ADVENT FIRST CHURCH IN CAMBRIDGE Congregational 1633-1636 United Church of Christ Garden and Mason Streets Cambridge, Massachusetts WELCOME TO FIRST CHURCH IN CAMBRIDGE... Grounded in God • Growing in Community • Acting in Love These past months have brought home to all of us the vital importance of working together to slow and limit the spread of Coronavirus. We know we are called to be a community of faith, not fear. We also know we are called to care for the most vulnerable in our midst, to be good stewards of our staff and resources, and to be good citizens of the wider community. Under normal circumstances, people of faith would care for each other by drawing close together. It’s what we do. It’s who we are. In times of loss or threat, we respond by coming together to pray and to sing, to hug and hold each other tight. Pandemics are different. During an outbreak such as the one we are facing now, we are called to care for each other by moving farther apart, creating a holy buffer of social distance. We do this not only for our own safety and the safety of the people around us, but in loving stewardship to our wider world. Even when apart, we are not alone. God is with us, in every heartbeat, every breath: strengthening, comforting, and upholding us. Christ is with us, walking beside us, sharing our trials, speaking peace to our fears. The Spirit is with us, uniting us one to another across the barrier of physical distance. These are temporary measures only. They won’t last forever. We will rejoice and celebrate all the more when we are able to come back together, to share stories of what it was like, to laugh, to cry, and to share hugs and handshakes again. Until then, day by day, let’s hold one another in prayer. WORSHIP LEADERS December 6, 2020 Preaching Today Jaz Buchanan, Pastoral Associate Assisting in Worship Dan Smith, Senior Minister Lexi Boudreaux, Pastoral Associate Sarah Higginbotham, Director of Creative Worship & Arts Peter Sykes, Music Director Hilary Hopkins, Chair of Christian Formation Committee Katherine, Greta, and Karl Hayes Joe Welker, tech support The photograph on the bulletin cover is by Gaylen Morgan. FIRST CHURCH IN CAMBRIDGE December 6, 2020 GATHERING VOLUNTARY Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland J. S. Bach INTROIT O Come, O Come Emmanuel THE WORD OF GOD Isaiah 11:1-10 Jaz Buchanan ADVENT CANDLELIGHTING Hayes Family L: God, we light this second candle of Advent. We kindle it with peace. C: May that peace sustain us in this time, and guide us in our work for compassion and justice. *HYMN 128 Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying (verses 1 and 2) (see pages 5-6) *GREETING Hilary Hopkins L: Together, we gather in God’s love from wherever we are, C: from sanctuaries near and far, yet still as one body of faith. L: We still our minds and hearts in this moment God has given us. C: Returning to the first day of creation when God created the heavens and earth, light and dark, and said that it was all good, L: gather now and find wisdom in the dark and in the light that God created. C: Find grace in the shadows and dimly lit corners of life. L: Find strength in the waiting and in all the sacred mysteries among us. C: Come now, and let us prepare the way for God’s glory revealed! *WORDS OF WELCOME Dan Smith ANTHEM There Is No Rose Of Such Virtue Jessica Nelson CONFESSING INVITATION TO CONFESSION SILENCE -1- ADVENT PRAYER OF CONFESSION L: Let us pray for justice, pardon, and peace: C: God, help us to remember that you are always present with us. You are present in the darkness: in the comfort and quiet amid the unrest, You are present in the light: in the hope and clarity amid the uncertainty, Be with us now, as we welcome both the light that shines and the darkness that gives it life, recentering ourselves within you. Amen. DECLARATION OF GOD’S FORGIVENESS *GREETING OF PEACE A TIME WITH CHILDREN Sarah Higginbotham SONG Give me light in the darkness, light in the darkness, light in the darkness to sing my soul awake. (sing through twice) OPENING THE WORD PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING READING Luke 1: 39-45 SERMON Jaz Buchanan *HYMN 122 Now Bless the God of Israel (see page 7) SHARING OUR LIFE TOGETHER ANNOUNCEMENTS INVITATION TO OFFERING -2- *ADVENT DOXOLOGY AND PRAYER OF DEDICATION To God, all glorious heavenly Light, to Christ revealed in earthly night, to God the Spirit now we raise our joyful songs of thankful praise. Amen. SHARING THE FEAST INVITATION PRAYER OF PREPARATION REMEMBERING JESUS L: Now, O God, with grateful joy, we remember Jesus, his daring love, his open table. (silence) L: Setting aside our wisdom, our will, and our words, emptying our hearts and bringing nothing in our hands, C: We come at his invitation, yearning for the healing, the holding, the accepting, the forgiving, which Christ alone can offer. WORDS OF INSTITUTION Lexi Boudreaux PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT L: ​ Let us pray. Come Holy Spirit. By this bread connect us more closely with you and with our neighbors near and far. All: ​Bless this bread, we pray. L: ​ May this fruit of the vine remind us of the interconnectedness of people around the world. All: ​ Bless this cup, we pray. L: ​ May this simple meal enlighten the eyes of our hearts and bring us into union with you, your people and your world united in the One Body of Christ. We do this in the name of Jesus, our friend and companion, who taught us to pray: -3- THE LORD’S PRAYER (Please pray this prayer in words most meaningful to your heart.) All: Our Creator, 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 forever. Amen. SHARING BREAD AND CUP All who seek to follow Jesus’ way of justice, compassion and love are invited to partake of this feast. May there be no barriers to participation in this meal! *THANKSGIVING L: Let us give thanks! C: Thank you, God, for life in the Spirit of Jesus – for gladness in this bread and cup, for love that cannot die, for peace the world cannot give, for joy in the company of friends, for the splendors of creation, and for the mission of justice you have made our own. Give us the gifts of this holy communion – oneness of heart, love for neighbors, forgiveness of enemies, the will to serve you every day, and risen life that never ends. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. GOING FORTH *HYMN 121 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (see page 8) *BENEDICTION VOLUNTARY Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland J. S. Bach -4- OPENING HYMN verses 1 and 2 → → -5- OPENING HYMN -6- SERMON HYMN -7- CLOSING HYMN -8- PRAYERS OF OUR COMMUNITY ● We pray for Marian Smith, whose 9-year-old grandson Ian has been hospitalized recently and diagnosed with CRMO (chronic osteomyelitis) and Crohn’s disease. We pray for Ian and his parents, former members Barb and Adam Kroft, and his sisters Ada and Lily. ● We pray for Devin Hansen, who is recovering after an emergency appendectomy last week. ● We pray for former First Church Sexton Tina Jenner, who is recovering from infection in her back, even as she prepares for hip surgery. ● We pray for Giselle Korn, who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 at school in Utah. ● We pray for Mary Robinson and Mary Martha Thiel, whose daughter Sarah is undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. ● We pray for Besty Opitz and Art Anger as they mourn the loss of Betsy’s brother James Freeman, who died last Tuesday. ● We pray for former First Church member Stew Sanders and his family as they mourn the loss of his wife Nancy Sanders, also a longtime FCC member, who died last week. ● We pray for Caroline Newton’s father Ron Paquette, who is undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. ● We pray for Denis Collet, Karen Anne Zee’s son-in-law, who is recovering from recent surgery. ● We pray for all who are in treatment for cancer: Penny Kilburn, Nancy Kilburn’s mother; Katie, Moana Bentin’s sister; Amy Golodet, Jonathan New’s sister-in-law; Stewart Bailey, Karen Anne Zee’s son-in-law; and Beth and Polly, Ann McCann’s sisters. ● We pray for all who are experiencing significant loneliness in isolation as we keep physical distance from each other during this holiday season. We pray for strength and God’s peace as we continue to live in uncertain and scary times. ● As the death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise, we pray for all who are grieving the loss of loved ones. We pray for health care professionals and essential workers, that they may know they are supported and cared for. ● We pray for the 14 men who are finding warmth and sustenance and protection in our First Church Shelter, and for the guests of the Friday Cafe, who are finding food and fellowship and listening ears. We pray for all who are experiencing deprivation and hardship in these uncertain times.