CORONADO COMMUNITY CHURCH
POST OFFICE BOX 181680, CORONADO, CALIFORNIA 92178
WWW.CORONADOCOMMUNITYCHURCH.COM (619) 437-6827
WORSHIP SITE - VILLAGE HALL - 6TH ST. AND H AVE.
Sunday, December 27, 2015 – 10:00 a.m.
Service for the Lord's Day
MINISTER: THE REV. STEPHEN J. MATHER (619) 437-8757
MINISTER EMERITUS: The Rev. Dr. Thomas P. Warmer
DIRECTOR OF MINISTRIES EMERITA: Marlys Simmons
SECRETARY: Candace Tyler
CHRISTIAN LIFE: Sara Wood
CHOIR LEADER: Andy Hamilton
PIANIST: Sharon Axelson
TREASURER & FINANCIAL SECRETARY: Al Ovrom
BOARD CHAIRPERSON: Karen Erickson
Child Care (age 3 & under) 9:45 - 11:00 AM
Choir Rehearsals Thursdays 7:00 PM
Church Copyright License
3078215
“I know that I have life / only insofar as I have love. / I have no love / except it comes
from Thee. / Help me, please, to carry / this candle against the wind." - Wendell Berry
PRELUDE TO WORSHIP
arr. Bryce Inman
“Joy To the World”
GREETINGS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, and FELLOWSHIP
Reviewing the Prayer Concerns
INTROIT
Ken Canedo
“God Calls Us Each by Name”
Exp. 2/28/2016
Continuing Prayers for Members of our Congregation:
Elsie Jane Plumb (At Home)
Carol Raiter (Illness)
Clark Shelby (Assisted Living)
Dale St. Denis (At Home)
Prayers for Family Members and Friends:
Darren Alff (Christine Jeter’s Nephew – Illness)
Carrie Allard (Carol Raiter’s Daughter - Illness)
Larry Baldauf (Doug St. Denis’ Son - Illness)
Dr. Diane Heaton (Illness)
Eileen McRae (Peter McRae’s Mother – Illness)
Richard Rohr (Illness)
Kenny Wilson (Randy Boggess’ Grandson – Illness)
*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: God, the whirlwind and fire, sweeps into our presence on this, the last
Sunday of 2015 in the year of our Lord.
All: Glory be to God, who strengthens us and blesses all people with the
promise of peace even in a world consumed with conflict.
One: God, who called all worlds into being, calls forth new life in us today.
All: Glory be to God, in whose creative purpose we are claimed and empowered.
One: God, whose Spirit unites all people in a common language of love, confirms
God’s gifts in us as we gather here.
All: Glory be to God who created light in which we can walk in confident
expectation. May our Creator use us to bring new worlds into existence,
begun by the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
HYMN OF PRAISE, No. 133
“O Come, All Ye Faithful”
*Those who are able, please stand
Adeste Fideles
PROCLAMATION OF THE EVENT – Liturgist
Jean Roesch
For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his
shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace. His authority will grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the
throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with
righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION – Congregation
Eternal God: you make all things new, and forgive old wrongs we can’t
forget. We confess we have spent time without loving, and years without purpose;
and the sight of a new calendar leaves us feeling strangely empty. We are afraid to
expect much from the new year. Daily we have wandered from your ways, and
failed to do what you ask of us. Forgive the past and our failure to see new light
shining in the darkness. Lead us into the future, free from sin, free to love, and
ready to work for your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.
THE CAROL RESPONSE, No. 121 (verse 4)
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the glad tidings tell;
O come to us; abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.
SILENT MEDITATION AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our custom is to join hands for 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. Amen.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE – Liturgist
May Almighty God, who caused light to shine out of darkness, shine in our hearts,
cleansing us from all sins, and restoring us to the light of the knowledge of His glory, in
the face of Jesus Christ. Amen
ACTIVITIES CALENDAR
Today – Sunday, December 27, 2015
10:00 a.m.
11:05 a.m.
11:20 a.m.
Worship Celebration – First Sunday after Christmas Day
Fellowship and Refreshments
After-church Lunch Bunch – Inquire at Entrance for location
Monday – December 28
4:30 p.m.
Women’s Bible Study – Contact Laurie McCaull, 435-7019
Friday – January 1, 2016
Happy New Year!
Next Sunday - January 3, 2016 – Epiphany Sunday
Scriptures: Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon: “Stars and Dreams, O My!”
Sacrament of Holy Communion
Prayers for Healing and Laying on of Hands
Head Usher: Christine Duryea
Greeters: Gwyn Bent, Berti Rhinehart
Ushers: Gwyn Bent, Berti Rhinehart, Sara Wood
Cookies: Carolyn Ayres
Coffee: A. Ovrom, S. Strickland, B. Sturgeon, S. Zylstra
Last Week at a Glance: Attendance: 66 - Offering: December 13 - $2160.00
Offering: December 20 - $2805.00
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Getting to Know One Another is much easier if you will register your name,
address and phone number and relationship to the church on the Friendship Pad that is
circulated during the Welcome and Announcements. If you are near any visitors (or
someone you don’t know), note their name and invite them to join you for refreshments
after Worship.
Audio Recordings of Today's Service may be ordered on the literature table by
the door. The Compact Discs are $ 3.00 each and will be available the following Sunday.
Letters to the Congregation about our Financial Pledge for 2016 were mailed
last recently. If you did not receive one please pick up a copy on the table by the entrance.
Please consider your pledge carefully and return the form as soon as possible. This
permits the Finance Committee to plan for next year accordingly.
Listening Assistive Devices Are Available for worshipers who would like to
enhance their ability to hear the service. Large-print Copies of the Hymns are also
available. If you find it difficult to find a parking space close to the door, there is
reserved parking available between the orange traffic markers. Please inquire at the door
if you need assistance.
Understanding the Universe – An Introduction to Astronomy. Are we
overwhelmed with all the details of daily living? Do we miss the bigger picture of who
we are in the cosmos? These taped 25 minute lectures by a world class professor from UC
Berkeley may transform how we see ourselves and our world. We will learn more about
nighttime wonders, and how to appreciate the beckoning sky. You won’t leave the same!
We meet next Sunday, January 3 at 5 p.m., at the home of Sandy and Jim Strickland,
1820 Avenida del Mundo, #507.
ANTHEM
“Never Ending Peace”
Coronado Community Church Chancel Choir
THE EPISTLE LESSON
Cynthia Gray
Colossians 3:12-17
THE CAROL RESPONSE, No. 108 (verse 1)
“Of the Father’s Love Begotten”
Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore!
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We believe that Jesus was born of a woman as is every child, but born of
God’s power as was no other child. In the life and work of Jesus, God and
humankind are united, but not one, different, but not separate. The coming of Jesus
was the coming of God. Through his birth, life, death and resurrection, Jesus brings
God and people together in the relationship God intended.
THE CAROL RESPONSE, No. 132 (verse 1)
“Good Christian Friends, Rejoice”
Good Christian friends, rejoice with heart and soul and voice!
Give ye heed to what we say: Jesus Christ is born today.
Man and beast before him bow, and He is in the manger now:
Christ was born to save, Christ was born to save!
THE GIVING OF OUR TITHES and OFFERINGS
OFFERTORY
G. Holst/T. Fettke/T. Grassi
“In the Bleak Midwinter”
THE CAROL RESPOONSE, No. 143 (verse 4)
“Angels from the Realms of Glory”
All creatures join in praising God the Father, Spirit, Son
Evermore your voices raising to the eternal Three in One:
Come and worship, come and worship.
Worship Christ, the newborn King!
PASTORAL PRAYER and Response
Mother Teresa
Lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth, from despair to hope,
from fear to trust. Lead us from hate to love, from war to peace. Let peace fill our
hearts. Let peace fill our world. Let peace fill our universe.
THE HYMN OF CONSECRATION, No. 147
“The First Nowell”
THE GOSPEL LESSON
SERMON
The First Nowell
Luke 2:41-52
Rev. Stephen J. Mather
“Let the Peace of Christ Rule Our Hearts!”
*HYMN OF DEDICATION, No. 141
“On This Day Earth Shall Sing”
*BENEDICTION and POSTLUDE
“He Came Down”
Personent Hodie
arr: J. L. Bell
The Altar Flowers are Given Today by Carolyn and Glenn Ayres
Wishing everyone in our church community a
New Year filled with blessings
REFLECTION
Illumination
On a Christmas Eve in the 12th century, a Benedictine nun named
Elizabeth kept vigil in the church with her community. During the celebration
of the Eucharist, she saw a woman sitting in the center of a bright, shining sun.
“The Lord Is Near – Do Not Worry about Anythin
The woman’s hair fell over her shoulders and the light from the sun around her
filled the monastery where Elizabeth was praying and gradually spread out to
illuminate the entire world.
As Elizabeth gazed at the woman, a dark cloud moved in to obscure the
rays of the sun, and the woman began weeping. Elizabeth’s vision lasted all
through the night of Christmas Eve, with the cloud moving in and out, the
woman shining and weeping, the earth lightning and darkening.
On Christmas Day an angel appeared to Elizabeth, and she asked him
who the woman was. She is the sacred humanity of Jesus, the angel explained,
and the sun is the divinity that holds Christ’s humanity and illuminates it.
It’s hard to imagine a better time to have a vision of the humanity of
Jesus in all its beauty and compassion than Christmas, one of the most visual
liturgical celebrations of the year. Elizabeth saw her visions in contemplative
trances, but any Christmas service can fill our eyes with the humanity of Jesus.
Just think of a live manger scene or Sunday school pageant. Elizabeth saw
humanity lit by divinity on Christmas Eve, and so do we.
Singing any of the carols we honor the light that shines in the darkness, a
light that unflinchingly shows us the world as it is and offers us a vision of what
the world might become. In the space in between, it’s our work to look for the
humanity of Christ in the humanity of each other, and to protect, nurture, and
cherish it in all the forms it takes.
- Stephanie Paulsell teaches at Harvard Divinity School