mike Summerer
Office Administrator – Vicky Espling
Student Ministry Intern – Sarina Brooks
Settled Minister – Rev. TJ Mack
The Body of Christ – You
Resources
Starry Nights: An Advent Devotional Full of Light and Wonder – Silent Prayer
enfleshed: liturgy that matters, adapted – Call to Worship, Invocation, Offering Prayers
UMC-discipleship-org – Advent Wreath Lighting liturgy, adapted
“The Lord’s Prayer” alternative version written by Rev. Yolanda M. Norton
The New Century Hymnal (B.) Hymns of Truth and Light (R.)
Copyright © 1995 The Pilgrim Press Copyright © 1998 First Congregational
Church of Huston, Texas
"Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE,
License #A-738532. All rights reserved
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Public Domain
Words and Music - ©2009 Public Domain
Mary, Woman of the Promise
Words - ©1988 Selah Publishing Co., Inc.
Contributors: Mary Frances Fleischaker
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