Compassionate Joy
Let us be as open vessels that God’s spirit may enter.
The Community Gathers: Experience God’s presence in the
assembly. Please greet one another with joy and welcome new friend
s into our community of love.
You are welcome here…come and worship!
Focus: Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing.
Sarah Ban Breathnach
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Gathering Music: In the Bleak Mid-Winter (by Gustav Holst) -Ada Goff
Welcome:
Call To Worship:
L: How magnificent is all creation.
P: God’s love is poured throughout all living things.
L: God’s love is poured out upon us each day.
P: We give thanks to our God.
L: Let your souls and spirits rejoice at the goodness of God.
P: Let all the people sing of God’s love. Amen.
Opening Hymn: Hark the Herald Angels Sing #119
Invocation:
Holy Living One, You who are our Joy, Give us the strength
we need to be open to this New Year with love and hope.
We give you thanks for the year that has been, for the joys and struggles, knowing that you have accompanied us each day.
Help us to prepare ourselves for the work we will commit to
in this next year, offering love and hope in all we do.
Let wonders of your love rule our hearts this day.
Let wonders of your love rule our church this day.
Let wonders of your love rule the world this day…
in the name of Compassion. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Awakening: Go Tell It On The Mountain (Spiritual) -Michelle Currie
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 63:7-9, Matthew 2:13- 23 -Maureen White
After the reading, you may respond, “Thanks be to God.”
Anthem: We’re Gonna Bring Joy to the World (by Marsha Jean Moors-Charles)
Michelle Currie
Meditation: Group Reflection Rev. Paula Norbert
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
Words of Invitation The Bread and The Cup
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Sermon Response: Meditative Instrumental ~ Meditation on Christmas Hymns (arr. by Chuck Bell) – Michelle Currie
Musical call to Prayer: (two times) Hush now in quiet peace, be still your mind at ease. The Spirit brings release, so wait upon the Lord.
Prayers of the People
Silent Prayers Pastoral Prayer
Music: Mary Did You Know (by Mark Lowry/Buddy Greene)
-Michelle Currie
Closing Hymn: Joy to the World vs 1,2 & 4 #134
Benediction:
My friends, may you be blessed with a Compassionate Joy
that compels you outward from this place to serve.
May you know the wonders of Christ’s love—
and tune your heart for looking at the world, for being in the
world, and bringing compassion to the world.
And may you forever sing along with all heaven and earth!
Postlude: Go In Peace…
Many thanks to Michelle Currie, our wonderful Music Director, who brings joy to our worship each week through the gift of her music. Thank you to the choir who shared their lovely voices on
Christmas Eve and to our Reader and Zoom Host. Great thanks to all who helped with our Christmas Eve Service.
Happy New Year to all!
Many thanks to all of the wonderful leaders at Union Church…
Our Church Leadership:
Moderator: Paul Schlaver
Clerk: Anita Coupe
Treasurer: Debbie Lamb
Mission Chair: Ken Murray
Deacons: Sharon Gaudin, Chair; Eve McPheeters, Nancy
Batchelor, Ardis Chretien, Bonnie Tallagnon, and Beth Baskin
Trustees: John Comeau, Chair; Don Chretien, and Rob Harriman
Finance: Peter McPheeters, Chair, Debbie Lamb, Doug
Firebaugh, Brad Coupe, and Bob Sherman
Music Director: Michelle Currie
Promotions Person: Anita Coupe
Webmaster: Wonderful Websites
Invitation to Communion
Leader: Come to your new journey to be sustained
by the food and drink of this holy table.
All: We come following the stars of guidance.
L: Come in spite of all the detours of your life.
All: We know God shows us every year, every day
an oasis of safety and rest when we are escaping
from dangers all around us, and the ‘home by another way’
which may be a new staying place or a new adventure.
L: Come for there is always a table waiting.
All: We come to share what strengthens us
and receive the gifts of others.
Prayers and Blessings:
God of this new year, we are walking into mystery. We face the future, not knowing what the days and months will bring to us or how we will respond. Be love in us as we journey. May we welcome all who come our way. Deepen our faith to see all of life through your eyes. Fill us with hope and an abiding trust that you dwell in us amidst our joys and sorrows. Thank you for the treasure of our faith life. Thank you for the gift of being able to rise each day with the assurance of your walking through the day with us. God of this new year, we praise you. Amen.
A New Year’s Blessing
May your inner vision be transformed so that you can see more clearly your own journey with all humankind as a journey of peace, hope, and bondedness (Nm 24:15-17; Jn 20:20).
May your God be someone you can lean on in your weak or painful moments. May you know God as your rock, your shelter, your strength, your wing of comfort and support (Ps 94:18).
May you be aware of all the places your feet carry you in the new year. May you know “how beautiful are the feet of the messenger of good news” (Rom 10:15).
May you not be afraid of the questions that press upon your mind and heart. May you welcome the questions and wait patiently for the day when they will have their answers (Mt 11:3).
May you be the one with welcome in your smile and hello etched upon your hand, the hand you extend to everyone who blesses you with presence (Lk 7:36-50).
May yours be the gift of reverence for all created things. May you face bravely and enthusiastically the responsibility to preserve and care for the beauty of Earth (Sir 42:15-43:33).
May the wellsprings of compassion flow deep within you until you can taste the tears of your brothers and sisters (2 Cor 1:3-7).
May you awake each morning with thank you on your lips and in your heart, recognizing that all is gift, that all is blessing (Ps 138:1).
May your friendship with God be strong and healthy. May that love be both a comfort and a challenge as you struggle to find your way in the new year (Jn 21:15-19).
May your spirit be open and perceptive in discovering the will of God for you. May your prayer be that of wisdom, guidance, and a deeper understanding of God’s way for you (Lk 1:26-38).
May your life this new year be a living legacy to your God.
— Joyce Rupp in May I Have This Dance? An Invitation to Faithful Prayer Throughout the Year
Thoughts on the Past Year and
Hopes for the New Year Ahead…