Sunday, 3rd December, 2017 10:00am The First Sunday of Advent (Year B) Jesus said, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. St Mark 13: 31. ORDER OF WORSHIP THIS MORNING The Gathering of the People of God GREETING Greetings and welcome in the name of Christ. God s grace, mercy and peace be with you. And also with you. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY CALL TO WORSHIP Come, people of faith, come join your hearts in worship. 1 We hear the invitation and hunger to join in the feast. God is faithful and calls us into the loving presence of Jesus, who is the Christ. We come to join with those who watch and wait and celebrate. Amen. Peter Bankson, ministrymatters.com HYMN (TiS.272) Come, thou long-expected Jesus
PRAYER OF CONFESSION Awesome God, the signs of your presence are all around us in creation and the newness of each day. We re quick to look for signs of gloom and doom but slow to notice the signs of hope and triumph. Forgive us, merciful God, when we spend so much time looking for the scary things in life. Focus our attention on ways in which we can be of service with whatever time we have. Forgive us when we seek the darkness of anger and fear and turn our backs on the light of possibilities and peace. Open our hearts once again to your redeeming love and transforming peace, for we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. Adaption of a prayer by Nancy Towney, ministrymatters.com DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS You call us your people, O God; And we are eternally grateful. Nancey Towney, ministrymatters.com INTRODUCTION TO THE THEME FOR THE DAY The Advent Wreath Children to come forward with the candles for the Advent Wreath. As the first Advent candle is lit, the children recite a liturgy, ending with: We wait in hope for God to surprise us and break into our lives. O God, come, travel with us through Advent. Give us courage to spread hope in the world. Amen. HYMN (TiS.286) We listen to the Word of God Light one candle for hope (First verse only, sung twice) Before the Bible readings, the reader says: Your word, O Lord, is a lamp to our feet: A light to our path. Psalm 119: 105. FIRST READING Isaiah 64: 1 9 64 1 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence 2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4 From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for the Lord. 2 5 You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people. NRSV.
SECOND READING St Mark 13: 24 37 [Jesus, speaking of the terrible things to come, said,] 24 In those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Therefore, keep awake for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake. NRSV. After this final reading, the reader says: Here end today s readings. Lord, may your word live in us; And bear much fruit to your glory. SERMON We respond to the Word of God Discovering patience in a fast-paced world THE NICENE CREED We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory 3 to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. The Nicene Creed, ELLC, 1987 alt. NOTICES & CONCERNS OF THE CHURCH PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE SHARING OF THE PEACE The peace of the Lord be with you. And also with you. Seek out the shining face of God in one another as we share the Peace of Christ.
OFFERTORY HYMN (TiS.464) Seek, O seek the Lord The people remain seated until the final verse. The Sacrament of Holy Communion From this point the worship follows the separate booklet for Holy Communion. Until The People of God are sent out HYMN (TiS.273) DISMISSAL & BLESSING THREE-FOLD AMEN. Lo! he comes with clouds descending (verses 1 and 4 only) Our communion with each other continues after the service with a cup of tea or coffee in the Tea Shoppe. A Word from the Minister 3rd December, 2017 Court Lane behind our Church has received a colourful makeover, thanks to the creative efforts of the artists who participated in the Wonderwall Festival. I wish especially to thank Richard Lee for his vision to involve a number of the Wesley Community Centre clients in the painting of the story of the Five Islands on the wall opposite the entrance to the Centre. We had a small but prayerful group who gathered for the first of our four Advent reflections on the Making of Messiah last Tuesday afternoon. For me personally I found the music forced me to slow down and meditate on each word in the Biblical texts as it was sung with deep emotion. Newcomers are welcome to join us this coming Tuesday. Last Wednesday Karen Zaini received a number of beautiful care packages from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association for distribution prior to Christmas. On hearing of the work that we do at the Community Centre, staff from Woolworths, Fairy Meadow, contacted Karen about serving a lunch in early December and helping with other pantry items. Under the oversight of June and Anne, a team of elves has worked extremely hard to fulfil the orders we received for assistance with children s toys last week. Unless you have been involved, it is difficult to appreciate fully how difficult it can be to match age-appropriate toys of equal value for a family of five. Next week I am meeting with the Church Council on Monday evening and on Tuesday morning I am having breakfast with the local Wollongong clergy. On Wednesday I am dusting off my violin to play some music at the Adult Fellowship Christmas Luncheon before heading to Dapto for the Amity College Graduation Ceremony. Grace and peace, The Reverend Geoffrey Flynn, Wesley Uniting Church, Wollongong. 4
TODAY S SERVICES 3rd December, 2017 10:00am & 6:00pm MUSICIANS TODAY BIBLE READER THIS MORNING EVENTS OF NOTE THIS WEEK ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THIS WEEK The Revd Geoff Flynn (Holy Communion) (am) Lorraine Jones (pm)? Ian Tucker Monday, 4th December 8:45am School for Creative Living Thai Chi class (note: classes still full). 10:00am Other SCL classes. 7:00pm Last Church Council meeting for the year. Tuesday, 5th December 2:00pm The Making of Messiah Advent Study group meets join them! Wednesday, 6th December Sinterklaas Day. What??? A Dutch festival to celebrate Saint Nickolas, the patron saint of children, and on this day Dutch children receive their Christmas gifts. The festival has been around since the Middle Ages. Nickolas (270 343AD) was Bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey. There is much more to the story than space will allow here. Sinterklaas is the primary source of the popular Christmas icon of Santa Claus. 10:30am Wesley Adult Fellowship s last meeting for 2017, ending with the Fellowship s Christmas Luncheon. 1:00pm Midweek Holy Communion and prayer in the church. Saturday, 9th December 11:30am The first of the Baptism Information sessions for December. The second one will be on Monday, 11th at 7:00pm. SERVICES NEXT SUNDAY 10th December, 2017 10:00am & 6:00pm The Revd Geoff Flynn MUSICIANS NEXT SUNDAY READER NEXT SUNDAY MORNING (am) Peter Nickolas LECTIONARY NEXT SUNDAY 10th December, The 2nd Sunday in Advent OT Reading: Isaiah 40: 1 11 Psalm: Psalm 85: 1 2, 8 13 Epistle: 2 Peter 3: 8 15a Gospel: St Mark 1: 1 8 Joan Phelan Margarine and sugar are still (two weeks running) the special requests this week from Karen Zaini (coordinator of our meals program). Though, of course, all the usual things are always welcome. Put your donation in the basket/bin in the church porch or, better still, drop it in to the Church Office during office hours. Offerings for 26th November, 2017 Morning cash... $ 392.60 Morning envelopes... $ 235.00 Received by EFT (morning)... $ 140.00 Total morning collections... $ 767.60 Evening cash... $ 520.20 Received by EFT (evening)... $ 100.00 Total evening collections... $ 620.20 Total Collections for Day... $ 1387.80 Baptismal donations... $ 521.00 Morning Tea... $ 51.45 Donations to Christmas Bowl... $ 31.50 What used to be box offerings... $ 0.00 Total income for the day... $ 1991.75 5
WOLLONGONG WESLEY AND THE NCLS This is the third week giving you graphic representations of the replies given by people of Wollongong Wesley Uniting church to the 2016 National Chjurch Life Survey. This week we look at how you (the people of this church) feel about leadership in the local church: 6
We hope you are enjoying these snippets of information from NCLS, telling us a great deal about how we see ourselves and how we compare with other churches and with the community around us. There are still sufficient charts to take us almost to Christmas! 7
Happy New Year! No, we are not getting in twenty-eight days early. But today is a sort of New Year s Day in the Church calendar. The Church calendar begins each year with Advent Sunday, four Sundays before Christmas Day. In some years, particularly when Christmas Day falls later in the week, Advent Sunday may be in November. This year with Christmas Day on a Monday, the fourth Sunday of Advent is also Christmas Eve and today is the first Sunday of Advent. The liturgical colour for Advent is violet. As in the season of Lent (leading up to Easter) Christians often use the season of Advent as a time of examining their own discipleship. The advent study group is a means of doing this. Why Advent? It comes from the Latin word Adventus, which has a similar meaning to the Greek word parousia (used in the New Testament) and they both refer to the promised return of Christ at the end of time. Traditionally, Advent candles are lit progressively (one more each Sunday) until midnight on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day when a fifth candle the white Christ Candle is lit. The four Advent candles are violet in colour though often the one for the third Sunday in Advent may be pink. Yes, the holiday season is coming when the nation seems to go into hybernation! Here are a few closure dates so that you are not caught out: The Tea Shoppe s last day will be 15th December. It will re-open on 15th January. The Craft Shop closes at noon on 20th December. It will re-open on 15th January. The Church Office closes at 1:00pm on 22nd December. It will re-open on 15th January. The School for Creative Living will close after sessions on 15th December. It will re-open on 5th February. The Adult Fellowship has its final meeting next Wednesday and will re-open 7th Feb. The Meals Program closes on 22nd December, re-opens on 27th December and then is closed on New Year s Day. Are there any more we should know about? in association with Uniting Churches Australia Matthew Tsalidis & Emelia Noack-Wilkinson present Cornerstones featuring works by Sarasate Beethoven Brahms and Hess Sunday December 10 2017 Wesley Uniting Church 116 Crown Street Wollongong 2pm Tickets $10 available at the door children 12 years and under FREE 8 It has been brought to our attention that a very convincing telephone scam is being perpetrated on pensioners and others using Centrelink. The caller says that your account is being moved to Canberra and wants to check some of your details. This is an attempt to get hold of your banking details. Because so many of our people are clients of Centrelink, we feel it necessary to warn you about this scam. The telephone number they offer is NOT a Centrelink number. Always be very wary of anyone who wants your personal details over the telephone unless you are completely satisfied about the identity of the person calling you.