Waiting and Hope -- Liturgy for Advent 1

OPENING PRAYER
We come with hearts that are anxious, uncertain of the future;
God, relieve our anxiety, help us to embrace the possibilities.
We come as those who wait with hope for the better times to come;
God, help us counter the despair we see around us.
We come as those who look to the promise of birth and new life,
God, be born in us and our world again and again. Amen.

Offering Prayer
Gift-giving God, as we get closer and closer to Christmas we hear more and more voices crying out “Please Give”
And we respond as best we can. We share of our lives to help all around us live in abundance. Here we offer a portion of our gifts, trusting that they would be used to spread Your love in our community and around the world. Amen.

COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
The Advent journey has begun. Each day brings us closer to the wonder of Christmas.
As we get closer the excitement grows and the waiting gets harder.
We wait with hope for God to once again break into our world in surprising ways.
And we share our hope in the promise of the future with those we meet.
We go to live in hope, hope based on the knowledge that God is with us wherever we go.
Thanks be to God! Amen.

TO MArket TO Market...

No we didn't buy a pig (plump or fresh or otherwise)

BUt we did make use of our time in the city. BOught skates for the girls (the hope here was to find what fit then have daddy go back later to buy them as Christmas presents--that didn't work). DId a variety of other errands.

One was to buy some props for the Christmas Eve Service. WEnt in, found the box we were looking for, bought it. When we got home at 5ish Beloved got the box out, then comes into the living room asking "did you take these out?" Turns out we paid $13 for an empty box!!!!! Call the store, explain what happened and that we are out of town--only option they can come up with is to bring teh box and the reciept into the store. Maybe have to find another way to plan for the 24th.

Oh and we got a new van. A few months erlier than planned (we had 3 months left on our lease) but the deal was as good as it would be then and htey included paying out the lease. And we now are the owners (?? we haven't actually paid for it yet of course--5 years of payments) of a bright red 2008 Sedona. ANd my were the girls excited--all the way home they were downright wired.

If we had been on the ball we would have taken a picture right after picking it up, when it was still clean and shiny. Now it has a nice glazing of road salt and muck but a picture may appear soon....

Newspaper column -- When Christmas Isn't Joyful

Joy to the world! The Lord is come! So the old carol goes. In the minds of many Christmas is a time of joy and happiness. Christmas is about carols, chocolates, children, and community. It involves Christmas parties and presents. It is a season when the world can pause from the everyday grind and talk about peace, hope, joy and love. Even the opposing armies in World War 1 left their trenches to celebrate Christmas for heaven’s sake!

Well the truth can be somewhat different than our perceptions. For some people Christmas is anything but happy. Maybe this is the first year after a death in the family. Maybe this year one of the children isn’t coming home for the holidays. Maybe there is added stress and anxiety because of the economic situation and the expectation to buy gifts. For a variety of reasons Christmas can be very difficult.

It is hard to go against the expectations around us. When people expect us to be happy and joyful it is difficult to tell them that we aren’t feeling that way. But it is important that people have a place and a chance to be honest with themselves and their family and friends about what they are feeling.

Faith communities should be that place. In our faith lives we should be able to embrace the good and the bad of life.

One way we have of facing the reality of a difficult Christmas is to name it openly. One way we have of doing that is a Blue Christmas service. The name comes from the song made famous by Elvis – I’ll have a blue Christmas, without you… In this service we have the chance to pause in the midst of the busy-ness of the Christmas season to name aloud any pain or loneliness or anxiety we may be carrying. We take the time to affirm the reality of those things that interfere with the happiness and merriment of the season as we seek the joy of Christmas.

Christmas comes at what is literally the darkest time of the year. The nights are the longest and the days the shortest. For some people this transfers into how they feel emotionally as well. In some places Blue Christmas services are held on Dec 21, the longest night of the year, as a way of naming the darkness and countering it with the promise of light. Because the only cure for darkness is light, God’s light can in fact help us face darkness both physical and emotional.

Being sad, or anxious, or upset at Christmas is normal. Finding a way to name and feel our feelings is as important at Christmas as it is any other time. If you find Christmas hard, or if it is just this year that Christmas is hard, you are invited to a Blue Christmas celebration on December 16 at 7:00 at Riverview United Church. Let’s take a break from the busy-ness and happiness to name the darkness of the world, then we can be ready for the coming of the light.

Advent Service Music

Am I the only one who gets tired of singing the same stuff every year at ADvent? ANyway, I decided to try writing words to sing as the offering is brought forward and to close the service. I am not really crazy about either of them, especially the third rhyme in the closing...ideas for imrovement welcome.

Doxology (tune Jingle Bells –sung twice)
Giving gifts, giving gifts
Sharing what we’ve got
In the Christmas spirit we
Offer them to God

CHORAL RESPONSE: (tune God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)
God bless you all as you go out
To share the Christmas joy
To tell of peace and love and hope
Born with a baby boy
And may we pass God’s love along
As if in God’s employ
O Christmas is coming once again, once again
O Christmas is come once again.

Baptismal Vows--PArt 2

I've been thinking more about the questions I raised in this post on Saturday. So what would it mean for the church to be more intentional about living out their baptism vow rather than constantly complaining about families not coming back after getting the kids "done"?

Some possibilities:

1. naming a person/family to "adopt" the baptismal family. This role would be to help with child care,transport and other logistics about being at church (like sitting with one child while mom takes the other to the washroom etc.). Another role would be to serve as a source of information about the church and church activities.
2. being very intentional about making the church a place where newcomers are welcome. This means a space where people who are less familiar with the traditions and customs of "how things are done" will not be judged for behaving "inappropriately"
3. talking to families with young children about what they might want from a faith community
4. creating a culture where kids can be kids while worship is happening--not frowned at for talking, not expected to sit still instead of moving
5. having an active church school program that may or may not take place on SUnday
6. including people of all ages in church activities
7. an "adopt a grandparent" program
8. mentoring relationships to encourage families and individuals to grow in faith
9. a place where questions are welcomed, taken seriously, and answers are talked about
10. a chance for parents to tlk about parenting and its challenges in a faith context

SOme of these would work in some places, others in other places. ANd there will always be families who choose not to engage. But we as communities have to take responsibility for what choices we make--and choices in areas like #2,4,6&9 are often made so unconsciously that we don't recognize the messages we are sending.

Reign of Christ COmmissioning

This Sunday is the end of the Liturgical year, the Reign of Christ Sunday. It also means that we are about to start another Advent and teh new year. This COmmissioning attempts to provide a bridge...

COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
The circle goes round and round again
As one year ends we prepare for another to begin.
We celebrate the now of God’s Reign
Remembering that God promises to provide leadership that will guide and protect God’s people.
We also recognize that God’s Reign is not yet complete
And so we go out to help it reach its completion, we go out praying “thy kingdom come, thy will be done”
We close the year sharing the ancient prayer “Maranatha – come Lord Jesus.”
And begin the new awaiting with hope the birth of a baby who will change the world.
As we go out with hope and promise we go held in the love of the Shepherd God: our Guide, our Protector, our Leader.
Reign of God, break into our lives! Amen.

Kids and music and church...

Today was our music Sunday at church. This morning was our "Favourite Hymns" service. WE sang 14 pieces and listened to another 3 on CD--all from a list of favourites that was built over the last few weeks. THis is something we do every couple of years. For Children's Time I sang part of Sing, SIng a SOng before talking about who likes singing--with Eldest leaning in close to teh mic to sing along.

THen this evening we hosted Bruce and Cheryl Harding in concert. THis was very enjoyable as attested by all those in attendance. BUt here is the best story of the night.

About 5:30 I see a car in the parking lot so I head over to open the doors and turn on lights etc. It is our guests so I call the house to say that I was staying over to help them set up. About 25 minutes later, I am about to get my jacket on and cross back to the house for a bit when I hear the rest of the family arrive. Apparently after I phoned Eldest decide it was time to leave. She got dressed, she got coat and boots on, and demanded mom open the back door for her so she could come over.

Mom convinced her to/made her wait till everyone else was ready and they came over. 15 hours before the concert they came over. Eldest ran in and talked and talked and talked to them. Oh yeah, she was just a little excited. ANd she sat with mom and sang along for the whole 2 hours despite being so incredibly tired.

A good day all in all.

Baptismal Vows

A typical UCCan baptism service for an infant or child includes the parents making a profession of faith, then promising to raise the child in the faith (or to share the faith with the child, or language such as that) and then the congregation promises to help the parents live out that promise.

Often in UCCan circles there are those families who have their child "done" and then are rarely (if ever) seen again. The habit in the church communities is to complain about these families who don't take baptism seriously. But I have started to look at it in another way.

HOw do we as faith communities live out our vow? How do we encourage those familes to pass on the faith? I hunch that in may places it isn't all that much. Simply offering a church school program isn't enough. So now the quetion to ask is how best should we do it?

If we aren't living out our vow we have no right to complain about the parents who seem to take their vow more lightly than we might wish.

Memories are made of this....

This morning while playing around on facebook I found a group for St. Albert Children's Theatre Alumni. ANd man did that bring back memories.

St. Albert Children's Theatre was started with a dramatic adaptation of The Hobbit in an old arena in the summer of 1981. 26 years later it is still going strong. THere were 3 summer plays at the arena and then St. Albert opened the Arden Theatre. From that point on the program bloomed to include fall and winter performances as well as summer drama camps.

SACT, and an accompanying program called the Arts Renaissance Troop of St Albert, largely helped me remain sane--well at least as sane as I get--in my teens. Especially in Grade 9 when my school life was hellish, these people were friends who helped make for a safe place. It is one of the few things I wish I could do again from my teen years. WHether I was on stage or behind the scenes I really truly enjoyed those 6 years. My last show with SACT was in the summer of 1986, my last show with ARTS was the spring of my Grade 12 year, 1987.

The Banquet of Hopeful Expectation--An Advent Communion

Invitation
God’s Banquet is coming. The time we await when all will gather from North, East, West and South.
A banquet where the rich and powerful will sit with the weak and poverty-stricken. A table where young and old will learn from each other. A time when all will sit together in peace, “and the wolf will lie down with the lamb”.
Here at this table we get a foretaste of God’s banquet. This is indeed God’s table, not the church’s, and so all who seek to follow The Way are welcome to eat and drink from it.
Come and taste the grace eternal, come and see that God is good.

The Great Thanksgiving
God is with us
We are not alone
Christ is present here
The Spirit moves within us
Let us give thanks to God
In memory and in hope

Blessings be to you, Creator God,
Who in the beginning brought light and life to the world and who continues to bring it love and light everlasting.
Your song of wisdom echoes through the ages, your ancient promise still brings us hope.

Over the ages you have called people to embrace your hope and share your love.
But even when they have closed their ears to the song you did not stop singing.
You sent prophets and messengers to your people, reminding them of the promised time of peace and justice that would surround the world.
They came in the midst of our despair and filled us with hope.

And then you came to a young woman named Mary and laid out the promise in a new way
Promising her a son, who would be called Jesus
Promising her that in her son the world would be changed
And now as we prepare for that child to be born, we echo the ancient cry:
O come, O come Emmanuel

And also we lift our voices in song, singing together the praises of ages (MV #203 tune: Kingsfold)

O holy holy holy God,
O God of time and space.
All earth and sea and sky above
bear witness to your Grace.
Hosanna in the highest heav’n,
creation sings your praise.
And blessed is the One who comes
and bears Your name always

The Story Remembered
Yet even now, as we prepare to celebrate his birth, we remember the life that this baby will live.
We remember how he broke the bonds of human tradition to show all what the Banquet of Hope could be as he ate openly with the despised and the outcast of his world.
And we remember one special meal, foretaste of the banquet that is to come, that he ate with his closest friends.
Gathering them together in an upper room to share the story of liberation, he prepared them for liberation.

And at the end of the meal he took bread, blessed and broke it, then passed it to them saying:
Take and eat. This bread is the body of Life, broken by the world. Eat it in remembrance and in hope.
After that he took the cup, blessed it, and passed it to them saying:
This cup is the sign of the New Covenant. Whenever you drink it remember me, for I shall not eat or drink again until the time of the heavenly banquet.

Remembering the birth of the child in the stable, we remember also his life, his death and his resurrection.
We remember how he poured his love out all he met and look forward to his return and the coming reign of peace, love, and justice.

And in our remembering we sing the mystery of faith (MV #204 tune: Kingsfold)

Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen,
Christ will come again!
Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen,
Christ will come again!

The Spirit Transforms
God, you poured your Spirit on Mary and she sang words of defiance and hope.
Pour out your Spirit upon us gathered here. As we eat and drink may we know your presence.
As we eat and drink may we be opened to the possibilities of your hope and power
And may we be strengthened in our time of waiting for peace and justice so that we will have the courage to make the Christmas promise a reality.

And the people all sang: (MV #205 tune: Kingsfold)

Amen, amen, O Holy One!
Hosanna and amen!
Amen, amen, O Holy One!
Hosanna and amen!

And now, as beloved children of a loving Parent, we pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…

The Pouring and Breaking and Serving
The Bread we break is the Bread of Life
The Cup we Share is the Cup of Promise
These are the gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Come and eat, the banquet awaits.

Prayer Following Communion
God of pregnant expectations, God of Christmas promise, God of child-like hope, we have eaten and drunk from your table. May the eating and the drinking fill us with hope in a world of despair. May we be beacons of hope as we wait for the day when the world will be changed. Grant that this taste of your banquet which is to come would give us the hunger for peace and justice in our community and around the world. Amen