SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION (and holy community)
Westport Presbyterian Church—“The Phoenix Is Rising!”
December 4, 2022 11:00 am
(Video will be posted LIVE on the church’s FB page at 11am and then cross-posted here. If the video doesn’t load properly here, you should be able to click on the Watch on Facebook link and watch as a guest, even if you don’t have Facebook)
PRELUDE: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel—arr. Louis Landon
RESPONSIVE CALL TO GOD TO RENEW OUR SOULS
Leader: Listen to the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness:
People: Prepare the way of the Lord!
Leader: The time is coming, John the Baptizer tells us. Now is the time to prepare for the coming of the Christ child.
People: Prepare the way of the Lord.
Leader: Make the rough places smooth. Straighten out the crooked places.
Prepare all paths so that hope may find a way into all hearts.
People: May we prepare the way of the Lord.
Leader: Make room for the Holy One. Create space in the crowded inn, in the stable,in the corners of our hearts.
People: May I prepare the way of the Lord.
Leader: Make room in the busyness, in the crowds, in our filled-up lives.
People: As we light this second candle of Advent, let us pray for wisdom and courage to prepare an inner way for the Lord’s coming.
Lighting of 1st and 2nd Advent Candles During Singing: Wild and Lone the Prophet’s Voice #163GTG
RESPONSIVE PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND COMMITMENT
Leader: As we await the miracle of Bethlehem,let us offer our prayers to the Lord who is coming:
People: For the gift to see the Light of the Worldin simple things and humble acts, we pray to the Lord:
Leader: O Emmanuel, come and fill us with your love!
People: For the gift of faith in times of uncertainty,For the gift of faith in the face of fear For the gift of faith to act as if God is already acting in alliance with us,
Leader: O Emmanuel, come and fill us with your faith in God’s loving presence.
People: For the gift of silent nights,
Leader: For the gift of quiet waiting,
People: For the gift of stillness amidst all outer and inner noise,
Leader: O Emmanuel, come and fill us with your calming, encouraging Spirit. You love us without limit or condition,
People: In our greatness failures and in our deepest misery,
Leader: In our folly and in our virtue,
People: May your hand be always upon our us, May your Spirit always be filling us.
Leader: Amen. Let it be so.
People: Let it be soon.
SUNG PROMISE TO CHOOSE—AND RECEIVE!—GOD’S GRACE: Oh, I Know the Lord’s Laid His Hands on Me #2139STF
BIBLE READINGS: Isaiah 40:1-5 Luke 3:1-18 Jennifer Weiman
ANTHEM: Keep Your Lamps!—André Thomas
PRAYER BEFORE SERMON
Leaders : May the words of my mouth
People : And the meditations of our hearts
All : Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord,
our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen
SERMON: A Wake Up Message
SUNG PREPARATION FOR COMMUNION: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus #82 GTG
SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
Pastor: Let’s gather around this planet friendly, holy table, With holy bread & drink People: The promise of Christ being alive among us
Pastor: This is the welcome table of God where all who intend toexperience the non-physical spiritual dimension of life—
People: And live in relationships of freedom and peace with neighbors!
Pastor: Hunger no more! Come to eat! Here, all who longs for otherwise elusive grace
People:: May enjoy the strong love of God in Jesus Christ.
Pastor: Here you are embraced and held by Self Giving Love!—
People: One of God’s great and holy names!
Pastor: Come to drink, you are invited into this holy mystery.
People: We are ready!
Pastor: Jesus said: “I am the bread of life. All who come to me shall not
hunger, and all who believe in me shall never be thirsty.”
People: We are hungry for Your Love, O God,
We are thirsty for Your Deep Peace, O Lamb of God.
We come seeking an unusual gift— an experience of wonder and joy.
Pastor: Come, Holy Spirit. Come. Open our eyes to the mystery of
The living Christ’s presence in our midst. Through the broken bread…
People: We are becoming the Body of Christ—
Pastor: Whom we named Pat after our fire—a name crossing genders.
People: We celebrate the new life Christ gives us.
Pastor: Now Pat has a new life, Pat is a new person, as a particular Body of Christ.
People: Let us praise and pray to God by singing an African hymn!
CONGREGATIONAL SUNG PRAYER: Come, Bring Your Burdens to God #851 GTG
Lift up names of people we wish to pray for, concluding with The Lord’s Prayer (GTG, page 35)…
BREAKING AND SHARING OF THE BREAD
POURING AND SHARING OF THE WINE
Pastor: The Grace, Peace, Love and Joy of Jesus Christ be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Let us pray…..
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:
Gracious and loving God, You have united us into a body of Christ, And nourished us at Your table with holy food and drink. Thank you for feeding our hunger and relieving our thirst. Now send us into the world to do the great work You have called us to do; To find the lost and lonely! To heal wounded souls! To free people, including ourselves, who are not at all free! To give compassion to the vulnerable and marginalized! To love Beauty, the Planet and Sky, To persist in resisting evil, and to share by what we say and doThe Message of Jesus Christ!—Who is The Light in the World. Amen.
SUNG COMMUNION RESPONSE: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel(stanzas 1,2) #88 GTG
WELCOMING
OFFERTORY: I Wonder as I Wander—John Jacob Niles Jennifer Weiman, mezzo soprano
Offering link
RESPONSIVE PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Pastor: May I be a guard for those who need protection
People: A guide for those on the path
Pastor: A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood
People: May I be a lamp in the darkness
Pastor: A resting place for the weary
People: A healing medicine for all who are sick
Pastor: A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles
People: And for the boundless multitudes of living beings
Pastor: May I bring sustenance and awakening
People: Enduring like the earth and sky
Pastor: Until all beings are freed from sorrow
People: And all are awakened.
—Shantideva, Indian Buddhist sage 700 C.E. Prayer performed each morning by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
HYMN: On Jordan’s Banks the Baptist’s Cry(1-3) #96 GTG
BENEDICTION
BENEDICTION RESPONSE: On Jordan’s Banks the Baptist’s Cry (stanza 4) #96 GTG
POSTLUDE: Soul, Adorn Thyself with Gladness—Johann Gottfried Walther
NEWS IN AND AROUND CHURCH & COMMUNITY
*IMMEDIATE NEED for all winter clothing for men and women, especially gloves, coats and hats!!!
*COOKIE SALE! Our big cookie sale is Saturday, December 17, from 11:30-2:30 in the fellowship hall. Setup begins at 10:00 a.m. Thank you to all who have volunteered to help! If you still wish to volunteer, there’s still time. If you are baking, you don’t need to give us the recipe, but please label your goodies if they include nuts or other allergens, or are gluten free. We can use as many goodies as possible!
*ADVENT CHOIR rehearsals begin today after the service. We will rehearse today and next Sunday, the 11th, following the service, and at 10:00 a.m. on the 18th, which is the lessons and carols service.
*Thanks to all who have pledged so far in our 2023 campaign. We have received just over $100,000 so far. Thank you one and all. If you not pledged yet, please consider helping Westport to reach our $115,000 goal, which will enable us to meet growing needs in our mission with people living without a house and extreme poor people in Westport. In our worship & work in spiritual growth, the needs have grown, along with the social justice and anti-racism work we have been called into. Session will set a budget on Dec. 13. We will have a congregational meeting after worship, Sunday, Dec. 18 to review the budget, elect officers.
*Noontime Concert sponsored by Westport Center for the Arts is this Friday, Dec. 9, 12 noon. Tom Vazzella, solo organ.
Illuminated Christmas Eve service is Saturday, Dec. 24, 7:00 p.m. While Global and Local Art interpreting the Nativity Story is displayed on the Big Screens, hymns and carols are sung—and the Nativity is read in dramatic, synchronistic fashion.
*There will be a Christmas Sunday service at 11 am on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. Same on New Year’s Day. Church will be closed on Mondays after each holiday.
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