welcome to churchish. we will start when it feels right, but always feel free to get coffee, tea, move, whatever. we hope that as we gather, by connecting with each other, and with something in ourselves, we connect with God.
Centering
Singing
O Come, All Ye Faithful (#133)
O come, all ye faithful,
joyful and triumphant
O come, ye, o come ye,
to Bethlehem
Come and behold him,
born the King of Angels
O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.
Sing choirs of angels,
Sing is exaltation
Sing, all ye citizens
of heav’n above
Glory to God,
glory in the highest
O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.
Hark the Herald Angels Sing (#127)
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn king”
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled,
Joyful all ye nations rise;
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born, in Bethlehem”
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn king”
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by;
born that we no more may die;
Born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn king”
Joy to the World (#134)
Joy to the world, the Lord has come!
Let earth receive her king!
Let every heart prepare him room,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the earth, the savior reigns!
Let all their songs employ!
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
He rules the world, with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness,
and wonders of His love,
and wonders of His love,
and wonders, and wonders of His love.
Reading
Luke 2: 1-8
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a]Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
John 1:1-5, 14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Talking together
Talk about a favorite Christmas tradition or part of this season.
Talk about the part of this season that annoys or irritates you most.
Talk about a powerful memory from this season, it could be good, it could be bad, it could be complicated.
Listening
Bethlehem by Over the Rhine
Have you been forsaken
In your dark and dreamless sleep
Your heart is breaking
And in your wounded sky
The silent stars go by
Be still tonight be still
Jesus was a refugee
A virgin and a vagabond
Yearning to be free
Now in the dark streets shining
Is their last chance of a dream
Be still tonight be still
Born under a star
Sometimes there’s no difference
Between a birthmark and a scar
With your sky so black
May God impart to human hearts
The wisdom that we lack
Should you chance to find
A hope for all mankind
Be still tonight be still
Talking
What did you hear or notice in the song? What stuck with you? How does it help you make meaning of this season?
Where do you hear resonance between the Christmas story and your life, or current events? How does it help you make meaning of this season?
sharing at the table
praying
Go Tell it on the Mountain (#136)
CHORUS
Go tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere,
Go tell it on the mountain,
that Jesus Christ is born.
VERSE 1
While shepherds kept their watching,
o’er silent flocks by night,
behold throughout the heavens,
there shone a holy light.
VERSE 2
The shepherds feared and trembled
when lo above the earth
rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our savior’s birth
VERSE 3
Down in a lowly manger
the humble Christ was born
and God sent us salvation
that blessed Christmas morn.
abbykk 