God's Family Christmas
Intercession
Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion
Call to Worship
"The family. We [are] a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together." ~Erma Bombeck
We gather this evening as God's family, a strange, diverse, quarrelsome and healing band indeed, to celebrate the event that, more than any other, defines us as family: the day when God joined the human family in order to bring us home to the divine. Let us gather, then, as family, singing the first two verses of hymn #60, O Come All Ye Faithful.
Carol: O Come All Ye Faithful
VU 60, vv 1,2
Candle Lighting
It has been said that the most important meaning of family is that "No one gets left behind." Surely that is God's most important message to the human family at Christmas. Christ is born, God is with us, God is for us, and no one is left behind. (Christ candle is lit)
Carol: Joy to the World
VU 59, v. 1
"Nothing Much"
In 1925, the New York World celebrated Abraham Lincoln's birthday with a cartoon that has become something of a classic. It shows a couple of Kentucky farmers talking over a picket fence. One asks, "Anything new happen lately?" The other responds, "Nothing much. A new baby was born over at Tom Lincoln's place, but nothing much ever happens around here."
I'm sure there were folks who said the same thing in Bethlehem the first Christmas night. I can picture them, can't you? Standing on the corner, just outside of the inn. "Anything new happen around here?" "Naw, just a baby born down in the stable. Nothing much ever happens around here."
Nothing much?
Isaiah 9:2-7
Carol: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear VU 44, vv 1,4
"Children of God"
Something happened when Jesus was born. The gospel of John tries to put it into words:
John 1:1,4,9-12
"Children of God."
Think about what that means -- what it means to you or me to have a child! "Making the decision to have a child [is] momentous," says Elizabeth Stone. "It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body."
If Jesus has made us children of God, then every least human being -- the AIDS orphan in Africa, the wealthy businessman in Calgary, the bum under the bridge, the politician you love to hate.... all of them and you and me in the middle of our quiet or untidy lives -- every single human being is God's own heart walking around, beloved and vulnerable. Children of God. Not one to be left behind.
Carol: See, Amid the Winter's VU 76, vv 1,2,5
"The Plastic Angel"
by Ann Weems
Our crèche set came complete with stable...
and a plastic angel.
Small, not at all to scale,
the white-garbed creature with uncertain wings
was obviously an afterthought,
thrown in to complete the set,
[which was] otherwise ceramic and hand-painted...
Unless, of course, this angel was a last minute substitute
for one which was irresistible to the packer.
In that case, somewhere I have an irresistible
ceramic angel,
dressed gloriously in red,
kneeling or flying on somebody else's coffee table
even now
as I unwrap the plastic angel.
If I could ever bring myself to throw away an angel,
it would be this one,
this one with no redeeming features.
And yet, each year as I unwrap the plastic angel,
I hesitate again to pitch this celestial messenger.
I'm reminded of my own lack of glory
my own plastic attempts at celebrating Christmas,
my own feeble annunciations......
and once again I place this bit of plastic
over the stable.
If the plastic angel
can get this far,
perhaps there's a place in Bethlehem town
for me.
Titus 3:4-5,7
Invitation and Peace
Children of God, we are heirs of hope -- all of us together. That's God's idea of a family Christmas. Whoever you are, you are a child of God, and as such you are welcome at the family table. Jesus is host, and there has always been a place reserved for you. Come and be welcome.
At every Christmas dinner, as the family and friends all arrive, there is meeting and greeting, and it is the same here. We welcome each other with the peace of Christ.
The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
Hymn: Now to Your Table Spread
VU 456
Eucharistic Prayer
Glory to God in the highest!
And on earth, peace to all!
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is good to give thanks and praise.
Loving and holy God, we give you thanks
that from the very beginning
you have called us your children
and called us into relationship with you.
You walked in the garden with Adam and Eve;
you called Abraham to bring you to the nations;
you worked through the small and the improbable
and called no one stranger.
Therefore we join our voices
with all our brothers and sisters in the whole creation
to praise you as one family, singing: (VU 942)
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full, full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest!
Mighty and tender God,
in Jesus you entered the human family --
the real family, with its messes and misunderstandings --
and you called it your own.
Jesus wore our humanity, he lived our life,
he bore our hostility, he died our death.
On the night he freely offered himself for us,
our Lord Jesus Christ took bread,
and after giving thanks to you he broke it
and gave it to his disciples, saying:"Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me."
After supper he took the cup of wine;
and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying:
"Drink this, all of you.
This is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of me."
Remembering, we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Dying, he destroyed our death.
Rising, he restores our life.
He will come again in glory.
Sustain us, O God, with this meal and with your Spirit,
so that we may live as your children
just as Jesus did.
Deepen our unity, strengthen our love,
enliven our hope.
We remember in prayer tonight
all our brothers and sisters in the whole human family,
and ask that you would nurture and support each one
as we join in praying as Christ taught us:
Our Father....
Breaking of the Bread - "The Bread of Life."
Pouring of the Cup -- "The Cup of Love."
Sharing in Communion
After receiving communion, please pick up a candle on your way back to your seat.
The Bread of Life. Amen.
The Cup of Love. Amen.
Solo by Meghan Andrychuk
Prayer After Communion:
Generous God, you gave your only-begotten Son
to take our nature upon him,
and be born of your chosen one, Mary.
Grant that we, who have been born again,
made your children by adoption and grace,
and nourished at this table,
may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit;
through our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever. Amen.
Adapted from VU39. Used with permission.
Lighting of Candles
On a night like this 2000 years ago a child of God was born in hope to change the world. (A candle is lit from the Christ candle.) Tonight, here and there, people choose to act with peace, with love, with generosity, with mercy, and a child of God is born again in hope. (Light is shared with the congregation.) You are invited to receive the light of Christ. As you receive the light, please keep the lit candle upright, dipping the unlit candle to take the light. When all the candles are lit, we will join, united as God's family, in singing Silent Night (VU 67). We will sing all three verses, then the lights will be turned off and we will sing verse 1 again by candlelight. May the light of our love shine.
Carol: Silent Night
VU 67
(Blessing over )
Blessing
Go now into the world,
trusting that you are born of God's own love,
to share that love with all you meet.
May the blessing of God our Father,
Christ our Brother
and the Mothering Spirit
never leave you behind
nor let you leave any other child of God behind.
Go in peace.
Lilo and Stitch animated movie: "Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind."
James A. Harnish, "Nothing Much Happens Around Here," Tampa, Fla.: Christmas Eve 1995, p. 1
Elizabeth Stone, quoted on Family Quotes website.
Call to Worship
"The family. We [are] a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together." ~Erma Bombeck
We gather this evening as God's family, a strange, diverse, quarrelsome and healing band indeed, to celebrate the event that, more than any other, defines us as family: the day when God joined the human family in order to bring us home to the divine. Let us gather, then, as family, singing the first two verses of hymn #60, O Come All Ye Faithful.
Carol: O Come All Ye Faithful
VU 60, vv 1,2
Candle Lighting
It has been said that the most important meaning of family is that "No one gets left behind." Surely that is God's most important message to the human family at Christmas. Christ is born, God is with us, God is for us, and no one is left behind. (Christ candle is lit)
Carol: Joy to the World
VU 59, v. 1
"Nothing Much"
In 1925, the New York World celebrated Abraham Lincoln's birthday with a cartoon that has become something of a classic. It shows a couple of Kentucky farmers talking over a picket fence. One asks, "Anything new happen lately?" The other responds, "Nothing much. A new baby was born over at Tom Lincoln's place, but nothing much ever happens around here."
I'm sure there were folks who said the same thing in Bethlehem the first Christmas night. I can picture them, can't you? Standing on the corner, just outside of the inn. "Anything new happen around here?" "Naw, just a baby born down in the stable. Nothing much ever happens around here."
Nothing much?
Isaiah 9:2-7
Carol: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear VU 44, vv 1,4
"Children of God"
Something happened when Jesus was born. The gospel of John tries to put it into words:
John 1:1,4,9-12
"Children of God."
Think about what that means -- what it means to you or me to have a child! "Making the decision to have a child [is] momentous," says Elizabeth Stone. "It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body."
If Jesus has made us children of God, then every least human being -- the AIDS orphan in Africa, the wealthy businessman in Calgary, the bum under the bridge, the politician you love to hate.... all of them and you and me in the middle of our quiet or untidy lives -- every single human being is God's own heart walking around, beloved and vulnerable. Children of God. Not one to be left behind.
Carol: See, Amid the Winter's VU 76, vv 1,2,5
"The Plastic Angel"
by Ann Weems
Our crèche set came complete with stable...
and a plastic angel.
Small, not at all to scale,
the white-garbed creature with uncertain wings
was obviously an afterthought,
thrown in to complete the set,
[which was] otherwise ceramic and hand-painted...
Unless, of course, this angel was a last minute substitute
for one which was irresistible to the packer.
In that case, somewhere I have an irresistible
ceramic angel,
dressed gloriously in red,
kneeling or flying on somebody else's coffee table
even now
as I unwrap the plastic angel.
If I could ever bring myself to throw away an angel,
it would be this one,
this one with no redeeming features.
And yet, each year as I unwrap the plastic angel,
I hesitate again to pitch this celestial messenger.
I'm reminded of my own lack of glory
my own plastic attempts at celebrating Christmas,
my own feeble annunciations......
and once again I place this bit of plastic
over the stable.
If the plastic angel
can get this far,
perhaps there's a place in Bethlehem town
for me.
Titus 3:4-5,7
Invitation and Peace
Children of God, we are heirs of hope -- all of us together. That's God's idea of a family Christmas. Whoever you are, you are a child of God, and as such you are welcome at the family table. Jesus is host, and there has always been a place reserved for you. Come and be welcome.
At every Christmas dinner, as the family and friends all arrive, there is meeting and greeting, and it is the same here. We welcome each other with the peace of Christ.
The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
Hymn: Now to Your Table Spread
VU 456
Eucharistic Prayer
Glory to God in the highest!
And on earth, peace to all!
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is good to give thanks and praise.
Loving and holy God, we give you thanks
that from the very beginning
you have called us your children
and called us into relationship with you.
You walked in the garden with Adam and Eve;
you called Abraham to bring you to the nations;
you worked through the small and the improbable
and called no one stranger.
Therefore we join our voices
with all our brothers and sisters in the whole creation
to praise you as one family, singing: (VU 942)
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full, full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest!
Mighty and tender God,
in Jesus you entered the human family --
the real family, with its messes and misunderstandings --
and you called it your own.
Jesus wore our humanity, he lived our life,
he bore our hostility, he died our death.
On the night he freely offered himself for us,
our Lord Jesus Christ took bread,
and after giving thanks to you he broke it
and gave it to his disciples, saying:"Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me."
After supper he took the cup of wine;
and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying:
"Drink this, all of you.
This is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of me."
Remembering, we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Dying, he destroyed our death.
Rising, he restores our life.
He will come again in glory.
Sustain us, O God, with this meal and with your Spirit,
so that we may live as your children
just as Jesus did.
Deepen our unity, strengthen our love,
enliven our hope.
We remember in prayer tonight
all our brothers and sisters in the whole human family,
and ask that you would nurture and support each one
as we join in praying as Christ taught us:
Our Father....
Breaking of the Bread - "The Bread of Life."
Pouring of the Cup -- "The Cup of Love."
Sharing in Communion
After receiving communion, please pick up a candle on your way back to your seat.
The Bread of Life. Amen.
The Cup of Love. Amen.
Solo by Meghan Andrychuk
Prayer After Communion:
Generous God, you gave your only-begotten Son
to take our nature upon him,
and be born of your chosen one, Mary.
Grant that we, who have been born again,
made your children by adoption and grace,
and nourished at this table,
may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit;
through our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever. Amen.
Adapted from VU39. Used with permission.
Lighting of Candles
On a night like this 2000 years ago a child of God was born in hope to change the world. (A candle is lit from the Christ candle.) Tonight, here and there, people choose to act with peace, with love, with generosity, with mercy, and a child of God is born again in hope. (Light is shared with the congregation.) You are invited to receive the light of Christ. As you receive the light, please keep the lit candle upright, dipping the unlit candle to take the light. When all the candles are lit, we will join, united as God's family, in singing Silent Night (VU 67). We will sing all three verses, then the lights will be turned off and we will sing verse 1 again by candlelight. May the light of our love shine.
Carol: Silent Night
VU 67
(Blessing over )
Blessing
Go now into the world,
trusting that you are born of God's own love,
to share that love with all you meet.
May the blessing of God our Father,
Christ our Brother
and the Mothering Spirit
never leave you behind
nor let you leave any other child of God behind.
Go in peace.
Lilo and Stitch animated movie: "Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind."
James A. Harnish, "Nothing Much Happens Around Here," Tampa, Fla.: Christmas Eve 1995, p. 1
Elizabeth Stone, quoted on Family Quotes website.
