THE BAR HARBOR CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH United Church of Christ 29 Mount Desert Street Bar Harbor, Maine 04609

December 27, 2020 10:00 AM First Sunday of Christmas

PRELUDE

SILENT REFLECTION (Howard Thurman)

Christmas returns, as it always does, with its assurance that life is good. It is the time of lift to the spirit, When the mind feels its way into the commonplace, And senses the wonder of simple things: an evergreen tree, Familiar carols, merry laughter. It is the time of illumination, When candles burn, and old dreams Find their youth again. It is the time of pause, When forgotten joys come back to mind, and past dedications renew their claim. It is the time of harvest for the heart, When faith reaches out to mantle all high endeavor, And love whispers its magic word to everything that breathes. Christmas returns, as it always does, with its assurance that life is good.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The poinsettias this morning have been given by Dottie Robins in memory of loved ones, by Debby Dyer in memory of her parents Donald and Margaret Dyer, by Barbara MacQuinn in memory of her husband Ronald and other loved ones, by Betty Bryer in loving memory of her brother Albert C. Brewer, by Martha Hobbs in memory of her husband Don, by Judy and Bill Fuller in memory of loved ones, by Deb Wade in memory of loved ones, by Scott and Debbie Hammond in memory of loved ones, and by Kathy MacLeod in memory of Jim and Jane MacLeod.

- Please have a candle to light as part of this service - Share your favorite Christmas memory, decoration or ornament - Share your carol request during this service - There is a need for volunteers to be greeters and liturgists, and to provide special music … contact Robin if you’d like to help - Morning prayer Tues 8:30am, Evening prayer Thurs 7pm - Open Table Tuesday, @4-6pm: takeout / delivery - No Sauter or Bible study this week - resume in new year! - Need anything? Call Pastor Rob @ 266-9026.

INTROIT Still, Still, Still Still, still, still One can hear the falling snow. For all is hushed, The world is sleeping, Holy Star its vigil keeping. Still, still, still, One can hear the falling snow.

CALL TO WORSHIP (by Christine Jerrett) Leader: God is telling a story in our lives: full of the promises God makes, and of our struggles to trust; full of mystery and angels with surprising news; full of hard endings and unexpected new beginnings.

People: As we come to hear the story, we listen for the angels’ message resonating in our hearts.

Leader: Then let us join all creation in worshipping God, who tells it with grace and truth; who has come in Jesus, Emmanuel, the Word made flesh, and who makes our stories holy. HYMN Joy to the World

Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.

PRAYER OF INVOCATION (from RCL Prayers) God of Christmas promise: your splendor shines from a manger in Bethlehem, where the Light of the world is born into the darkness of human night. Open our eyes to Christ's presence in the shadows of our world, so that we too may become beacons of justice and companions to all for whom there is no room. Grant us faith, O Christ, to receive your coming among us, so that with all creation we may sing new songs of gladness, and walk in the way of peace. Amen.

CHILDREN’S TIME AND ADVENT CANDLE LIGHTING Congregational response: Jesus Christ, Light of the world: shine among us today.

HYMN Go Tell It on the Mountain

Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born!

While shepherds kept their watching O'er silent flocks by night Behold throughout the heavens There shone a holy light

Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born!

The shepherds feared and trembled When lo! Above the Earth Rang out the angel chorus That hailed our Savior's birth

Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born!

Down in a lowly manger Our humble Christ was born And God sent us salvation That blessed Christmas morn

Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born!

PRAYERS OF THE COMMUNITY Joys and Concerns Text prayer requests in the chat box or to (207) 266-9026 Pastoral Prayer The Lord’s Prayer (using ‘trespasses’) Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER RESPONSE In the Bleak Mid-Winter

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air; But His mother only, in her maiden bliss, Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

SCRIPTURE READINGS Isaiah 61:10-62:3

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the 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 came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 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, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

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.

SPECIAL MUSIC Tony Sousa & Fred Benson

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

HYMN By request

BENEDICTION AND BLESSING (from Miracle in the Manger)

The child is born! Alleluia! Our God has come! Emmanuel: God-with-us!

So as we leave the manger and return to our daily routines, We glorify and praise God for all that we have heard and seen.

We go to spread the Good News wherever we go, sharing God’s love and promise with those we meet.

We go to find the lost, heal the broken, feed the hungry, release the prisoner, rebuild the nations, bring peace among people, and make music in every heart.

In the name of God – Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit – we cry out with angels in the heavens and shepherds in the fields: Alleluia! God is here!

Leader: We go in peace to love and serve the Lord. ALL: Thanks be to God

SUNG RESPONSE God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again – verse 1 God be with you till we meet again; by his counsels guide, uphold you, With his sheep securely fold you: God be with you till we meet again.

CARRYING THE LIGHT OF CHRIST INTO THE WORLD

POSTLUDE

ZOOM COFFEE HOUR