Round Hill
Community Church
ORDER OF SERVICE
December 20, 2015
Fourth Sunday in Advent – Christmas Pageant
PRELUDE
Pastorale
The Shepherd at the Manger
Valentini
Liszt
WORDS OF WELCOME
INTROIT
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader:
God of hope, who brought love into this world,
All:
be the love that dwells between us.
Leader:
God of hope, who brought peace into this world,
All:
be the peace that dwells between us.
Leader:
God of hope, who brought joy into this world,
All:
be the joy that dwells between us.
Leader:
God of hope, the rock we stand upon,
All:
be the center, the focus of our lives always, and particularly
this Advent time.
*PRAYER
God of generations, your promises come to birth in surprising
ways. Fill our hearts with courage and hope and fill our dreams
with visions of new life. Help us live according to your word and
love with the fullness of your grace; in the holy name of Jesus, our
Savior. Amen.
*The congregation is invited to stand
*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,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
*GLORIA PATRI
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
LIGHTING THE CANDLE OF LOVE
Pat Milo, Ashely, Lisa and Victoria Tremblay
Leader:
All:
We are a people of hope, a people of peace, a people of joy.
Today we light the candle of love. No other word so
Leader:
All:
Leader:
All:
HYMN*
adequately expresses the spirit and goal of our faith. No other
word so completely describes what we know of
our God.
For God so loved the world…
That the compassion of God was revealed through the faith
hope and love of Jesus Christ.
We gather in the transforming power of Christian love.
We give thanks for a love that passes all understanding, and
we wait for the dawning of God’s pervasive and
enduring love once more this Christmas season.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (verse 4)
O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
ANTHEM
Noel We Sing
Dacquin
*HYMN No. 165 Once in Royal David’s City
It is our hope that this performance of the Best Christmas Pageant Ever will warm your
heart and prepare it for the coming birth of Jesus Christ. Our children have worked very
hard to make this a beautiful experience for you….kindly show them the courtesy of
waiting until the very end to take photographs, at which time we will announce a general
photo opportunity. Thank you.
PAGEANT
CAROL No. 144 O Little Town of Bethlehem (verses 1 and 2)
PAGEANT
CAROL No. 147 Away in a Manger (verses 1 and 2)
PAGEANT
CAROL No. 155 Angels We Have Heard on High (verses 1 and 2)
PAGEANT
CAROL No. 172 We Three Kings (verses 1, 2 and 3)
PAGEANT
*CAROL No. 143 Joy to the World
OFFERING
Invitation
Anthem
Deck the Halls
Rutter
*Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all
creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly
host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*Hymn
My Country, ‘Tis of Thee (verse 4)
Our fathers’ God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light;
protect us by thy might, Great God, our King.
PASTORAL PRAYER
*HYMN No. 150
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
CHURCH PRAYER
Our Heavenly Father, shed forth thy blessed spirit upon all our
lives. Make each one of us an instrument in thy hands for good.
Purify our hearts, strengthen our minds and bodies, fill us with
Christian love. Let no pride, no self-conceit, no rivalry, no ill-will
ever spring up among us. Make us earnest and true, wise and
prudent, giving no just cause for offense and may thy holy peace
rest upon us this day and every day throughout the coming week,
sweetening our trials, cheering us in our work, and keeping us
faithful to the end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
BENEDICTION
CHORAL RESPONSE
POSTLUDE
Amen
M. Dylewsky
The First Noel
Held
ROUND HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH MISSION STATEMENT
We, the members of the Round Hill Community Church, a selfgoverning, non-denominational body, seek to foster a community of
faith where people of all ages and backgrounds pursue spiritual growth;
where God is worshipped in Word and praised in music; where friends
are made and hurts are healed. We seek to be a community where
individuals commit their time and resources to education, fellowship,
and to helping those in need among our Church family and in the
broader world. We are a church where faith, hope, justice and love are
valued, and above all, Jesus is Lord.
ROUND HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH CREED
I believe in God, the one universal Father of all mankind, revealed
supremely in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and present with us to guide,
comfort and inspire in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the Kingdom of
God; and in the mission of the Christian Church to proclaim the Gospel
to all the world, exalting the worship of the Lord our God, and laboring
for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of righteousness, the
reign of peace, and the realization of human brotherhood. United in
Christian love, we pray and labor for the coming of the Kingdom, the
triumph of righteousness and the life everlasting. Amen.
2015 CHRISTMAS PAGEANT CAST
(in alphabetical order)
Andrew Breckenridge
Caroline Breckenridge
Nicholas Breckenridge
Karla Carpenter
Elizabeth Cid
Miller Davol
Elena Debnar
Daniela Delgado
Blake Haugh
Jack Haugh
Jozsef Kozma
Julia Kozma
Ava Kotz
Yannick Kudrnac
Izabela Novak
Diamond Raye Outlaw
Alex Piper
Lisa Tremblay
Victoria Tremblay
Catherine Utzinger
Emily Utzinger
Madison Utzinger
CHURCH NEWS
Thank you to Chris Berry and Jill Cassill for ushering during today’s
morning service.
Thank you to Becky Jasperson and Jan Ziemba for hosting today’s Coffee
Hour. Please join them in the parlor following the service.
This year’s Christmas Eve offerings will be dedicated to Syrian Refugee
Relief through Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS), a
program of the Episcopal Church of Connecticut.
IRIS resettles
approximately 200 legally-admitted refugees each year. IRIS also provides
some services to asylum-seekers and other immigrants. Currently, IRIS’s
refugee clients come from Afghanistan, Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria and other countries.
If you didn’t receive a Pledge Card, or are a newcomer and would like to make
a gift for the coming year, Pledge Cards are available in the Narthex and
Parlor.
Give the gift of warmth…please donate to our Mitten Tree! There is a
Christmas tree located in the Parlor that we hope to adorn with new gloves,
hats and mittens to keep little hands and heads warm this winter! All donations
should be hung on the Mitten Tree and will then be distributed to our friends
Our next installment in the Bible Study Series: People of the Book will take
place in the Parlor after worship today. We will discuss the presence and
importance of angels in the Bible. Texts to be considered include: Matthew
1:18-25, Luke 1: 26-38, Luke 2: 8-20 and Acts 12: 6-11. All are encouraged
to participate!
The Meditation/Stress Reduction Group will not meet again until January
7th and thereafter, will resume normal bi-weekly meetings. All are welcome!
All men of Round Hill are invited to attend the new year gathering of
the Greenwich Men's Club on Thursday, January 7 from 6-8 pm at
Tengda Asian Bistro in Greenwich. A suggested donation of $10 will be
gratefully accepted to help defray costs. The presentation and
moderated discussion will be about Happiness. Please reserve your
space by registering at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/greenwich-mens-clubjanuary-gathering-tickets-20035206843 or you may
email church@roundhillcommmunitychurch.org
Save the date! On Sunday, January 10th, RHCC together with the YWCA
of Greenwich, will hold a Domestic Abuse Forum to learn how domestic
violence affects our community. Please join Adrianne Singer, President and
CEO of YWCA Greenwich and Meredith Gold, Director of YWCA Domestic
Abuse Services, for a discussion of the basics of domestic abuse, how to help
a friend or family member, what services are available and how to get
involved. Please join us!
REFLECTIONS
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas,
he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a
little bit more!”
Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
"The earth has grown old with its burden of care
But at Christmas it always is young,
The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair
And its soul full of music breaks the air,
When the song of angels is sung."
Phillips Brooks
Senior Pastor: The Rev. Dr. Edward G. Horstmann
Associate Pastor: The Rev. Dan Haugh
Minister Emeritus: The Rev. Dr. Ralph Ahlberg
Minister of Music: Christopher Kabala
Church School Coordinator: Connie Blunden
Round Hill Community Church
395 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, CT 06831
203.869.1091
roundhillcommunitychurch.org