Sermon Sunday December 15, 2024 – Third Sunday of Advent – Candle of Joy Rev. Norman A. Michaud “We Cannot Buy It” Luke 3: 7-18 We cannot touch it, but we can certainly feel it. We can’t buy it. We can’t see it. I speak of Joy, that feeling of contentment and happiness we chase. We know it when we feel Joy, but joy is often fleeting. I tend not to look for Joy in the future but in the past. I wax nostalgic and sentimental. I recall my childhood home. My memories turn to my Grandmother, mother, Helen, and Annie Hodgdon, my Grandmother’s best friend and my mother’s surrogate mother, who lived in an apartment on the third floor of our family home, and

Order of Worship December 15th, 2024 (Candle of Joy) 10:00 AM (The Third Sunday of Advent, Year C) Prelude:  “Royal Oak”    Michael Helman. ”Of the Father’s Love Begotten”  Daniel Gawthrop WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:  MISSION STATEMENT: (Let us say our Mission Statement together) To welcome and inspire All through faith, love, and fellowship according to Christ’s example. Introit: “One Candle Is Lit”         Mary Anne Parrott/Wm. Kirkpatrick  *Call to Worship (Responsive) Leader: Rejoice in God always, and again I say Rejoice! People: Our joy is in our Creator who blesses us. Leader: Shout for joy, for God is near! People: Our praises ascend to God for the mighty things God has done. Leader: Let your praise dance and swirl in tribute to God! People:

Sermon Sunday December 8, 2024 – Second Sunday of Advent – Candle of Peace Rev. Norman A. Michaud “All Flesh Will See” Luke 3: 1-6 The four weeks of Advent call for extravagant welcome, radical love, integrity, and justice. Advent also seeks our forbearance and patience. Advent asks us to focus on a different but linked declaration each week. Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love anticipate the coming of an infant who will bring each word or concept as living light into our lives. We trudge through our days hoping for miracles. Still, we often need to be more cynical and sophisticated to see and proclaim witness to miracles. But miracles are always around us, although we usually fail to see or understand the miracle happening.

Order of Worship December 08, 2024 (Candle of Peace) (The Second Sunday of Advent, Year C) 10:00 AM *Those who are able, please stand. Those who may not be able to stand, please remain seated.” Prelude: “Andante”  Kate Loder “Now, Come, Savior of the Heathens”  Dieterich Buxtehude WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: MISSION STATEMENT: (Let us say our Mission Statement together) “To welcome and inspire All through faith, love, and fellowship according to Christ’s example.” Introit: “One Candle Is Lit”         Mary Anne Parrott/Wm. Kirkpatrick  Choral Response: “Into My Heart”  Harry Clarke  *Call to Worship (Responsive) L: Welcome today to this time of preparation. P: Although we have been preparing for celebrations, we come seeking to prepare our hearts to receive God’s Good News. L: Get ready!

Sermon Sunday December 1, 2024 – First Sunday of Advent – Candle of Hope Rev. Norman A. Michaud “The End of the Beginning” Luke 21:25-35 This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. The first candle of Advent, the Candle of Hope, has been lit. Each week through the Advent Season, we will light candles to remind us of the coming Light of the World in the birth of Jesus. Each candle represents the light that will remind us of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. The Christ Candle will be lit on Christmas Eve, reminding us that all the symbolic candles are bound to the birth of Jesus. Since the beginning of November, we have heard and seen that the Christmas season is upon us.

Order of Worship December 01, 2024 (Candle of Hope and Communion) (The First Sunday of Advent, Year C) 10:00 AM *Those who are able, please stand. Those who may not be able to stand, please remain seated.” Prelude: Prelude in C Major,” Johann Sebastian Bach  “Gabriel’s Message”  Michael Bedford WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: MISSION STATEMENT: (Let us say our Mission Statement together) “To welcome and inspire All through faith, love, and fellowship according to Christ’s example.” *Call to Worship (Responsive) Leader: Have you seen the Spark of Hope God places among us? People: All we can see is hectic lives, crowded stores, early darkness, and mounting anxiety. Leader: Look again; the spirit of God is moving, bringing hope. People: We need to place our hope in