Sunday, December 13, 2020 Third Sunday of Advent Joy

Prelude Advent Hope Derek Hakes Bell Ensemble

Opening Words and Prayer Alex Evans

Hymn (pre-recorded) O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Veni Emmanuel (stanzas 1, 2, 6, 7)

Lighting the Advent Candle Larry and Suzy Palmer

Anthem A New Magnificat Carolyn Jennings Hannah: My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies; I rejoice in God’s salvation. Mary: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, who looks upon a lowly handmaid with favor. All generations shall call me blessed. Refrain: My heart o’erflows, Alleluia! Hannah: There is none holy like the Lord; there is no rock like our God. Let not your mouth be arrogant, for the Lord is a God of all knowledge. Mary: For God who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is God’s name. And God’s mercy is given to God’s people from generation to generation. R Hannah: The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble put on strength. Those who were full are hungry, and those who were hungry are filled. The Lord kills and brings to life; God brings low and also exalts. God lifts up the poor from the dust to sit with rulers and inherit a seat of honor. Mary: Strong is the arm of the Lord, who has scattered the proud in their hearts; God has put down the mighty and lifted up those of low degree. God has filled the hungry, and the rich have been sent empty away. Choir: For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them God has set the world. R Hannah: God will guard the faithful flock, and human might shall not prevail. The Lord will judge the earth, and will exalt the power of God’s anointed. Mary: For the Lord has helped the servant Israel in remembrance of God’s love and mercy, which was promised to Sarah and Abraham, and to their children’s children forever. from I Samuel 2, Luke 1 Erin Wind, Hannah; Willa Jacob, Mary

Call to Confession and Prayer from A Sanctified Art Holy and loving God, with a sky full of stars and a world full of flowers, there should be no end to our joy. And yet, instead of decorating our very being with joy, we let it slip away like loose change. Instead of singing like Mary, or dancing like David, on many days, we pass by remarkable beauty and remain blind to love, unfazed. Instead of sharing joy with those around us, we remain lost, turned inward. Forgive us. Teach us the ways of love and joy, like children, who laugh and dance and sing as if joy is the very thing that keeps them alive. Maybe they have joy figured out. And keep shaping us in the ways of joyful, loving Jesus. . . (a period of silence for confession and personal prayer) Response O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Thomas Helmore, arr. Jeffrey Riehl O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lowly exile here until the Son of God appear. Alleluia! Medieval Latin, tr.

Words of Assurance The prophet promises: “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God who does not faint or grow weary. Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall run and not be weary.” In the good news of God’s forgiveness and light, we live with faith and joy! Alleluia! Amen.

Solo There Was Love Mark Burrows Whitner Lilly, soloist; Ada Lilly, narrator Before there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over flocks by night. Before there were wise men from distant lands guided on by a star so bright. Before there were angels to sing the song one Voice was singing all along. Refrain: Before you and I, or the stars in the sky, there was Light, there was Life, there was Love. Before there were presents or Christmas trees decorated in red and green; before there were pageants with parts to play, recreating a manger scene; before there were carols to fill the air, God's one True Light was always there. R Mark Burrows

Scripture Philippians 4:4-7 Roger Gench

Anthem God of the Watching Ones Lee Dengler God of the watching ones, the waiting ones, the slow and the suffering ones, the angels in heaven, the child in the womb. Grant us your healing peace, your gift of love, the hope of eternal life, the flower of Jesse, the rose yet to bloom. We are the watching ones, waiting in the night for shadows to vanish, revealing wondrous light. We are the hopeful ones, longing to see the Savior, the Son of Man who comes to set us free. Come, long-expected one. Come, promised one. Come, Messiah. Come, anointed one. Come, Love’s Son from heaven, divine incarnation, God’s great mystery. God of the watching ones, come set us free! God of the waiting ones, come set us free! Herb Frombach and “An Evening Prayer for Blessing during Advent,” Celtic Daily Prayer, Book 1: The Journey Begins

Scripture Psalm 126

Sermon Alex Evans

Affirmation of Faith A Brief Statement of Faith We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Alleluia. Amen.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer (debts) Kelley Connelly

Hymn (prerecorded) Angels We Have Heard on High Gloria

Closing Words and Benediction

Postlude Adeste fidelis Noel Rawsthorne Alana Carithers, violin Brian Evans, viola Alyssa Evans, violin Stephanie Barrett, cello

The flowers and greenery are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Jack Ackerly by Mary Ackerly

Music Notes Prelude This work is based on two tunes. The first is associated with Savior of the Nations, a text attributed to Bishop Ambrose of Milan (340-397). The translation was prepared by William M. Reynolds (1812- 1876), an American educator, college president, and Episcopal minister. His translation is based on one (into German) by Martin Luther (1483-1546). The tune first was first printed in Enchiridion, the second Lutheran hymnal published in Germany in 1524. The second is associated with Come, O Long- expected Jesus, written by the great English hymn writer and leader of the English Methodist movement Charles Wesley (1707-1788). He wrote more than 6,500 hymn texts. The tune is an early American melody. Derek Hakes is an American composer and handbell director. Hymn and Response Veni Emmanuel is a synthesis of the great "O Antiphons" that are used for Vespers during the week before Christmas. These antiphons are of ancient origin, dating back to at least the ninth century. They begin: O Sapientia (wisdom), O Adonai (lord), O Radix (rod of Jesse), O Clavix (key of David), O Oriens (east, day star), O Rex gentium (king of nations), O Emmanuel (God with us). In reverse order, they form an acrostic ERO CRAS, loosely translated as “tomorrow I will be (come).” The hymn itself is much more recent, first appearing in the 18th century in the Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum (Cologne 1710). The English translation was prepared by John Mason Neale (1818-1866), an Anglican priest who spent many years translating German hymn texts. Thomas Helmore (1811-1890), an Anglican priest and master of the choristers for the adapted a fifteenth-century French chant melody. Anthem Carolyn Jennings (b. 1936) is aProfessor Emerita of Music at St. Olaf College where she taught for many years and also served in administrative roles, including Chair of the Music Department and Associate Dean for the Fine Arts. She based her composition on the parallel songs of Hannah and Mary. Anthem Lee Dengler and his wife live in Goshen, Indiana, where they are Ministers of Music and Arts at College Mennonite Church. He also directs the Goshen Community Chorale. Herb Frombach (b. 1940) is an American free-lance composer and lyricist. Celtic Prayer is published by the Northumbria Community, a Christian community based on monastic principles in northern . Hymn This hymn is an anonymous French carol. James Chadwick (1813-1882), who translated the text, was an Anglo-Irish Roman Catholic priest, the second Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in England. The harmonization of the tune was composed by Edward Shippen Barnes (1887-1958), an American organist and composer. Postlude Adeste fidelis is attributed to John Francis Wade (1711-1786) and others. Wade was an English Catholic who lived in France, where he taught music and worked on church music for private use. He published a version in 1751. Frederick Oakley (1802-1880) translated the text into English. Oakeley was an English Roman Catholic convert,priest, and author. He was ordained in the in 1828 and in 1845 converted to Catholicism, becoming Canon of Westminster in 1852. Noel Rawsthorne (1929-2019) was organist for 25 years at the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool, England.