Grace Presbyterian Church
Meeting in the Chapel at Union Congregational Church
Serving people, through Christ, to meet the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of the community and the world around us.
Second Sunday of Advent – Peace
Welcome
Prelude “People, Look East” Eleanor Farjeon
Call to Worship
One: In a world that is lonely,
All: we will save a seat for you.
One: In a world that is anxious,
All: we will light candles against the gloom.
One: In a world that is weary,
All: we will sing songs of joy and truth.
One: I am not alone.
All: We are not alone.
One: For here in this place, God is weaving us together.
All: Light the candles! Sing with joy! We are a three-cord strand, not easily broken.
Opening Prayer
Hymn 3 * “Comfort, Comfort You My People”
Lighting the Advent Candle of Peace Friends of Grace
One: In a weary and worn world, how do we begin again? Where do we start?
All: Let us begin together. Let us begin arm in arm. Let us begin by holding each other up, instead of tearing each other down. Let us begin with words of peace.
One: Yes, let us begin with peace. Today we light the candles of hope and peace.
All: May these lights remind us of what could be. May these lights mark a new beginning. May peace flow like a river, and may it start with us.
One: Arm in arm, hand in hand, side by side. May we begin again. Amen.
Prayer for Illumination
Responsive Scripture Lesson (Unison) Ruth 1
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there for about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons or her husband.
Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had had consideration for his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband. Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people.’ But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.’ Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
So she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ But Ruth said,
‘Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!’ When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, ‘Is this Naomi?’ She said to them,
‘Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the Lord has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?’
So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Time with Children
Call to Confession
Responsive Prayer of Confession and Words of Forgiveness
I have tried to make my own way. I have tried to lace my own shoes, to build my own house, to kindle my own faith. I have said a thousand times, “turn back,” as if I am fine on my own. But the days are long and I am forgetful. I need your help. Can you remind me?
We will remind you of this everlasting truth: You are not alone. Where you go, God goes. You are held in grace. Trust in this good news.
Thanks be to God! I remember. I believe.
Now we need your help. We, too, have tried to make our own way. We have tried to lace our own shoes, to build our own houses, to kindle our own faiths. We have said a thousand times, “turn back,” as if we are fine on our own. But the days are long and we are forgetful. We need your help. Can you remind us?
I will remind you of this everlasting truth: You are not alone. Where you go, God goes. You are held in grace. Trust in this good news.
Thanks be to God! We remember. We believe. Alleluia! Amen.
Praise be to God in Song “Gloria Patri”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
Passing of the Peace
Scripture Lesson Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Message We Can’t Go Alone The Rev. Robin Miller Currás
Hymn 438 * “Blest Be the Tie that Binds”
Affirmation of Faith
We believe in a with-us God: a God who walks with us in the valley, dances with us on the mountaintop, sings with us through the night and rejoices in the morning. We believe that this with-us God wired us for relationship, saying to creation on the very first week, “Humans should not be alone.”
Therefore, in an effort to be who God called us to be, we strive to live like the Trinity— connected, united, and centered. We believe in the power of community. We commit to learning each other’s names. We choose to journey with each other, like Ruth with Naomi. And we remember that no one can go through life alone. Thanks be to God, for lighting our way.
Choral Anthem “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” Johann Sebastian Bach
Offertory
Doxology Lasst Uns Erfreuen
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below;
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Praise him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Hymn 56 * “The First Nowell”
Pastoral Prayer concluding with the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Announcements
Benediction
This morning’s liturgy comes from Sanctified Art.
Mark your calendars:
Sunday, December 8, Friends of Grace Community Dinner, St John’s Episcopal, 55 Montclair Ave, 5pm-6:30pm.
Wednesday, December 11, Norma’s Bible Study at UCC Learning Center
Thursday, December 12, 7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal in the Chapel at UCC
Sunday, December 15, 10:00 am, Christmas Pageant followed by live animals, cookies and cocoa
Tuesday, December 17, Men’s Fellowship Breakfast, 8:00 am at St John’s Episcopal, 55 Montclair Ave.
Wednesday, December 18, 2:30 pm, Pastor Robin’s Women’s’ Bible Study at the Manse
Wednesday, December 18, 7:00 pm, Blue Christmas Service with Union Congregational at UCC
Tuesday, December 24, 7:00 pm Christmas Eve Worship service in the sanctuary at UCC
Wednesday, December 25, 10 am, Lay-Led Christmas Day service in the chapel at UCC
Next Sunday, December 15, is the Christmas Pageant! Can you help by bringing in some treats to share after worship? Please click on this link to sign up. or see Pat Walsh.
Daily Devotionals online Monday-Friday 9:00 AM. Check out www.gracemontclair.org for more information.
Food for the Little Pantry is always wanted and needed. Non-perishables only please. Food may be dropped off at the Manse or placed in the basket as you enter or leave the chapel on Sunday.
Fill out an Estimate of Giving Form for 2025 on Tithely! For those of you who already give online, please use your current login information to fill in your estimate of giving card. If you are new to Tithely, you may put in your information and you do not need to sign up for giving online when you do so. Feel free to also use the printed forms or to let the office know what you will be giving for 2025.