FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF WAUWATOSA
CHRISTMAS DAY
DECEMBER 25, 2005 10 A.M.
GATHERING MUSIC
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Rev.
Steven A. Peay, Ph.D.
PRELUDE The Shepherds at the Manger (The Christmas
Tree) Liszt
CHIMES AND TOWER
BELLS
CALL
TO WORSHIP Rev.
Carrie Kreps Wegenast
Minister: “And the Word became flesh
and lived among us, full of grace and truth.”
The
angels proclaimed it!
People: The
shepherds saw it! Mary treasured it!
Minister: The
King of Kings, the Lord of lords, the very God of very God, has been born in
Bethlehem!
People: Let us join the
celebration!
*HYMN 130 Joy
to the World! The Lord is Come!
*PRAYER OF INVOCATION
(unison)
Almighty
God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to
be born
this day of a pure virgin: Grant
that we, who have been born again and made your children by
adoption and grace, may daily be
renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ,
to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever, and
who taught us to say…
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
debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not
into temptation, but
deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the
glory, forever. Amen.
HYMN 116 Angels
We Have Heard on High
THE
LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE Tom
Godfrey
He came down that we may have life;
He came down that we may have life;
He came down that we may have life,
Hallelujah forevermore.
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Dr.
Peay
Sienna Rose Pietrasiewicz, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth
Pietrasiewicz
THE NEW TESTAMENT LESSON Hebrews 1:1-12 Bible,
page 1044
OUR RESPONSE
Minister: We
love to sing the old, familiar carols, but we are also called to sing to the
Lord
new
songs;
People: Songs which acknowledge all the marvelous things that the Lord
has done.
Minister: How
can we help shouting for joy on this most wonderful day, as we celebrate the
birth of Jesus - how can we resist
bursting into joyful song with music?
People: Music
for the Lord with all kinds of instruments and with the sound of
singing rising from the earth
itself.
Minister: So
we sing songs old and new and join our voices to read the ancient Psalm.
RESPONSIVE READING OF PSALM 98 Hymnal
page 531, no. 95
GOSPEL LESSON John
1:1-14 Bible
page 922
THE CHILDREN IN WORSHIP
ANTHEM Christmas
Child McGlohon
THE SERMON “Sing
We Now of Christmas” Dr.
Peay
[Please
keep your hymnal ready-to-hand since part of the sermon will be to sing!]
THE PRAYER OF MINISTERS AND PEOPLE
Minister: O
God, we thank you for the message of love that Christmas brings to a world
where hatred and
violence is experienced by so many
people in so many places. Help us to reveal in our lives the
love that Jesus so embodied, the
love that Paul wrote about so eloquently-
People: The
love that is patient and kind; the love that is never envious or boastful, or
arrogant
or rude; the love that does not
insist on its own way and is not irritable or resentful; that in
all things we may put love first.
Minister: O God, we thank you for the message of joy that Christmas brings to a world grown used to suffering.
People: We
remember in your presence the hungry and homeless men, women and young people,
our brothers and sisters in
Christ, who cry out for a word of tenderness, a touch of love,
a sign of hope, some practical
help;
Minister: We remember also those for whom this season is clouded by loneliness or anxiety or bereavement.
(a short silence is observed here as we
remember those known to us, or unknown to us personally but who are victims
throughout the
world of disaster, war, violence,
terrorism, abuse or accident – those who suffer in some way at this time)
ALL: We
pray that they may be kept from bitterness and despair as they remember the
birth of
him who bore our grief and carried
our sorrows, yet who was born at Bethlehem that people
might experience life in all its
fullness.
Minister: O
God, we thank you for the message of kindness that Christmas brings to a world
grown self-centered
and cynical through greed.
People: Help
us to remember that Jesus Christ came not to be served but to serve.
Minister: May
we all find true joy and fulfillment in giving ourselves in service to others
as we remember
together the birth of him who came
to give himself to us.
ALL: O
God, we thank you for the message of peace that Christmas brings to our
troubled world.
Give peace among nations; peace in
lands torn apart by warring factions; peace in our homes
and in our hearts as we remember
the birth at Bethlehem of the Prince of Peace,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
(Adapted from prayers from
‘Worship Now’: D.Cairns, I Pitt-Watson, J.A. Whyte, T.B. Honeyman, The St
Andrew Press, Edinburgh 1972)
THE OFFERTORY
ANTHEM Adestes
Fideles, O Come All Ye Faithful Titcomb
PRAYER
OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
*HYMN 122 God
Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Minister:
We have lifted up our voices
and sung to the Christchild the heavenly King
People: We
go, rejoicing over this wonderful gift of God, confident in the love of Jesus
and in the power of the Holy
Spirit.
Minister: May
the peace of God and the blessings of Christmas go with you.
People: And
also with you.
Ministers: CHRIST
IS BORN!
*THE POSTLUDE He is Born, the Infant King Hudson
*The congregation is
invited to stand, if able.
SERVING December 25, 2005
Head
Greeters: Marilyn
Auer, David Moore
Head
Ushers: Sue
Melby, John O’Meara
Ushers: 10:00 a.m. Don Hensch-Captain, Lyle Dobberke, John O’Meara
Greeters:
10:00 a.m. Don
and Jill Schaeffer
Acolyte: 10:00 a.m. Max Schaeffer
The
Christmas decorations are provided by the Board of Deacons
and through the generous donations of
members in honor of or in memory of loved ones.
|
We will gather together for worship on New
Years Day, January 1, 2006 at 10 A.M. Rev. Samuel Schaal will offer the message. A Quartet, with Kim Porter, Jill Bruss, Roger
Jacobi and Gary Back, will sing. |
CALENDAR WEEK OF December 25, 2005
SUNDAY,
December 25
9:30 a.m. Coffee Hour-Atrium
10:00 a.m. Worship-Nave
No Nursery care or Sunday School during worship
CHRISTMAS
HOLIDAY-OFFICE CLOSED
8:00
p.m. AA-LL5
Members
leave on Mission Mazahua trip
7:00
p.m.
Resolve-Parlor
6:00
p.m. Debtors
Anonymous-LL5
9:00
a.m. Big Band
No church
events scheduled
New Year’s Eve Day
Welcome
to all visitors joining
us today. Please check the welcome tables in the atrium for information about
our church.
For those who wear a hearing
aid, our Nave is
equipped with an FM loop system. Simply set your hearing aid to
the “T” setting. In addition to
the loop system, there is a
new hearing assistance system, which can amplify the
worship service with the use of a receiver and headset. The headset is not usable with a hearing aid.
There will be no Sunday
Symposium today
or Sunday, January 1, 2006. Join us at 10 a.m. Sunday, January 8 in Friendship
Lounge when Rev. Dan Schowalter presents, “Healing in the Roman World.” Dan will answer the question, “How was
getting sick and getting well understood within the Greco-Roman religious
system?”
The Wauwatosa Community Blood
Drive will take
place on New Year’s Eve. The blood supply may become very low over the
holidays; patients in area hospitals will appreciate blood donations. Please
call the Little Read Book Store to sign up at 414-774-2665.
On New Year’s Day there will be only one service at
10 a.m. There will be no Sunday School or nursery care. Children are
welcome to join their families in worship.
Circle 8 will meet at the Congregational
Home at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 to take down the Christmas
decorations. Lunch will follow.
A Chili Cook-off will be held during the January
All-Church Dinner on Wednesday, January 11 at 6 p.m. in the Social Hall. Submit
a pot of your favorite chili. We’ll have a salad bar and ice cream for dessert.
Children will enjoy hot dogs. Please sign up by Sunday, January 8 at
noon. Adults/$5; children under 12/$2.
FOR THE ADVENT SEASON
Donations to the Christmas
Decorations were made by—in honor of:
Phil and Anne Callen—Erin
and Bryn Callen
Cindy Payette—Hailey and
Madeline Sgarlata
George and Sally
Wells—Merrick II and Noah Wells
Donations to the
Christmas Decorations were made by—in memory of:
Eugenia T. Jacobus—Charles
D. Jacobus
Karen Mason—Lohna and
Harold Schmidt
Susan Rondeau—Helen
Weidenkopf and Carrie Rondeau
Mary Beth
Stevenson—Grandparents: John and Naomi Ross
Donations were also
received from:
Carol Buran
Jim and Sharon Petrie