Morning Edition. December 3, 2017 Sunday News VIBRANT INCLUSIVE PROGRESSIVE

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1 December 3, 2017 Sunday News Morning Edition VIBRANT INCLUSIVE PROGRESSIVE I first came to this church over 40 years ago. A friend of mine brought me to hear the first preacher, Rev. Bob Wolfe. I came back a few times after that. I became a member around the time that the church moved to a worship space at the First Unitarian Church at St. Clair and Avenue Rd. I love volunteering. I love giving of myself to others. At MCC Toronto I ve volunteered with the Altar Guild and I m currently helping the Counting Team on Sundays. I love being here. This is my family. Every Sunday morning when I go up for healing and anointing, I pick someone new and ask them if they will come up with me. It s one way to show that we care. Last winter I was in the hospital and everyone came to see me. I was amazed but I shouldn t have been. We re a family, a caring family. We re there for each other. I ve also been a volunteer receptionist at Casey House for the last 27 years. I don t work with the residents, but I do support the families. I m a very touchy-feely kind of person, and what a lot of the families need is just someone to give them a hug. It makes a difference. I remember walking past one of the rooms. A man was lying in his bed. His mom was beside him, cradling his head in her arms. He was dying of AIDS, but as I walked by he lifted his head and greeted me with a smile and said Hi, how are you? I was touched by how caring he was despite his suffering. What I do isn t hard. You can do it too. Lend a hand, you ll feel good. Stephanie McKay MCC Toronto

2 Offertory Order of Service The MCC Toronto Chancel Choir, affectionately known as The Choir, boasts an eclectic combination of singers, a true community of diverse individuals, whose love of music brings them together every week for rehearsals and services. Choir members are fully dedicated to the Music Ministry. Highlights include appearances at Pride s Church on Church Street, Christmas at Roy Thomson Hall, the Olympic Torch Ceremony at Nathan Phillips Square, where they also performed at the Cavalcade of Lights, and 98.1 CHFI. They were proud to participate in Jack Layton s funeral in August The Choir s three CDs, House of Love, Connected: Songs for the Heart, and These Old Walls are available at the Information Desk in the Social Hall, and online on itunes. Music Director: Diane Leah Associate Director: Jeannie Wyse At the symbol, please rise as you are able. Welcome Prelude Come Now And Worship Call To Worship Processional Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Opening Prayer Anthem We Three Merry Gentlemen Prayers of the People Sacred Readings Lessons for Life God is Calling; Part 3 - God Is Calling Us To Faith Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes, CM Time of Reconciliation Spirit of the Living God Come To The Water Prayer of Reconciliation Brent s Final Sermon Series: God is Calling Affirmation of Freedom Invitation to Anointing Dreaming Mary Silent Night! Holy Night! Jesus Prayer Offertory Jingle Bell Rockin, sung by Women s Voices of The Choir Gathering Our Gifts Our Journey of Faith Blessing of Gifts Holy Communion Give Us This Day It Came Upon A Midnight Clear Away In A Manger Alleluia (Traditional) Because You Live Benediction Closing Words Closing Song Angels We Have Heard On High

3 Happening Today For Your Smiling Spirit Children & Family Ministry 11:00 a.m. Rm 109 & Triangle A Thrift Shop Advent Sale All morning Social Hall Jazz Vespers 4:00 p.m. Sanctuary Evening Elevation Service 7:00 p.m. Sanctuary The cross being fabricated in 1992 A minister who was very fond of pure hot horseradish always kept a bottle of it on his dining room table. He offered some to a guest, who took a big spoonful. When the guest finally was able to speak, he gasped, "I've heard many ministers preach hellfire, but you are the first I've met who passed out samples." MCC Toronto s AIDS Altar Cross The AIDS Altar Cross was inspired by a painting created by Canadian artist Steve Walker. Walker's realist paintings beautifully captured everyday moments in time that happened to be between gay men. Among Steve s many subjects were his close friends, two members of our congregation, jeweler Roy Dean and his spouse, Marco. After Marco died in 1992, Roy was inspired to create a reliquary cross as a monument to the lives of friends, known and unknown, who were taken from us so early due to AIDS. The AIDS Altar Cross, fabricated of purest gold, silver, and precious stones, is a testament to the lives lost and the lives still living with a disease that once divided us, but ultimately became a unifying force of love. Steve Walker died in The AIDS Altar Cross was given to us as a gift for our congregation and our community. We display it on our altar once every year to commemorate World AIDS Day. Constructed with love to last more than a thousand years, we pray that future congregants will remember a time when we put our differences aside to fight a disease, and not each other.

4 First Reading From The Christian Agnostic by Leslie Whitehead I believe passionately that Christianity is a way of life, not a theological system with which one must be in intellectual agreement. I feel that Christ would admit into discipleship anyone who sincerely desired to follow him, and allow those disciples to make their creed out of their experience; to listen, to consider, to pray, to follow, and ultimately to believe only those convictions about which the experience of fellowship made them sure. Second Reading Matthew 6: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet God in heaven feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will God not much more clothe you you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, What will we eat? or What will we drink? or What will we wear? For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed God in heaven knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the dominion of God and God s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Visit our website for more news & events:

5 Come Home for Christmas We want to see you at Christmas! Please celebrate with us at one or more of these festive events: December 24: Family service in our Sanctuary, 11:00 a.m. December 24: Christmas Eve at Roy Thomson Hall, 10:30 p.m. December 25: Christmas morning in our Sanctuary, 11:00 a.m. December 25: Christmas Dinner in our Social Hall, 2:00 p.m. Are you looking for ways to volunteer during the holidays? Visit our volunteer website for all sorts of great opportunities! Christmas Dinner Christmas music and entertainment will begin at 1 and dinner will be served at 2 pm. If you'd like to attend or volunteer or contribute to this dinner in any way, sign-up sheets will be available in the Social Hall after service beginning next week Sunday. If you are eager to sign up, your name and phone number to Linda at lrleenders@gmail.com Christmas Eve Tickets Don t miss Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes final sermon for MCC Toronto on Christmas Eve at Roy Thomson Hall. Tickets are only $25 each and children 12 and under are free. You can purchase your tickets through the RTH website, box office, or by calling Find out more info on our website: Christmas Volunteers We are seeking volunteers for our Christmas Eve Worship Service at Roy Thomson Hall. The event starts at 10:30 p.m. The start time for most volunteers will be 8:30 p.m. on Sunday December 24 th and the duties will wrap up after midnight at approximately 12:30 a.m. We encourage all volunteers to participate in two roles, as both a Communion Server and an Offertory Collector. Serving communion involves offering the elements and sharing a blessing. Training is provided. Register at volunteer.mcctoronto.com or volunteers@mcctoronto.com. Holiday Volunteering: volunteer.mcctoronto.com/christmas

6 Advent Calendar In this rapidly changing world, with so much uncertainty along our journey, we reflect upon a time where our path is not entirely clear. Our theme of God is Calling will focus on how, though we have the promises of God, it is still not entirely clear how those promises will come to be. God is calling us somewhere we have never been before, and even though we may not know the path ahead, we just need enough light and faith to move that little bit further down the road. Along our Advent journey into the unmapped future, we have faith in God Faith that God is Calling. Join us at our evening Elevation services for the next four weeks to enjoy this unique Advent worship experience. Every Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. December 3 2nd Sunday of Advent: Peace. Recognizing World AIDS day December 10 3rd Sunday of Advent: Joy. Candlelight Lessons and Carols December 17 4th Sunday of Advent: Love. Indigo Blue Christmas service The 2nd Candle of Advent In Advent we wait, and we watch for signs of God's hopeful vision being born anew in our world and in our lives. Today we light the candle of Peace.

7 Christmas With The Choir The Choir performed two amazing concerts last weekend featuring Mary McCandless and several special guests. Rev. Jeff Rock made an appearance as Mary on her journey to Bethlehem with Joseph and a donkey. The 2nd Sale of Advent Thrift Shop Advent Sale! All morning in the Social Hall

8 Candlelight Lessons and Carols Familiar carols surround the ever-told story of the birth of a child. Sunday, December 10 th Sanctuary doors open at 6:45 p.m. Service starts at 7:00 p.m. followed by a social hour with Christmas goodies and a gingerbread reception. This is the time of year for celebrating the light that dispels darkness, the hope that sustains us and the vision of love and peace living within us. Indigo Blue Christmas Integrate the heights and depths of Christmas as we experience reverence, devotion, peace, joy and love at this very sacred service. Participate in a contemplative silent meditation on the meaning of Christmas. Celebrate light and life while acknowledging the unique emotional challenges of the season. A Visit From Santa Santa Claus will be visiting our Social Hall on December 10 th! Make sure you re here when that jolly old elf chortles his way into our midst with mirth and merriment and treats for us all! Bring your wish list if you ve been good this year (and some good excuses if you ve been naughty!) Join Santa and his elves as we sing and laugh! Our Social Hall photographer will be on hand to capture pictures of Santa with you, your family and/or your friends. Gingerbread Social On Sunday December 10th, come join Metropolitan Community Church's young adults in Room 109 for an evening of fun, celebration and Christmas spirit! We ll enjoy cookie decorating (and cookie eating), hot apple cider, Christmas trivia, and a winter wear clothing swap (all articles not claimed by the end of the night will be donated to the Refugee Program) The social will run from 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. followed by the Candlelight Lessons and Carols service.

9 The Apology From Ottawa Hearing the Prime Minister talk about intersectionality of oppression, the need to lift up two spirited and indigenous spirituality, and the ongoing violence experienced by trans and intersexed Canadians, is so powerful. He said Whether you are 6, or 16, or 60 when you find your true self; you are worthy of love and deserving of respect. - Rev. Jeff Rock Patti Gray (Sunday News, Nov. 12) accepts the apology. Social Hall AIDS Quilts This weekend our Social Hall is displaying our memorial AIDS quilts that were made by our congregation to commemorate all our friends and families who passed away during the AIDS crisis in the 1990s. We share their names and faces so we will never forget the losses we suffered collectively. Our AIDS quilts also display signatures from people who supported us in our grief, including the world s largest known surviving signature from Princess Diana. Connection Card Comments Every week we read all of your comments and questions with great interest. We received this comment last weekend: Pastor Brent spoke on part 2 of his God Is Calling series. God is calling us to be concerned about those who are vulnerable. But we should not just care about them, but actually do something to help. Brent challenged us to ask the question what would Jesus do? We all need to care more, to love more, but especially among those who are in the church.

10 Soulful Worship and Praise (S.W.A.P) Sunday, December 10, :00 p.m. Sanctuary T is the Season to Rejoice Join Us For a Joyous Worship Experience Sermon by Vincent Mckenzie Featuring: The S.W.A.P Choir Special Guests: Ubuntu Drum and Dance Theatre A fully inclusive (LGBTQ2SA) upbeat praise and worship service in the integrated styles of the African and Caribbean Diaspora. All are Welcome!

11 TODAY AT 4:00! with Michael Shand, Colleen Allen, Heather Bambrick & Ross MacIntyre

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