{"id":1907,"date":"2021-01-03T13:21:12","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T13:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/?p=1907"},"modified":"2021-01-03T13:21:18","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T13:21:18","slug":"worship-for-the-second-sunday-after-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2021\/01\/03\/worship-for-the-second-sunday-after-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Worship for the Second Sunday After Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>First United Methodist Church of Schenectady<br \/>\nWorship for the Second Sunday After Christmas<\/h1>\n<h2>January 3, 2021<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Page-2-Image-2.png\"><\/p>\n<h2>Getting Centered<\/h2>\n<p>It may help to center yourself into worship by lighting a candle, as a symbol of God&#8217;s presence with you during the time of worship.  You may also want to pay attention to lighting, the position of your body, and the availability of distractions.<\/p>\n<h3>Breath Prayer<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cYou bring us through our trials, Light of the World.\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Breath prayers involve breathing in the first phrase, and breathing out the second.<br \/>\nYou may wish to simply pray for a moment before starting, or you may wish to pray while listening to the prelude.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Prelude<\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u201cChristmas Bells\u201d by Sandra Tucker<\/strong><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Christmas Bells (Handbells)\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P0Wsy_IRO2U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Call to Worship<\/h3>\n<p>One: A new year has begun!<br \/>\n<strong>Many: We are ready to look forward with hope!<\/strong><br \/>\nOne: Praise God for the blessings of a new day and a new year!<br \/>\n<strong>Many: Praise God for the chance to start anew!<\/strong><br \/>\nOne: Trust God to help us move beyond the tribulations of 2020.<br \/>\n<strong>Many: We need God\u2019s help, for the year was long and dark.<\/strong><br \/>\nOne: We rejoice in the Light and Love of Christ, born to dispel the darkness.<br \/>\n<strong>Many: We turn to the Light, and soak in the Love.<\/strong><br \/>\nOne: We are thankful that God comes into the world as one like us.<br \/>\n<strong>Many: We celebrate the birth of one who knows and loves us in all our struggles.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Hymn #220: <em>Angels from the Realms of Glory<\/em><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Angels from the Realms of Glory\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lUL8CDz2G1k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hymnary.org\/page\/fetch\/UMH\/220\/low\/220\"><\/p>\n<h2>Connecting in Prayer<\/h2>\n<h3>Shared Prayer<\/h3>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nO Lord of new beginnings, we come to a new year with hopes and dreams, fears, and doubts. As we step across the threshold, may we have confidence in your abiding presence in all the myriad aspects of our lives. Open us to all the possibilities and promises a new year can bring. Help us to leave behind the habits and attitudes that separate us from you and from your beloved children who look, believe, or think differently from us. As we look ahead, we are filled with gratitude for your grace, your healing, your light and your love. Help us to use this new year to bring justice to the oppressed, inclusion to those left out, and peace to our divided world. Amen.<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nadapted from Opening Prayer, Joanne Carlson Brown, <em>The Abingdon Worship Annual 2021<\/em>, pg.2<\/p>\n<h3>Silent Prayer<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Page-4-Image-3.png\"><\/p>\n<h3>Pastoral Prayer<\/h3>\n<p><em>You are welcome to read this out-loud or silently.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nGod of hope, this year has been very hard for all the world. A raging sickness has caused massive illness and death. Individual and systemic racism led to the deaths of many black and brown people from the coronavirus and from a \u201cjustice\u201d system that treats them as less than. Our country is splintering into two sides that can no longer talk to each other without shouting, the anger palpable, spotlighted by the bruising election cycle that demonstrated just how differently each side thinks. And underlying that, an economic system that is increasingly unjust, that is leaving behind large segments of society while a favored<br \/>\nfew reap billions. How can we keep hope for the future alive in the middle of all this? But yet, in this Christmas season, we are reminded of the babe in the manger, born of a courageous young woman who said yes to you when many would have said no. Who saw in you, and in this baby, hope for a world where all people would be treasured and justice would prevail. Help us to keep our focus on Christ when the going gets tough, to remember what he taught us about Love and Light, and to hold onto hope for a better tomorrow. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>The Lord&#8217;s Prayer<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Our Father who art in heaven,<br \/>\nHallowed be thy name.<br \/>\nThy kingdom come.<br \/>\nThy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.<br \/>\nGive us this day our daily bread.<br \/>\nAnd forgive us our trespasses,<br \/>\nas we forgive those who trespass against us.<br \/>\nAnd lead us not into temptation,<br \/>\nbut deliver us from evil:<br \/>\nFor thine is the kingdom, and the power,<br \/>\nand the glory, for ever. Amen.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Word and Reflection<\/h2>\n<h3>Choir Anthem<\/h3>\n<p><em>Angel&#8217;s Carol<\/em> by John Rutter<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Angels&#039; Carol - John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers, City of London Sinfonia\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rYYT52KIuzs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Scripture: Jeremiah 31:7-14<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jeremiah 31 7   14\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MhJIer677-A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Mission Moment<\/h3>\n<p><strong>The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman &#8211; Jan Huston<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen the song of the angels is stilled,<br \/>\nWhen the star in the sky is gone,<br \/>\nWhen the kings and the princes are home,<br \/>\nWhen the shepherds are back with their flocks,<br \/>\nThe work of Christmas begins.<br \/>\nTo find the lost,<br \/>\nTo heal the broken,<br \/>\nTo feed the hungry,<br \/>\nTo release the prisoner,<br \/>\nTo rebuild the nations,<br \/>\nTo bring peace among people,<br \/>\nTo make music in the heart.<\/p>\n<h3>Children&#8217;s Time<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Children&#039;s Time 01032021\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vlZChnC0p8M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Passing of the Peace<\/h3>\n<p><em>If you are worshiping with others, please pass the Peace of Christ.<br \/>\nWhether you are alone or with others, please take a moment to find God&#8217;s peace within, and then to share it with the world. You may want to reach out to speak peace to another during this week.<\/em><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Page-6-Image-4.png\"><\/p>\n<h3>Hymn #250: Once in Royal David&#8217;s City<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hymn 250: Once in Royal David&#039;s City\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/icocbwMNWgk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hymnary.org\/page\/fetch\/UMH\/253\/low\/250\"><\/p>\n<h3>Scripture Reading &#8211; John 1:1-18<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John 1 1   18\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mLHI-0uz73o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Sermon &#8211; A Brand New Year &#8211; Michele Cole<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A Brand New Year 01032021\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Uj6cwtp-OZo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Responding<\/h2>\n<h3>Offering<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Page-7-Image-8.png\"><br \/>\nPhoto by Alice Nash<br \/>\nIf you wish, you are welcome to use this time to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eservicepayments.com\/cgi-bin\/Vanco_ver3.vps?appver3=3_CMn6vY3gbXWj2GvkW32xVh5LubqSJdgKX6KHFre1VuMdS3Q8kj_eIJXGJN8RG-0gmHZvX_Lw1ha8ZXgn-54Krv7ImQMfM68o70RRXIZtDlvXRu7Icp8meYpri-7vHbdSHJK5fST8PKv5rD7H0pV4u2FYADh6CtWzBcTpjLo9qDxBXK0S3J8MPHZwZCFVXkDJkCUTrur4Wm694FEfvylg==&amp;ver=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">make a donation to the church online<\/a>, or to put a check in the mail.<br \/>\nThe time of offering is not only about our financial gifts to the church, it is about offering our lives to God and the building of the kindom. This is a time for reflection: What is being asked of us? What is being given to us? What are we able to offer? What do we need?<\/p>\n<h3>Offertory Anthem: Christmas Lullaby by John Rutter<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Christmas Lullaby - John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers, City of London Sinfonia\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mdWOF7u624U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Prayer of Presentation<\/h3>\n<p>God of grace and mercy, through the birth of Jesus we see your love made flesh, born to show us how to live as your children and members of the Beloved Community. Please accept these offerings, freely given from our hearts, in gratitude for all you have given us. Help us to use them wisely to help bring about your wishes for a just and equitable society. We ask through Jesus your Son, Amen.<\/p>\n<h3>Hymn #238: Angels We Have Heard on High<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hymn 238: Angels We Have Heard on High\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GKXUsR_R3cs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hymnary.org\/page\/fetch\/HTLG2017\/90\/low\"><\/p>\n<h3>Benediction<\/h3>\n<p>The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us. Let Christ\u2019s light shine in the darkest corner of your life. Let Christ\u2019s love shine in the darkest corners of our world. God is with us. Alleluia. Amen<br \/>\n&#8211; From Ruth Duck, <em>Bread for the Journey<\/em>, Pilgrim Press, 1981, pg. 26<\/p>\n<h3>Postlude<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cHerrscher des Himmels, erh\u00f6re das Lallen\u201d by Johann Sebastian Bach<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Merry Christmas\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4JKjuSr2XZo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Page-8-Image-6.png\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First United Methodist Church of Schenectady Worship for the Second Sunday After Christmas January 3, 2021 Getting Centered It may &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2021\/01\/03\/worship-for-the-second-sunday-after-christmas\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Worship for the Second Sunday After Christmas<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1896,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1255],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-online-worship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1908,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907\/revisions\/1908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}