Bulletin

Welcome to United Christian Parish! Use the bulletin as guidance as you worship.
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DECEMBER 28 ORDER OF WORSHIP

PRELUDE

WELCOME

CALL TO WORSHIP
One: In worship, we hear God’s story and we ask,
All: “What did God do long ago?”
One: In worship, we hear God’s story, so we ask,
All: “What is God doing, here and now?”
One: In worship, we hear God’s story, then we ask,
All: “What can I do to respond to it all?”
One: Listen, God is speaking.
All: Listen, it may be time to act.
One: Let us worship our moving, inspiring, with-us God.

OPENING SONG *
“Good Christian Friends, Rejoice” (#164)
Good Christian friends, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice!
Listen now to what we say:
News! News!
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!

Good Christian friends, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice!
Now you hear of endless bliss;
Joy! Joy!
Jesus Christ was born for this!
He has opened heaven's door,
and we are blest for evermore.
Christ was born for this!
Christ was born for this!

Good Christian friends, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice!
Now you need not fear the grave:
Peace! Peace!
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!

CALL TO CONFESSION *

PRAYER OF CONFESSION *
One: Emmanuel, God with us, scripture tells us that you were a refugee,
All: but we love to forget that information. We love to forget every act of gun violence.
One: We love to forget how many people go hungry, or how many students do not have access to good education.
All: We love to forget the injustices in our world that feel too big for us to face.
One: But you are a God who refuses to forget. So today we pray: make it impossible for us to overlook the stories of those in need.
All: Make it impossible for us to sweep injustice under the rug. Open our eyes along with our hearts, so that the anger we feel around injustice might fuel a fire for action.

WORDS OF FORGIVENESS *
One: Church family, even when we fail to do justice, even when we fail to love kindness, even when we allow fear to override action, freezing us in place, God still loves us. So hear and believe the good news of the gospel:
All: On our best days and on our worst days, we belong to God. We are invited into community.  We are held in God’s grace. We are forgiven. And we are sent to serve.
One: Thanks be to God for a love like that. Amen.

GLORIA *
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!

PASSING THE PEACE

OFFERING

DOXOLOGY
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise Christ, all people here below;
praise Holy Spirit evermore;
praise Triune God, whom we adore.
Amen.

CHILDREN’S TIME

SONG
“Light of the World”

SCRIPTURE (Matthew 2:1-23)

SONG
“The First Noel” (#151)
The first Noel, the angel did say;
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
in fields where they lay keeping their sheep,
on a cold winter's night that was so deep.

Refrain: Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
born is the King of Israel.

They looked up and saw a star,
shining in the east, beyond them far,
and to the earth it gave great light,
and so it continued both day and night: [Refrain]

And by the light of that same star
three wise men came from country far;
to seek for a king was their intent,
and to follow the star wherever it went: [Refrain]

This star drew nigh to the northwest,
o'er Bethlehem it took its rest,
and there it did both stop and stay
right over the place where Jesus lay. [Refrain]

Then entered in those wise men three,
full reverently upon their knee,
and offered there in his presence
their gold and myrrh and frankincense: [Refrain]

DISCUSSION
• We often skip the story of Herod’s persecution and the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt. Why do you think that is? What do we lose if we don’t read and know about this text?
• When you hear the story of the Holy Family fleeing political persecution, how does it make
you feel? There is so much suffering in the world. What is one organization, non-profit, or grassroots movement that inspires you?
• The theme for this morning is, “Let fear fire a fuel for justice.” How can we move from fear to action? Where can we grow in this next year and the years to come?

SONG
“Once in Royal David’s City” (#165)
Once in royal David's city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a mother laid her baby
in a manger for his bed:
Mary was that Mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.

Christ came down to earth from heaven
love incarnate for us all,
and his shelter was a stable,
and his cradle was a stall;
with the poor, the scorned, the lowly,
lived on earth our Savior holy.

Jesus is our childhood's pattern;
day by day like us he grew,
he was little, weak, and helpless,
tears and smiles like us he knew;
Thus he feels for our sadness,
and he shares in all our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see him,
through his own redeeming love;
for that child who seemed so helpless,
lives and reigns in heaven above;
and he leads his children on
to the place where he is gone.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
One: Holy and loving God, you are the one who paints the sky with stars each night.
All: You are the one who stirs our souls awake and invites us to dream.
One: You are the one who was born in a manger, and you are the one who meets us now.
All: So with gratitude and humility, we bring you our prayers.
One: Loving God, we have so much to be grateful for in this season. As we move toward the end of the year, we look back on the last 12 months with gratitude for every joyful memory.
All: Thank you for the winter snows and the summer sun. Thank you for the moments of laughter and the moments of growth. Thank you for the magic of Christmas and the joys of life in community.
One: At this time, we lift up our prayers of gratitude in silence
Silence
One: Holy God, thank you for every beautiful and lovely thing. However, in addition to our gratitude, God, we also look back over these last 12 months with painful awareness that life on Earth is far from perfect.
All: God, we worry for those who are hungry. We worry for those who have been told all their life that there is no room in the inn for them. We worry for those who feel alone, and for those trapped in layers of grief.
One: At this time, we lift up our prayers of concern in silence.
Silence
One: Emmanuel, when we look back over the last 12 months, it is clear that there has been abundant beauty and abundant suffering. Where there is injustice—where there is violence and suffering, bigotry and hatred—fuel a fire in us.
All: Show us how to care for our immigrant neighbors, our hungry neighbors, our Republican and Democrat neighbors, our male, female, and nonbinary neighbors. Show us how to love as you loved. Show us how to make this next year a little more beautiful and a lot more loving than the last.
One: With hope for tomorrow and the determination to make this world a safer place for us all, we pray the words your son taught us to pray, saying…

LORD’S PRAYER
All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

CLOSING SONG *
“Go, Tell It on the Mountain” (#167)
People, look east, the time is near 
of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Guest, is on the way.

Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,
one more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
that in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Rose, is on the way.

Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim,
one more light the bowl shall brim,
shining beyond the frosty weather,
bright as sun and moon together.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Star, is on the way.

Angels, announce with shouts of mirth
him who brings new life to earth.
Set every peak and valley humming
with the word, the Lord is coming.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Lord, is on the way.

CLOSING MESSAGE *

POSTLUDE

*Rise in body or spirit