Christ’s Reformed Church – United Church of Christ

~ growing people of faith who live in Jesus, love one another and bear abundant fruit ~

November 26, 2023

HANGING OF THE GREENS

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRELUDE

CALL TO WORSHIP
After such suffering, We go searching for a sign, any sign.
The sun seems to dim, the moon fails, the stars fall. We need a sign, any sign.
Be aware, stay awake, change is coming.

We hope that the Human One is on the way, gathering the faithful from the four winds,
into a place of peace – We need a sign, any sign.
Be aware, stay awake, change is coming.

Nature once offered signs to depend on:

The fig tree put out tender leaves, and we knew summer was near—
But climate today Is hurting, and unpredictable. We need a sign, any sign.
Be aware, stay awake, change is coming.

So together we search for a sign of the One who is coming-- Clarity in confusion
Green shoot in a barren landscape
Song arising in a weary soul.
Be aware, stay awake, change is coming
Come, let us worship!

INVOCATION
Come into our midst, O Holy One, Rider of the Clouds of Heaven,
Surprising answer to heartfelt prayer.
In whatever way you choose— Come. Shake us up.
Help us find you at work in our lives showing the way to make all things new.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

CAROL Come, O Long-Expected Jesus (See Attachment)

1. Come, O long expected Jesus, born to set all people free; From our fears and sins release us;
grant us your true liberty.
4. By your own eternal Spirit, come to claim us as your own; By your all sufficient merit, let us
share your cross and crown.

*LITANY OF THE GREENS

How can we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, the King? "
With branches of cedar, the tree of royalty.
How shall we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, the eternal Christ?
With garlands of wreaths of pine and fir, whose leaves are ever living, ever green.
How shall we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, our savior?
With arrangements of holly and ivy, symbolizing His passion, death and resurrection.
How shall we prepare this house for the coming of Jesus, the Son of God?
By hearing again, the words of the prophets who foretold the saving work of God.
For God did not send God’s Child into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
Jesus might be saved. All Glory to God in the highest!

HYMN O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (See Attachment)

We remember during Advent that we are preparing our hearts as well.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

This has been a year to lament— Grief and loss,
Crisis when social structures have failed the common good
Complicity when age-old prejudices found new and cruel expression:
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

This has been a year to wake up—

To read the “signs of the times”
To wake up to painful truths, and give them voice
To ponder the changes needed for a just world for all:
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

This has been a year to call God into our sorry midst—
Show us your face!
Encourage us in the face of brutal realities,
Empower us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you
On the way in which you make all things new.
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. Silence
ASSURANCE OF GRACE 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9
God is faithful, and gives us grace in Christ Jesus.
In this fellowship we can count on being in enriched
In speech, in knowledge, in every spiritual gift.
Let us give thanks, in Christ, we are forgiven
and sent forth to work for God’s reign among us.
HYMN O, Come All Ye Faithful (See Attachment)

HANGING WREATHS ON THE CHURCH DOORS

People of God, we stand at the entrance of the church and at the doorway to the Christian year on
this first Sunday of Advent. Let us mark the entrance to the church building
and our hearts and minds as portals for Christ to enter.
Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!

Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors!

that the Ruler of glory may come in.
Who is the Ruler of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!

Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors!
That the Ruler of glory may come in.

Who is this Ruler of glory?

The Lord of hosts, the Lord is the Ruler of glory!
— Psalm 24:7-10

Hanging Garlands/Wreaths: Reader #1

Garlands of green –gather round our trees, they cross the mantle—they fill the railing, they connect
what is every day necessary with what is Christ’s arrival. We use garland as a reminder that we are all
connected. Christ came to connect daughters and sons into one family of God. In John 15 Jesus says “I
am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branches
cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the
vine; you are the branches. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” How shall we make this place
a reminder of our need of repentance and that faithfulness and integrity that comes from God our
maker and redeemer? Let us hang garlands as Hosea speaks the word of God:

A reading from Hosea, chapter 14:4, 8-9

I will heal [my people's] disloyalty;
I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.
O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
your faithfulness comes from me.
Those who are wise understand these things;
those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the LORD are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.

HYMN Great Is Thy Faithfulness (See Attachment)

1. Great is your faithfulness, O God, Creator, with you no shadow of turning we see. You do not
change, your compassions they fail not; all of your goodness forever will be.

Chorus: Great is your faithfulness! Great is your faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I
see; All I have needed you hand has provided, Great is your faithfulness, God, unto me!

Evergreens Reader #2
The greenery we use reminds us of life everlasting. When leaves turn brilliant colors and fall from the
trees, they remind us that we need moments of rest. The evergreen reminds us that God’s life and love
remains solid and present through it all. Isaiah 43:1-2 tells us “But now thus says the LORD, he who
created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do no fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called
you by name, you are mind. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the
rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the
flame shall not consume you.” As we place evergreen trees in our homes –May we always remember
that God’s love is steadfast, everlasting and ever present in our lives. God, the Holy One of Israel, is a
God of comfort and compassion. With the Christmas tree we remember God's everlasting promises to
the poor and needy. Place the tree, strong friends, as we hear God's word.

A reading from the prophet Isaiah, — Isaiah 41:17-20

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together,
so that all may see and know, all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Hanging Ornaments/Chrismon or Other Symbols of Christ and Faith

Here in this place, we prepare for the coming of the Lord.
Here we will remember his Advent, his birth in Bethlehem,
weak and helpless as an infant. And here we rekindle our prayer,
"Come, Lord Jesus" as we await his coming as the bright and morning star.
Hang symbols and signs of Christ — ruler, prophet, priest.
Hang stars, crosses, triangles, the "alpha" and the "omega"
to remind us of his identity, his story, and of the holy Trinity.

HYMN O Little Town of Bethlehem (See Attachment)

The Lighting of the Christmas Tree and Candles Reader #3
Born to us on Christmas morn, the light of Life is our Savior, our baby Jesus. We light our trees, God’s
everlasting love, with strings of lights that remind us of Jesus coming here on earth, pitching a tent
among us, and being the light of the world. John 1:1-5 reads, In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into
being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him
was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not
overcome it. As we fill our homes with candles and lights that twinkle, we remember that Jesus is the
true Light shining from your heart and mine. When we travel through the city, village, town and country,
seeing lights aglow, we remember that Jesus’ light came to spread throughout the world. The light of
life is for all people here and there around the world. And so we also connect our garland of countries
to the light of Jesus and remember we are not alone. Let us pray. Jesus –Light of Life—fill us with your
presence. Amen.

Lighting of the Advent Candle

The Poinsettia Reader #4

The poinsettia is the plant that gives us all a reminder of miracles. There is hope in knowing our prayers
will be answered. As the story goes a little boy in Mexico was walking to the Christmas Eve service at his
church and wanted to bring flowers to place at the altar but had none. Burdened with the lack of a gift
for Jesus and overwhelmed with the desire to share his love, he heard a voice through his tears and
prayers tell him to pick some weeds from the side of the road. As he listened, bringing his bundle of
weeds and placing them for Jesus, a miracle occurred. The weeds turned into beautiful red flowers, an
offering of love, a gift with a message to remember. As we know, poinsettias start with all green leaves,
it is the very green leaves that turn the bright red and white that we enjoy today. They are reminders
that –miracles are still happening today.

OFFERING

CAROL It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (See Attachment)

The Nativity Reader #5

One of the most heart-warming expressions of Christmas is the Nativity. The Nativity speaks of the
mystery of God’s wisdom. Why God chose to send his son into our world as a baby of humble birth, born
in common surroundings, we do not know. What we do know is that God reached out to all people
including the poor and the wealthy, the simple and the wise, the powerless and the powerful. All who
found Him knelt in humility before Him. Knowing God is possible because he came to us, at our level.
Whenever we see a Nativity, we find ourselves with Mary and Joseph; with the Shepherds, and with the
Wise men; bowing before the manger, overwhelmed by God’s expression of love in coming to us.

Reading of the Nativity: The Birth of Christ: Luke 2:1-17 and Matthew 2:1-2 and 9-11

CAROL What Child Is This (See Attachment)

CAROL The First Nowell (See Attachment)

BENEDICTION
Send us into the world refreshed in hope,
Awake, alert, attuned to your presence
ready to join your work of blessing for all. Amen.

Benediction in Song Go, Tell It on the Mountain (See Attachment)

POSTLUDE
*Please stand in body or in spirit.

The altar flowers are placed to the Glory of God and

in loving memory of Norman (Pete) Fisher
given by Carolyn Fisher and Fisher family members

Please lift the people below in your prayers.

Lisa Price Clare (Friend of Plume Family)

Paul & Becky Corderman
Geraldine Cromer
Bob Demuth
Darrin & Cara Eichelberger
Alan Gladhill
Jennifer Hamilton (Neighbor of Sandy Duffy)
Web & Betsy Harbaugh
Larry Hoeck
Mary Jane Keller (Friend of Geraldine Cromer)
Dave Kolenc (Betty Spessard's Cousin)
Kristi Lawson (Daughter of Martin & Kathy Fisher)
Robert Miller
Teresa Miller (Friend of Sandy Duffy)
Family of Jack Mills (Gertie Mill’s husband)
Ginger Nichols
Gary Price (Friend of Plume Family)
Traci L. Ross (Friend of Jackie P. & Becky L.)
Jose Mata Shipp (Nephew of Jackie Plume)
Doris Stanley
Linda VanMetre
 Welcome to our Guests: We gather to praise “the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
(John 1:29). Because of Jesus, you can be at peace in
the assurance of God’s forgiveness and love.
Welcome to worship!! If you have come as a visitor,
we hope that you’ll leave as a friend who’s been
blessed by worshiping in this house of God. We look
forward to seeing you again.
November 22 11 AM Lectionary
November 23 Office Closed
November 26 Hanging of the Greens
November 26 Sunday School – High School Youth and Adults
November 27 7 PM ATS Meeting
November 29 11 AM Lectionary
December 2 8:30 AM Women’s Breakfast
December 3 First Sunday of Advent
December 3 Sunday School – High School Youth
December 6 11 AM Lectionary
December 9 Free Soup and Sandwich Event for community from 11 am to 2 pm
December 10 Second Sunday of Advent
December 10 Sunday School – High School Youth and Adults
December 13 11 AM Lectionary
Liturgist: Larry Sprankle, Jenny Kelley, Kayden McCauley and Art Crampton
Altar Preparation: Cindy Murray
Flower Deliverers Martin Fisher
Ushers: Jim Morris, Bob Barkdoll, Steve Lohr, Faye Metz
Financials for October 2023 YTD Jan-October 2023
Samaritan Acct Balance $574.88
Offerings $8,365.38* Offerings $107,656.43*
ATS Repayment $0 ATS Repayment $0
Endowment Interest $10,000.00 Endowment Interest $120,000.00
Expenses $23,917.71* Expenses $233,448.31*
Net Profit/Loss $5,552.33 Net Profit/Loss $5,791.88
*Elevator check from insurance company has been removed from these numbers.
Christ's Reformed Church Church Staff
Phone No: 301-733-4144 Margaret Bussard – Custodian
Fax No. 301-733-4145 Thomas Greenawalt - Technology Support
Church General email: Larry Hoeck - Consistory President
crc1854@myactv.net Rev. Mary Jane Norville - Minister
Website: www.crcucc.org Cheryl Wilson - AA/Organist
Morning Worship 9:30 am Charlotte Trout – ATS Board President
YouTube: CRC Christ’s Reformed Church