Worship for December 10th 2006

2nd SUNDAY OF ADVENT

WELCOME-MINUTE FOR MISSION-ANNOUNCEMENTS

HYMN # 1 (vs 2,4,6) O Come, O Come Emmanuel

CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: Behind the corridors of space, before the world began,
beyond all understanding … God.
All: (sung) Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, in excelsis Deo.
One: Fathering time, mothering creation, parenting all people … God.
All: (sung) Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, in excelsis Deo.
One: waiting for the right moment, preparing the right way,
intending the right woman … God.
All: (sung) Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, in excelsis Deo.
One: We believe in one God,
All: Maker and Mover of Heaven and Earth.

HYMN # 2 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

ADVENT CANDLE:
One: Tinsel, garland, light, and greenery.
All: We love to decorate our homes and churches.
One: We do in celebration of the gift of God’s child, Jesus.
All: Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us.
One: We live in peace because we know that God is with us.
All: Today we celebrate God’s gift of peace.

HYMN Light One Candle
vs 1 Light one candle for hope, one bright candle for hope.
He brings hope to ev’ry heart.
He comes! He comes!
vs 2 Light one candle for peace, one bright candle for peace.
He brings peace to ev’ry heart.
He comes! He comes!

OPENING PRAYER:
One: Prepare the way of the Lord;
All: Make a path for our God in the desert.
One: Each valley shall be exalted;
All: Every mountain and hill be laid low.
One: The crooked shall be made straight;
All: Rough places shall become plain.
One: The glory of the Lord shall be revealed;
All: All people shall see it together.
One: This is the promise of the Lord;
All: God’s promise shall be fulfilled.

HYMN # 8 Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

SCRIPTURE READING: Malachi 3: 1 – 4
Luke 1: 68 – 79 (Song of Zechariah) (pg 900 VU)

CHOIR ANTHEM: Immanuel, God With Us

SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 3: 1 – 6

HYMN # 9 People Look East

SERMON:

There is something deliciously ironic in the simple fact that today, we are continuing our Advent Journey – a journey of preparing, a journey of beginning, a journey of anticipating … we are, in a few minutes hearing a reminder of why the Christmas story is so special, and how Angels have and continue to play an important faith role … and then, after cake and ice cream, we will see the latest plans for the new building we are anticipating, working towards and hoping for …

On this the Sunday of Peace … perhaps it is appropriate that we take another step on our journey forward to a new building … in this WE are preparing the way through our wilderness …

We are living the texts we have before us …

In Luke we have two wonderful readings – one is the voice of Zachariah who has his mute silence broken with the birth of his son John. Zachariah breaks his long months of silence by praising God, then taking his child, a child of his dotage (his old age) – into his arms, and he offers his hopes and aspirations for the child to become a mechanism of God’s grace in the world … What parent doesn’t feel that for their child?

I can remember taking each of my children in my arms in turn, and hoping that they will be and become fully the people they are meant to be … as I held them for the first time my prayers were very much like Zachariah’s – may God do something wonderful through my child … and may this child be and do something wonderful …

From this reading we move to a fully grown John who is standing in the desert surrounded by crowds of people seeking his unorthodox message and one of the first things that rolls out of John’s mouth is the phrase – “you brood of vipers …” - What kind of preacher insults his audience?

John, occupying the role of the messenger for God’s chosen one – the one who will embody the hopes of the people – people yearning to be free. John stand before the people in that role and the first thing he does is insults and belittles his followers – It is safe to say that no book on leadership will suggest that as a wise thing to do …

But John is about preparing a path – a new path , a path of repentance, a path of cleansing, a path to somewhere new. Most of all it is a path of transformation … and dare we foreshadow in Advent the Easter story and say it is a path of Resurrection??

That is what unifies our readings today … the repentance, the cleansing, and the transformation. All of them are constituent elements of resurrection. This Advent season, as we begin – as we prepare, we can simultaneously look to the end and proclaim our certainty in the Resurrection …

And as a community that’s where we stand … we know what has happened – but today we stand poised to begin again … we are living the season of Advent – anticipating – planning – preparing … The process ahead of us is one that calls on us to trust in the outcome of the refiner’s fire and the launderer’s soap …

The message of Malachi and John and even Zachariah is about living the journey of cleansing … what will we leave behind?? Attitudes that are less than helpful? Feelings, anger, resentment, sadness, bitterness? Things that we each carry and that need to be left behind … things we need to be cleansed of … as we move into Advent we repent of the past by embracing the new beginning …

The process of leaving it behind and allowing the gift of God’s grace to pour over us … is the essence of the Gospel in its fullness …

But the lesson for us, from our readings, from our faith traditions and even from our own lives is to expect the unexpected … Malachi proclaims words of hope as the second temple is rising in Jerusalem – he doesn’t want the people to forget their past … Zachariah offering his praise and prayer is an old man holding a child who will go on to do amazing things … The grown John standing in the desert proclaiming the time of preparation is not what anyone expected … and the child born in Bethlehem, the arrival of God in a backwater corner of the world is nothing that was expected …

And that perhaps is the point of our Advent journey … we prepare … we anticipate … but it is GOD who will off the beginning we yearn for – it will be nothing like we expect …

May we have the courage today, and in the coming days, to hear the whisper of Angel wings, and may we have the faith to follow the path they call us to …

May it be so – thanks be to God … let us pray …

OFFERING

OFFERTORY AND PRAYER OF DEDICATION

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE &
THE LORD’S PRAYER (# 959 VU)

HYMN # 18 There’s a Voice in the Wilderness

SUNDAY SCHOOL PAGEANT:
“Touch of an Angel”

COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION

SUNG RESPONSE:

The worship has ended…
…the work of God’s people has just begun.
Go in peace.

WE REQUEST THE CONGREGATION REFRAIN FROM SHOWING APPRECIATION IN THE FORM OF APPLAUSE FOLLOWING THE
CHOIR ANTHEM AND “TOUCH OF AN ANGEL”. THANK YOU.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
POINSETTIAS FOR CHRISTMAS: Concern has been expressed about the survival of Poinsettias in a basically unoccupied building between now and Christmas. Therefore, you are encouraged, if you wish, to make a donation to the Rebuilding Fund in memory of your loved one rather than purchasing a Poinsettia for the church. Names will be listed in the bulletin.

LOVED ONES REMEMBERED
The Choir – in memory of deceased members
The Kingdons – in memory of William & Elsie Kingdon and David Kingdon
The Iversons – in memory of Amar & Lois Iverson and Philip Iverson

WHITE GIFT SUNDAY is today. Food donations will be delivered to the Minnedosa Christmas Cheer Board and the Community Food Cupboard. If you forgot your donation today, it can be dropped off at the church office.

AS PART OF “TOUCH OF AN ANGEL”, the Sunday School are serving cake & ice cream. Please join them in the basement in celebration.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU to St. George’s Anglican Church in Birtle for the Angel Gowns, to Charlie Kingdon and Alf Iverson for making the manger, and to all the parents who contributed time, costumes and props for “Touch of an Angel.” The Sunday School appreciates your support.

FOLLOWING CAKE & ICE CREAM, THE BUILDING COMMITTEE will have copies of the revised “church floor plan” for review and discussion.

TODAY - CHORAL FEST 2006 – presented by PULSE in partnership with the ROTARY CLUB will be held this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at the Covenant Church. Food donations will be accepted at the door for the local Christmas Cheer Board.

FUND RAISING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES that “Precious Memories”, the CD produced by Betty Russell, is now sold out. The Church office will take orders until Tuesday, December 12h. If the numbers warrant it, more will be produced, so if you want one get your order in shortly.

“CIRCLE OF FRIENDS” is available at Minnedosa Flower and Gift. $5.00 from each purchase is being donated to the Rebuilding Fund cutesy of Minnedosa Funeral Service.

CHURCH CALENDARS – a few copies of the 2007 Church Calendar are available for purchase at the Church office at a cost of $5.00 each.

LONGEST NIGHT SERVICE sponsored in conjunction with Minnedosa Funeral Services, will be held Thursday, December 21 at 7:30 p.m. here at St. Alphonsus.

BIBLE STUDY GROUP will meet this Friday at 10:00 am in the church office. All are welcome to participate.

CHOIR PRACTICE is Thursday at 7:30 pm here at St. Alphonsus Church. New members and anyone interested in directing would be most welcome!

THE UPPER ROOM magazines are again available. Copies of the Jan/Feb issue are available at the back of the church or from the church office.

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES:
Dec 10th – Sunday School presents “Touch of an Angel”
– White Gift Sunday
– Choral Fest 2006 - 3:00 - Covenant Church
Dec 21st – Longest Night Service - 7:30 - St. Alphonsus
Dec 24th – Christmas Eve - 11:00 - St. Alphonsus
– Christmas Eve - 7:30 - Tanner’s Crossing Pit
Dec 31st – Hymn Sing Service with Elgin Hall - St. Alphonsus

Information about the life and work of the CONFERENCE OF MANITOBA AND NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO can be found on the Conference website (http://www.mnwo.united-church.ca/). This website replaces ConfoPac, the three-times-a-year mailing from Conference Office. If you are interested in Conference events and news, go to the website and create your own personal profile that will allow you to receive updates when new information is available in your areas of interest.