Sunday Worship Service. November 27th, :30 am UNITED IN GOD S LOVE 150 TH YEAR

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1 Sunday Worship Service November 27th, :30 am UNITED IN GOD S LOVE 150 TH YEAR

2 No matter who you are or where you are on life s journey You are welcome here! A SPECIAL WARM WELCOME TO OUR GUESTS! Thank you for joining us today! We hope that you feel the warmth of God s spirit here as we worship together! Please complete the form (in the pew) to let us know a little more about you and place it in the offering plate. As our guests this day it is the only offering we ask. If you should have a prayer concern or would like to meet with the Pastor please indicate this next to your name. Thank you! Following worship please join us in Fellowship Hall for an informal Continental Breakfast. Please note our worship services are online and televised, your participation in the service may be visible during these live ministries. If you should not wish your child to be on screen, please refrain from sending them forward during the children s time or have them sit directly in front of the pews in the front. Children are welcome in worship; however, should your child grow restless feel free to sit with them in the Parlor at the rear of the Sanctuary. Nursery/childcare is available for children up to age 2 and is located on Level 2 just beyond the Chapel. Children are invited to attend Sunday School following the Children s Message. Classes are offered for all ages. Large print bulletins and hearing devices are available. Please ask an usher. An elevator is at your disposal for all levels; our west entrance has a ramp. Our Church Website is Follow us on: Web A Christian will part with anything rather than his hope; he knows that hope will keep the heart both from aching and breaking, from fainting and sinking; he knows that hope is a beam of God, a spark of glory, and that nothing shall extinguish it till the soul be filled with glory. Thomas Brooks Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawm will come. You waint and watch and work:you don t give up.. Anne Lamott Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain as they are. Augustine of Hippo The basic fact is that Christianity as it was born in the mind of this Jewish thinker and teacher appears as a technique of survival for the oppressed. That it became, through the intervening years, a religion of the powerful and the dominant, used sometimes as an instrument of oppression, must not tempt us into believing that it was thus in the mind and life of Jesus. 'In him was life; and the life was the light of men.' Wherever his spirit appears, the oppressed gather fresh courage; for he announced the good news that fear, hypocrisy, and hatred, the three hounds of hell that track the trail of the disinherited, need have no dominion over them. Howard Thurman 2 God is still speaking

3 PRELUDE ANNOUNCEMENTS *SHARING THE PEACE *OPENING SONG #154 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (v1,2 &4) Coffin/Helmore THE LIGHTING OF THE CANDLE OF ADVENT HOPE - Sue Larsen, Jennifer, Brian, Madison and Lexi Reed Scripture Reading: Matthew 12:18-21 Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope. LIGHTING OF THE CANDLE OF HOPE ADVENT PRAYER OF HOPE Hope begins as a dream, a whisper a flickering flame deep within the recesses of the mind, the heart, and the soul. But that flame is fanned and sparked by the Spirit of the Living God, into a light that bursts through the darkness of a Bethlehem night, and shines light to a people beyond the shadows of a cross and tomb. God, in Jesus You reveal hope for humanity, a path of life and redemption. Ignite our hope. Fan the flames, Holy Spirit, that in celebrating Christmas and Advent our light will shine brightly to others. Amen. ADVENT RESPONSE SONG #153 Come Thou Long Expected Jesus - Wesley 3

4 SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Invitation and Words of Blessing to the Baptized Questions of Faith Identity Congregational Response of Support (read in unison) Pastor Scott Lauren Travis Lauren, we thank God for you in the love of Christ. As your church family, we will do our best to walk with you as you grow in your journey with God as disciples. We will seek to live out the faith we profess with you, and to learn from your faith and life as you each grow in Christ. We give thanks to God, rejoicing with the Holy Spirit, that as sisters and brothers in Christ, we can share this faith journey with you. Amen. Baptism Gifts and Prayer Congregational Care and Pastor Scott CHILDREN S SONG Jesus Loves Me (1st Verse) CHILDREN S MESSAGE FCUCC Youth Group The Lord s Prayer (read in unison) 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 and ever. Amen. CHILDREN S SONG Jesus Loves Me (2nd verse) Jesus loves me still today, Walking with me on my way, Wanting as a friend to give, Light and love to all who live. SCRIPTURE READING Romans 13:8-14 Psalm 62:5-6 John Hall MUSIC MINISTRY Light of the World - Daigle The Band MOMENT OF REFLECTION MESSAGE Harbinger of Hope Pastor Scott 4

5 PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Silent Prayer Prayer Pastor Scott OFFERING OURSELVES AND OUR GIFTS Pastor Scott Sharing Our Gifts with the Offertory Special Offertory Music Help from Heaven - Redman/Bedingfield The Band *Presentation of the Gifts with Praise (sung in unison) To God, all glorious heavenly light, To Christ revealed in earthly night, To God the Spirit now we raise, Our joyful song of thankful praise. *Prayer of Dedication * CLOSING SONG #176 Lift Up Your Heads, O Mighty Gates(1-3) - Weissel/Williams *BENEDICTION Ancient Words - Deshazo One of our worship traditions to show our solidarity and love in community is to join hands and sing. If you are visiting with us, we invite you to join us in song and in spirit POSTLUDE I Pray on Christmas - Connick Jr. The Band OUR TIME OF WORSHIP TOGETHER HAS ENDED. NOW MAY OUR CHRISTIAN SERVICE BEGIN! Today s Musicians Vocals: Kelley Calpin, Anthony Berg Guitar: Steve Serra Conor Roe: Horn/Piano Sarah Younker Drums/Piano: Justin Kono PRAYER CONCERNS AND COMMUNITY JOYS Rick and Genevieve Franz, Osborn family, Craig and Jay DuSold, Stacey Poulter, Michael Ode, Ken Klintworth, John Hibbeln Today s Sunday School: Children ages 3 years 6th grade will all meet in the Chapel following the Conversion with the children. The children will see a movie about hope and have some treats. Children ages 3 K must be signed in and out. Children 1st grade 4th grade need to be signed out and 5th & 6th graders may leave the Chapel at the end of the worship service to meet their parents. 5

6 GREETERS: Fred Borrowman, Karen & Nick Costanzi USHERS: Len Clark, Perlie Havel, Debra Eisenhart, Linda Shranz HEAD USHER: Tom Eisenhart COUNTERS: Mary Jo Henkel, Mark Lockett (Lead Counter) Larry Ferries This week s continental breakfast will be served by Christian Fellowship. This week's altar flowers are in memory of Dorothy Lewis from Patty & Dennis Lewis This Week s Announcements Monthly Luncheon: All are welcomed to join us for a monthly luncheon with our church family, Wednesday, December 7th at 11:30 am. The buffet cost is $8.79 without drinks. We plan to meet the first Wednesday of each month at 11:30 am at Papa Passero's, 6326 S. Cass Ave. Westmont, IL in their Garden Room. If you have any questions, please contact Randy Drew at redrew67@aol.com. Hanging of the Greens: Sunday, November 27th will be the first Sunday of the Advent Season. We encourage everyone to stay after church and join us for the hanging of the greens as we prepare the church for the Christmas and Advent Season. MANNA CARD BONUSES: Several merchants have bonus specials in November which means more dollars back to the church. These include Nike, Ulta, Lettuce Entertain You, Chili's, Maggiano's and Jewel! Remember buying MANNA CARDS helps the church budget end strong. And Manna is simple to do. You purchase a gift card for the face value. The merchant donates a percentage back to the church. For instance if you buy a $100 Lettuce Entertain You Card the church only pays $81 (with bonus) that is $19 to the church! What a great way to support the church budget!. THE MAFIA MURDERS: The Godfather is throwing a party in his speakeasy, The Slippery Cellar. You are all invited to partake in the Godfather s generous dinner, cash bar and entertainment on Saturday night, December 3, 2016 from 6:30pm to 10:30 pm. No firearms or bribery will be allowed once inside of the speakeasy. The Godfather and his cohorts are a pretty tough bunch so watch your P s and Q s around them, for you never know what they are up to. You will get to meet our Godfather, Donato Babyface Brundizzi, Waldo The Sneak Brundizzi and Crusher Joe Genelli. Enjoy the silver throated voice of Fifi La Trick (the Godfather s main squeeze), as she sings the torch songs of the 1920 s. You will dine on the delicious cooking of the Godfather s Aunt Connie (who has become crazy ever since her Mafia husband s demise). The proceeds of this fabulous night will go to the Godfather s yout fellowship and junior fellowship groups so they can continue their good deeds (as the Godfather calls them). 6

7 FCC BOOK CLUB: The book selection for December is "Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger. As we have done for the last three years, our December dinner meeting will be held at Trudi Connick's home, th Street in Downers Grove at 6:30 PM. We will meet on Wednesday, December 6.Please bring food to share - appetizer, salad, side dish or dessert. Please contact Trudi directly at to let her know that you will be attending and what dish you will bring. Please join us at this fun and festive meeting. Look forward to seeing you there! PADS Christmas Gifts: Since 2012, our members and friends have generously responded to provide personal gifts for over 300 PADS guests. Last year, over 70 individuals or their children received these gifts. Our goal is to provide one ($50) gift or gift card per adult and several smaller gifts per child. You will be assigned a name and a desired gift. Most of the gift cards can be purchased at the Manna table. If you would like to share in this most worthwhile cause, please Tom Williams at dontomas23@aol.com or call/text at Thank you Ushers needed: Anyone who wants to enjoy the privilege and prestige of being an usher should call me. Even if you are just interested in helping the church by being an usher and don't need more prestige, call or me. It is a commitment of only about six Sundays per year and the dates are flexible. Thanks, Dirk Gutzke - Head Usher 630/ gutzke.dirk@gmail.com Ladies of the Morning: Women s Fellowship Annual Christmas Brunch Friday, December 9, 9:30-12:30 am. Join us at our annual Christmas Brunch. All are welcome! As usual, our lovely Jan Hibbeln will be our gracious hostess. We ll meet at her home at 1505 Gilbert in DG at 9:30 am. Please bring a dish to share. For more details and to let us know to set a place for you, please call Peggy Gutzke at 630/ or her at peggy.gutzke@gmail.com Have you noticed the new planter at the Northeast end of the church driveway along Curtiss St.? The Caring for Creation Team hopes you agree that this new planter is a great way to teach about using native plants throughout the growing season and how to provide food for birds throughout the winter. The intent is also to provide signage so that those who pass by our planter can learn how they can help nature by doing something similar at home. With that goal in mind, Caring for Creation is forming a subcommittee to create a design for the planter as well as the purchase, installation and ongoing maintenance of the plants. If you want to be a part of that effort, please contact teisenhart@yahoo.com UCCDG Music Ministry! All of our groups have been working very hard on our music for the upcoming Advent and Christmas season. We are very excited about our upcoming concert and we would love for you to join us for a beautiful evening of music. The UCCDG Christmas Concert will be held on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 7pm in the Sanctuary. The concert will feature music from 7

8 The Band, the Chancel Choir, the Junior Choir, and the Alleluia Ringers. There will be a small reception following the concert. **** If you have been thinking about joining the Chancel Choir, there is still time! We rehearse from 7-9pm every Thursday (except Thanksgiving) and would love for you to join us! Continuation of 150 years of service: Our celebration of the work we have done during the last 150 years continues into Beginning in January, on the second Sunday of every month, we will highlight a different community service project and offer additional opportunities for those interested to become involved. If you would like to have your service project highlighted and lead the activity, please contact Nancy Kupka at nancykupka@comcast.net by December 15th. Blood Drive Coordinator: Please join Congregational Care in thanking Marilyn Jelinek for many years of excellent leadership as our blood drive coordinator. We appreciate her time and dedication to this very important program! As Marilyn steps down, we are looking for a volunteer to coordinate the blood drive for the coming year. This is a great opportunity to make a difference and be part of this lifesaving service to our church and community. If interested, please contact Joyce Doemland- (630) Thank you! CAROLING TO THE HOMEBOUND - SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11 Our annual caroling event is guaranteed to warm your heart and get you in the Christmas Spirit! Once again, the Ministry of Congregational Care invites you to join church friends for an afternoon of caroling to the homebound of our congregation. We begin with a chili lunch at 11:30 am in Fellowship Hall, then we divide into groups and proceed to area homes/nursing homes. Join us at 12:00 pm if you don't come for lunch. Please bring your family, friends, neighbors - children are especially encouraged to join us. 8

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11 Coming Up This Week SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, :30 AM - 10:30 PM Nursery Only 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Worship Service-Sanctuary 10:30 AM Cherub Choir Rehearsal-RM203 10:30 AM Hanging of the Greens 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM Hallelujah Ringers Rehearsal 11:00 AM Trivia Planning Committee Meeting-Library 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM Junior Choir Rehearsal 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM Teen Choir Rehearsal 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM MAFIA MURDER MYSTERY Rehearsal-Fellowship Hall MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, :00 AM Acceptance Group of Alcoholics Anonymous-Coffee House 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Martial Arts Chapel 6:00 PM PADS-Fellowship Hall TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, :00 AM Acceptance Group of Alcoholics Anonymous-Coffee House 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM FCLC Computer w/mrs. Mary-Chapel 10:00 AM Adult Coloring Group-Parlor 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Chapel Reserved 7:00 PM Last Thursday-Two Way Coffee House Open Mike 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Praise Band Rehearsal-Sanctuary WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, :00 AM Acceptance Group of Alcoholics Anonymous-Coffee House 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM Bible Study (at members' homes) 11:00 AM Church Staff Meeting-Library 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Chapel Reserved 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Grounds of Hope Worship Service-Coffee House 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Confirmation-Youth Room 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM Alanon meeting-coffee House THURSDAY, DECEMBER 01, :00 AM Acceptance Group of Alcoholics Anonymous-Coffee House 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM FCLC Jumpbunch Chapel 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Chapel Reserved 6:30 PM ESL Conversation Group-Library 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Chancel Choir Rehearsal-Choir Room 7:00 PM Scouts-Fellowship Hall FRIDAY, DECEMBER 02, :00 AM Acceptance Group of Alcoholics Anonymous-Coffee House 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Martial Arts Chapel 8:15 PM Two Way Street Concert-Coffee House SATURDAY, DECEMBER 03, :00 AM - 1:00 PM Martial Arts Chapel 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Sing Around-Coffee House 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM Murder Mystery Fellowship Hall 11

12 OUR CHURCH STAFF The Rev. Scott Oberle, Senior Pastor... Cathy Sanders, Minister of Pastoral Care and Visitation... Kelley Calpin, Director of Music Ministries... Maria Carini, Assistant to the Minister of Music... Dena Provenzano, Director of Youth Ministries... Jan Barker, Director of Children s Ministries... jbarker@uccdg.org Leslie McFarland, Administrative Secretary... lmcfarland@uccdg.org Kimberly Rutter, Bookkeeper..... bookkeeper@uccdg.org Carl Lorek, Custodian/Maintenance Supervisor... Carll@uccdg.org Kim Choate, Director, First Congregational Learning Center... kchoate@uccdg.org Radika Jungwirth, Admin. Asst, First Cong. Learning Center... radikaj@uccdg.org Dave Humphreys, Two Way Street Coffee House... dave@twowaystreet.org Bill Hammack, A-V Specialist... bill@symbolix.com Len Potter, Broadcasting Ministries... lenp@potterpro.com Justin Kono, Band Director... j.akira.kono@gmail.com The Rev. Dr. Robert D. Schieler, Pastor Emeritus Each and every member of our church has a ministry! Church staff available Monday Thursday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and Fridays by appointment. Office Phone: Office FCUCC@UCCDG.org In pastoral emergencies, Pastor Scott can be reached at *Visit our weekly Sunday Service on channel 6 each Sunday at 11:30am. An Open and Affirming Congregation First Congregational United Church of Christ 1047 Curtiss Street, Downers Grove, IL Church Website Donate here Broadcast Ministry First Congregational Learning Center FCLC Website: Facebook: 12