First Congregational Church of Reno An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ 627 Sunnyside Drive, Reno, Nevada 89503 (775) 747-1414 CELEBRATION OF WORSHIP Fourth Sunday of Advent December 24, 2017-10:00 a.m. Welcome this morning in the name and Spirit of Jesus Christ! Children ages three and under are welcome to visit the nursery with Ms. Sharon in the Annex building Hearing assistance devices and large print bulletins are available. Please let an usher know if needed Asterisk (*) indicates when those who are able are invited to stand. Thought for the Day: J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers, 20th century: "The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater." Gathering in God's Presence PRELUDE & TIME OF CENTERING: We use this time to make the transition between getting here and being here. Take these few minutes during the prelude to silently get in touch with the calm, still, deep places in you. Center and be aware of being at peace and being loved in this community. WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS PASSING THE PEACE (please greet those nearest you) All Angels We Have Heard on High Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o er the plains. And the mountains in reply, echo back their joyous strains. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo. LIGHTING OF THE THIRD ADVENT CANDLE Missions Committee
CHORAL INTROIT O Loving Founder of the Stars vs. 4 Chancel Choir *CALL TO WORSHIP Mike Hill One: God has appointed for us places and responsibilities. Come now to claim what God has entrusted to us. Many: We hear God calling us, and we seek to respond. We feel God s presence and sense God s purposes. One: In steadfast love and faithfulness God keeps covenant with us. Many: We gather together to remember that God rules, that nothing in our lives is beyond God s care. ALL: Let us give praise to God! *HYMN Awake, Awake, and Greet the New Morn NCH 107 (Please pass your prayer request cards to the center aisle. Ushers will collect them during the last verse of the hymn.) *PRAYER of INVOCATION (Unison) Eternal God, who raised up our ancestors to recognize and affirm their chosen-ness, help us to see in ourselves the sacred value we have as your children. Turn us away from all that diminishes and destroys the person you have created us to be. Establish your reign within us and among us, for no other can bring out the best or help us deal more effectively with present realities in our world. May our worship proclaim your steadfast love and faithfulness. Amen. *CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE NCH 754 Glory to God the Creator, and to the Christ, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now will be forever. Amen. Amen. Proclaiming God's Word HEBREW SCRIPTURE Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26 OT 508-509 GOSPEL READING Luke 1:26-38 NT 49 ANTHEM Carol of the Bells Chancel Choir
SERMON Love That Knows No Bounds Rev. Dr. Kate Lambertson Responding as God's People CALL TO PRAYER O Little Town of Bethlehem, vs 3 NCH 133 PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND SILENT PRAYER THE LORD S PRAYER 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. RESPONSE TO PRAYER O Little Town of Bethlehem vs 4 NCH 133 INVITATION TO THE OFFERING GATHERING OUR GIFTS AND OFFERINGS Debbie Crist, Harp It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Please include your Blue Gratitude Cards in the offering plates as they are passed) *PRESENTATION Give Thanks (with a grateful heart) Give thanks with a grateful heart; Give thanks to the Holy One. Give thanks because God s given Jesus Christ, the Son. (Repeat) And now let the weak say I am strong, Let the poor say, I am rich, because of what our God has done for us. (Repeat) Give Thanks *PRAYER OF DEDICATION For your love, protection, and discipline, we give thanks, O God. In gratitude we bring the work of our hands for your blessing. May all the efforts supported by these offerings carry forward your vision for the world. Accomplish through these gifts and our attempts to be faithful that which is impossible by human design alone. Amen. *CLOSING HYMN We Hail You, God s Anointed NCH 107 *BENEDICTION
CHORAL BENEDICTION Soon and Very Soon POSTLUDE We are an Open and Affirming congregation, welcoming all persons regardless of race, ethnic background, economic status, gender, age, personal ability, or sexual orientation into the full life and ministry of this church. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: ( FCC Reno-UCC subscribes to LicenSing #625075 Instead of including a weekly Abundance Report in the Sunday bulletin, the monthly Treasurer s Report to Council is now posted outside of the Church Office door. Please consult the report to get an update on church finances. If you have questions, you can contact Jerry Robinson, our Treasurer, by e-mail at drgdrobin@gmail.com or by phone at (775) 376-8423.
What s Up? December 24, 2017 Join us this evening at 8:00 pm for our traditional Candle light Christmas Eve service of lessons and carols. Pledge cards are still being accepted. please see Mike Hill. If you have misplaced your card, Donations are still being accepted for the Mitten Tree and RISE Free Market. Join friends and family from First Congregational Church for a 12 th Night service of new beginnings on Saturday, January 6 at 7 pm. We will be joining together in a White Stone ceremony, each of us receiving a special individual stone mined between Hebron and Bethlehem in Israel. White stones have been used in ceremonies since ancient times. In Jesus time, when people were released from prison or bondage, they were given a white stone as a symbol of their freedom. We too, will have the opportunity to reflect on our freedom from the past as we start the new year of beginnings on Jan. 6 th at 7 pm.
THE LIFE AND WORK OF OUR CHURCH SUNDAY, Dec 24 Worship and Sunday School 10:00 am Join us for fellowship in the Manley Room, following service Youth Choir, Sanctuary Following service Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, Sanctuary 8:00 pm MONDAY, Dec 25 Church Office Closed WEDNESDAY, Dec 27 Adult Christian Education The Historical Jesus and His Message 10:00 am THURSDAY, Dec 28 Chancel Choir Practice, Sanctuary 7:00 pm FRIDAY, Dec 29 Men s Prayer Group (weekly, Chism Chapel) 6:30 am Leaders Among Us Thank You! Today Next Sunday Greeters Virginia Hendricks Fred Crist Head Usher Chai Cook Head Usher Robinson s Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Liturgist Mike Hill Tony Stoik Counters Jay Arnone Jane and Al Chapman June Thomas Rick Odynski Refreshments Russ Stuart Jim Christie Deacon of the Month: Marc Ullman Sound Technicians: Don Busick Church Photographer: Meredyth Busick- Our Staff Pastor: Rev. Dr. Kate Lambertson revkatelambertson@gmail.com Music Director: Ted Owens Christian Education Director: Saralinda Kiser Office Administrator: June Jakowchik Contact Us Phone: 775.747.1414 Office Administrator Hours: Monday Friday 9 am - 2pm Email: fccreno@sbcglobal.net Web: www.renofirstcongregational.org Like and Share us on Facebook
Is nothing impossible? Clearly Christmas time calls forth flagrant impossibility! Virgins conceive, old ladies are pregnant, angels appear and disappear. Not to mention all those characters shepherds, sheep, choirs of angels stamped into figurines. Though there probably won t be a cute porcelain reproduction of a pregnant Elizabeth under your tree. Where is Elizabeth anyway, whose pregnancy is also described as miraculous, in all our Advent and Christmas storytelling? Elizabeth is described not only as old but also barren. It s in her body that God begins this rhapsody of excitement building to Mary s song. In her is planted the seed of the great announcer of the new age that realm-of God-guy, the caller forth of hope John the Baptist. Does she have a role in our annual Christmas pageants? Probably not. Elizabeth is like many older women in our world. She is invisible and an emblem of decline. When a congregation gets small enough, it is also sometimes described as aging. Did you ever think that older people, especially older women, offer more than a few important ingredients to your congregation? They have time. They have the energy. They have skills and are willing to teach them. They have great stories to tell. They knew everybody when they were twelve. Who else always shows up; and who will make sure the lights are on and the tables set? How many of our churches have a female Treasurer who used to be the finance person for the school board? Who are the retired teachers, nurses and doctors, lawyers and business owners sitting in our pews? Old ladies! None of them is likely to have a budding John the Baptist within them, but some of them may tell you quite plainly, if you are lucky, when the rough ways will be made smooth and the high brought low. Murphys, California is a small town (population around 2000) in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. It s a place people drive to for the weekend or the summer, full of interesting little towns, old Gold Rush stories and beautiful scenery. It also has a UCC church with a membership of under 200 and about 80 in worship. In a conservative part of the state they are open and affirming, progressive and host an LGBT youth group for the county. Its membership is older and active, welcoming to all. They make sure everyone who comes is fed. The town of Murphys has a median age near 60. This past summer they hosted a community potluck and discussion of white privilege. Sometimes aging doesn t mean lifeless. Sometimes it means new life, welcoming the birthday of joy! First Congregational Church of Reno December 24, 2017