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SANCTUARY, 11:00 a.m.
A Service of Song, Word, & Table
December 22, 2024
* Please rise in body or spirit.
Light of Peace: Lessons and Carols Service
All Choral Music: Light of Peace, Music & Lyrics by Karen Marrolli
Linda Davidson, flute; Maria Dickinson, violin; Jeff Corneluis, percussion
Call to Worship (from the Iona Community) ANDY STOKER
The desert will sing and rejoice
and the wilderness will blossom with flowers;
and will see the Lord's splendor,
see the Lord's greatness and power.
Tell everyone who is anxious:
Be strong and don't be afraid.
The blind will be able to see;
the deaf will be able to hear;
the lame will leap and dance;
those who can't speak will shout.
They will hammer their swords into ploughs
and their spears into pruning-knives;
the nations will live in peace;
they will train for war no more.
This is the promise of God;
God's promise will be fulfilled.
Prelude: O Come, Little Children Marquise Usher
Mass ApPeal Handbells/Linda Davidson, flute
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLE MARK & CAROLYN STUVE
Reader One: When the people were looking for deliverance, the prophet Micah declared, “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah…from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient day.” (Micah 5:2). But what if Micah is also talking to us, proclaiming, “But you, O Central United Methodist Church, from you shall come forth for me…” What? What might God be calling forth from us?
Congregation: God invites us to receive the promise of God’s salvation and the sustenance of God’s mercy and grace, enabling us to live the promise as God-bearers to the world. As Christ was born in Bethlehem, so too we answer God’s invitation to have Christ born among us today and every day.
Reader Two: We light this candle of love as a sign of our commitment to live as people of God’s promise, a promise of salvation and flourishing for all people that springs forth from God’s love for all creation.
*Processional Hymn. Canticle of the Turning
Tune: Star of the County Down, adapted Rory Cooney Text: Rory Cooney, 1990
Text for screen:
My soul cries out with a joyful shout
That the God of my heart is great
And my spirit sings of the Wondrous things
That you bring to the ones who wait
You fixed your sight on your servant's plight
And my weakness you did not spurn
So from east to west shall my name be blest
Could the world be about to turn?
My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!
Though I am small, my God, my all, you
Work great things in me
And your mercy will last from the Depths
Of the past to the end of the age to be
Your very name puts the proud to shame
And to those who would for you yearn
You will show your might, put the strong to flight
For the world is about to turn
My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!
From the halls of power to the fortress tower
Not a stone will be left on stone
Let the king beware for your
Justice tears ev'ry tyrant from his throne
The hungry poor shall weep no more
For the food they can never earn
There are tables spread, ev'ry mouth be fed
For the world is about to turn
My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!
Though the nations rage from age to age
We remember who holds us fast
God's mercy must deliver us from the conqueror's crushing grasp
This saving word that our forebears
Heard is the promise which holds us bound
'Til the spear and rod can be crushed by God
Who is turning the world around
My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!
Opening Prayer (Allan Boesak) ABBEY REED
We are called to proclaim the truth. ... And let us believe:
It is not true that this world and its people are doomed to die and to be lost.
This is true: I have come that they may have life in all its abundance.
It is not true that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination, hunger and poverty, death and destruction.
This is true: the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor are hearing the good news.
It is not true that violence and hatred should have the last word, and that war and destruction have come to stay forever.
This is true: death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore.
It is not true that we are simply victims of the powers of evil who seek to rule the world.
This is true: the Lord whom we seek will suddenly come to the temple; and the Lord is like a refiner's fire.
It is not true that our dreams of liberation, of human dignity, are not meant for this earth and for this history.
This is true: it is already time for us to wake from sleep. For the night is far gone, the day is at hand.
Music: The Coming of the Light Chancel Choir/Karah Ingraham and Marshal Hollingsworth, soloists
Reading: First Coming Madeleine L’Engle CAROLYN STUVE
God did not wait till the world was ready, till… nations were at peace.
God came when the Heavens were unsteady, and prisoners cried out for release.
God did not wait for the perfect time.
God came when the need was deep and great.
God dined with sinners in all their grime, turned water into wine. God did not wait
till hearts were pure. In joy God came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame God came, and God's Light would not go out.
God came to a world which did not mesh, to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane to raise our songs with joyful voice, for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
God came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Music: Noel Chancel Choir
Reading: Hope JoAnne Sheets MARK STUVE
Hope
works a 24/7 shift on the train to infinity,
pays in smiles that reach the eyes, pays in raindrops after drought.
requires cotton and silk
smooth textures to cover troubled beings,
colors of earth, fire, light
outshining dark of doubt,
satin slippers for the final dance.
bursts fragrantly into air spiced with cinnamon
lily of the valley, lavender, puppy and baby
to cover dismay and decay.
dreams in color, pastel to bright
with edges soft, moving outward to mists of sunrises.
it Monets the world of madness,
lifts the weight of war
tilts it slowly towards peace.
Music: Peace on Earth Chancel Choir
Carol: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Reading: Root of Jesse Miriam Therese Winter MEGAN STOKER
Root of Jesse
rising
from many an ancient prophecy
promised child
to all who would be reconciled
breaks through at last.
A virgin shoot accepts
God's seed
bows to the Mighty Deed.
One branch
bears bud, flower, fruit:
Christ blossoms as David's root.
Lord, you are stem, stalk, tree!
Let your fruit take root in me.
Carol: Lo, How a Rose
Music: The Rose Chancel Choir/Lore Alán, soloist
Reading: “No Room at the Inn” from To Dance with God (Gertrud Mueller Nelson)
DEBBIE TIXIER
Sentimentality at Christmas makes the sheep of Bethlehem too white and wooly, the shaggy donkey quaint, the manger picturesque and sweet- smelling, the Virgin soft and melting. The real Bethlehem is more profound. But for all its pungent smell of hay and animals and the holiness of what is earthy, it also tells another side of the truth. The dark truth of Christmas is that Jesus is born in these conditions “because there was no room in the inn,” because, the fact is, we gave and continue to give him no room. We open our doors but a crack and fail to recognize him in the request of a poor and nameless traveler and his wife, about to give birth… our fears bolt the doors again. We don’t have the time or the passion to expand our vision. We have nothing to share. We want no moochers. Whether our fear makes us withdraw or lash out, it is our inhumanity to one another, personally, communally, globally, that is the continuation of this darkness… and yet, we will sing our glory to God and joy to the world, nonetheless. The Lord has come despite us, despite our fears, our apathy, even our cruelty to one another.
Music: Creation Sings Chancel Choir
Carol: Angels We Have Heard on High
Reading: Aztec Story of the Nativity JIM HERING
The angels came down from the sky like birds. Their voices were bells.
They sounded like flutes. "Praise God in heaven, alleluia."
They came flying out of the sky, singing. "Peace on earth, alleluia."
Sweet-smelling song-flowers were scattering everywhere, falling to earth in a golden rain. "Let's scatter these golden flowers, alleluia."
The flowers are heavy with dew. and the dew is filled with light, shining like jewels in Bethlehem. "Alleluia." Heart flowers, plumelike bell flowers, red cup flowers. They’re beaming with dawn light, they’re shining like gold. “Alleluia.”
Emeralds, pearls, and red crystals are glowing. They're glistening. It's dawn. "Alleluia."
Jewels are spilling in Bethlehem, falling to earth. "Alleluia."
Music: Gloria Chancel Choir
Reading: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day DEBBIE TIXIER
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and mild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."
Music: Wexford Carol Larry Sue Quatro en Mano Handbells
Reading: In the Middle of the Night (Dom Helder Camara)
JANICE HONEYCUTT HERING
In the middle of the night,
When stark night was darkest,
then You chose to come.
God's resplendent first-born sent to make us one.
The voice of doom protest:
"All these words about justice, love and peace — all these naive words
will buckle beneath the weight of a reality which is brutal and bitter, ever more bitter." It is true, Lord, it is midnight upon the earth, moonless night and starved of stars.
But can we forget that You, the Son of God,
chose to be born precisely at midnight?
Music: Cradle Song Chancel Choir/Amanda Porter, soloist
Reading: The Work of Christmas (Howard Thurman) JIM HERING
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among the people,
To make music in the heart.
Music: The Call Chancel Choir
Introduction to Offering (Quoted by Robert Fulgham, It was on Fire when I Lay Down On It)
JANICE HONEYCUTT HERING
"When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village. One day, on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror.
"I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept only the largest piece. This one. And by scratching it on a stone I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine - in deep holes and crevices and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find.
"I kept the little mirror, and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child's game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of light. But light - truth, understanding, knowledge - is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it.
"I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of life."
Offertory: Oiche Chiuin Silent Night (1 verse only) Karah Ingraham, soprano
Ringing in of the Season Mass ApPeal Handbells
Doxology (sung to “Joy to the World”)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
All creatures here below!
Sing Heavenly host
to God and Holy Ghost!
And praises now we sing
To Christ the newborn King,
To Christ, to Christ the newborn King!
Reading: “Rejoice Over Everything” (Susan Virginia Hull) MEGAN STOKER
Rejoice over everything.
Exult. Exhilarate.
Be glad. Be delighted, elated,
and bowled over with joy!
Frolic freely, hop hope,
dance on the dare, cheer,
champion the little ones,
revel in the riotous light.
Invoke God without ceasing.
Pray with passion.
Whatever you do,
do not quench the Spirit.
Take care not to douse
or dampen the bold blaze
in your depths.
Jump into life.
Hold fast to it.
Give thanks for everything.
For everything,
even the most misshapen
and misunderstood,
is the disguise of the divine.
Music: Alleluia! Chancel Choir/Karah Ingraham and Marshal Hollingsworth, soloists
Call to Christian Discipleship ANDY STOKER
*Closing Hymn: Angels from the Realms of Glory 220 UMH
Postlude: Dr. Dan Cummings
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