Merry Christmas - 2015

As experienced in St. John, USVI Sun Times

We wish you a Merry Christmas filled with wonder and delight.

Hopefully this guy found you?

Enjoy your day.

Blessings,

Joel

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a Merry Christmas.

May your day be full of wonder and delight.

Blessed be,
Joel

What Santa Does After Christmas?

So, is this how Santa(s) spends some down time?

Remember for 1/2 the world, this starts the summer season.

Merry Christmas.

Blessed Be,

Joel

Christmas Eve Service of Lesson, Readings and Carols

A re-posting from last year, it got such good reviews, here it is again.

Enjoy the Christ who comes to us as a Child.

Blessed Be

Rev. Joel

********

A Choir Service of Lessons, Carols & Readings:

A Vesper Service

Choir - Awake, Awake, A Joyous Noel

Opening Words / Welcome

"God laughed and brought forth Jesus. Jesus laughed and brought forth the Holy Spirit. All three laughed and brought forth us."  ~ Meister Eckhart

Tonight we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child - how God becomes vulnerable to us as an infant, a babe, needing our tender care and nurture and comfort. Tonight as we read Luke's account, we have interspersed readings and carols and choral anthems - sharing some of the ways that this event has inspired others. Tonight as we read and sing these words of inspiration, may our hearts be inspired to look for the Christ in one another and the world at large. May we leave with a new sense of what is important in the world, a new sense at how God is at work, calling us forth to join in with our own hands.

Lighting the 4th Advent Candle  ~ Tonight, Everyone is Displaced ~ Rev. Tom Schade

Tonight, everyone is displaced and homeless.
Tonight, everyone searches for Bethlehem.
On this night, when the darkness comes so close,
We listen, in the stillness, for the songs of angels.
Like shepherds, we aren't too sure of what is happening.
We don't know why we are so expectant.
We don't know why we long so deeply for miracles.
Tonight we pray that we might know the one we are seeking.
Tonight may we kneel like kings,
before that which is greater than any kingdom on earth.
Tonight, may we see the holy family that we are a part of.
And may we hear the music that reminds us of our truest home.

Carol - Joy to the World 

Reading ~ Luke: 1:26-35, 38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! the Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. ..." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

     ~ This Is No Time for a Child to be Born ~ Madeleine L'Engle

This is no time for a child to be born,
With the Earth betrayed by war and hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out and the sun burns late. 

That was no time for a child to be born
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome
Honor and truth were trampled by scorn --
Yet here did the Saviour make his home. 

When is the time of love to be born?
The inn is full on planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn ---
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.

Choir - The Angels

Carol - O Come, O Come Emmanuel

 Reading ~ Luke 2:1-7

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

     ~ The Maid-Servant At The Inn ~ Dorothy Parker

"It's queer," she said; "I see the light
As plain as I beheld it then,
All silver-like and calm and bright -
We've not had stars like that again! 

"And she was such a gentle thing
To birth a baby in the cold.
The barn was dark and frightening -
This new one's better than the old. 

"I mind my eyes were full of tears,
For I was young, quick distressed,
But she was less than me in years
That held a son against her breast. 

"I never saw a sweeter child -
The little one, the darling one! -
I mind, I told her, when he smiled
You'd know he was his mother's son. 

"It's queer that I should see them so -
The time they came to Bethlehem
Was more than thirty years ago;
I've prayed that all is well with them."

     ~ A Christmas Reflection ~ Thomas Merton

Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, his place is with those others for whom there is no room. His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied the status of persons, tortured, exterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in this world.

Choir - Behold That Star

Carol - On This Day Everywhere

Reading ~ Luke 2: 8-12

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."

     ~ Mother of God ~ William Butler Yeats

The threefold terror of love; a fallen flare
Through the hollow of an ear;
Wings beating about the room;
The terror of all terror that I bore
The Heavens in my womb.  

Had I not found content among the shows
Every common woman knows,
Chimney corner, garden walk,
Or rocky cistern where we tread the clothes
And gather all the talk? 

What is this flesh I purchased with my pains,
This fallen star my milk sustains,
This love that makes my heart's blood stop
Or strikes a Sudden chill into my bones
And bids my hair stand up?

Duet - Ave Maria

Reading ~ Luke 2:13-14

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!"

     ~ Snow in Bethlehem ~ Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues. 

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.
It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors. 

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. They only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is louder now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.

Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
implore you to stay awhile with us
so we may learn by your shimmering light
how to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting time of hate time.
On this platform of peace, we can create a language
to translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.
At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ

Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues the coming of hope.
All the earth's tribes loosen their voices to celebrate the promise of
Peace.

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace.

We look at each other, then into ourselves,
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation:

Peace, My brother.
Peace, My sister.
Peace, My soul.

Choir - Carol for Advent

Carol - The First Noel

Choir - Lo How A Rose

Reading ~ Luke 2:15-20

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

     ~ The Moment of Magic ~ Victoria E. Safford

Now is the moment of magic,
when the whole, round earth turns again toward the sun,

and here's a blessing:
the days will be longer and brighter now,
even before the winter settles in to chill us.

Now is the moment of magic,
when people beaten down and broken,
with nothing left but misery and candles and their own clear voices,
kindle tiny lights and whisper secret music,

and here's a blessing:
the dark universe is suddenly illuminated by the lights of the menorah,
suddenly ablaze with the lights of the kinara,
and the whole world is glad and loud with winter singing.

Now is the moment of magic,
when an eastern star beckons the ignorant toward an unknown goal,

and here's a blessing:
they find nothing in the end but an ordinary baby,
born at midnight, born in poverty, and the baby's cry, like bells ringing,
makes people wonder as they wander through their lives,
what human love might really look like,
sound like,
feel like.

Now is the moment of magic,

and here's a blessing:
we already possess all the gifts we need;
we've already received our presents:
ears to hear music,
eyes to behold lights,
hands to build true peace on earth
and to hold each other tight in love.

Choir/Congregation - Hames um Bole / Silent Night

Closing Reading ~ The Work of Christmas ~ Howard Thurman

When the songs of 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 flock,
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 brothers and sisters,
     to make music in the heart.

Benediction ~ Night Has Fallen ~ Rev. Tom Schade

Night has fallen.
Stars beckon in an indigo and velvet sky
Somewhere a baby is being born.
Tonight, the world lazes in a love of goodness
while glories stream from heaven afar
God is meeting us, tonight, where we are.
So be not afraid, and be of good cheer,
We wish you, each and all, Very Merry Christmas -
The hopes and fears of all the years have been met,
so Rest beside the winding road
and Hear the Angels Sing.

Choir - Alleluia Chaconne

Christmas Monday's (2011) Engineless Sailing Video

Hope you've had a good Christmas.

Did you go sailing on Christmas? We are in the midst of doing some remodeling (extending the quarter berth for a growing son) so while we thought about it, we didn't go.

In the midst of celebrating, I find myself giving thanks for loved ones near and far; for those who have mentored me along the way; for friends. Then I've thought, do I, do wec give thanks for the gift of the skills we have, or for those who skills inspire us?

When I ran across this short YouTube video (Knockabout Sloops blog), I just had to share it. This is engine-less sailing at it's most inspiring - sailing out of the travel-lift, through the docks and docking. Nicely done, too. Wow! And while, at this point anyway, I am not advocating pitching/selling the engine, it would be great to be this confident in our sailing to do this, in case the engine were to break down.

I suppose it is just a matter of practice, practice, and more practice.

Blessed Be & Merry Christmas

Rev. Joel

Sjovind splashes and sails out of the slings

Merry Christmas, 2011

Merry Christmas! 

Do not be afraid;
for see - I am bringing you good news of a great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
    who is the Messiah, the Lord.
          ~ Luke 2:10

My experience has been, that when Christmas falls on a Sunday, people either come to the Christmas Eve service the night before, or to the Sunday Christmas service. Here in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, we usually don't have a Christmas Day service. Not sure why, exactly, we just haven't. So, when Christmas falls on a Sunday, I've tried to do something a little different for the Sunday service. Here's a Las Posadas type of service that I've adapted before. As part of the service, I ask for some volunteers to stand outside the church, or at least outside the sanctuary. Sometimes we leave the door slightly ajar so that the people inside and outside can hear one another. Today, I just noticed that these responses (after the initial knocking) can be sung to the tune of St. Kevin (Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain).*

Blessed Christmas!

Rev. Joel

Joseph & Mary stand outside the sanctuary, accompanied by youths and children. One member of the group outside knocks on the sanctuary door and says:

Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking;
if you hear my voice and open the door,
    I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.           (Rev. 3:20)

 [The following can be sung ...]
People Outside:

In the name of God, we beg: will you let us enter?
We are tired and we are cold. May we please have shelter?

People Inside:

You look dirty and you smell. Will you please keep moving.
For you kind there is no place, for our inn is decent.

People Outside:

It is not by our own choice that today we travel.
But the emperor has said that all must be counted.

People Inside:

For your reasons we care not, every room is taken.
Can't you see the place is full? You are bad for business.

[The following section is said ...]
People Outside say:

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him;
    yet the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who received him, who believed in his name,
    he gave power to become children of God.           (John 1:10, 12)

People Inside say:

Who are the children of God?

People Outside say:

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.          (Romans 8:14)

People Inside say:

To what does the Spirit of God guide us?

People Outside say:

You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart,
    and with all of your soul, and with all your mind.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.          (Matthew 22:37, 39)
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
    generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.          (Galatians 5:22-23a)

People Inside say:

How do we know we love the Lord and have faith?

People Outside say:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
    if you say you have faith but do not have works?
Can faith save you?
If a brother or a sister is naked and lacks daily food,
    and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,"
and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?
So faith by itself, if it has not works, is dead.          (James 2:14-17)

[The following section is sung, again ...]
People Outside sing:

Will the child be born tonight out on a street corner?
Can't you find a place for him? Do you have no pity?

As the People Outside come into the sanctuary, the People Inside may stand and sing:

Oh, my goodness, do come in, You can use the manger.
For the rooms that we do have are for a rich trav'ler.

All Sing:

Gentle Mary laid her child lowly in a manger;
There he lay, the undefiled, to the world a stranger.
Such a babe in such a place, can he be the Savior?
Ask the saved of all the race who have found his favor.

All Pray:

God all-powerful,
    grant that we may rid ourselves of the works of darkness,
and that we may invest ourselves with the works of light
    in this life
        to which your Son, Jesus Christ,
    with great humility came to visit us;
so that in the final day,
    when he returns in majestic glory to judge the living and the dead,
we shall rise to eternal life through Jesus Christ,
    who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
    now and forever. Amen.

____
*From the United Methodist Book of Worship

Christmas Eve, 2011

This is a repeated post of the Annual Christmas Eve Service - not much changes from year to year, and I thought it might be handier to just repeat the post rather than give you a link for this past one.Where ever you are in this wonderful world of ours,
Merry Christmas

~ Rev. Joel

The Laughter Behind Grace
God laughed and brought forth Jesus. Jesus laughed and brought forth the Holy Spirit. All three laughed and brought forth us."

(Meister Eckhart in Elder Wisdom by Eugene Bianchi)

The Christmas Eve service has always been one of my favorite services, in part, because of the delightful expressions seen behind the flames of the candles. In this time of deep darkness, when the Northern Hemisphere is just past her longest night, we celebrate light coming into the world.

This year, however, many of us in western Washington are home bound due to the weather. So I offer here a copy of the services I have used in the past. May this liturgy continue to bring you the wonderment and laughter of the season.

- Joel

INVITATION TO WORSHIP

CALL TO WORSHIP



Leader: Christ is born; give him glory!
People: Christ has come down from heaven; receive him!
             Christ is now on earth; exalt him!
Leader: O you earth, sing to the Lord!
People: O you nations, praise him in joy, for he has been glorified!

(Traditional Byzantine Christmas Prayer, alt.)

INVOCATION

Send, O God, into the darkness of this troubled world, the light of your Son. Let the star of your hope touch the minds of all people with the bright beams of mercy and truth; and so direct our steps that we may ever walk in the way revealed to us, to the manger where he dwelled, who now and ever reigns in our hearts, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(John Suter, USA, 20th Cent., Alt)

HYMN: "O Come, All Ye Faithful" #234 (v. 1, 3 & 6)*

Lighting of the Advent Candles and Christ Candle

PROCLAMATION IN LESSON AND CAROLS

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-4

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faith or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

Hymn: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” #211 (v 1-4)
Scripture: Luke: 1:26-35, 38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! the Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. ..." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Hymn: “To a Maid Engaged to Joseph” #215 (v 1, 2, 6)
Scripture: John 1:1-5, 14

In the begining was teh Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing come into being. What has come into being in him was life, the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. ... And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

Hymn: “O Little Town of Bethlehem” #230
Scripture: Luke 2:1-7

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Hymn: “Away in a Manger” #217
Scripture: Luke 2: 8-12

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."

Hymn: “The First Noel” #245 (vs. 1-2)
Scripture: Luke 2:13-14

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!"

Hymn: “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” #218
Scripture: Luke 2:15-20

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Hymn: “Angels We Have Heard on High” #238

Prayers of the People**

Celebrating the birth that brings grace and salvation to all, let us place before God our needs and those of the whole world.
As we pray FOR THE CHURCH wherever it is in the world

• For the church here and throughout the world, that our worship and praise may give glory to You, O God, and our witness and ministry promote peace on earth.

As we remember THE WORLD

• For peoples of every race and nation, that the celebration of the birth of You, the Prince of Peace, may encourage a new birth of righteousness and justice.

We pray also FOR THOSE OPPRESSED, AFFLICTED OR IN NEED

• For those bowed down by injustice or despair, that Your power, the power of God, and the zeal of Your servants may break the rod of oppression and lift the yoke of life’s burdens.
• For refugees and aliens, for homeless people and unwed mothers, that in them we may see the image of Mary and Joseph, and recognize Your face, O Christ.

We hold THE NEEDS OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY close to our hearts, O God, so we pray:

• For family and friends near and far, for the hospitalized and homebound, that the good news of Christmas may be for all who are dear to us the end of darkness and fear, the dawn of light and joy.

Finally, Lord God, we pray for ourselves, THIS ASSEMBLY

• For this assembly, that by Your grace – the grace of Christ’s coming – may live upright and godly lives, and bear witness to our blessed hope for Your, Our Savior’s, glorious return.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LORD’S PRAYER:

• The Word became flesh and dwelled among us, that as children of God we might dare to pray: OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN . . .

Hymn: “What Child Is This” #219

SENDING FORTH

Passing the Light
Hymn: “Silent Night, Holy Night” #239
Proclamation: Isaiah 9:2-4, 6-7

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian. ...
For a child has been born to us,
    a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grown continually,
    and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
    with justice and with righteousness
    from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Hymn: “Joy to the World” #246

Benediction

Rejoicing in Emmanuel, God-is-with-us, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

__________________

* These are the hymn/page numbers in the United Methodist Hymnal

** Prayers of the People are adapted from Peter Scagnelli's Prayers: Year B.

A Choir Service of Lessons, Carols & Readings, 2011

The UU Church in Blaine is currently looking for a pastor and asked if I would help with their annual choir/Christmas reading/Carol service. I was honored to do so. It turned out to be a beautiful service. The choir numbers were fantastic. And the readings became powerful this way. I have always done a Lesson & Carol service for Christmas Eve (which I will post on Christmas Eve). Traditionally, this church has read one of the gospel Christmas stories a midst the other readings. So I thought about combining the two. I figured it was either going to bomb or be wonderful. It turned out to be a powerful service. So, for those of you pastors (and others) out there who are wondering what to do with Christmas Eve on a Saturday and Christmas on a Sunday, this might be an option. And for those of you sailing around wondering where you are going to spend Christmas, may this put you in the mood.
Blessed Be

Rev. Joel

PS - the hymn numbers are for the UU hymnal, but I was quite familiar with all but one of these.
PSS - as this church was founded by Icelanders, the choir (and some congregants) sang Silent Night in Icelandic first before the congregation joined in singing in English.


********

A Choir Service of Lessons, Carols & Readings:

A Vesper Service

Choir - Awake, Awake, A Joyous Noel

Opening Words / Welcome

"God laughed and brought forth Jesus. Jesus laughed and brought forth the Holy Spirit. All three laughed and brought forth us."  ~ Meister Eckhart

Tonight we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child - how God becomes vulnerable to us as an infant, a babe, needing our tender care and nurture and comfort. Tonight as we read Luke's account, we have interspersed readings and carols and choral anthems - sharing some of the ways that this event has inspired others. Tonight as we read and sing these words of inspiration, may our hearts be inspired to look for the Christ in one another and the world at large. May we leave with a new sense of what is important in the world, a new sense at how God is at work, calling us forth to join in with our own hands.

Lighting the 4th Advent Candle  ~ Tonight, Everyone is Displaced ~ Rev. Tom Schade

Tonight, everyone is displaced and homeless.
Tonight, everyone searches for Bethlehem.
On this night, when the darkness comes so close,
We listen, in the stillness, for the songs of angels.
Like shepherds, we aren't too sure of what is happening.
We don't know why we are so expectant.
We don't know why we long so deeply for miracles.
Tonight we pray that we might know the one we are seeking.
Tonight may we kneel like kings,
before that which is greater than any kingdom on earth.
Tonight, may we see the holy family that we are a part of.
And may we hear the music that reminds us of our truest home.

Carol - Joy to the World - #245

Reading ~ Luke: 1:26-35, 38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! the Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. ..." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

     ~ This Is No Time for a Child to be Born ~ Madeleine L'Engle

This is no time for a child to be born,
With the Earth betrayed by war and hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out and the sun burns late. 

That was no time for a child to be born
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome
Honor and truth were trampled by scorn --
Yet here did the Saviour make his home. 

When is the time of love to be born?
The inn is full on planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn ---
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.

Choir - The Angels
Carol - O Come, O Come Emmanuel - #225

 Reading ~ Luke 2:1-7

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

     ~ The Maid-Servant At The Inn ~ Dorothy Parker

"It's queer," she said; "I see the light
As plain as I beheld it then,
All silver-like and calm and bright -
We've not had stars like that again! 

"And she was such a gentle thing
To birth a baby in the cold.
The barn was dark and frightening -
This new one's better than the old. 

"I mind my eyes were full of tears,
For I was young, quick distressed,
But she was less than me in years
That held a son against her breast. 

"I never saw a sweeter child -
The little one, the darling one! -
I mind, I told her, when he smiled
You'd know he was his mother's son. 

"It's queer that I should see them so -
The time they came to Bethlehem
Was more than thirty years ago;
I've prayed that all is well with them."

     ~ A Christmas Reflection ~ Thomas Merton

Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, his place is with those others for whom there is no room. His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied the status of persons, tortured, exterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in this world.

Choir - Behold That Star

Offering: To Benefit the Blaine Family Service Center
                       (being matched by the Social Justice Committee)

Carol - On This Day Everywhere - #249

Reading ~ Luke 2: 8-12

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."

     ~ Mother of God ~ William Butler Yeats

The threefold terror of love; a fallen flare
Through the hollow of an ear;
Wings beating about the room;
The terror of all terror that I bore
The Heavens in my womb.  

Had I not found content among the shows
Every common woman knows,
Chimney corner, garden walk,
Or rocky cistern where we tread the clothes
And gather all the talk? 

What is this flesh I purchased with my pains,
This fallen star my milk sustains,
This love that makes my heart's blood stop
Or strikes a Sudden chill into my bones
And bids my hair stand up?

Duet - Ave Maria

Reading ~ Luke 2:13-14

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!"

     ~ Snow in Bethlehem ~ Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues. 

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.
It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors. 

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. They only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is louder now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.

Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
implore you to stay awhile with us
so we may learn by your shimmering light
how to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting time of hate time.
On this platform of peace, we can create a language
to translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.
At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ

Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues the coming of hope.
All the earth's tribes loosen their voices to celebrate the promise of
Peace.

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace.

We look at each other, then into ourselves,
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation:

Peace, My brother.
Peace, My sister.
Peace, My soul.

Choir - Carol for Advent

Carol - First Nowell - #257 (You may know this as "The First Noel")

Choir - Lo How A Rose

Reading ~ Luke 2:15-20

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

     ~ The Moment of Magic ~ Victoria E. Safford

Now is the moment of magic,
when the whole, round earth turns again toward the sun,

and here's a blessing:
the days will be longer and brighter now,
even before the winter settles in to chill us.

Now is the moment of magic,
when people beaten down and broken,
with nothing left but misery and candles and their own clear voices,
kindle tiny lights and whisper secret music,

and here's a blessing:
the dark universe is suddenly illuminated by the lights of the menorah,
suddenly ablaze with the lights of the kinara,
and the whole world is glad and loud with winter singing.

Now is the moment of magic,
when an eastern star beckons the ignorant toward an unknown goal,

and here's a blessing:
they find nothing in the end but an ordinary baby,
born at midnight, born in poverty, and the baby's cry, like bells ringing,
makes people wonder as they wander through their lives,
what human love might really look like,
sound like,
feel like.

Now is the moment of magic,

and here's a blessing:
we already possess all the gifts we need;
we've already received our presents:
ears to hear music,
eyes to behold lights,
hands to build true peace on earth
and to hold each other tight in love.

Choir/Congregation - Hames um Bole / Silent Night

Closing Reading ~ The Work of Christmas ~ Howard Thurman

When the songs of 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 flock,
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 brothers and sisters,
     to make music in the heart.

Benediction ~ Night Has Fallen ~ Rev. Tom Schade

Night has fallen.
Stars beckon in an indigo and velvet sky
Somewhere a baby is being born.
Tonight, the world lazes in a love of goodness
while glories stream from heaven afar
God is meeting us, tonight, where we are.
So be not afraid, and be of good cheer,
We wish you, each and all, Very Merry Christmas -
The hopes and fears of all the years have been met,
so Rest beside the winding road
and Hear the Angels Sing.

Choir - Alleluia Chaconne

Advent Calendar 25 December 2009 - Christmas Day

Merry Christmas.

We pray, O Lord, for refugees and exiles (as we recall the Holy Family fleeing into Egypt) that they may one day return to enjoy the blessings of peace and justice. Amen.

When the song of 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 flock,

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 brothers [and sisters],

to make music in the heart.

~ Howard Thurman