Service Recording: December 23, 2018
December 23, 2018 ~ 10:30am
Liturgists
The People of Peace Church
Doug Bowen-Bailey, ASL Interpreter
Jim Pospisil, Music Director
Rev. Kathryn Nelson
Prelude
Greeting One Another
Announcements
Ringing of the Peace Bells
God is Revealed as We Gather
Song “Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn” (#107, v. 4)
Lighting of Our Advent Wreath Candles ~ The Candle of Love
Peter, Kelli, Sophia, Oliver, and Henry Farell
Opening Hymn “All Are Welcome” (insert)
Unison Prayer of Confession
God of radical welcome, we celebrate today your inclusive, unconditional love, a love so powerful it became enfleshed in the person and message of Jesus. We confess that our own love has often been narrow and constricted, that we have often failed to act on our values and beliefs. You challenge us to reach out to the stranger, to welcome the homeless, to share what we have with the poor. Grant us your mercy and help us to embody your ways of justice and love in all the dimensions of our lives.
Assurance of God’s Love
Story for All Ages Nathan Holst, Faith Formation Minister
Sharing Our Prayer Concerns, Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer,
the Lord’s Prayer (with debts) and Choral Amen
Shared Ministry Moment “Music” Gudrun Witrak
“THE CANTATA OF RADICAL WELCOME”
Reader 1: Please join in the introductory reading of the cantata. At the stable, all are welcome, shepherds and sheep, magi from countries afar, the farm animals and the birds in the rafters, and the angels from on high.
All: In the Christmas story, all are welcome. In the message of Jesus, all are welcome.
Reader 1: His story is one of radical inclusivity, grace freely given, hands outstretched to all. Let us sing this story in many languages, out of many traditions and cultures.
All: In the Christmas story, all are welcome, all are invited to come and rejoice.
Reader 1: Let us sing this story of profound acceptance and hospitality, each of our voices unique and individual connected to other voices. Each one of us a precious voice in the chorus of the family of humankind.
Songs: Uyai Mose (“Come All Ye People” P&W Songbook #39) and Ave Maria (Biebl)
ISAIAH’S VISION OF THE MESSIANIC AGE
Reader 2: Please join in reflecting on Isaiah’s vision for the messianic age, a radical vision of harmony and peace. A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
All: The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of the knowledge of God.
Reader 2: He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.
All: The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of the knowledge of God.
Reader 2: The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
All: The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of the knowledge of God.
Reader 2: The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the snake, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
All: They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Songs: See Amid the Winter’s Snow (arr. by Dan Forrest) and The First Nowell (red #100, v. 1-2)
ISAIAH’S PROMISE OF GOD’S GLORY
Reader 3: Please join in reflecting on Isaiah’s promise of God’s glory, a promise of justice and care for all. A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord!
All: Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Reader 3: Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.
All: Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all humankind shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Reader 3: Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God!
All: Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom and leading them all with care.
Songs: Carol of the Birds (trad. Catalonian carol) and Hark! the Herald Angels Sing (red #94, v. 1,3)
LUKE’S STORY OF JESUS’ BIRTH
Reader 4: Please join in reflecting on Luke’s story of Jesus’ birth, a story proclaimed to all the world, a story that banishes fear and welcomes in peace to be shared by all humankind. In those days Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole world. Everyone went to register, each to his own town. And so Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to David’s town of Bethlehem, to register with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
All: While they were there the time came for her to deliver her child. She gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the place where travelers lodged.
Reader 4: There were shepherds in that locality living in the fields and keeping night watch by turns over their flocks. The angel of the Lord appeared to them as the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very much afraid.
All: The angel said to them, “You have nothing to fear. I come to proclaim good news to you—tidings of great joy to be shared by the whole people.”
Reader 4: “This day in David’s city a savior has been born to you, the Messiah and Lord. Let this be a sign to you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.”
All: Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in high heaven, peace on earth to those on whom God’s favor rests.
Songs: O Magnum Mysterium (Morten Lauridsen) and Angels We Have Heard (red #90, v. 1,3)
THE CONTINUING REVELATION
Reader 5: The angels still sing today. You have nothing to fear. I come to proclaim good news to you—tidings of great joy to be shared by the whole people. God’s love is overflowing and unconditional. God loves you now, God calls you now to be people of justice, people of radical welcome. So, let us sing our welcome for all.
All Sing: O Neighbor, you are welcome here. O Neighbor, you are welcome here.
Reader: In the Ojibwe spiritual tradition, we respect all things, our mother earth and the sky, those who swim and those who fly, animals and people. We are loved with great lovingkindness by the Creator. We belong to all our relatives, and we must together seek a life of harmony and balance.
All Sing: O Neighbor, you are welcome here. O Neighbor, you are welcome here.
Juan: The story of Christmas reminds us that the angels proclaim peace for all humankind. Because all belong to one human family, we must reach across borders, across belief systems, and across political divides to see each other and cherish each other as brothers and sisters.
All Sing: O Neighbor, you are welcome here. O Neighbor, you are welcome here.
Gudrun: The message of Jesus reminds us that we must “put away all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us.” We must learn to live in the great welcome of God, that abounding love that knows no borders or boundaries.
All Sing:
O Family, you are welcome here. O Family, you are welcome here.
O Stranger, you are welcome here. O Stranger, you are welcome here.
O Enemy, you are welcome here. O Enemy, you are welcome here.
O Christ child, you are welcome here. O Christ child, you are welcome here.
Interlude by Wendy Durrwachter
Song: The Christmas Symbol (F. Melius Christiansen)
You are welcome here.
All are welcome here.
Benediction: Go forth and sing with the angels. Do not fear. I come to proclaim good news to you—tidings of great joy to be shared by the whole people. God’s love is overflowing and unconditional. Go forth to be a sign of welcome, a hand held out, a word of greeting: neighbor, family. Go in Peace friends.