Renouncing henceforth all thoughts of looking back,

and joyful with infinite gratitude,

never fear to precede the dawn:
to praise and bless and sing Christ your Lord.
--Rule of Taize

-We Gather as Gods PeoplePeople Look East

HYMN

UMH 202

CALL TO WORSHIP
Come to worship
where we might be troubled by angels
Come to prayer
where we might be unsettled by the events of the world..
Come to the candle light
which lights up the darkness of this winter solstice
Come to the unpredictable pregnancy of the Spirit.
Come to flesh-talk and poverty-talk
and labor-pains- talk and peace-talk.
Come to expect new birth.
HYMN

I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light

UMH 206

PASSING THE PEACE

YOUNG PEOPLES MESSAGE
LIGHTING THE ADVENT CANDLE
The evening of the year is upon us.
We enter the darkness and wait for lights return.
We light one candle to remind us of Gods light
which has come to us all in Christ.
We open our hearts to that light,
and ask for help to shine with the brilliance of love.
HYMN

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

UMH 211 v.1,2

OPENING TO GOD
O Sapientia
Malcolm Guile
I cannot think unless I have been thought,
Nor can I speak unless I have been spoken.
I cannot teach except as I am taught,
Or break the bread except as I am broken.
O Mind behind the mind through which I seek,
O Light within the light by which I see,
O Word beneath the words with which I speak,

O founding, unfound Wisdom, finding me,

O sounding Song whose depth is sounding me,
O Memory of time, reminding me,
My Ground of Being, always grounding me,
My Makers Bounding Line, defining me,
Come, hidden Wisdom, come with all you bring,
Come to me now, disguised as everything.

-We Listen for Gods Word-

GOSPEL LESSON
Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in
Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgins name was Mary. And
he came to her and said, Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with
you.
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort
of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will
conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and
the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He
will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there
will be no end.
Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin? The
angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to
be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your
relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is
the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will
be impossible with God.
Then Mary said, Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with
me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her.
EPISTLE
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
Let your gentleness be known to everyone.
The Lord is near.
Do not worry about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
GOSPEL
Mary said:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

Luke 1:46-55

who has looked with favor on me, a lowly servant girl.

From this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me:
holy the name of the Lord,
whose mercy is on the God-fearing
from generation to generation.
The arm of the Lord is filled with strength,
scattering the proudhearted.
God cast the mighty from their thrones,
lifting up the lowly.
God filled the hungry with good things,
sending the rich away empty.
God has come to the help of Israel,
the Lord's servant, remembering mercy,
the mercy promised to our forebears,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

-We Respond to Gods WordAn Advent Fast

REFLECTION

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

HYMN

UMH 196

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE & THE LORDS PRAYER

OFFERING & DOXOLOGY

UMH 94

-We Scatter to Serve the World-

ANNOUNCEMENTS
BENEDICTION
RESPONSE

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall Come to Thee, O Israel

UMH 211

z
Birthdays & Anniversaries
December 4 - Ken Noyes

Essex Eats Out Schedule

Dec 4 - 1st Congo

Dec 18 - St James

Dec 11 - Holy Family

Dec 25 - EUMC

Announcements

Our parking lot can be a very busy place. Please consider parking
across the street so that those with young children or walking
difficulties can park close to the building.
New Church Directories for 2016 are available in the narthex.

Thu, 17 Dec: Food Shelf Set up 6:30 pm GSLC

Fri, 18 Dec:

Food Shelf Distribution 9:00 am GSLC

Sun, 20 Dec: Cookie Auction! After worship. Proceeds to Youth

Group Mission Trip. Invite a friend this Sunday!

Send a Card! We have many young adults away at college or starting

new careers. Please consider send a note this Holiday season to let
them know they are thought of back here at Essex UMC. Addresses are
in the back of the new directory.

Thu, 24 Dec: Family Worship Service 4:30 p.m.

Lessons & Carols Service 8:00 p.m.

The Second Annual Very Merry Madrigal Feast will be held at St.
James Episcopal Church on Saturday, December 12 at 6 p.m.

Sun, 28 Dec: Celtic Service 10:00 am (no Sunday School)

Heifer Project Goat From now to the end of 2015, we will be

collecting money for one or more goats and perhaps and some
chickens, etc. Please make your check out to EUMC and in the menu
line put "goat". This is in lieu of Operation Christmas Child and
presents for local children, both of which we used to do but are not
doing any more. The goat(s) and chickens will help families feed
themselves and support themselves in the future.

Fri, 25 Dec:

Below are people, places, & concerns that folk have lifted up.
Please keep them in your prayers at home.
Please call or email the church office to add to the prayer list.

The Essex/Jericho/Underhill Food Shelf is in need of Vegetables (no

green beans please though!), Soup, Peanut Butter, Tuna, Mac &
Cheese, Baked Beans. They also need lots more helpers in
November and December!
Calendar Collection: I will be collecting calendars for the residents at
Green Mountain Nursing Home through December - thank you for your
continuing supports of this project...Midge

Calendar

Sun, 29 Nov: Fifth Sunday: Refugee Flash Card Crafting

Mon, 30 Nov: Monday Companions at Eves, 7:00 pm.
Finish discussion Mudhouse Sabbath.
Tue, 1 Dec: Office Hours
Church: 9-10:30am
Phoenix Books: 10:40-noon
Mansfield Bible Study, 1:45 pm.
Choir Practice 6:30 pm
Wed, 2 Dec: Green Mountain Nursing Home 2:30 pm
Tue, 8 Dec:

Nominations Team 7 pm

Sat, 12 Dec: Tree Decorating

Wed, 16 Dec: Potluck and Book of Common Prayer Service

Essex Eats Out at EUMC 5:30 pm



Ongoing Prayers
Judy & Diezela
Zachary Roy
John Bartlett
Brooks Family
Michael Parker
Jill & Doug Griffin
Stan Komecki
Jenna Roy
Paul
Dick Shepard
Robin
Jaylene
Mary
Jake Greg


Ongoing Prayers, cont.

D.J.
Chris
Gloria
Anne
Michael Paradee
John Young IV
Brenda
Lenore
T.J.

Lifted Up Last Sunday

Nancy - Brian Hoppe & family
Jody - Scarlett and her too-brief life
quote of Dag Hammarskjold

Essex Center United Methodist Church

essex_umc@comcast.net
tel. 878-8304
www.essexumc.com
Ministers: the entire congregation
Lay Leader: Joshua Knox
Equipping Pastor: Rev. V. Mitchell Hay
cell tel. 881-3268 (feel free to call)
mitchellhay@comcast.net
Office Manager: Heidi Evans
Organist: Kathryn Parker Pianists: June Packard, Ellie Uckele
Djembe: Barbara Lemmel Guitar: Richard Randazzo & Mia Burnett
Song Leader: Dana Thomas Projection: Sam Evans
Greeters - Don & Norma Strickland
Ushers - Jody Heffernan, Barbara Audet, Judy McDonald

Essex Center United Methodist Church

29 November 2015

First Sunday of Advent

Welcome to worship at Essex United Methodist Church!

Were working to make a sacred space for every person
whatever their color, age, ability, orientation,
or stage on the spiritual journey.
We love to hear the sound of children,
We offer nursery & Sunday School after the Young Peoples message
Essex UMC is less a place than it is a peopleyearning to deepen their connections to God
and to live out Christs love in the community and in the world.