December 17, 2017                                                                                                        “Holiday Wars”

*Gathering Hymn                                       #224 Let Christmas Come

 

Call to Worship                                          Abby Arnold, Worship Associate

 

Chalice Lighting                                        Why I Say Happy Holidays                                               John Pavlovitz

 

Music for the Morning                                 Rorate Caeli Desuper

                                                                     "Drop Down Ye Heavens from Above"              Ancient Advent Hymn

 

Welcome

 

*Opening Hymn                                           #221 Light One Candle

 

*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

 

Time for All Ages                                             Elijah’s Angel

 

Song of Blessing                                             #395 Sing and Rejoice

                                                                         Sing and rejoice. Sing and rejoice.

                                                                         Let all living things now sing and rejoice.

 

Life Together

 

Pulpit Message                                              Right Relations

 

Offering

 

Offertory Anthem                                            In the Darkness of Winter                                          Ruben Piirainen

 

Devotional Time

 

Reflection

 

Pastoral Prayer

 

Silence

 

Musical Response

 

Sermon                                                         Holiday Wars                                                                        Rev. Greg

 

Going Deeper                                               Let Christmas Come (reprise)

 

*Closing Hymn                                             Merry Christmas/War Is Over                       John Lennon & Yoko Ono

 

*Benediction

 

Musical Benediction                                    Merry Christmas (reprise)

 

Invitation to Fellowship

 

*Please stand in body or in spirit

 

 

Greeters:               Audrey Lyness (9am); Roberta Frye, Wendi Gladstone & David Olson (11am)

Ushers:                 Tom Early & Peggy Kharraz (9am); Hugo Contreras & David Goetz

Coffee:                  Alice Hall & Eileen McCormack (9am); Sheila Cummins & Pam Teplitz (11am)

Welcome Table:    Barbara Gibbs (9am & 11am)

Bookstore:            Sarah Mae Harper

 

40% of this morning’s offering is for the UUA’s Disaster Relief fund, and will go directly to those

UUs and the surrounding community most affected by the fires in Ventura, Santa Paula, Santa

Clarita and Sepulveda. 240,000 people have been displaced and countless structures have been

destroyed. Your generosity will bring immediate hope to those facing heartbreaking loss of life,

landscape and property.

 

Guest Accompanist Travis Reynolds is a composer, pianist, and educator recently based out of Los

Angeles. He has held positions as staff accompanist at The Boston Conservatory, pianist for St.

Anthony Shrine in downtown Boston, teacher at Belmont Music School, and co-artistic director for

SoundWave Milwaukee and Soundry; he currently teaches out of his studio in Inglewood and at

West Hollywood Academy of Music. His music has been performed by the Milwaukee Youth

Symphony Orchestra, St. Luke’s Chamber Series, Calliope, and others. Travis is a graduate of The

Boston Conservatory, where he studied with Jan Swafford and Dalit Warshaw.

 

UUCCSM Bass Section Leader James Hayden was born in Grapevine, TX. He is an operatic bass who

loves exploring avant-garde vocal repertoire. Mr. Hayden's voice can be heard on many movie

soundtracks including Star Wars: Episode VII, Godzilla, Minions, Jurassic World, and League of

Legends. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and sings with the Los Angeles

Master Chorale.