GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
3rd Sunday After Epiphany
January 24, 2021 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
“These Lives Are Precious”
Week 4
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering of Our Celebrations and Our Petitions
Because we want to try sharing our worship service on our website while maintaining privacy for those we would lift in prayer, we will gather our spoken joys and concerns at this time in the service, so that when Pastor Ami starts the service, she may also begin recording the service.
Celebrations: L: Alleluia? Petitions: L: Lord, in Your mercy,
P: Alleluia! P: Hear our prayer!
This week’s prayers:
Joys:
Let us seek to simplify this moment, slow down for a time. Let us worship, leaning on prayer, reflection and sharing with one another.
Prayer for Peace Pastor Kelly Harvell
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Threshold
“God is Holding Your Life” Verse 2 Threshold
“My one and only!” So many songs have utilized this phrase to express devoted love. This week we see that this tradition goes back all the way to the poets of the psalm tradition. This is a love psalm of trust in the “Holy One and Only” who is the rock and refuge in the midst of life that sometimes feels as fleeting as breath. We put our trust in the One who, indeed, is holding our lives.
Turn now your gaze upon the earth
Where is the One who never sleeps?
We call on One who guards you now,
Your spirit safe in holy keep.
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat refrain]
Opening Collect Prayer
Mike Bonanno - Response
Leader: God of our devotion,
you are the one constant in life.
Open us this day to see the things that hold us in their grip
so that we might shed unnecessary distractions that keep us from seeing
your reign on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We praise you for being our rock,
holding our lives together in the ways that matter most.
Amen.
Psalm
Psalm 62: 5-12
Lukan Psalter translation
[link if NRSV is preferred]
In God alone my soul finds rest,
for my deliverance comes from God,
who alone is my rock, my salvation,
my fortress:
I will never be shaken.
Only in God—my deliverance, my glory--
my refuge is God.
Trust in God always, my people;
pour out your hearts before God our refuge.
Humankind is but a breath,
mortals are just an illusion.
Put them on the scales and the balance
is thrown off:
they weigh less than a breath.
Do not trust in extortion,
or put false hopes in stolen goods;
do not set your heart on riches
even when they increase.
For God has said only one thing,
Twice have I heard it:
that power belongs to God:
Steadfast love is yours, ADONAI –
you repay all people according
to their deeds.
Psalm Song
Introduction from Richard and Song:
“In God Alone” [see downloads]
Reflection
Have any of you seen Whoopi Goldberg in the movie “Sister Act”? I like some of the music from that show, music that not only helps an aging and dying church find new life, but also music that lifts the spirit. One of the pieces, “I Will Follow Him,” redirects the focus of a love song toward God. {Originally titled “Chariot,” written by Franck March (pseudonym J. W. Stole) and Paul Mauritanian (pseudonym Del Roma) with new English lyrics written by Norman Gimbel and recorded by Little Peggy March}.
Love songs often declare the overwhelming love the singer has for the one to whom the song is directed, love that may be unrequited.
In today’s Psalm, we hear the psalmist speak of God in glowing terms, as the refuge to whom the psalmist turns, as the place in which the psalmist finds rest and, unlike songs of unrequited love proclaims the steadfast love of ADONAI.
A couple of weeks ago we talked of our desire for a super hero and how ADONAI fulfilled that desire. The question arises around what might be competing with that super hero image in our lives.
The psalmist identifies some of those for us, stolen goods, riches, wealth, the lure of the power that comes with having money or things, particularly when they are on the increase. We tend to believe that, when we have lots of money or things, we will be happy.
Others that the psalmist may have had no experience of would be the lure of fame that follows sports or movie personalities. (Maybe a famous charioteer?) We often get caught in a tangle of competing opportunities vying for our attention and our love.
Remember the story of the rich landowner who built a bunch of barns to hold his new harvest, yet he died that same night? Riches on earth are not dependable. It is the building up of riches that will carry us through eternity on which we should focus, the riches that come through loving others and trusting in God.
Look at all of the former sports players, movie stars etc. that have faded into the woodwork once they were no longer able to play, many of them living on much lower incomes, some even in poverty as they age. Fame on earth is short lived as is our attention span.
When our love for God reaches that place where we can truly say that God is the one and only focus for our lives, that all we do, we do to praise and honor God, we are moving in the right direction. When we trust in God above all else, when we can say with the psalmist, “In God alone my soul finds rest…” we have truly begun a relationship that can carry us through thick and thin.
As we learn to trust in God, to pour out our troubles and cares, leaving them in God’s powerful hands, we are beginning to truly believe that “God is holding our lives.”
Testimonies of Being Held
This is an opportunity allowing you to share how you have felt the love and support of others, of God, in this time of pandemic. Please share your experiences with Pastor Ami either by phone, e-mail or a short video she can add to the service.
Sung Reprise
“God is Holding Your Life”
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat]
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
To you, O God, in whom our souls find rest and refreshment, we offer gifts of thanksgiving and praise. Receive our gifts with love and mercy, using us and the gifts we offer to show your light of love to a world struggling through a dark and difficult time, amen.
“Selah” Moment
Let us center our hearts We will hear [the sound] and then have some silence. Feel free to close your eyes if you like. Imagine yourself held in safety and love and care. When you hear [the sound] again, open your eyes.
Silence
Prayers of the People
Let us take a moment to write prayer concerns on small pieces of paper. Then place your prayers into a container [bowl, box, etc]–a symbolic action of placing them in God’s hands, God’s care.
Take a moment to do this. Finish with this response:
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Let us continue our prayers. I will offer a category of concern and we will allow a brief pause, then we will respond as indicated. As a prayer posture for this worship series, I invite you to cup your hands, ready to receive God’s love and peace, and in preparation to be God’s love and peace in the world.
Let us pray for the leaders of this world and this church community… [pause]
God of Justice, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for our country, for those whose political beliefs are different from our own…[pause]
God of love, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in conflict around the world… [pause]
Prince of Peace, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all who are experiencing loss of any kind in this pandemic… [pause]
Comforting Healer, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who are homeless, hungry and alone… [pause]
Emmanuel, God-With-Us, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in comfort,
for Christ-like hospitality and generosity… [pause]
Transforming Spirit, hear our prayer.
Holy and Living One,
for those we have named and the ones whose names we do not know,
hear our prayer.
Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Sung Prayer Response
“Put Peace Into Each Other’s Hands”
https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw2996.aspx
Hear a version of this song HERE
Or use our video download (you must have a OneLicense.net license for this piece)
[sung]
Put peace into each other’s hands
and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame,
with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands
with loving expectation;
be gentle in your words and ways,
in touch with God’s creation.
The Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Will you make a gesture of extending your cupped hands toward others who may be with or near you as a sign of offering the peace that Christ gives us. If you are alone, place your cupped hands over your heart, as a sign that you send your heartfelt peace out to the world.
[after a moment, continue with this verse]
Give thanks for strong yet tender hands
held out in trust and blessing.
Where words fall short let hands speak out;
the heights of love expressing.
Benediction
Now go in the knowledge that
God is holding your life
even as we hold each other.
You are not alone.
You are loved.
Amen.
Postlude
Food Shelf Items Needed
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
January's Collection to Date: Not Available
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Human Relations Day
January 17, 2021 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
“These Lives Are Precious”
Week 3
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering of Our Celebrations and Our Petitions
Because we want to try sharing our worship service on our website while maintaining privacy for those we would lift in prayer, we will gather our spoken joys and concerns at this time in the service, so that when Pastor Ami starts the service, she may also begin recording the service.
Celebrations: L: Alleluia? Petitions: L: Lord, in Your mercy,
P: Alleluia! P: Hear our prayer!
Prayers from last week:
Joys:
Let us seek to simplify this moment, slow down for a time. Let us worship, leaning on prayer, reflection and sharing with one another.
Prayer for Peace Pastor Kelly Harvell
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Threshold
“God is Holding Your Life” Week 3 Threshold
This week’s Psalm text brings home this message: we are in an intimate relationship with God. There is nowhere we go that God is not present–no state of our being that results in our being abandoned. God has knit us together, has woven us, knowing us from before our beginning. God, indeed, is holding our lives.
Turn now your gaze upon the earth
Where is the One who never sleeps?
We call the One who guards you now,
Your spirit safe in holy keep.
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat refrain]
Opening Collect Prayer
Leader: Dear and Near God,
you never leave our side.
Open us this day to feeling and knowing your presence deep in our hearts
so that we might show forth love with the same confidence,
offering your reign of right relationship on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We praise you for your close attention,
holding our lives together in care.
Amen.
Psalm Reading
Psalm 139:1-18
Lukan Psalter translation
[link if NRSV is preferred]
ADONAI, you’ve searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up,
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting places;
and are acquainted with all of my ways.
Indeed, there is not a word on my lips;
but you, O God, know it altogether.
You press upon me, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
it is so high I cannot attain it!
Where can I go then from your Spirit,
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning,
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand will lead me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
and the light around me turn to night,”
darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
darkness and light to you are both alike.
You created my inmost being
and stitched me together in my mother’s womb.
For all these mysteries I thank you--
for the wonder of myself,
for the wonder of your works--
my soul knows it well.
My frame was not hidden from you
while I was being made in that secret place,
knitted together in the depths of the earth;
your eyes saw my body even there.
All of my days
were written in your book,
all of them planned
before even the first of them came to be.
How precious your thoughts are to me, ADONAI!
How impossible to number them!
I could no more count them
than I could count the sand.
But suppose I could?
You would still be with me!
Psalm Song
“Where Can I Go?”
Reflection
Last week we talked about how ADONAI fills us with awe, but sometimes, quite frankly, when we are in awe of something or someone, we struggle to have a relationship with them. They seem so far out of our normal daily lives that we struggle to talk with them, our tongues getting twisted up and our abilities to communicate intelligently severely hampered.
In some of the novels I’ve read through the years there is a character, very aloof, very firm, very distant, that seems unapproachable; someone who considers themselves so far above everyone that only the inner circle of advisers can approach. This is often how we see ADONAI, GOD, so far above us that there is no way ADONAI would ever pay attention to us here on earth, so far above us that there is no way GOD will hear our prayers.
Up steps the psalmist once more, to help us better understand GOD, better appreciate how extraordinary ADONAI is.
ADONAI, you’ve searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up,
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting places;
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Does this sound like a god that is aloof, far distant above us, a god who, once creation was set upon it’s way, drew back and let happen what would?
The psalmist introduces us to ADONAI, the LORD, who knows us intimately, who knows our thoughts, our words before we speak them. ADONAI knows us so intimately that no matter where we go or what time of day it is, ADONAI can and does find us. We are unable to hide from ADONAI, even in death.
Lest this ‘all knowing’ ADONAI create terror in our hearts, we are told that we have been known by ADONAI since we were being stitched together in our mother’s womb, created in that secret place in the depths of the earth.
The thought of ADONAI’s hand upon us, perhaps upon our shoulder, can be frightening, the police officer walking up behind a would be thief in a store, but it can also be a comfort, a loving parent’s hand upon our shoulder in the midst of a difficult time. For the psalmist, the latter seems to be a more appropriate understanding as the wonder of this intimate action brings about a statement of awe and wonder rather than of fear.
Does any of this sound like a god that doesn’t care, that created and left creation to its own devices?
The psalmist sees ADONAI as one who is always present, as always there when the chips are down, as well as when things are going well, as one that can be trusted.
Sometimes we cry out, “LORD, where are you?” Sometimes we wonder if God really cares for or about us, but the psalmist at this point has no doubts.
When we are in doubt, we need to stop and think of all the ways we know that GOD is present. When we think that GOD “stitched [us] together in [our] mother’s womb” how can we even begin to imagine that GOD doesn’t care about us? As a veterinarian I have seen the wonder of how intricately we are made, whether on a macro or micro level.
The psalmist acknowledges the preciousness of ADONAI’s thoughts and our inability to count them and still the psalmist knows that ADONAI is present in everyday happenings.
We don’t know how GOD thinks. We do know that GOD works through people and events to bring about good for those who believe. What we see as ‘evil,’ GOD can find ways to turn into good. This is one of the most difficult things to comprehend and accept. How can GOD allow evil to exist, allow bad things to happen to good people?
I don’t have a good answer to the question, just an acceptance that in the midst of the evil, GOD is still present, knowing us, supporting us, caring for us, and bringing good from the evil situation. This is the trust the psalmist has. The psalmist knows GOD is holding him in hands of love and compassion. This is what we are challenged to know, GOD is holding us!
Testimonies of Being Held
This is an opportunity for you to share with others how you have felt the love and support of others, of God, in this time of pandemic. Please feel free to send your testimonies to Pastor Ami, whether it is a brief note by mail or by e-mail or, for those who are technologically motivated, you might include a brief video.
Sung Reprise
“God is Holding Your Life”
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat]
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
Adonai, you who are mighty and glorious, you knit us together in your secret place; made us to be in relationship with one another and with you; to you we offer these small gifts, tokens that are reflections of our love and trust in you; accept them for your use in shining your light of hope for a world stumbling in darkness.
“Selah” Moment
We come to our moment of “Selah”–that mysterious word found in the Psalms that invites us to pause. We will use an instrumental sound to remind us to take a pause, a breath. Settle your heart and know that you are held in the hands of the Divine. We will hear [the sound] and then have some silence. Feel free to close your eyes if you like. Imagine yourself held in safety and love and care. When you hear [the sound] again, open your eyes.
Silence
Prayers of the People
Each week we will have a moment to write prayer concerns on small pieces of paper. We will then place these prayers in a container [bowl, box, etc]–a symbolic action of placing them in God’s hands, God’s care.
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Let us continue our prayers. I will offer a category of concern and we will allow a brief pause, then we will respond as indicated. As a prayer posture for this worship series, I invite you to cup your hands, ready to receive God’s love and peace, and in preparation to be God’s love and peace in the world.
Let us pray for the leaders of this world and this church community… [pause]
God of Justice, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in conflict around the world… [pause]
Prince of Peace, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all who are experiencing loss of any kind in this pandemic… [pause]
Comforting Healer, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who are homeless, hungry and alone… [pause]
Emmanuel, God-With-Us, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in comfort,
for Christ-like hospitality and generosity… [pause]
Transforming Spirit, hear our prayer.
Holy and Living One,
for those we have named and the ones whose names we do not know,
hear our prayer.
Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Sung Prayer Response
“Put Peace Into Each Other’s Hands”
https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw2996.aspx
Hear a version of this song HERE
Or use our video download (you must have a OneLicense.net license for this piece)
[sung]
Put peace into each other’s hands
and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame,
with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands
with loving expectation;
be gentle in your words and ways,
in touch with God’s creation.
The Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Will you make a gesture of extending your cupped hands toward others who may be with or near you as a sign of offering the peace that Christ gives us. If you are alone, place your cupped hands over your heart, as a sign that you send your heartfelt peace out to the world.
[after a moment, continue with this verse]
Give thanks for strong yet tender hands
held out in trust and blessing.
Where words fall short let hands speak out;
the heights of love expressing.
Benediction
Now go in the knowledge that
God is holding your life
even as we hold each other.
You are not alone.
You are loved.
Amen.
Postlude
Liturgy and music for this series is from: Worship Design Studios, © www.worshipdesignstudio.com/life
Food Shelf Items Needed
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
January's Collection to Date: Not Available
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Baptism of the Lord
January 10, 2021 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
“These Lives Are Precious”
Week 1
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering of Our Celebrations and Our Petitions
Because we want to try sharing our worship service on our website while maintaining privacy for those we would lift in prayer, we will gather our spoken joys and concerns at this time in the service, so that when Pastor Ami starts the service, she may also begin recording the service.
Celebrations: L: Alleluia? Petitions: L: Lord, in Your mercy,
P: Alleluia! P: Hear our prayer!
Prayers from last week:
Joys:
Zooming for Sue’s brother’s 70th birthday will allow to see people from as far away as California
Concerns:
Peggy, Elinor, Gwen, John, Bob (Sue’s cousins)
Theresa, still recovering from crash
Rod & Phyllis
Let us seek to simplify this moment, slow down for a time. Let us worship, leaning on prayer, reflection and sharing with one another.
Prayer for Peace Pastor Kelly Harvell
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Threshold
“God is Holding Your Life” Week 2 Threshold
Strength and peace is the prayer of the Psalm this week. The Psalmist says “let me count the ways” that we can know the strength of the Holy One. With awe and wonder we behold the presence of God in all the elements of creation–water, fire, air, earth. And it is this glory that assures us that God, indeed, is holding our lives.
“God Is Holding Your Life”
Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Lift up your eyes, behold the hills.
From where will help and rescue come?
We call on One who made the earth,
Who bless’d the stars, the moon and sun.
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat refrain]
Opening Collect Prayer
Leader: Holy and Awesome God,
You who created everything in a spectacular show of light and matter.
Open us this day to the wonder of your power
so that we might know the everlasting strength of your reign
on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We praise you for your mighty works,
holding our lives in the fabric of the cosmos.
Amen.
Old Testament Reading
Genesis 1:1-5
Gospel Reading
Mark 1:4-11
Psalm Reading
Psalm 29
Lukan Psalter translation
[link if NRSV is preferred]
Give glory to ADONAI, you heavenly court,
give ADONAI glory and strength!
Give forth the glory that God’s Name deserves,
and worship ADONAI in the splendor of holiness!
The voice of ADONAI resounds
over the waters;
the God of glory thunders over the
raging seas.
God’s voice is powerful,
God’s voice is full of majesty.
The voice of ADONAI snaps the cedars,
shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
It makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of ADONAI strikes with
bolts of lightning;
the voice of YHWH shakes the wilderness,
the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of God twists the oaks,
and strips the forests bare;
and in God’s Temple all cry, “Glory!”
ADONAI sits in judgment over the flood;
ADONAI is its Ruler forever.
Give strength to your people, ADONAI!
Bless your people with peace!
Psalm Song
Introduction from Richard and Song:
“Awe and Wonder”
Reflection
Baptism of the LORD B 2021
Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Mark 1:4-11
Power Rangers, The Avengers, Captain America, and the list goes on, children and adults alike are fascinated by characters with super powers. We look for an out of this world hero with powers greater that our own that will take us from a place of weakness to a place of safety and power.
We look for those that fight for the underdog, fighting for peace and justice such as Superman and Superwoman, Spiderman, Batman and Robin or, going further back, Paladin, the Lone Ranger and Tonto, or Zorro.
Our Psalm today praises ADONAI. It sounds as if the psalmist is caught in a storm and through the power of the storm recognizes the power of ADONAI as thunder and wave crash, as mighty oak trees are twisted and forests laid bare. The Psalmist is in awe of the deeds of ADONAI; in awe of ADONAI’s power and majesty.
What of us, when do we feel the awe and majesty of ADONAI that this psalmist is experiencing?
A bit of scholarship before we go further. The tetragrammaton, (יהוה) often translated YHWH in English is, as Rev. Dr. Dwight Vogel put it in his video on “Chanting the Psalms” for this series, not pronounceable, it is all consonants. Later scholars have added vowel points that are associated with the word, Adonai, meaning “Lord.” In many Jewish traditions the word is not pronounced, as it is too holy for the human tongue to speak. Thus, in the Lukan Psalter translation, the name “ADONAI” is placed where the tetragrammaton appears in the Hebrew. You will also note that all letters are capitalized in order to set it apart from other uses of the word.
Our reading from Genesis begins at the beginning, the LORD (אלהים), creates the heavens and earth, speaks into the chaos that existed, creating light and separating day from night. This is the same GOD the psalmist praises.
Are you in awe yet? What super hero that you can name has powers like these?
The people of the world had become so sinful and GOD was so disappointed that the whole earth was flooded, only one family and the animals and birds they gathered on a boat survived.
GOD used plagues directed at the Egyptians to force them to release the Hebrews from slavery then led the Hebrews, using cloud and flame, for 40 years in the wilderness, providing food and water as needed before helping them conquer a new land to which GOD had brought them, a land flowing with milk and honey.
GOD sent prophets to call the people to repentance and change, finally sending one who called people to come to the water, repent of their sins and be washed in the waters as a sign that they were cleansed and starting a new life. But, he declared, there is one on the horizon even more important, greater than himself, one whose baptism would bring the Holy Spirit to the one baptized, not just forgiveness of sins.
GOD finally came to earth in human form, trying to change the world one person at a time through a direct relationship. Jesus healed the sick with a word, spoke and brought the dead back to life and made the lame to walk again. The Holy Spirit was with him and at his death, came into the world, filling those who believed, giving them special abilities, gifts, to be used for the good of the church.
This is our GOD, our LORD, our ADONAI. ADONAI, the all-powerful one, holds us in the palm of a hand so mighty and powerful that all creation occurred through the speaking of it into existence. This is the ONE we are called to trust during difficult times, to recognize with awe and wonder in the mighty storm, the beauty of a sunrise, the miracle of new birth, and to praise with awe filled voices.
GOD is holding our lives. We believe! Amen.
Testimonies of Being Held
This is an opportunity for you to share with others how you have felt the love and support of others, of God, in this time of pandemic. Please feel free to send your testimonies to Pastor Ami, whether it is a brief note by mail or by e-mail or, for those who are technologically motivated, you might include a brief video.
Sung Reprise
“God is Holding Your Life”
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat]
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
Adonai, Mighty God, to you we offer gifts of thanksgiving and praise.
Through your might, transform these small gifts, that they may feed the hungry and help in the transformation of the world into your perfect kin-dom, amen.
“Selah” Moment
Pat Benjamin
As we explained last week, the Psalms have a repeated direction throughout–the word “Selah.” While scholars are not sure exactly what it means, we are taking it to mean a “pause in the action.” Pause is something that we need and our faith calls us to this holy pause. We will use an instrumental sound to remind us to take a pause, a breath, and remember that the settling of our hearts can offer the feeling that we are held in the hands of the Divine. We will hear [the sound] and then have some silence. Feel free to close your eyes if you like. Imagine yourself held in safety and love and care. When you hear [the sound] again, open your eyes.
Silence
Prayers of the People
Each week we will have a moment to write prayer concerns on small pieces of paper. We will then place these prayers in a container [bowl, box, etc]–a symbolic action of placing them in God’s hands, God’s care.
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Let us continue our prayers. I will offer a category of concern and we will allow a brief pause, then we will respond as indicated. As a prayer posture for this worship series, I invite you to cup your hands, ready to receive God’s love and peace, and in preparation to be God’s love and peace in the world.
Let us pray for the leaders of this world and this church community… [pause]
God of Justice, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in conflict around the world… [pause]
Prince of Peace, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all who are experiencing loss of any kind in this pandemic… [pause]
Comforting Healer, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who are homeless, hungry and alone… [pause]
Emmanuel, God-With-Us, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in comfort,
for Christ-like hospitality and generosity… [pause]
Transforming Spirit, hear our prayer.
Holy and Living One,
for those we have named and the ones whose names we do not know,
hear our prayer.
Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Sung Prayer Response
“Put Peace Into Each Other’s Hands”
https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw2996.aspx
Hear a version of this song HERE
Or use our video download (you must have a OneLicense.net license for this piece)
[sung]
Put peace into each other’s hands
and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame,
with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands
with loving expectation;
be gentle in your words and ways,
in touch with God’s creation.
The Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Will you make a gesture of extending your cupped hands toward others who may be with or near you as a sign of offering the peace that Christ gives us. If you are alone, place your cupped hands over your heart, as a sign that you send your heartfelt peace out to the world.
[after a moment, continue with this verse]
Give thanks for strong yet tender hands
held out in trust and blessing.
Where words fall short let hands speak out;
the heights of love expressing.
Benediction
Now go in the knowledge that
God is holding your life
even as we hold each other.
You are not alone.
You are loved.
Amen.
Postlude
Liturgy and music for this series is from: Worship Design Studios, © www.worshipdesignstudio.com/life
Food Shelf Items Needed
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
December’s Collection to Date: $906.51 (PayPal)
January's Collection to Date: Not Available
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Epiphany Sunday
January 3, 2021 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
“These Lives Are Precious”
Week 1
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
Gathering of Our Celebrations and Our Petitions
Because we want to try sharing our worship service on our website while maintaining privacy for those we would lift in prayer, we will gather our spoken joys and concerns at this time in the service, so that when Pastor Ami starts the service, she may also begin recording the service.
From last week
Joys:
We begin a new worship series today that we pray will bring a “breather” and a sense of assurance to us all. Life is a series of exclamations from “O No!” to “Help!” to “Oh Yeah!” We can swing between disappointment, helplessness, and gratitude on a daily basis. The Book of Psalms knows all about this. Written over a span of time from exile and isolation to the rebuilding of the community, the poetry of the Psalms will accompany us in this series, reminding us that through it all, we can trust that God is, indeed, holding our lives.
This worship will allow us to simplify and slow down for a time. We will lean on prayer, reflection and sharing with one another.
Prayer for Peace Pastor Kelly Harvell
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Threshold
“God is Holding Your Life”
We do not live in a land ruled by Kings, as the hearers of our first Psalm of this series did. Nevertheless, the petitions of the psalmist for justice, deliverance, defense of the poor and oppressed, and peace for all peoples is an undergirding theme of our faith. We are reminded that a just society is one that proclaims “these lives are precious” and worthy of protection. God, indeed, is holding our lives. Let this be our “epiphany” in this new year.
“God Is Holding Your Life”
Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Lift up your eyes, behold the hills.
From where will help and rescue come?
We call on One who made the earth,
Who bless’d the stars, the moon and sun.
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat refrain]
Opening Collect Prayer
Leader: Holy and Just God, you have shown us what is right and good. Open us this day to a vision of the world made all-right so that we might follow your ways and know the peace of your reign on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We praise you for your steadfast presence, holding our lives together in love. Amen.
Hymn
“There’s a Song in the Air” #249 UMH
Gospel Reading
Matthew 2:1-12
Psalm Reading
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Lukan Psalter translation
O God, give your anointed one your judgment--
and your justice.
Teach your chosen one to govern your people rightly
and bring justice to the oppressed.
The mountains will bring the people peace
and the little hills bring justice!
Your anointed will defend the oppressed
among the people,
save the children of the poor,
and crush the oppressor.
The reign of your anointed will endure
as long as the sun and moon--
throughout all generations.
The rule of the chosen one will be
like rain coming down on the meadow,
like showers watering the earth.
Justice will flower through the days,
and abundance of peace ’til the moon
shall be no more.
Tarshish and the Isles will offer gifts;
Arabia and Sheba will bring tribute.
All rulers will pay homage,
and all the nations will serve your anointed.
Your anointed will rescue the poor
when they cry out,
and the oppressed when there is no
one to help them.
Your chosen one will take pity on the lowly
and the poor,
and will save their lives.
Your chosen one
will rescue them all from violence
and oppression,
and will treat their blood as precious.
Psalm Song
“These Lives are Precious”
Reflection
In this time of turmoil and craziness in our country and the world, we need a chance to slow down, to rest, to relax, trusting that God has things; that God has us and will keep us; will protect and guard us.
Today we are celebrating Epiphany, the “Ah-ha” moment when the magi, the wise men, the kings, whatever name you call them by, finally reach their destination, the place where the child, Jesus, is. We know they traveled from a far land and brought gifts for the child, gifts that some say recognized his royalty, his deity, and his impending death.
It is interesting that coupled with the story of the magi, we have a Psalm that is a prayer for a king. The opening words:
“O God, give your anointed one your judgment--
and your justice.
Teach your chosen one to govern your people rightly
and bring justice to the oppressed.”
show that those who are praying are praying for a just king, a righteous king, that will make things right in the world.
We know a bit more of the story from Matthew, a story that tells why the magi had to leave by a different route, why Joseph had to grab his young son and wife and flee to Egypt, where they lived as refugees for a time, for Herod was not the king that people prayed for, instead he was a collaborator with the Roman rulers and sought his own good rather than the good of the people.
The prayer is appropriate though, as a hope for the people and as a prayer reminding us that the one born in a stable, sought out by kings from the East, would be the kind of king for which they were praying, for which we are praying.
As we reflect on the upcoming year, though we do not have a king, a president elected by the people instead, it seems that perhaps this is a prayer we could offer up for the leaders of our country and the world.
It is a prayer of hope that the ones in-charge will look to the good of others rather than themselves and their cronies. It is a prayer of hope for a better tomorrow for all people, for when the ruler is just, when justice truly rolls down upon the earth, there will be adequate food for all, and peace will overcome the chaos and upheaval through which we have lived this past year. People will not be treated differently no matter the numbers in their bank account or the color of their skin or whatever human designed divisions might be used to divide rather than unite us.
The perfect ruler has come into the world. We must live in ways that highlight the justice and love that was brought into the world in that stable so long ago. In order to do so, we must also trust, trust that God is present and till take care of everything, for we are precious in God’s sight and God is holding our lives in the palms of hands made to care for others
Testimonies of Being Held
Sung Reprise
“God is Holding Your Life”
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat]
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
God, you who are almighty and loving,
you are holding our lives and the lives of all the people in your hands,
accept these, our gifts, use them for the good of all,
for to you belongs all wonder, glory and praise. Amen.
“Selah” Moment
Pat Benjamin
The Psalms have a repeated direction throughout–the word “Selah.” Scholars are not sure exactly what it means. Perhaps because the Psalms were to be used in worship, we can surmise that the word indicates a pause, or an invitation for a musical instrument to be played. In this worship series, we will use an instrumental sound to remind us to take a pause, a breath, and remember that the settling of our hearts can offer the feeling that we are held in the hands of the Divine. We will hear [the sound] and then have some silence. Feel free to close your eyes if you like. Imagine yourself held in safety and love and care. When you hear [the sound] again, open your eyes.
Silence
Prayers of the People
Each week we will have a moment to write prayer concerns on small pieces of paper. We will then place these prayers in a container a symbolic action of placing them in God’s hands, God’s care.
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Let us continue our prayers. I will offer a category of concern and we will allow a brief pause, then we will respond as indicated. As a prayer posture for this worship series, I invite you to cup your hands, ready to receive God’s love and peace, and in preparation to be God’s love and peace in the world.
Let us pray for the leaders of this world and this church community… [pause]
God of Justice, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in conflict around the world… [pause]
Prince of Peace, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all who are experiencing loss of any kind in this pandemic… [pause]
Comforting Healer, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who are homeless, hungry and alone… [pause]
Emmanuel, God-With-Us, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in comfort,
for Christ-like hospitality and generosity… [pause]
Transforming Spirit, hear our prayer.
Selah” Communion Ritual
Holy and Living One, as we gather to break bread once again, break us open to your love, to your peace, to your presence, to your transformative power. In the name of the One who invites us time and again, Jesus the Christ.
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Confession and Assurance
We are all invited to the gift of this table of grace. As a response to the invitation, we are asked to let go of all that separates us from accepting this grace. We confess the ways we have placed hardship in the hands of others, rather than peace.
“Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands”
Fred Kaan
Put peace into each other’s hands
and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame,
with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands
with loving expectation;
be gentle in your words and ways,
in touch with God’s creation.
When we place peace in each other’s hands, we place love in all the hands of the world.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
Glory to God! Amen!
The Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Will you make a gesture of extending your cupped hands toward others who may be with you as a sign of offering the peace that Christ gives us. If you are alone, place your cupped hands over your heart, as a sign that you send your heartfelt peace out to the world.
[after a moment, continue singing this verse]
Give thanks for strong yet tender hands
held out in trust and blessing.
Where words fall short let hands speak out;
the heights of love expressing.
Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you!
And also with you.
Open your hearts, your mouths, your lives to the Holy One.
We long for this communion.
Let us give our greatest thanks in the company of the beloved.
It is a good and joyful thing to give our thanks and praise.
Gift of Life, Creator of All That Is,
You have breathed life into us,
filled our emptiness,
loved us through our resistance.
Time and again you say, Listen!
Time and again you say, Live!
Time and again you say, Love!
And so we gather and give thanks in this moment.
We stop so we may listen,
we breathe so we may live,
we open so we may love.
Holy , holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Holy are you God,
And blessed be your work in Jesus,
Peace-Giver, Life-Healer.
Spirit-Anointer, do your work in us, as in him.
May we proclaim release, recovery,
liberty and the end of all oppression.
May we savor the taste of goodness and offer this gift of love to all.
Jesus gathered with his disciples, his friends, his family.
He took bread, said thanks over it, gave it to his companions and said,
“Take, eat, this is my body. My life is given for love of you.
So whenever you gather together, stop... Selah... think of me. Be at peace. I am here.”
And after the supper he lifted his cup, gave thanks over it,
and offered it to his companions, saying,
“Drink from this cup, all of you. This is my life, my love poured out for you.
Whenever you gather together, stop... Selah... think of me. Be at peace.
I am here.”
[sung]
Put peace into each other’s hands
like bread we break for sharing;
look people warmly in the eye;
our life is meant for caring.
And so,
in remembrance of your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a holy and living sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Holy Spirit, Breath of Wind,
Fill us, transform us.
Holy Spirit, Lover of Justice,
Fill us, transform us.
Holy Spirit, Maker of Unity,
Fill us, transform us.
And all God’s people say, Amen!
[sung]
As at communion shape your hands,
into a waiting cradle;
the gift of Christ receive, revere,
united round the table.
Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
We who are many are one body, one loaf, rising in Spirit together.
Even if we cannot be physically in the same space,
we are one in love.
We are one in the grace of Christ broken open for us.
While we have many cups,
God’s love is poured upon us from the one cup of salvation.
It is in this sharing beyond all time and space that we are drawn close,
that we are made whole,
that we are made free.
As you are served by those with you,
or served by your own hand,
know that the hand that serves you is the hand of all Christ’s Body,
through mystical union with the Divine.
You are not alone.
Communion
[sing after receiving]
Put Christ into each other’s hands,
he is love’s deepest measure;
in love make peace, give peace a chance,
and share it like a treasure.
Prayer After Receiving
God of all that is too deep for words,
we give you thanks that, at this table of grace,
you offer your holiness, your steadfast love.
Open us often to your Selah, your pause,
to hear the needs of your people.
We pray this in the name of the Host of this Table,
Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Sung Prayer Response
“Put Peace Into Each Other’s Hands”
https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw2996.aspx
Hear a version of this song HERE
Or use our video download (you must have a OneLicense.net license for this piece)
Benediction
Now go in the knowledge that
God is holding your life
even as we hold each other.
You are not alone.
You are loved.
Amen.
Postlude
Food Shelf Items Needed
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
November’s Collection to Date: $2,272.51
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
1st Sunday in Christmas
December 27, 2020 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
Prelude
Announcements
Greeting Galatians 4:4-7
Prayer for Peace
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Call to Worship “O Come, All Ye Faithful” #234 UMH
Prayer of the Day “Christmas” #231 UMH
Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Psalm 148 (HMH 861)
Luke 2:22-40
Children’s Time “What are your Christmas traditions?”
Message:
“Tradition, tradition!” Most times when I hear the word tradition, I think of Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof.” I think how Tevye laments the changes that are happening in his region of the country.
Our reading from the Gospel According to Luke today tells us that Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus went up to the temple in Jerusalem following the family tradition of the Jews. There they offered a sacrifice of a pair of turtle doves or two pigeons.
According to Leviticus 12, Jesus would have been a little over a month old when all of this occurred. The offering of turtle doves or pigeons indicates that the family was poor, as the traditional offering included a lamb.
Like Tevye experienced in the fiddler on the roof, so do we experience change in traditions. Our opening greeting was from the letter to the Galatians chapter 4, reminding us that we are children adopted into the family. In the tenth chapter of Acts, we read of a vision received by Peter, a vision indicating that Gentiles adopted into the family, those following Jesus, were to be accepted as they were; circumcision and many of the traditions of the Jews we're not to be required of the new adoptees.
Some of these changes in tradition resulted in difficulties within the fledgling church.
Fast forward nearly 2000 years. Christmas day was just a couple of days ago and many traditions that families expected to experience we're unable to happen. Perhaps the required changes may lead to some new traditions. Yet, I'm sure there was struggle over those traditions that were missing this year.
Times like these, when people are forced into new patterns, potentially open us to new experiences, new ways of looking at what we traditionally do. We have a choice, we can allow the forced changes to frustrate us, bring on depression, and/or make us angry or we can choose to see what new things may come out of the forced changes.
While the first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the new year in church tradition, Friday will mark the beginning of the year 2021. What are some of the things we need to let go? What, over this past year, has stood out as something that we have clung to because “we've always done it that way" and yet has reached that stage where, perhaps, it is time to let it go? On the other hand, what has come to mind that we might try to do differently in the new year?
As we move into 2021, I invite us, no, I challenge us, to look with fresh eyes upon this, congregation upon this building, upon this community, and try to discover what God has planned for us for the future. The word we traditionally use is ‘discern.’ We need to spend time in prayer, Bible study, and conversation as we listen to one another and as we share ideas, thoughts, and dreams.
We still have a number of weeks ahead of us where we will be unable to gather in person at the church. While for some it seems like it has been forever since we gathered, are there things that we want to hold onto from this time of worshiping remotely? As we think of the many things we have missed the past year, which ones do we want to hold onto? Which ones do we want to let go? And, which ones do we want to change?
I recognize that not all of you are comfortable or able to contact me for a conversation over Zoom. Please know that the time of coffee with the pastor on Thursday mornings is more about having ‘Office hours’ than it is about conversing on zoom. It is the time in which you are invited to call me on the telephone, should you desire. If that particular time does not work for you please call me when it is convenient and we will set up a time convenient for both of us. As people begin to have ideas we need to find a way to share those ideas with one another, and to discuss what direction we might desire to go. I am open to hearing how are you would like to conduct these discussions, remembering that for the time being we must use mail, telephones and Internet services in order to have search conversations.
These conversations are open to any in the congregation. You do not need to be a member, just interested in doing those things which will help our church to hear what God has to say to us and in responding in faith.
Our gospel passage ends with the stories of Simeon and Anna, two who lived faithful lives and looked for the coming of the Messiah. Due to their faithful witness they were granted the gift of seeing the messiah, a babe carried in his mother’s arms, so small, so helpless yet one who would bring great change and give himself for the world.
As we keep faithful witness to the coming of the Christ into the world, what new changes might he be inviting us to be a part of? Amen.
Hymn: “What Child Is This” #219 UMH
Prayer of Confession
Holy Friend, Savior and Healer of the world, we in your church family admit to you the frustration we feel for our part in the evil that infests humanity.
We are called to truth
but we prefer darkness to light because our investments are there.
We are called to hope
but we slide into the negativity of the snide and lost.
We are called to grace,
but we are at times as mean-spirited as the self-serving.
We are called to mercy,
but we harbor grudges and let slip insidious innuendos.
We are called to faith,
but we live as if everything depended on us.
We are called to love,
but it rarely goes beyond loving those who love us.
God of abundant loving, please forgive your church family for our failure to uphold and express the generosity of your ways. Forgive us for those sins of which we are ashamed, and for the sly sins which as yet we have not recognized and brought out into your light. Please be to us, not the God we deserve but the Savior who heaps grace upon grace. In you alone we place our trust. Through Christ Jesus our Redeemer,
Amen!
Passing the Peace
Celebrating God Sightings and Sharing Concerns
Celebrations: L: Alleluia? Petitions: L: Lord, in Your mercy,
P: Alleluia! P: Hear our prayer!
Silent Meditation
Pastoral Prayer (ending with the Lord’s Prayer)
God of wonder and of light, our hearts are still in awe as we continue to contemplate your willingness to come to earth as a babe, Emmanuel, God with us. You who are so powerful, came to earth to redeem us, to teach us how to live in joyful obedience, and to walk in humbleness before you.
We, your humble children, seek your solace in these difficult times. The numbers are mind-boggling, so many sick, so many dying, lines hours long to receive food from food pantries struggling to feed those who have little other recourse, healthcare and other essential workers putting their lives on the line each and every day, families discouraged from gathering with members outside their immediate home, so much sorrow and suffering, yet we trust you; we trust in your love, in your power, in your strength and compassion; we trust that out of all the tragedies that have happened this year: the natural disasters, the protests over the injustices inflicted upon those of brown and black skin, the pandemic and the economic as well as the physical impact it has had on people and communities, you will bring about good for your people.
We ask your healing for those who are sick, no matter the cause. We ask your healing for those struggling with depression and other mental health issues. We ask your healing for all creation; healing the land, the water, and the air, from the consequences of our abuse of the gift that you gave us.
Fill our lives with love, with hope, with compassion. Let your love pour out through us onto the world around us, that all may know you as a God who cares. Bring into fullness your kin-dom that began to break into the world at the birth of a baby, born in a stable. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Special Music
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Christmas is not over, for it is a season, but Scrooge, in “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, was heard to promise, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” Let us also strive to honor Christmas each and every day. Let us give gifts as we are able to help this congregation and the community around us.
Doxology “We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise” #2031 TFWS
Offering Prayer (in unison):
During this blessed Christmas season, we offer to you our gifts, trusting that you will accept them, bless and multiply them, and send them into the world as you sent your Son, Jesus. Grow them that they may bless those most in need with comfort, hope and light, amen.
Hymn “It Came upon a Midnight Clear” #218 UMH
Blessing, Sending Forth and Postlude–Nunc Dimittis – Luke 2:29-32
Forgiveness
Sisters and brothers in the family of God, though a sinner myself, I have a commission from the Living God to proclaim to you the forgiveness of sins and the life abundant. In God you may receive the grace, mercy and peace which make renewal undeniable. Through Christ Jesus our Savior.
Thanks be to God!
(Rev. Bruce Prewer, Australian Church Resources, http://www.bruceprewer.com/DocB/BCHRISTMAS1.htm)
Announcements:
Joys:
Food Shelf Items Needed
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
December’s Collection to Date: Not Available at This Time
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell Minister: All the People
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GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
December 24, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. Pastor Ami Sawtelle
Prelude
Greeting and Announcements
The New England Conference has created a video worship service of Candlelight Lessons and Carols for those who wish to join in this virtual time of prayer, scripture, and music for Christmas Eve. Find the materials here: Christmas Eve Service. Each item in the circles is a link to the specific part of the service.
Prayer for Peace
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Lighting the Advent Wreath Welcoming the Guest
Our Christmas Affirmation
Advent hope moves us; Advent love leads us; Advent joy stirs us; Advent peace stills us, that we might affirm our King Jesus.
It is time we set flame to this Advent affirmation by lighting the Christ Candle.
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judea. He was the long-awaited Messiah whose coming was prophesied. The same Jesus lives today in our hearts. He deserves our highest loyalty and total commitment. In Jesus Christ, our hope is fulfilled; our love is consummated; our joy is complete; and our peace is sealed.
Rejoice, a Savior is born.
A savior is born, indeed. Joy to the world!
Hymn of Response “Joy to the World” #246 UMH
Call to Worship: A New Day Dawnin’! Joseph W. Daniels
(Based on Isaiah 9:2-7)
One: We were down in the dark, now we glimpse a great light.
Many: Thank God, we see a new day dawnin’!
One: What was nothing is turning to something. Terror tried us, storms denied us. Injustice angered us, apathy discouraged us. But thank God today that,
Many: We see a new day dawnin’!
One: Oppression giving way to overflow.
Many: We see a new day dawnin’!
One: Burdens becoming blessings!
Many: We see a new day dawnin’!
One: Sadness to salvation!
Many: We see a new day dawnin’!
One: The yoke is broke! A new day is dawnin’! For a Savior is born for us. Wonderful Counselor – guide for us. Everlasting Father – provider for us. Prince of Peace – drawing near to us.
All: It’s a new day! And I thank God for it! Let us worship the Lord our God!
Prayer of the Day (in unison): Ruth Duck
Loving God, moved by the coming of Christ to our lives, we seek to be your people. Help us to live in faithful covenant with you and with one another. Let the peace of Christ guide us, and let Christ’s message in all its richness live in our hearts, that we may praise you without ceasing. Amen.
Scripture Reading
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-20
Children’s Time
Message
“T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Whoops wrong story. Or was it?
“The Night Before Christmas,” the opening scene of this story is a scene of expectation, of waiting for a special event.
Tonight, a special guest arrives, the Son of God is born in a stable, and we are waiting, dreaming, hoping, praying.
It has been a difficult year, a dark year, as the pandemic rages and racial tensions have been on the increase. Isaiah steps in with these words of hope, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2, NRS)
The promise of a savior is on the horizon. Help is on the way!
It is Christmas Eve, though unlike any Christmas Eve any of us can remember. Rather than being gathered in our sanctuary, we are reading these words at our kitchen tables, in our living rooms, sitting before a computer screen, a tablet or on our phone. We are in our homes, not traveling to see family nor surrounded by family that has traveled to see us.
I haven’t seen it yet (it’s been too cloudy), but they say the Christmas star is in the sky this year. The conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, an event we are unlikely to ever see again, is happening in the skies this year.
The light that shone at the birth of the baby shines in our sky once more. (We are after all a practical people; this must be what the star was.)
As we reflect on the story of Joshua from Max Lucado’s “The Crippled Lamb,” we are reminded of how narrow our view of everything is. We see the small picture, the local picture. We do not see how God can use events, even the dark events of this past year to bring about good.
Yes, companies are growing richer while people are growing poorer, at least the average person on the streets, but there has been a huge outpouring of love and care in communities around the world. Those who are able are sharing with those who are not. How this community outreach will impact the future, change the way we work with one another, is still to be seen.
Those who have been looked down upon with disdain, who have suffered injustice at the hands of the bureaucracy have found allies willing to stand beside them and advocate with and for them. The question becomes, will the outrage be sustained long enough to bring about a true cultural change or will those afraid of losing their personal power, their position, hold out long enough to squelch it?
As we contemplate the newborn king, lying in the straw in a place housing the animals, let us also contemplate those who tonight would be happy to have a place in the barn with the animals, those who are homeless and the many that may soon join them as the moratorium on evictions ends at the end of this year. What can we do to help those most in need in our community? How can we “make a difference?”
The youth are doing “Make a Difference” projects this year. Perhaps we adults can consider doing our own projects. Perhaps these are gifts we can give the newborn Jesus. As I write this message, it is Monday, December 21, 2020. Carrie just picked up the towels, washcloths, shampoos, and soaps you have so kindly donated to the project for the Vermont Department of Children and Families. She was so appreciative as she shared the need some children have upon arrival at the DCF office. Perhaps we made a difference in a child’s life by this simple act.
The food we offer to the Bradford Food Shelf is another way we Make a Difference. There is a bin on the porch of the church near the ramp. I will check it a couple of times a day if you want to drop off food at times the Food Shelf is not open. Monetary gifts can still be sent through the church office if you do not wish to go out.
A phone call to a neighbor is a great way to help break the isolation for the one called as well as the one making the call. Is this a project you would be interested in taking on? It not only helps battle isolation, but the associated depression.
Are there other projects you can think of that will make a difference in the life of someone? Is it something you can do alone? If not, what help can others in the congregation lend so we can offer unto the Christ Child gifts that make a difference in the lives of others, as Joshua, the crippled lamb in our story tonight, made a difference by lying down beside the newborn Jesus to keep him warm? Amen.
Hymn “Star-Child” #2095 TFWS
Pastoral Prayer (ending with the Lord's Prayer) WV-PAdisciples
O God, you are never revealed so completely as in the face of the child of Bethlehem. Hear us as we give you thanks for those who today reveal your love in our world in his spirit.
We pray for those who give you hands by doing their best toward their brothers and sisters; for those who give you a mouth by speaking words of justice and peace for the broken and oppressed; for those who give your poverty the look of hope for your reign, revealing you simply by being your children, reflecting your beauty as did your only Son Jesus.
We hold up in prayer the lonely and hurting, the hungry and homeless, the sick and dispossessed, knowing that your heart has always been nearest those who are poor in spirit and least likely to be thought of as people touched by the hand of divinity.
As we remember how you came to live among us in the flesh, and as we celebrate that moment long ago which lives forever in the hearts of those who believe, and as we long for your fullness in our lives that we too might enflesh the goodness and love of Christ in our day, we ask that you would bless us, your church, to be food for the hungry and hope for those who are lost and alone—a living testament of Christ’s faithfulness to you. May all who drink of your one spirit receive new life to give to those in our world who are thirsty for meaning and belonging.
Pour out your Spirit upon us, your people. Continue in our lives the mystery of Christmas. Let your Son become flesh in us, so that we may reveal you to our world all the days of our lives. Holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us today.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
Hymn: “Silent Night, Holy Night” #239 UMH
Blessing, Sending Forth and Postlude
Today’s liturgy from UMC Discipleship Resources. The attributions for the various pieces follow:
Advent Candle Liturgy: Rev. Dr. Derek Weber, Director of Preaching Ministries, served churches in Indiana and Arkansas and the British Methodist Church. His PhD is from University of Edinburgh in preaching and media. He has taught preaching in seminary and conference settings for more than 20 years.
Call to Worship: Joseph W. Daniels, The Africana Worship Book for Year B, Discipleship Resources, 2007, p. 51
Prayer for the Day: (Ruth Duck, Bread for the Journey, Pilgrim Press, 1981, p.24.)
Pastoral Prayer: From Life in Liturgy, https://lifeinliturgy.wordpress.com/2017/12/11/christmas-eve-day/
Food Shelf Items Needed
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
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GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Blue Christmas Service
December 21, 220 at 6:30 p.m. Pastor Ami Sawtelle
A Litany for Losses
On this shortest day of the year, and as we head into the longest night,
we gather, mindful of the losses that have multiplied throughout the year.
As we look back at it all at once,
we are in danger of being overwhelmed by its tragedies–
sickness, violence, fire, hurricane, earthquake, and more.
Our aim tonight is to acknowledge this,
to mourn this,
and to know that in all of this,
there is the possibility of more light.
If we are to be overwhelmed,
let it be that we are overwhelmed with the assurance that we are not alone.
We are able to do this because the longest night is the birth canal for ever-more-light
as the days now lengthen and we wait for the springtime of new life.
Some of our earliest evidence is that our ancient ancestors saw this night
and the dawn of tomorrow as the appropriate time to honor their lost loved ones.
It was this moment that symbolized most powerfully that the path
to everlasting life is filled with the light of a new and growing dawn.
Psalm 36:9 says, “Within You is the spring of life; in your light, we see light.”
As we light up this tree, though its light is as blue as many of us feel,
the light is still there.
When we feel as if our light is dimmed,
we can rely on the Holy Light to continue to shine
until we ourselves shine bright once more.
We are not alone.
[if you are including a moment of lighting the tree, do it at this moment]
Please join me in a Litany of Losses. Your lines will be prompted.
Loss of Life
We mourn this night the loss of life.
[light the first candle]
For so many, the pandemic has taken loved ones.
We mourn the loss of those close to us and those whose names we do not know.
We mourn those who perished while working to save other lives.
We mourn those who died, not of pandemic, but of other causes.
And we mourn the loss, in many cases, of our ability to be with them as they passed, our loss of gathering together for comfort in the ways we needed so much.
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of life.
We mourn this loss of life.
We honor and remember these beloveds.
We honor and remember these beloveds.
We pray for comfort and peace.
We pray for comfort and peace.
Amen. Amen.
Loss of Livelihood
We mourn this night the loss of livelihoods.
[light the second candle]
For so many, the pandemic has taken the security
of food, shelter, care for families, and medical care.
We mourn the loss of businesses that could not withstand the circumstances.
These were not just businesses, but dreams born of passion and hard work.
We mourn those who find themselves needing to rely on others for help
when what they really want to do is to be able to help others.
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of livelihood.
We mourn this loss of livelihood.
We honor and remember the dreams now deferred.
We honor and remember the dreams now deferred.
We pray for sustenance and resilience.
We pray for sustenance and resilience.
Amen. Amen.
Loss of Love
We mourn this night the loss of love.
[light the third candle]
Our society’s dilemma, centuries in the making,
has created such hatred, suffering, oppression, and ill-will.
We mourn the loss of those whose lives were lost to brutality and violence.
We mourn the loss of our ability to love one another despite our differences,
as beings who deserve to be seen for their inherent beauty and worth.
We mourn that black and brown peoples have perished
and suffered at the greatest proportion in the pandemic of coronavirus.
We mourn the pandemic of racism that still plagues the fabric of our communities.
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of love.
We mourn this loss of love.
We honor and remember the work of prophets who proclaim justice.
We honor and remember the work of prophets who proclaim justice.
We pray for compassion and change.
We pray for compassion and change.
Amen. Amen.
Loss of Liveliness
We mourn this night the loss of liveliness.
[light the fourth candle]
For so many, this year has robbed us
of our energy, our enthusiasm, and our sense of well-being.
We mourn teachers and leaders and caregivers and workers
who are struggling to help those in their care,
themselves exhausted and needing the sustenance they give to others.
We mourn the loss of of all who are suffering with anxiety and depression,
who are finding it difficult to live each day with fullness or to find hope for tomorrow.
We mourn those we have lost to suicide.
We mourn those who find themselves addicted to substances
in order to ease the pain that feels unbearable.
We mourn those who are experiencing their place of shelter
as an abusive place from which they struggle to escape.
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of liveliness.
We mourn this loss of liveliness.
We honor and remember that each person is precious and whole.
We honor and remember that each person is precious and whole.
We pray for recovery and renewed vigor.
We pray for recovery and renewed vigor.
Amen. Amen.
More Light
And now we light a fifth candle.
Just as we will do later this week on Christmas Eve,
We light this as a sign of our belief…
We believe in the Light that has come and is coming.
[light the fifth candle in the center]
This light casts its glow on all the surrounding prayers we have prayed.
This light resides within us, perhaps dim for a time,
but always lit–an ember of the Holy inside us.
This light reminds us that we are not alone.
In this time of deep darkness, as we remember the light that you have placed within each of us holy God, give us strength to continue, one step, one minute, one hour, one day.
We know you are with us, each star, each moon rise, each sun rise reminds us of the light you created and brought into the world.
May your light shine forth from us, perhaps dimmed by the struggles of our day, but growing stronger as time passes, as healing happens.
Let us move from this time of darkness and struggle, into a time of celebration and joy once more, and may we always witness to the Light that is Jesus our Lord, amen.
(Ami Sawtelle)
Worship Notes
Worship series design © Worship Design Studio by Marcia McFee. Used, adapted, and live-streamed with permission. www.worshipdesignstudio.com
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GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
4th Sunday of Advent
December 20, 2020 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
Prelude
Greeting and Announcements
Prayer for Peace
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Lighting of the Advent Wreath “Waiting on the Threshold” Rev. Derek Weber
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 & Luke 1:26-38
Reader One: We live on the brink every day. We stand on the threshold between this world and the next one. We live and move between the ordinary and divine, between the mundane and the mystery. Too often, we forget to look up and see the angels in our living room. We forget that the love we give and live is a sign of eternity, God with us, right now. We forget that company is coming.
Reader Two: Luke tells us that God’s favor came to a girl, an ordinary girl. It might have been you or your daughter; it might have been the girl down%2
3rd Sunday After Epiphany
January 24, 2021 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
“These Lives Are Precious”
Week 4
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
- Bible Study – the book of Acts – Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m.
- Coffee with the pastor Thursdays at 9:00 a.m.
- Statistical Report Forms are in, Pastor Ami will be contacting individuals to fill their particular portion. She would like to complete the report as soon as reasonably possible. The final report to the conference is due in mid-February.
Gathering of Our Celebrations and Our Petitions
Because we want to try sharing our worship service on our website while maintaining privacy for those we would lift in prayer, we will gather our spoken joys and concerns at this time in the service, so that when Pastor Ami starts the service, she may also begin recording the service.
Celebrations: L: Alleluia? Petitions: L: Lord, in Your mercy,
P: Alleluia! P: Hear our prayer!
This week’s prayers:
Joys:
- Jackson is negative for COVID-19
- A friend willing to allow Jackson to quarantine in house she owns and willing to bring food and necessities to him
- Baby K making good progress
- First Responders receiving first COVID vaccine
- Pam has received COVID vaccine
- Safe inauguration
- Family and friends of Linda McVicker
- Alfred Fire Dept. COVID exposure
- Bob B. still not feeling well
- Baby K – surgery Friday (1-22)
- Maurice Ball (Patrick’s dad) Cancer
Let us seek to simplify this moment, slow down for a time. Let us worship, leaning on prayer, reflection and sharing with one another.
Prayer for Peace Pastor Kelly Harvell
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Threshold
“God is Holding Your Life” Verse 2 Threshold
“My one and only!” So many songs have utilized this phrase to express devoted love. This week we see that this tradition goes back all the way to the poets of the psalm tradition. This is a love psalm of trust in the “Holy One and Only” who is the rock and refuge in the midst of life that sometimes feels as fleeting as breath. We put our trust in the One who, indeed, is holding our lives.
Turn now your gaze upon the earth
Where is the One who never sleeps?
We call on One who guards you now,
Your spirit safe in holy keep.
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat refrain]
Opening Collect Prayer
Mike Bonanno - Response
Leader: God of our devotion,
you are the one constant in life.
Open us this day to see the things that hold us in their grip
so that we might shed unnecessary distractions that keep us from seeing
your reign on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We praise you for being our rock,
holding our lives together in the ways that matter most.
Amen.
Psalm
Psalm 62: 5-12
Lukan Psalter translation
[link if NRSV is preferred]
In God alone my soul finds rest,
for my deliverance comes from God,
who alone is my rock, my salvation,
my fortress:
I will never be shaken.
Only in God—my deliverance, my glory--
my refuge is God.
Trust in God always, my people;
pour out your hearts before God our refuge.
Humankind is but a breath,
mortals are just an illusion.
Put them on the scales and the balance
is thrown off:
they weigh less than a breath.
Do not trust in extortion,
or put false hopes in stolen goods;
do not set your heart on riches
even when they increase.
For God has said only one thing,
Twice have I heard it:
that power belongs to God:
Steadfast love is yours, ADONAI –
you repay all people according
to their deeds.
Psalm Song
Introduction from Richard and Song:
“In God Alone” [see downloads]
Reflection
Have any of you seen Whoopi Goldberg in the movie “Sister Act”? I like some of the music from that show, music that not only helps an aging and dying church find new life, but also music that lifts the spirit. One of the pieces, “I Will Follow Him,” redirects the focus of a love song toward God. {Originally titled “Chariot,” written by Franck March (pseudonym J. W. Stole) and Paul Mauritanian (pseudonym Del Roma) with new English lyrics written by Norman Gimbel and recorded by Little Peggy March}.
Love songs often declare the overwhelming love the singer has for the one to whom the song is directed, love that may be unrequited.
In today’s Psalm, we hear the psalmist speak of God in glowing terms, as the refuge to whom the psalmist turns, as the place in which the psalmist finds rest and, unlike songs of unrequited love proclaims the steadfast love of ADONAI.
A couple of weeks ago we talked of our desire for a super hero and how ADONAI fulfilled that desire. The question arises around what might be competing with that super hero image in our lives.
The psalmist identifies some of those for us, stolen goods, riches, wealth, the lure of the power that comes with having money or things, particularly when they are on the increase. We tend to believe that, when we have lots of money or things, we will be happy.
Others that the psalmist may have had no experience of would be the lure of fame that follows sports or movie personalities. (Maybe a famous charioteer?) We often get caught in a tangle of competing opportunities vying for our attention and our love.
Remember the story of the rich landowner who built a bunch of barns to hold his new harvest, yet he died that same night? Riches on earth are not dependable. It is the building up of riches that will carry us through eternity on which we should focus, the riches that come through loving others and trusting in God.
Look at all of the former sports players, movie stars etc. that have faded into the woodwork once they were no longer able to play, many of them living on much lower incomes, some even in poverty as they age. Fame on earth is short lived as is our attention span.
When our love for God reaches that place where we can truly say that God is the one and only focus for our lives, that all we do, we do to praise and honor God, we are moving in the right direction. When we trust in God above all else, when we can say with the psalmist, “In God alone my soul finds rest…” we have truly begun a relationship that can carry us through thick and thin.
As we learn to trust in God, to pour out our troubles and cares, leaving them in God’s powerful hands, we are beginning to truly believe that “God is holding our lives.”
Testimonies of Being Held
This is an opportunity allowing you to share how you have felt the love and support of others, of God, in this time of pandemic. Please share your experiences with Pastor Ami either by phone, e-mail or a short video she can add to the service.
Sung Reprise
“God is Holding Your Life”
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat]
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
To you, O God, in whom our souls find rest and refreshment, we offer gifts of thanksgiving and praise. Receive our gifts with love and mercy, using us and the gifts we offer to show your light of love to a world struggling through a dark and difficult time, amen.
“Selah” Moment
Let us center our hearts We will hear [the sound] and then have some silence. Feel free to close your eyes if you like. Imagine yourself held in safety and love and care. When you hear [the sound] again, open your eyes.
Silence
Prayers of the People
Let us take a moment to write prayer concerns on small pieces of paper. Then place your prayers into a container [bowl, box, etc]–a symbolic action of placing them in God’s hands, God’s care.
Take a moment to do this. Finish with this response:
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Let us continue our prayers. I will offer a category of concern and we will allow a brief pause, then we will respond as indicated. As a prayer posture for this worship series, I invite you to cup your hands, ready to receive God’s love and peace, and in preparation to be God’s love and peace in the world.
Let us pray for the leaders of this world and this church community… [pause]
God of Justice, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for our country, for those whose political beliefs are different from our own…[pause]
God of love, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in conflict around the world… [pause]
Prince of Peace, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all who are experiencing loss of any kind in this pandemic… [pause]
Comforting Healer, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who are homeless, hungry and alone… [pause]
Emmanuel, God-With-Us, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in comfort,
for Christ-like hospitality and generosity… [pause]
Transforming Spirit, hear our prayer.
Holy and Living One,
for those we have named and the ones whose names we do not know,
hear our prayer.
Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Sung Prayer Response
“Put Peace Into Each Other’s Hands”
https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw2996.aspx
Hear a version of this song HERE
Or use our video download (you must have a OneLicense.net license for this piece)
[sung]
Put peace into each other’s hands
and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame,
with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands
with loving expectation;
be gentle in your words and ways,
in touch with God’s creation.
The Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Will you make a gesture of extending your cupped hands toward others who may be with or near you as a sign of offering the peace that Christ gives us. If you are alone, place your cupped hands over your heart, as a sign that you send your heartfelt peace out to the world.
[after a moment, continue with this verse]
Give thanks for strong yet tender hands
held out in trust and blessing.
Where words fall short let hands speak out;
the heights of love expressing.
Benediction
Now go in the knowledge that
God is holding your life
even as we hold each other.
You are not alone.
You are loved.
Amen.
Postlude
Food Shelf Items Needed
- Easy to prepare foods for kids, Flour & Sugar, Coffee, Toilet Paper & Paper Towels, Laundry Detergent, Shampoo & Hand Soap
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
January's Collection to Date: Not Available
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Human Relations Day
January 17, 2021 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
“These Lives Are Precious”
Week 3
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
- Bible Study – the book of Acts – Wednesdays at 2:00 pm
- Coffee with the pastor Thursdays at 9:00 am
- Statistical Report Forms are in, Pastor Ami will be contacting individuals to fill their particular portion. She would like to complete the report as soon as reasonably possible. The final report to the conference is due in mid-February.
- There is a picture of cupped hands at the end of this document. You are invited to use it in a bowl where you can place written prayers as a symbol of offering them up to God. You are also encouraged to use it or other images that symbolize God’s hands holding you, your life and the lives of others throughout this worship series.
Gathering of Our Celebrations and Our Petitions
Because we want to try sharing our worship service on our website while maintaining privacy for those we would lift in prayer, we will gather our spoken joys and concerns at this time in the service, so that when Pastor Ami starts the service, she may also begin recording the service.
Celebrations: L: Alleluia? Petitions: L: Lord, in Your mercy,
P: Alleluia! P: Hear our prayer!
Prayers from last week:
Joys:
- Governor has announced return to students in classroom full-time in April
- Buzz Churchill – Lyme disease
- Family of Rod Perry
- Bob Benjamin
- Peggy, Elinor, Gwen, John, Bob (Sue’s cousins)
- Teachers doing remote and hybrid teaching
- Our country
- Donna (Don’s former co-worker) Stage IV cancer
Let us seek to simplify this moment, slow down for a time. Let us worship, leaning on prayer, reflection and sharing with one another.
Prayer for Peace Pastor Kelly Harvell
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Threshold
“God is Holding Your Life” Week 3 Threshold
This week’s Psalm text brings home this message: we are in an intimate relationship with God. There is nowhere we go that God is not present–no state of our being that results in our being abandoned. God has knit us together, has woven us, knowing us from before our beginning. God, indeed, is holding our lives.
Turn now your gaze upon the earth
Where is the One who never sleeps?
We call the One who guards you now,
Your spirit safe in holy keep.
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat refrain]
Opening Collect Prayer
Leader: Dear and Near God,
you never leave our side.
Open us this day to feeling and knowing your presence deep in our hearts
so that we might show forth love with the same confidence,
offering your reign of right relationship on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We praise you for your close attention,
holding our lives together in care.
Amen.
Psalm Reading
Psalm 139:1-18
Lukan Psalter translation
[link if NRSV is preferred]
ADONAI, you’ve searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up,
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting places;
and are acquainted with all of my ways.
Indeed, there is not a word on my lips;
but you, O God, know it altogether.
You press upon me, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
it is so high I cannot attain it!
Where can I go then from your Spirit,
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning,
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand will lead me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
and the light around me turn to night,”
darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
darkness and light to you are both alike.
You created my inmost being
and stitched me together in my mother’s womb.
For all these mysteries I thank you--
for the wonder of myself,
for the wonder of your works--
my soul knows it well.
My frame was not hidden from you
while I was being made in that secret place,
knitted together in the depths of the earth;
your eyes saw my body even there.
All of my days
were written in your book,
all of them planned
before even the first of them came to be.
How precious your thoughts are to me, ADONAI!
How impossible to number them!
I could no more count them
than I could count the sand.
But suppose I could?
You would still be with me!
Psalm Song
“Where Can I Go?”
Reflection
Last week we talked about how ADONAI fills us with awe, but sometimes, quite frankly, when we are in awe of something or someone, we struggle to have a relationship with them. They seem so far out of our normal daily lives that we struggle to talk with them, our tongues getting twisted up and our abilities to communicate intelligently severely hampered.
In some of the novels I’ve read through the years there is a character, very aloof, very firm, very distant, that seems unapproachable; someone who considers themselves so far above everyone that only the inner circle of advisers can approach. This is often how we see ADONAI, GOD, so far above us that there is no way ADONAI would ever pay attention to us here on earth, so far above us that there is no way GOD will hear our prayers.
Up steps the psalmist once more, to help us better understand GOD, better appreciate how extraordinary ADONAI is.
ADONAI, you’ve searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up,
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting places;
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Does this sound like a god that is aloof, far distant above us, a god who, once creation was set upon it’s way, drew back and let happen what would?
The psalmist introduces us to ADONAI, the LORD, who knows us intimately, who knows our thoughts, our words before we speak them. ADONAI knows us so intimately that no matter where we go or what time of day it is, ADONAI can and does find us. We are unable to hide from ADONAI, even in death.
Lest this ‘all knowing’ ADONAI create terror in our hearts, we are told that we have been known by ADONAI since we were being stitched together in our mother’s womb, created in that secret place in the depths of the earth.
The thought of ADONAI’s hand upon us, perhaps upon our shoulder, can be frightening, the police officer walking up behind a would be thief in a store, but it can also be a comfort, a loving parent’s hand upon our shoulder in the midst of a difficult time. For the psalmist, the latter seems to be a more appropriate understanding as the wonder of this intimate action brings about a statement of awe and wonder rather than of fear.
Does any of this sound like a god that doesn’t care, that created and left creation to its own devices?
The psalmist sees ADONAI as one who is always present, as always there when the chips are down, as well as when things are going well, as one that can be trusted.
Sometimes we cry out, “LORD, where are you?” Sometimes we wonder if God really cares for or about us, but the psalmist at this point has no doubts.
When we are in doubt, we need to stop and think of all the ways we know that GOD is present. When we think that GOD “stitched [us] together in [our] mother’s womb” how can we even begin to imagine that GOD doesn’t care about us? As a veterinarian I have seen the wonder of how intricately we are made, whether on a macro or micro level.
The psalmist acknowledges the preciousness of ADONAI’s thoughts and our inability to count them and still the psalmist knows that ADONAI is present in everyday happenings.
We don’t know how GOD thinks. We do know that GOD works through people and events to bring about good for those who believe. What we see as ‘evil,’ GOD can find ways to turn into good. This is one of the most difficult things to comprehend and accept. How can GOD allow evil to exist, allow bad things to happen to good people?
I don’t have a good answer to the question, just an acceptance that in the midst of the evil, GOD is still present, knowing us, supporting us, caring for us, and bringing good from the evil situation. This is the trust the psalmist has. The psalmist knows GOD is holding him in hands of love and compassion. This is what we are challenged to know, GOD is holding us!
Testimonies of Being Held
This is an opportunity for you to share with others how you have felt the love and support of others, of God, in this time of pandemic. Please feel free to send your testimonies to Pastor Ami, whether it is a brief note by mail or by e-mail or, for those who are technologically motivated, you might include a brief video.
Sung Reprise
“God is Holding Your Life”
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat]
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
Adonai, you who are mighty and glorious, you knit us together in your secret place; made us to be in relationship with one another and with you; to you we offer these small gifts, tokens that are reflections of our love and trust in you; accept them for your use in shining your light of hope for a world stumbling in darkness.
“Selah” Moment
We come to our moment of “Selah”–that mysterious word found in the Psalms that invites us to pause. We will use an instrumental sound to remind us to take a pause, a breath. Settle your heart and know that you are held in the hands of the Divine. We will hear [the sound] and then have some silence. Feel free to close your eyes if you like. Imagine yourself held in safety and love and care. When you hear [the sound] again, open your eyes.
Silence
Prayers of the People
Each week we will have a moment to write prayer concerns on small pieces of paper. We will then place these prayers in a container [bowl, box, etc]–a symbolic action of placing them in God’s hands, God’s care.
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Let us continue our prayers. I will offer a category of concern and we will allow a brief pause, then we will respond as indicated. As a prayer posture for this worship series, I invite you to cup your hands, ready to receive God’s love and peace, and in preparation to be God’s love and peace in the world.
Let us pray for the leaders of this world and this church community… [pause]
God of Justice, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in conflict around the world… [pause]
Prince of Peace, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all who are experiencing loss of any kind in this pandemic… [pause]
Comforting Healer, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who are homeless, hungry and alone… [pause]
Emmanuel, God-With-Us, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in comfort,
for Christ-like hospitality and generosity… [pause]
Transforming Spirit, hear our prayer.
Holy and Living One,
for those we have named and the ones whose names we do not know,
hear our prayer.
Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Sung Prayer Response
“Put Peace Into Each Other’s Hands”
https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw2996.aspx
Hear a version of this song HERE
Or use our video download (you must have a OneLicense.net license for this piece)
[sung]
Put peace into each other’s hands
and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame,
with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands
with loving expectation;
be gentle in your words and ways,
in touch with God’s creation.
The Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Will you make a gesture of extending your cupped hands toward others who may be with or near you as a sign of offering the peace that Christ gives us. If you are alone, place your cupped hands over your heart, as a sign that you send your heartfelt peace out to the world.
[after a moment, continue with this verse]
Give thanks for strong yet tender hands
held out in trust and blessing.
Where words fall short let hands speak out;
the heights of love expressing.
Benediction
Now go in the knowledge that
God is holding your life
even as we hold each other.
You are not alone.
You are loved.
Amen.
Postlude
Liturgy and music for this series is from: Worship Design Studios, © www.worshipdesignstudio.com/life
Food Shelf Items Needed
- Easy to prepare foods for kids, Flour & Sugar, Coffee, Toilet Paper & Paper Towels, Laundry Detergent, Shampoo & Hand Soap
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
January's Collection to Date: Not Available
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Baptism of the Lord
January 10, 2021 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
“These Lives Are Precious”
Week 1
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
- Ad Council Meeting Tuesday, January 12, 2021 6:30 p.m.
- Bible Study--the book of Acts--Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m.
- Coffee with the pastor Thursdays at 9:00 a.m.
- Statistical Report Forms are in, Pastor Ami will be contacting individuals to fill their particular portion. She would like to complete the report as soon as reasonably possible. The final report to the conference is due in mid-February.
- There is a picture of cupped hands at the end of this document. You are invited to use it in a bowl where you can place written prayers as a symbol of offering them up to God. You are also encouraged to use it or other images that symbolize God’s hands holding you, your life and the lives of others throughout this worship series.
Gathering of Our Celebrations and Our Petitions
Because we want to try sharing our worship service on our website while maintaining privacy for those we would lift in prayer, we will gather our spoken joys and concerns at this time in the service, so that when Pastor Ami starts the service, she may also begin recording the service.
Celebrations: L: Alleluia? Petitions: L: Lord, in Your mercy,
P: Alleluia! P: Hear our prayer!
Prayers from last week:
Joys:
Zooming for Sue’s brother’s 70th birthday will allow to see people from as far away as California
Concerns:
Peggy, Elinor, Gwen, John, Bob (Sue’s cousins)
Theresa, still recovering from crash
Rod & Phyllis
Let us seek to simplify this moment, slow down for a time. Let us worship, leaning on prayer, reflection and sharing with one another.
Prayer for Peace Pastor Kelly Harvell
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Threshold
“God is Holding Your Life” Week 2 Threshold
Strength and peace is the prayer of the Psalm this week. The Psalmist says “let me count the ways” that we can know the strength of the Holy One. With awe and wonder we behold the presence of God in all the elements of creation–water, fire, air, earth. And it is this glory that assures us that God, indeed, is holding our lives.
“God Is Holding Your Life”
Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Lift up your eyes, behold the hills.
From where will help and rescue come?
We call on One who made the earth,
Who bless’d the stars, the moon and sun.
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat refrain]
Opening Collect Prayer
Leader: Holy and Awesome God,
You who created everything in a spectacular show of light and matter.
Open us this day to the wonder of your power
so that we might know the everlasting strength of your reign
on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We praise you for your mighty works,
holding our lives in the fabric of the cosmos.
Amen.
Old Testament Reading
Genesis 1:1-5
Gospel Reading
Mark 1:4-11
Psalm Reading
Psalm 29
Lukan Psalter translation
[link if NRSV is preferred]
Give glory to ADONAI, you heavenly court,
give ADONAI glory and strength!
Give forth the glory that God’s Name deserves,
and worship ADONAI in the splendor of holiness!
The voice of ADONAI resounds
over the waters;
the God of glory thunders over the
raging seas.
God’s voice is powerful,
God’s voice is full of majesty.
The voice of ADONAI snaps the cedars,
shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
It makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of ADONAI strikes with
bolts of lightning;
the voice of YHWH shakes the wilderness,
the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of God twists the oaks,
and strips the forests bare;
and in God’s Temple all cry, “Glory!”
ADONAI sits in judgment over the flood;
ADONAI is its Ruler forever.
Give strength to your people, ADONAI!
Bless your people with peace!
Psalm Song
Introduction from Richard and Song:
“Awe and Wonder”
Reflection
Baptism of the LORD B 2021
Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Mark 1:4-11
Power Rangers, The Avengers, Captain America, and the list goes on, children and adults alike are fascinated by characters with super powers. We look for an out of this world hero with powers greater that our own that will take us from a place of weakness to a place of safety and power.
We look for those that fight for the underdog, fighting for peace and justice such as Superman and Superwoman, Spiderman, Batman and Robin or, going further back, Paladin, the Lone Ranger and Tonto, or Zorro.
Our Psalm today praises ADONAI. It sounds as if the psalmist is caught in a storm and through the power of the storm recognizes the power of ADONAI as thunder and wave crash, as mighty oak trees are twisted and forests laid bare. The Psalmist is in awe of the deeds of ADONAI; in awe of ADONAI’s power and majesty.
What of us, when do we feel the awe and majesty of ADONAI that this psalmist is experiencing?
A bit of scholarship before we go further. The tetragrammaton, (יהוה) often translated YHWH in English is, as Rev. Dr. Dwight Vogel put it in his video on “Chanting the Psalms” for this series, not pronounceable, it is all consonants. Later scholars have added vowel points that are associated with the word, Adonai, meaning “Lord.” In many Jewish traditions the word is not pronounced, as it is too holy for the human tongue to speak. Thus, in the Lukan Psalter translation, the name “ADONAI” is placed where the tetragrammaton appears in the Hebrew. You will also note that all letters are capitalized in order to set it apart from other uses of the word.
Our reading from Genesis begins at the beginning, the LORD (אלהים), creates the heavens and earth, speaks into the chaos that existed, creating light and separating day from night. This is the same GOD the psalmist praises.
Are you in awe yet? What super hero that you can name has powers like these?
The people of the world had become so sinful and GOD was so disappointed that the whole earth was flooded, only one family and the animals and birds they gathered on a boat survived.
GOD used plagues directed at the Egyptians to force them to release the Hebrews from slavery then led the Hebrews, using cloud and flame, for 40 years in the wilderness, providing food and water as needed before helping them conquer a new land to which GOD had brought them, a land flowing with milk and honey.
GOD sent prophets to call the people to repentance and change, finally sending one who called people to come to the water, repent of their sins and be washed in the waters as a sign that they were cleansed and starting a new life. But, he declared, there is one on the horizon even more important, greater than himself, one whose baptism would bring the Holy Spirit to the one baptized, not just forgiveness of sins.
GOD finally came to earth in human form, trying to change the world one person at a time through a direct relationship. Jesus healed the sick with a word, spoke and brought the dead back to life and made the lame to walk again. The Holy Spirit was with him and at his death, came into the world, filling those who believed, giving them special abilities, gifts, to be used for the good of the church.
This is our GOD, our LORD, our ADONAI. ADONAI, the all-powerful one, holds us in the palm of a hand so mighty and powerful that all creation occurred through the speaking of it into existence. This is the ONE we are called to trust during difficult times, to recognize with awe and wonder in the mighty storm, the beauty of a sunrise, the miracle of new birth, and to praise with awe filled voices.
GOD is holding our lives. We believe! Amen.
Testimonies of Being Held
- From Patrick: I am blessed to have a wonderful sister that is good to me.
This is an opportunity for you to share with others how you have felt the love and support of others, of God, in this time of pandemic. Please feel free to send your testimonies to Pastor Ami, whether it is a brief note by mail or by e-mail or, for those who are technologically motivated, you might include a brief video.
Sung Reprise
“God is Holding Your Life”
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat]
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
Adonai, Mighty God, to you we offer gifts of thanksgiving and praise.
Through your might, transform these small gifts, that they may feed the hungry and help in the transformation of the world into your perfect kin-dom, amen.
“Selah” Moment
Pat Benjamin
As we explained last week, the Psalms have a repeated direction throughout–the word “Selah.” While scholars are not sure exactly what it means, we are taking it to mean a “pause in the action.” Pause is something that we need and our faith calls us to this holy pause. We will use an instrumental sound to remind us to take a pause, a breath, and remember that the settling of our hearts can offer the feeling that we are held in the hands of the Divine. We will hear [the sound] and then have some silence. Feel free to close your eyes if you like. Imagine yourself held in safety and love and care. When you hear [the sound] again, open your eyes.
Silence
Prayers of the People
Each week we will have a moment to write prayer concerns on small pieces of paper. We will then place these prayers in a container [bowl, box, etc]–a symbolic action of placing them in God’s hands, God’s care.
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Let us continue our prayers. I will offer a category of concern and we will allow a brief pause, then we will respond as indicated. As a prayer posture for this worship series, I invite you to cup your hands, ready to receive God’s love and peace, and in preparation to be God’s love and peace in the world.
Let us pray for the leaders of this world and this church community… [pause]
God of Justice, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in conflict around the world… [pause]
Prince of Peace, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all who are experiencing loss of any kind in this pandemic… [pause]
Comforting Healer, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who are homeless, hungry and alone… [pause]
Emmanuel, God-With-Us, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in comfort,
for Christ-like hospitality and generosity… [pause]
Transforming Spirit, hear our prayer.
Holy and Living One,
for those we have named and the ones whose names we do not know,
hear our prayer.
Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Sung Prayer Response
“Put Peace Into Each Other’s Hands”
https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw2996.aspx
Hear a version of this song HERE
Or use our video download (you must have a OneLicense.net license for this piece)
[sung]
Put peace into each other’s hands
and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame,
with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands
with loving expectation;
be gentle in your words and ways,
in touch with God’s creation.
The Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Will you make a gesture of extending your cupped hands toward others who may be with or near you as a sign of offering the peace that Christ gives us. If you are alone, place your cupped hands over your heart, as a sign that you send your heartfelt peace out to the world.
[after a moment, continue with this verse]
Give thanks for strong yet tender hands
held out in trust and blessing.
Where words fall short let hands speak out;
the heights of love expressing.
Benediction
Now go in the knowledge that
God is holding your life
even as we hold each other.
You are not alone.
You are loved.
Amen.
Postlude
Liturgy and music for this series is from: Worship Design Studios, © www.worshipdesignstudio.com/life
Food Shelf Items Needed
- Easy to prepare foods for kids, Flour & Sugar, Coffee, Toilet Paper & Paper Towels, Laundry Detergent, Shampoo & Hand Soap
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
December’s Collection to Date: $906.51 (PayPal)
January's Collection to Date: Not Available
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Epiphany Sunday
January 3, 2021 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
“These Lives Are Precious”
Week 1
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
- Finance Meeting Friday, January 8, 2021
- Ad Council Meeting Tuesday, January 12, 2021 6:30 pm
- Statistical Report Forms are in, Pastor Ami will be contacting individuals to fill their particular portion. She would like to complete the report as soon as reasonably possible. The final report to the conference is due in mid-February.
- There is a picture of cupped hands at the end of this document. You are invited to use it in a bowl where you can place written prayers as a symbol of offering them up to God. You are also encouraged to use it or other images that symbolize God’s hands holding you, your life and the lives of others throughout this worship series.
Gathering of Our Celebrations and Our Petitions
Because we want to try sharing our worship service on our website while maintaining privacy for those we would lift in prayer, we will gather our spoken joys and concerns at this time in the service, so that when Pastor Ami starts the service, she may also begin recording the service.
From last week
Joys:
- Connecting with family by phone
- Delivering of packages to the great grandchildren as they watched out the window, then using social media to watch them open their gifts
- Great week with Baby K, things are better with the foster system
- Charlotte is well
- VBS will do final recording this week
- Theresa (Mona’s niece) was in bad crash
- John’s dad’s surgery postponed a week
- The family of Peter Leland
- Clint (Maddie’s dad) dealing with a homeless situation
We begin a new worship series today that we pray will bring a “breather” and a sense of assurance to us all. Life is a series of exclamations from “O No!” to “Help!” to “Oh Yeah!” We can swing between disappointment, helplessness, and gratitude on a daily basis. The Book of Psalms knows all about this. Written over a span of time from exile and isolation to the rebuilding of the community, the poetry of the Psalms will accompany us in this series, reminding us that through it all, we can trust that God is, indeed, holding our lives.
This worship will allow us to simplify and slow down for a time. We will lean on prayer, reflection and sharing with one another.
Prayer for Peace Pastor Kelly Harvell
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Threshold
“God is Holding Your Life”
We do not live in a land ruled by Kings, as the hearers of our first Psalm of this series did. Nevertheless, the petitions of the psalmist for justice, deliverance, defense of the poor and oppressed, and peace for all peoples is an undergirding theme of our faith. We are reminded that a just society is one that proclaims “these lives are precious” and worthy of protection. God, indeed, is holding our lives. Let this be our “epiphany” in this new year.
“God Is Holding Your Life”
Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Lift up your eyes, behold the hills.
From where will help and rescue come?
We call on One who made the earth,
Who bless’d the stars, the moon and sun.
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat refrain]
Opening Collect Prayer
Leader: Holy and Just God, you have shown us what is right and good. Open us this day to a vision of the world made all-right so that we might follow your ways and know the peace of your reign on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We praise you for your steadfast presence, holding our lives together in love. Amen.
Hymn
“There’s a Song in the Air” #249 UMH
Gospel Reading
Matthew 2:1-12
Psalm Reading
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Lukan Psalter translation
O God, give your anointed one your judgment--
and your justice.
Teach your chosen one to govern your people rightly
and bring justice to the oppressed.
The mountains will bring the people peace
and the little hills bring justice!
Your anointed will defend the oppressed
among the people,
save the children of the poor,
and crush the oppressor.
The reign of your anointed will endure
as long as the sun and moon--
throughout all generations.
The rule of the chosen one will be
like rain coming down on the meadow,
like showers watering the earth.
Justice will flower through the days,
and abundance of peace ’til the moon
shall be no more.
Tarshish and the Isles will offer gifts;
Arabia and Sheba will bring tribute.
All rulers will pay homage,
and all the nations will serve your anointed.
Your anointed will rescue the poor
when they cry out,
and the oppressed when there is no
one to help them.
Your chosen one will take pity on the lowly
and the poor,
and will save their lives.
Your chosen one
will rescue them all from violence
and oppression,
and will treat their blood as precious.
Psalm Song
“These Lives are Precious”
Reflection
In this time of turmoil and craziness in our country and the world, we need a chance to slow down, to rest, to relax, trusting that God has things; that God has us and will keep us; will protect and guard us.
Today we are celebrating Epiphany, the “Ah-ha” moment when the magi, the wise men, the kings, whatever name you call them by, finally reach their destination, the place where the child, Jesus, is. We know they traveled from a far land and brought gifts for the child, gifts that some say recognized his royalty, his deity, and his impending death.
It is interesting that coupled with the story of the magi, we have a Psalm that is a prayer for a king. The opening words:
“O God, give your anointed one your judgment--
and your justice.
Teach your chosen one to govern your people rightly
and bring justice to the oppressed.”
show that those who are praying are praying for a just king, a righteous king, that will make things right in the world.
We know a bit more of the story from Matthew, a story that tells why the magi had to leave by a different route, why Joseph had to grab his young son and wife and flee to Egypt, where they lived as refugees for a time, for Herod was not the king that people prayed for, instead he was a collaborator with the Roman rulers and sought his own good rather than the good of the people.
The prayer is appropriate though, as a hope for the people and as a prayer reminding us that the one born in a stable, sought out by kings from the East, would be the kind of king for which they were praying, for which we are praying.
As we reflect on the upcoming year, though we do not have a king, a president elected by the people instead, it seems that perhaps this is a prayer we could offer up for the leaders of our country and the world.
It is a prayer of hope that the ones in-charge will look to the good of others rather than themselves and their cronies. It is a prayer of hope for a better tomorrow for all people, for when the ruler is just, when justice truly rolls down upon the earth, there will be adequate food for all, and peace will overcome the chaos and upheaval through which we have lived this past year. People will not be treated differently no matter the numbers in their bank account or the color of their skin or whatever human designed divisions might be used to divide rather than unite us.
The perfect ruler has come into the world. We must live in ways that highlight the justice and love that was brought into the world in that stable so long ago. In order to do so, we must also trust, trust that God is present and till take care of everything, for we are precious in God’s sight and God is holding our lives in the palms of hands made to care for others
Testimonies of Being Held
Sung Reprise
“God is Holding Your Life”
God is holding your life
God is holding your life
God is holding your life, we believe
[repeat]
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
God, you who are almighty and loving,
you are holding our lives and the lives of all the people in your hands,
accept these, our gifts, use them for the good of all,
for to you belongs all wonder, glory and praise. Amen.
“Selah” Moment
Pat Benjamin
The Psalms have a repeated direction throughout–the word “Selah.” Scholars are not sure exactly what it means. Perhaps because the Psalms were to be used in worship, we can surmise that the word indicates a pause, or an invitation for a musical instrument to be played. In this worship series, we will use an instrumental sound to remind us to take a pause, a breath, and remember that the settling of our hearts can offer the feeling that we are held in the hands of the Divine. We will hear [the sound] and then have some silence. Feel free to close your eyes if you like. Imagine yourself held in safety and love and care. When you hear [the sound] again, open your eyes.
Silence
Prayers of the People
Each week we will have a moment to write prayer concerns on small pieces of paper. We will then place these prayers in a container a symbolic action of placing them in God’s hands, God’s care.
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Let us continue our prayers. I will offer a category of concern and we will allow a brief pause, then we will respond as indicated. As a prayer posture for this worship series, I invite you to cup your hands, ready to receive God’s love and peace, and in preparation to be God’s love and peace in the world.
Let us pray for the leaders of this world and this church community… [pause]
God of Justice, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in conflict around the world… [pause]
Prince of Peace, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all who are experiencing loss of any kind in this pandemic… [pause]
Comforting Healer, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who are homeless, hungry and alone… [pause]
Emmanuel, God-With-Us, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who live in comfort,
for Christ-like hospitality and generosity… [pause]
Transforming Spirit, hear our prayer.
Selah” Communion Ritual
Holy and Living One, as we gather to break bread once again, break us open to your love, to your peace, to your presence, to your transformative power. In the name of the One who invites us time and again, Jesus the Christ.
Let the people say, “Selah”
Selah!
Confession and Assurance
We are all invited to the gift of this table of grace. As a response to the invitation, we are asked to let go of all that separates us from accepting this grace. We confess the ways we have placed hardship in the hands of others, rather than peace.
“Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands”
Fred Kaan
Put peace into each other’s hands
and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame,
with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands
with loving expectation;
be gentle in your words and ways,
in touch with God’s creation.
When we place peace in each other’s hands, we place love in all the hands of the world.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
Glory to God! Amen!
The Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Will you make a gesture of extending your cupped hands toward others who may be with you as a sign of offering the peace that Christ gives us. If you are alone, place your cupped hands over your heart, as a sign that you send your heartfelt peace out to the world.
[after a moment, continue singing this verse]
Give thanks for strong yet tender hands
held out in trust and blessing.
Where words fall short let hands speak out;
the heights of love expressing.
Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you!
And also with you.
Open your hearts, your mouths, your lives to the Holy One.
We long for this communion.
Let us give our greatest thanks in the company of the beloved.
It is a good and joyful thing to give our thanks and praise.
Gift of Life, Creator of All That Is,
You have breathed life into us,
filled our emptiness,
loved us through our resistance.
Time and again you say, Listen!
Time and again you say, Live!
Time and again you say, Love!
And so we gather and give thanks in this moment.
We stop so we may listen,
we breathe so we may live,
we open so we may love.
Holy , holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Holy are you God,
And blessed be your work in Jesus,
Peace-Giver, Life-Healer.
Spirit-Anointer, do your work in us, as in him.
May we proclaim release, recovery,
liberty and the end of all oppression.
May we savor the taste of goodness and offer this gift of love to all.
Jesus gathered with his disciples, his friends, his family.
He took bread, said thanks over it, gave it to his companions and said,
“Take, eat, this is my body. My life is given for love of you.
So whenever you gather together, stop... Selah... think of me. Be at peace. I am here.”
And after the supper he lifted his cup, gave thanks over it,
and offered it to his companions, saying,
“Drink from this cup, all of you. This is my life, my love poured out for you.
Whenever you gather together, stop... Selah... think of me. Be at peace.
I am here.”
[sung]
Put peace into each other’s hands
like bread we break for sharing;
look people warmly in the eye;
our life is meant for caring.
And so,
in remembrance of your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a holy and living sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Holy Spirit, Breath of Wind,
Fill us, transform us.
Holy Spirit, Lover of Justice,
Fill us, transform us.
Holy Spirit, Maker of Unity,
Fill us, transform us.
And all God’s people say, Amen!
[sung]
As at communion shape your hands,
into a waiting cradle;
the gift of Christ receive, revere,
united round the table.
Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
We who are many are one body, one loaf, rising in Spirit together.
Even if we cannot be physically in the same space,
we are one in love.
We are one in the grace of Christ broken open for us.
While we have many cups,
God’s love is poured upon us from the one cup of salvation.
It is in this sharing beyond all time and space that we are drawn close,
that we are made whole,
that we are made free.
As you are served by those with you,
or served by your own hand,
know that the hand that serves you is the hand of all Christ’s Body,
through mystical union with the Divine.
You are not alone.
Communion
[sing after receiving]
Put Christ into each other’s hands,
he is love’s deepest measure;
in love make peace, give peace a chance,
and share it like a treasure.
Prayer After Receiving
God of all that is too deep for words,
we give you thanks that, at this table of grace,
you offer your holiness, your steadfast love.
Open us often to your Selah, your pause,
to hear the needs of your people.
We pray this in the name of the Host of this Table,
Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Sung Prayer Response
“Put Peace Into Each Other’s Hands”
https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw2996.aspx
Hear a version of this song HERE
Or use our video download (you must have a OneLicense.net license for this piece)
Benediction
Now go in the knowledge that
God is holding your life
even as we hold each other.
You are not alone.
You are loved.
Amen.
Postlude
Food Shelf Items Needed
- Easy to prepare foods for kids, Flour & Sugar, Coffee, Toilet Paper & Paper Towels, Laundry Detergent, Shampoo & Hand Soap
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
November’s Collection to Date: $2,272.51
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
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GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
1st Sunday in Christmas
December 27, 2020 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
Prelude
Announcements
Greeting Galatians 4:4-7
Prayer for Peace
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Call to Worship “O Come, All Ye Faithful” #234 UMH
Prayer of the Day “Christmas” #231 UMH
Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Psalm 148 (HMH 861)
Luke 2:22-40
Children’s Time “What are your Christmas traditions?”
Message:
“Tradition, tradition!” Most times when I hear the word tradition, I think of Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof.” I think how Tevye laments the changes that are happening in his region of the country.
Our reading from the Gospel According to Luke today tells us that Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus went up to the temple in Jerusalem following the family tradition of the Jews. There they offered a sacrifice of a pair of turtle doves or two pigeons.
According to Leviticus 12, Jesus would have been a little over a month old when all of this occurred. The offering of turtle doves or pigeons indicates that the family was poor, as the traditional offering included a lamb.
Like Tevye experienced in the fiddler on the roof, so do we experience change in traditions. Our opening greeting was from the letter to the Galatians chapter 4, reminding us that we are children adopted into the family. In the tenth chapter of Acts, we read of a vision received by Peter, a vision indicating that Gentiles adopted into the family, those following Jesus, were to be accepted as they were; circumcision and many of the traditions of the Jews we're not to be required of the new adoptees.
Some of these changes in tradition resulted in difficulties within the fledgling church.
Fast forward nearly 2000 years. Christmas day was just a couple of days ago and many traditions that families expected to experience we're unable to happen. Perhaps the required changes may lead to some new traditions. Yet, I'm sure there was struggle over those traditions that were missing this year.
Times like these, when people are forced into new patterns, potentially open us to new experiences, new ways of looking at what we traditionally do. We have a choice, we can allow the forced changes to frustrate us, bring on depression, and/or make us angry or we can choose to see what new things may come out of the forced changes.
While the first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the new year in church tradition, Friday will mark the beginning of the year 2021. What are some of the things we need to let go? What, over this past year, has stood out as something that we have clung to because “we've always done it that way" and yet has reached that stage where, perhaps, it is time to let it go? On the other hand, what has come to mind that we might try to do differently in the new year?
As we move into 2021, I invite us, no, I challenge us, to look with fresh eyes upon this, congregation upon this building, upon this community, and try to discover what God has planned for us for the future. The word we traditionally use is ‘discern.’ We need to spend time in prayer, Bible study, and conversation as we listen to one another and as we share ideas, thoughts, and dreams.
We still have a number of weeks ahead of us where we will be unable to gather in person at the church. While for some it seems like it has been forever since we gathered, are there things that we want to hold onto from this time of worshiping remotely? As we think of the many things we have missed the past year, which ones do we want to hold onto? Which ones do we want to let go? And, which ones do we want to change?
I recognize that not all of you are comfortable or able to contact me for a conversation over Zoom. Please know that the time of coffee with the pastor on Thursday mornings is more about having ‘Office hours’ than it is about conversing on zoom. It is the time in which you are invited to call me on the telephone, should you desire. If that particular time does not work for you please call me when it is convenient and we will set up a time convenient for both of us. As people begin to have ideas we need to find a way to share those ideas with one another, and to discuss what direction we might desire to go. I am open to hearing how are you would like to conduct these discussions, remembering that for the time being we must use mail, telephones and Internet services in order to have search conversations.
These conversations are open to any in the congregation. You do not need to be a member, just interested in doing those things which will help our church to hear what God has to say to us and in responding in faith.
Our gospel passage ends with the stories of Simeon and Anna, two who lived faithful lives and looked for the coming of the Messiah. Due to their faithful witness they were granted the gift of seeing the messiah, a babe carried in his mother’s arms, so small, so helpless yet one who would bring great change and give himself for the world.
As we keep faithful witness to the coming of the Christ into the world, what new changes might he be inviting us to be a part of? Amen.
Hymn: “What Child Is This” #219 UMH
Prayer of Confession
Holy Friend, Savior and Healer of the world, we in your church family admit to you the frustration we feel for our part in the evil that infests humanity.
We are called to truth
but we prefer darkness to light because our investments are there.
We are called to hope
but we slide into the negativity of the snide and lost.
We are called to grace,
but we are at times as mean-spirited as the self-serving.
We are called to mercy,
but we harbor grudges and let slip insidious innuendos.
We are called to faith,
but we live as if everything depended on us.
We are called to love,
but it rarely goes beyond loving those who love us.
God of abundant loving, please forgive your church family for our failure to uphold and express the generosity of your ways. Forgive us for those sins of which we are ashamed, and for the sly sins which as yet we have not recognized and brought out into your light. Please be to us, not the God we deserve but the Savior who heaps grace upon grace. In you alone we place our trust. Through Christ Jesus our Redeemer,
Amen!
Passing the Peace
Celebrating God Sightings and Sharing Concerns
Celebrations: L: Alleluia? Petitions: L: Lord, in Your mercy,
P: Alleluia! P: Hear our prayer!
Silent Meditation
Pastoral Prayer (ending with the Lord’s Prayer)
God of wonder and of light, our hearts are still in awe as we continue to contemplate your willingness to come to earth as a babe, Emmanuel, God with us. You who are so powerful, came to earth to redeem us, to teach us how to live in joyful obedience, and to walk in humbleness before you.
We, your humble children, seek your solace in these difficult times. The numbers are mind-boggling, so many sick, so many dying, lines hours long to receive food from food pantries struggling to feed those who have little other recourse, healthcare and other essential workers putting their lives on the line each and every day, families discouraged from gathering with members outside their immediate home, so much sorrow and suffering, yet we trust you; we trust in your love, in your power, in your strength and compassion; we trust that out of all the tragedies that have happened this year: the natural disasters, the protests over the injustices inflicted upon those of brown and black skin, the pandemic and the economic as well as the physical impact it has had on people and communities, you will bring about good for your people.
We ask your healing for those who are sick, no matter the cause. We ask your healing for those struggling with depression and other mental health issues. We ask your healing for all creation; healing the land, the water, and the air, from the consequences of our abuse of the gift that you gave us.
Fill our lives with love, with hope, with compassion. Let your love pour out through us onto the world around us, that all may know you as a God who cares. Bring into fullness your kin-dom that began to break into the world at the birth of a baby, born in a stable. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Special Music
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Christmas is not over, for it is a season, but Scrooge, in “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, was heard to promise, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” Let us also strive to honor Christmas each and every day. Let us give gifts as we are able to help this congregation and the community around us.
Doxology “We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise” #2031 TFWS
Offering Prayer (in unison):
During this blessed Christmas season, we offer to you our gifts, trusting that you will accept them, bless and multiply them, and send them into the world as you sent your Son, Jesus. Grow them that they may bless those most in need with comfort, hope and light, amen.
Hymn “It Came upon a Midnight Clear” #218 UMH
Blessing, Sending Forth and Postlude–Nunc Dimittis – Luke 2:29-32
Forgiveness
Sisters and brothers in the family of God, though a sinner myself, I have a commission from the Living God to proclaim to you the forgiveness of sins and the life abundant. In God you may receive the grace, mercy and peace which make renewal undeniable. Through Christ Jesus our Savior.
Thanks be to God!
(Rev. Bruce Prewer, Australian Church Resources, http://www.bruceprewer.com/DocB/BCHRISTMAS1.htm)
Announcements:
- Daily Disciplines available--$13.00—four more left. Contact the church office to reserve your copy.
Joys:
- Pat--Paul Rivers retired from Dartmouth
- Mallory—Miles now rolling from belly to back
- Sue Cole’s cousins—prayers for Peggy, Elinor, Gwen, Bob, and John
- Pat—tough for those who live alone
- Connie—for those in crisis and depressed and need a way forward
- John’s dad recovering from surgery
- Bernice—Chuck is near end of life, prayers for him, family and friends
- Kathy—the rollercoaster of foster care, sister in law whose father died recently and Baby K’s parents
- Pastor Ami’s granddaughter, Charlotte--medical and her great grandmother died
- Lillian—a friend died unexpectedly, prayers for Brenda, family & friends
Food Shelf Items Needed
- Easy to prepare foods for kids, Flour & Sugar, Coffee, Toilet Paper & Paper Towels, Laundry Detergent, Shampoo & Hand Soap
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Finance Moment: An update on our finances.
Yearly Church Budget: $79,839.00
Needed Weekly: $1,535.27
December’s Collection to Date: Not Available at This Time
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell Minister: All the People
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
December 24, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. Pastor Ami Sawtelle
Prelude
Greeting and Announcements
The New England Conference has created a video worship service of Candlelight Lessons and Carols for those who wish to join in this virtual time of prayer, scripture, and music for Christmas Eve. Find the materials here: Christmas Eve Service. Each item in the circles is a link to the specific part of the service.
Prayer for Peace
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Lighting the Advent Wreath Welcoming the Guest
Our Christmas Affirmation
Advent hope moves us; Advent love leads us; Advent joy stirs us; Advent peace stills us, that we might affirm our King Jesus.
It is time we set flame to this Advent affirmation by lighting the Christ Candle.
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judea. He was the long-awaited Messiah whose coming was prophesied. The same Jesus lives today in our hearts. He deserves our highest loyalty and total commitment. In Jesus Christ, our hope is fulfilled; our love is consummated; our joy is complete; and our peace is sealed.
Rejoice, a Savior is born.
A savior is born, indeed. Joy to the world!
Hymn of Response “Joy to the World” #246 UMH
Call to Worship: A New Day Dawnin’! Joseph W. Daniels
(Based on Isaiah 9:2-7)
One: We were down in the dark, now we glimpse a great light.
Many: Thank God, we see a new day dawnin’!
One: What was nothing is turning to something. Terror tried us, storms denied us. Injustice angered us, apathy discouraged us. But thank God today that,
Many: We see a new day dawnin’!
One: Oppression giving way to overflow.
Many: We see a new day dawnin’!
One: Burdens becoming blessings!
Many: We see a new day dawnin’!
One: Sadness to salvation!
Many: We see a new day dawnin’!
One: The yoke is broke! A new day is dawnin’! For a Savior is born for us. Wonderful Counselor – guide for us. Everlasting Father – provider for us. Prince of Peace – drawing near to us.
All: It’s a new day! And I thank God for it! Let us worship the Lord our God!
Prayer of the Day (in unison): Ruth Duck
Loving God, moved by the coming of Christ to our lives, we seek to be your people. Help us to live in faithful covenant with you and with one another. Let the peace of Christ guide us, and let Christ’s message in all its richness live in our hearts, that we may praise you without ceasing. Amen.
Scripture Reading
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-20
Children’s Time
Message
“T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Whoops wrong story. Or was it?
“The Night Before Christmas,” the opening scene of this story is a scene of expectation, of waiting for a special event.
Tonight, a special guest arrives, the Son of God is born in a stable, and we are waiting, dreaming, hoping, praying.
It has been a difficult year, a dark year, as the pandemic rages and racial tensions have been on the increase. Isaiah steps in with these words of hope, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2, NRS)
The promise of a savior is on the horizon. Help is on the way!
It is Christmas Eve, though unlike any Christmas Eve any of us can remember. Rather than being gathered in our sanctuary, we are reading these words at our kitchen tables, in our living rooms, sitting before a computer screen, a tablet or on our phone. We are in our homes, not traveling to see family nor surrounded by family that has traveled to see us.
I haven’t seen it yet (it’s been too cloudy), but they say the Christmas star is in the sky this year. The conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, an event we are unlikely to ever see again, is happening in the skies this year.
The light that shone at the birth of the baby shines in our sky once more. (We are after all a practical people; this must be what the star was.)
As we reflect on the story of Joshua from Max Lucado’s “The Crippled Lamb,” we are reminded of how narrow our view of everything is. We see the small picture, the local picture. We do not see how God can use events, even the dark events of this past year to bring about good.
Yes, companies are growing richer while people are growing poorer, at least the average person on the streets, but there has been a huge outpouring of love and care in communities around the world. Those who are able are sharing with those who are not. How this community outreach will impact the future, change the way we work with one another, is still to be seen.
Those who have been looked down upon with disdain, who have suffered injustice at the hands of the bureaucracy have found allies willing to stand beside them and advocate with and for them. The question becomes, will the outrage be sustained long enough to bring about a true cultural change or will those afraid of losing their personal power, their position, hold out long enough to squelch it?
As we contemplate the newborn king, lying in the straw in a place housing the animals, let us also contemplate those who tonight would be happy to have a place in the barn with the animals, those who are homeless and the many that may soon join them as the moratorium on evictions ends at the end of this year. What can we do to help those most in need in our community? How can we “make a difference?”
The youth are doing “Make a Difference” projects this year. Perhaps we adults can consider doing our own projects. Perhaps these are gifts we can give the newborn Jesus. As I write this message, it is Monday, December 21, 2020. Carrie just picked up the towels, washcloths, shampoos, and soaps you have so kindly donated to the project for the Vermont Department of Children and Families. She was so appreciative as she shared the need some children have upon arrival at the DCF office. Perhaps we made a difference in a child’s life by this simple act.
The food we offer to the Bradford Food Shelf is another way we Make a Difference. There is a bin on the porch of the church near the ramp. I will check it a couple of times a day if you want to drop off food at times the Food Shelf is not open. Monetary gifts can still be sent through the church office if you do not wish to go out.
A phone call to a neighbor is a great way to help break the isolation for the one called as well as the one making the call. Is this a project you would be interested in taking on? It not only helps battle isolation, but the associated depression.
Are there other projects you can think of that will make a difference in the life of someone? Is it something you can do alone? If not, what help can others in the congregation lend so we can offer unto the Christ Child gifts that make a difference in the lives of others, as Joshua, the crippled lamb in our story tonight, made a difference by lying down beside the newborn Jesus to keep him warm? Amen.
Hymn “Star-Child” #2095 TFWS
Pastoral Prayer (ending with the Lord's Prayer) WV-PAdisciples
O God, you are never revealed so completely as in the face of the child of Bethlehem. Hear us as we give you thanks for those who today reveal your love in our world in his spirit.
We pray for those who give you hands by doing their best toward their brothers and sisters; for those who give you a mouth by speaking words of justice and peace for the broken and oppressed; for those who give your poverty the look of hope for your reign, revealing you simply by being your children, reflecting your beauty as did your only Son Jesus.
We hold up in prayer the lonely and hurting, the hungry and homeless, the sick and dispossessed, knowing that your heart has always been nearest those who are poor in spirit and least likely to be thought of as people touched by the hand of divinity.
As we remember how you came to live among us in the flesh, and as we celebrate that moment long ago which lives forever in the hearts of those who believe, and as we long for your fullness in our lives that we too might enflesh the goodness and love of Christ in our day, we ask that you would bless us, your church, to be food for the hungry and hope for those who are lost and alone—a living testament of Christ’s faithfulness to you. May all who drink of your one spirit receive new life to give to those in our world who are thirsty for meaning and belonging.
Pour out your Spirit upon us, your people. Continue in our lives the mystery of Christmas. Let your Son become flesh in us, so that we may reveal you to our world all the days of our lives. Holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us today.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Bringing our Gifts Before God
Offering Prayer
Hymn: “Silent Night, Holy Night” #239 UMH
Blessing, Sending Forth and Postlude
Today’s liturgy from UMC Discipleship Resources. The attributions for the various pieces follow:
Advent Candle Liturgy: Rev. Dr. Derek Weber, Director of Preaching Ministries, served churches in Indiana and Arkansas and the British Methodist Church. His PhD is from University of Edinburgh in preaching and media. He has taught preaching in seminary and conference settings for more than 20 years.
Call to Worship: Joseph W. Daniels, The Africana Worship Book for Year B, Discipleship Resources, 2007, p. 51
Prayer for the Day: (Ruth Duck, Bread for the Journey, Pilgrim Press, 1981, p.24.)
Pastoral Prayer: From Life in Liturgy, https://lifeinliturgy.wordpress.com/2017/12/11/christmas-eve-day/
Food Shelf Items Needed
- Easy to prepare foods for kids, Flour & Sugar, Coffee, Toilet Paper & Paper Towels, Laundry Detergent, Shampoo & Hand Soap
Grace United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033
Church phone #: (802) 222-9062, Parsonage phone #: (802) 222-5247
Secretary’s email address: gracesecybradford@gmail.com
Pastor’s email address: bradfordumcpastor@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Grace UMC
Offerings may be mailed to GUMC, P.O. Box 726, Bradford, VT 05033 or go to bradfordumc.org, click on “More” in the pull-down menu and click on “Donate”. Follow the instructions.
LEADERSHIP
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference
District Superintendent: Rev Jill Colley Robinson
Pastor: Ami Sawtelle
Organist: Connie Linnell
Minister: All the People
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GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Blue Christmas Service
December 21, 220 at 6:30 p.m. Pastor Ami Sawtelle
A Litany for Losses
On this shortest day of the year, and as we head into the longest night,
we gather, mindful of the losses that have multiplied throughout the year.
As we look back at it all at once,
we are in danger of being overwhelmed by its tragedies–
sickness, violence, fire, hurricane, earthquake, and more.
Our aim tonight is to acknowledge this,
to mourn this,
and to know that in all of this,
there is the possibility of more light.
If we are to be overwhelmed,
let it be that we are overwhelmed with the assurance that we are not alone.
We are able to do this because the longest night is the birth canal for ever-more-light
as the days now lengthen and we wait for the springtime of new life.
Some of our earliest evidence is that our ancient ancestors saw this night
and the dawn of tomorrow as the appropriate time to honor their lost loved ones.
It was this moment that symbolized most powerfully that the path
to everlasting life is filled with the light of a new and growing dawn.
Psalm 36:9 says, “Within You is the spring of life; in your light, we see light.”
As we light up this tree, though its light is as blue as many of us feel,
the light is still there.
When we feel as if our light is dimmed,
we can rely on the Holy Light to continue to shine
until we ourselves shine bright once more.
We are not alone.
[if you are including a moment of lighting the tree, do it at this moment]
Please join me in a Litany of Losses. Your lines will be prompted.
Loss of Life
We mourn this night the loss of life.
[light the first candle]
For so many, the pandemic has taken loved ones.
We mourn the loss of those close to us and those whose names we do not know.
We mourn those who perished while working to save other lives.
We mourn those who died, not of pandemic, but of other causes.
And we mourn the loss, in many cases, of our ability to be with them as they passed, our loss of gathering together for comfort in the ways we needed so much.
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of life.
We mourn this loss of life.
We honor and remember these beloveds.
We honor and remember these beloveds.
We pray for comfort and peace.
We pray for comfort and peace.
Amen. Amen.
Loss of Livelihood
We mourn this night the loss of livelihoods.
[light the second candle]
For so many, the pandemic has taken the security
of food, shelter, care for families, and medical care.
We mourn the loss of businesses that could not withstand the circumstances.
These were not just businesses, but dreams born of passion and hard work.
We mourn those who find themselves needing to rely on others for help
when what they really want to do is to be able to help others.
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of livelihood.
We mourn this loss of livelihood.
We honor and remember the dreams now deferred.
We honor and remember the dreams now deferred.
We pray for sustenance and resilience.
We pray for sustenance and resilience.
Amen. Amen.
Loss of Love
We mourn this night the loss of love.
[light the third candle]
Our society’s dilemma, centuries in the making,
has created such hatred, suffering, oppression, and ill-will.
We mourn the loss of those whose lives were lost to brutality and violence.
We mourn the loss of our ability to love one another despite our differences,
as beings who deserve to be seen for their inherent beauty and worth.
We mourn that black and brown peoples have perished
and suffered at the greatest proportion in the pandemic of coronavirus.
We mourn the pandemic of racism that still plagues the fabric of our communities.
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of love.
We mourn this loss of love.
We honor and remember the work of prophets who proclaim justice.
We honor and remember the work of prophets who proclaim justice.
We pray for compassion and change.
We pray for compassion and change.
Amen. Amen.
Loss of Liveliness
We mourn this night the loss of liveliness.
[light the fourth candle]
For so many, this year has robbed us
of our energy, our enthusiasm, and our sense of well-being.
We mourn teachers and leaders and caregivers and workers
who are struggling to help those in their care,
themselves exhausted and needing the sustenance they give to others.
We mourn the loss of of all who are suffering with anxiety and depression,
who are finding it difficult to live each day with fullness or to find hope for tomorrow.
We mourn those we have lost to suicide.
We mourn those who find themselves addicted to substances
in order to ease the pain that feels unbearable.
We mourn those who are experiencing their place of shelter
as an abusive place from which they struggle to escape.
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of liveliness.
We mourn this loss of liveliness.
We honor and remember that each person is precious and whole.
We honor and remember that each person is precious and whole.
We pray for recovery and renewed vigor.
We pray for recovery and renewed vigor.
Amen. Amen.
More Light
And now we light a fifth candle.
Just as we will do later this week on Christmas Eve,
We light this as a sign of our belief…
We believe in the Light that has come and is coming.
[light the fifth candle in the center]
This light casts its glow on all the surrounding prayers we have prayed.
This light resides within us, perhaps dim for a time,
but always lit–an ember of the Holy inside us.
This light reminds us that we are not alone.
In this time of deep darkness, as we remember the light that you have placed within each of us holy God, give us strength to continue, one step, one minute, one hour, one day.
We know you are with us, each star, each moon rise, each sun rise reminds us of the light you created and brought into the world.
May your light shine forth from us, perhaps dimmed by the struggles of our day, but growing stronger as time passes, as healing happens.
Let us move from this time of darkness and struggle, into a time of celebration and joy once more, and may we always witness to the Light that is Jesus our Lord, amen.
(Ami Sawtelle)
Worship Notes
Worship series design © Worship Design Studio by Marcia McFee. Used, adapted, and live-streamed with permission. www.worshipdesignstudio.com
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GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
4th Sunday of Advent
December 20, 2020 Pastor Ami Sawtelle
Prelude
Greeting and Announcements
Prayer for Peace
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people and nations may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Lighting of the Advent Wreath “Waiting on the Threshold” Rev. Derek Weber
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 & Luke 1:26-38
Reader One: We live on the brink every day. We stand on the threshold between this world and the next one. We live and move between the ordinary and divine, between the mundane and the mystery. Too often, we forget to look up and see the angels in our living room. We forget that the love we give and live is a sign of eternity, God with us, right now. We forget that company is coming.
Reader Two: Luke tells us that God’s favor came to a girl, an ordinary girl. It might have been you or your daughter; it might have been the girl down%2