Order of Service - December 27, 2015 "Be Lamps Unto Yourselves"

Date of Service: 
December 27, 2015
 
December 27, 2015
“Be ye lamps unto yourselves; be your own confidence.
Hold to the truth within yourselves as the only lamp.”
- Traditional
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*Gathering Hymn                                            Open the Window                                                                            Elise Witt
                                                                           Open the window children, open the window now.
                                                                           Open the window children.
                                                                           Open the window, let the dove fly in.
                                                                           Open the window, let the dove fly in.
 
                                                                          Neighbors lock their doors, build fences so high.
                                                                          Open the window, let the dove fly in.
                                                                          Don’t see what’s to discover on the other side.
                                                                          Open the window, let the dove fly in.
 
                                                                         Open the window children, open the window now.
                                                                         Open the window children.
                                                                         Open the window, let the dove fly in.
                                                                         Open the window, let the dove fly in.
 
Prelude                                                           In Dulci Jubilo, BWV 751                                     Johann Sebastian Bach
 
Welcome                                                         Margot Page
 
Chalice Lighting                                             Committee on Ministry
 
*Opening Hymn                                             #391 Voice Still and Small
 
*Covenant                                                       Love is the doctrine of this church.
                                                                          The quest for truth is its sacrament,
                                                                          And service is its prayer.
                                                                          To dwell together in peace,
                                                                          To seek knowledge in freedom,
                                                                          To serve humankind in fellowship,
                                                                          Thus do we covenant with each other.
 
*Hymn of Praise                                             From all that dwell below the skies
                                                                          Let songs of hope and faith arise
                                                                          Let peace, goodwill on earth be sung
                                                                          Through every land, by every tongue.
 
Offering for the Westside Food Bank and Turning Point
 
Time for All Ages                                          The Empty Pot                                                                                         Demi
                                                                         Margot Page
 
Song of Blessing                                          We’ll Build a Land                                                                Carolyn McDade
                                                                         We’ll build a land where we bind up the broken.
                                                                         We’ll build a land where the captives go free,
                                                                         Where the oil of gladness dissolves all mourning.
                                                                         Oh, we’ll build a promised land that can be.
 
                                                                         Come build a land where sisters and brothers,
                                                                         Anointed by love, may then create peace:
                                                                         Where justice shall roll down like waters,
                                                                         And peace like an everflowing stream.
 
Life Together
 
Offering                                                        #118 This Little Light of Mine
 
Devotional Reading                                  Sarah Caine
 
Silence
 
Devotional Hymn                                        This Is My Song                                                                           Jean Sibelius
                                                                        This is my song, O light of all the nations,
                                                                         A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
                                                                        This is my home, the country where my heart is;
                                                                        Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
                                                                        But other hearts in other lands are beating
                                                                        With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
 
Music for the Morning                                 Pastorale                                                                                       David Schack
 
Sermon                                                         Be Lamps Unto Yourselves                                                      Sarah Caine
 
*Closing Hymn                                            #368 Now Let Us Sing
 
*Benediction                                                Sarah Caine
 
Musical Response                                      In Dulci Jubilo, BWV 729                                        Johann Sebastian Bach
 
*Please rise, in body or in spirit.
 
❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
Service Notes
 
Greeters:                                                       Karen Patch, Michael Young & Steve Young
Ushers:                                                         Tom Foretich, Peggy Kharraz, Rick Rhoads & Kit Shaw
Coffee:                                                          Sheila Bjornlie, Leah Moore, Alicia Van Ooyen & Sylvia Young
Bookstore:                                                     Mark Warkentin
 
Sarah Caine is graduating in May from Starr King School for the Ministry, (where she also sits on the
Board of Trustees), with a Masters of Divinity degree, and currently serves as a Chaplain Resident at
Providence Saint John's just down the street! Sarah grew up in the Pacific Southwest District in
Tucson, AZ and Los Angeles, and spent some time in Korea and Northern California. Her passions
include trauma and resilience work, environmental justice, dance, and combat sports (Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu and Muay Thai). She's excited to see how her path of ministry will unfold.
 
Welcome and thanks to our guest musician this morning, Charlotte Lansberg. Charlotte is a pianist,
organist, conductor and composer who was born in Glendale, California and has spent her career in
the Los Angeles area, most recently in Altadena. As an organist and conductor, Charlotte led the
choir at Holy Redeemer Church in Montrose from 1999 to 2015. She has written music for
commercials and film scores, and heads a record company, Choo Choo Records. Charlotte has
recently founded an innovative choir, Credo, dedicated to excellence in Catholic church music.
 
This month, 60% of our non-pledge offering will go to the Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC).
OPCC empowers people to rebuild their lives, with the goal of ending -- not simply managing --
human suffering. OPCC is an independent, community-supported organization in which staff,
volunteers and clients work with mutual respect to address the effects of poverty, abuse, neglect and
discrimination. The agency's programs are designed to remove barriers to access the resources
individuals need to ensure their survival, end their victimization and improve their quality of life.