ORDER OF SERVICE

ORGAN PRELUDE Chorale Prelude on ‘Greensleeves’ - R. Purvis

INTROIT - Gloria, VU 38
Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ whose birth the angels sing;
come, adore on bended knee
Christ, the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!

GREETING
Leader: The LORD be with you.
People: And also with you.

CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
People: For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
Leader: but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
People: Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn. - Isaiah 60:1-3

HYMN “Earth Has Many a Noble City” - Stuttgart, VU 2

PRAYER OF APPROACH

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of grace,
you have given us Jesus, the light of the world.
Forgive us for choosing the darkness
and clinging to the sins that hide the brightness of your love.
Immersed in ourselves, we have not risen to new life.
Baptize us with your Spirit, that, forgiven and renewed,
we may share your word with all the nations
and tell of the glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ,
our Lord and our Light forever. Amen.
Silence for personal confession.

LITANY LORD, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
LORD, have mercy.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

HYMN 71 “’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime”

SOLO “Mary Had a Baby” - Spiritual, arr. Hairston
Given by Cathy McIvor

READING FROM SCRIPTURE Matthew 2: 1-12 (NRSV, p. 2)
Given by Lynn Soens

HYMN We Three Kings of Orient

CONCERNS OF THE CONGREGATION

COLLECTION AND PRESENTATION OF OFFERINGS
As we present these offerings for God’s service, we also thankfully dedicate the offerings of those who give monthly through the PAR program.

OFFERTORY Behold a Rose is Blooming - J. Brahms

DEDICATION - Regent Square, VU 36
Great Creator God, you call us
through the church to do your will.
Stewards of both past and promise,
may we all our work fulfill,
building up in faith and nurture,
Christ’s own mission, lively still. Amen.
Words © Jane Parker Huber. Used by Permission.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

THE LORD’S PRAYER (said) - VU 914

ANTHEM “Thou Must Leave Thy Lowly Dwelling” - Berlioz

SERMON “ A January Journey ”
“On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage….” – Matthew 2:11

HYMN 91 “The First Nowell”

SENDING FORTH AND BENEDICTION

RESPONSIVE ALLELUIAS

ORGAN POSTLUDE Fanfare for the Common Man - A. Copeland

HYMNS ON THE CARILLONIC BELLS

WEEKLY NEWS

view PDF version (0.5Mb) [Adobe Acrobat is required]

Greeters: As you came into the church this morning, Dan Kucyk, John Moore, Gladys Comeault and Val McIntyre greeted you. Never joined us for coffee before? Don’t hesitate to come! For a guaranteed conversation, look for today’s host, Marjory Harvey. Her name tag features a coffee cup logo.

Sympathy is extended to Pat Edward on the death of her mother, Marie Edward, on Christmas Day. Marie had been a member of our congregation since 1951. A burial service will be held for her in Saskatchewan in the spring.

This week in the Winnipeg Presbytery prayer cycle , please remember the people and work of Crestview United Church.

United for Peace - The Church Board has determined that the Communion Offering from our February 6th celebration of Communion will be dedicated to the United Church of Canada’s United for Peace Campaign. This campaign has been undertaken in response to instability in much of the world. Currently the world’s peoples are suffering through almost 40 armed conflicts in 27 countries, child soldiers are involved in at least 17 of these conflicts, annual military spending is over $1.1 trillion, and there are over 600 million small arms in circulation around the world – one for every 10 people on the planet. The United for Peace Campaign was approved at the 39th General Council 2006 out of grave concern for the situation in Israel and Palestine. The scope of the campaign has been broadened by the Executive of the General Council to also address conflict and the need to work toward just peace in Canada and other parts of the world. One goal of the United for Peace Campaign is to raise $2 million in 2008 and 2009 to support partner work for peace, education and advocacy. It will expand the work that is already done in this area through the Mission and Service Fund. In coming weeks we will be giving examples of the kind of work that will be supported with the funds raised.

Winter Study Group – you are invited to join with Joan as we explore a video study program, featuring John Dominic Crossan, a well-known historical Jesus scholar. We will meet on Thursday evenings, from 7-8:30 p.m. Crossan is author of twenty books on the historical Jesus, four of which have become religious best-sellers: The Historical Jesus; Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography; Who Killed Jesus?; and The Birth of Christianity. A more recent work is titled, In Search of Paul: How Jesus’ Apostles Opposed Roman Empire with God’s Kingdom. Thurs., Jan. 31. Justice and the World
Thurs., Feb. 7 History and Jesus
Thurs., Feb. 14 Worship and Violence
Thurs., Feb. 21 Resurrection and Community
Thurs., Feb. 28 Paul, An Appealing or Appalling Apostle?

A number of our members are preparing an appreciation of Rose Ferries , to be offered during the worship service on January 27.

Membership Classes: We hope to offer church membership classes for adults this winter. They will be held Wednesdays, February 6 to March 19 at 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. New members will be received by Baptism and Confirmation, Confirmation, or Reaffirmation of Faith on Pentecost Sunday, March 30. Folk are welcome to participate in these classes simply as a way to explore or to have a refresher in the Christian faith. If you would like to register or to know more about the course, please contact the church office.

Six goldfish with 20 gallon tank, filter, automatic feeder etc. Looking for a new home. Free to someone who will make a $10 (minimum) donation to the M & S Fund of the United Church. Call 233-1361.

Did you know? Westminster Church’s, Outreach Committee offers regular support to West Broadway Community Ministry, an Outreach Ministry of Winnipeg Presbytery. One of the ways in which we do so is through your generous food donations that help to sustain West Broadway’s lunch program, and emergency hampers. Along with other United Churches, we are invited to collect a particular food item every other month. During January we are encouraging the congregation to bring Cheese Whiz – Boxes are available in the narthex and in the office for your contributions. Thanks to your support, Westminster Church continues to offer its generosity to others in this community who find themselves in need.

Please pick up your 2008 weekly offering envelopes either before the service (in the narthex) or after the service (in the Lecture Hall). Thank you.

The Wider Church!

Charleswood United presents Dance the Night Away! Sat. Feb. 9. 8 p.m. The Masonic Centre, 420 Corydon Ave. Silent Auction. Light lunch. Features Executive Big Band. Tickets $20/person. Call 832-3667 or email [email protected]

Around the Town!

Banff Mountain Film Festival. Burton Cummings. Sat. 19 Jan./08 - features award-winning films and audience favorites from approximately 300 films entered in the annual festival in Banff. Tickets are $15 and are available at most outdoor retailers and online at http://www.touchlesstickets.com/ .

Lockport’s 20th Annual Children’s Winter Festival! Sat. Jan. 26 & Sun. Jan.27. See website for info http://www.lockport-childrensfestival.ca/

KIDS QUIPS - A sweet little boy surprised his grandmother bringing her a cup of coffee that he made himself. He was so proud. Anxiously, he waited to hear the verdict. The grandmother had never had such a bad cup of coffee. Forcing down the last sip, his grandmother noticed three little green army guys in the bottom of the cup. She asked, “Honey, why would three of your little army men be in the bottom of my cup?” Her grandson replied, “You know grandma, it’s like on TV. ‘The best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup’.”

[posted: Jan 4, 5:00pm]