Hard to believe we've come to the end of another year.  We here at OPCC are so thankful for all the ways you've been a part of this faith community throughout 2017, and look forward the ways we will all grow together in 2018!

Worship on December 31
Despite frigid temperatures predicted, on Sunday, December 31 we WILL have 10:30am worship service.  It is still Christmas, and so we will still celebrate new life in Christ, and new beginnings that come with this new life and this new year.  If you choose not to come to OPCC on Sunday because it is predicted to be 2 degrees with -14 degree windchill at that time, you still have two options to worship on Sunday morning.

1. We live-stream our Sunday morning worship services on our Facebook page.  We start live-streaming AFTER the announcements and after the passing of the peace.  So be ready around 10:40ish, but be patient.
2. Tomorrow morning we will have a "Worship from Home" option on our website/blog.  Its not quite the same as worshiping in the sanctuary, but it is still good to worship God no matter how we do it.  We know it's not easy to get out and about when it gets so cold, so we hope this will help you to be in a worshipful space no matter where you are.

We WILL NOT have our 9:00am Christian Education for adults or children, NOR the 9:00am Meditation & Communion in the chapel.  

Sundays of Giving
As a reminder, Worship and Arts is sponsoring a Sunday of Giving this Sunday and the next.  What better way to usher in the New Year but by celebrating all of God's bounty by giving to those in need? Please plan on bringing any of the following to worship services on this Sunday, or the next, Jan 7.

• Canned goods
• Dry boxed goods (cereal, rice, boxed dinners, etc.)
• New or slightly used kitchen items
• New hats
• New gloves
• New or slightly used coats
• New or slightly used towels, sheets, and blankets

You can put any of these items on or by the Hat & Mitten Tree in the front entry hall at the church at any time. Since Christmas is a season and lasts through January 6, it will be ok that we leave up the Hat & Mitten tree through January 7!
All items will be donated to agencies that provide support to those in need, including our own food pantry. 

Year End Giving
If you had planned on making a year-end gift, even in the form of your weekly offering, and want it to be reflected on your 2017 giving record, please make sure to bring it on Sunday morning.  If you do not plan to be here in person on Sunday morning, you can mail it to the church, dated 2017, and we will make sure it gets put with our final deposit of the year.  That final deposit will take place in the first couple days of 2018, but as long as it is dated for 2017, it will be reflected on the 2017 giving records.  If you are concerned, or want to make sure that we've received it, you can contact Michelle at the office, to go over your final giving of 2017.

Many thanks for all the ways you are a part of our faith community - stay warm this weekend, both physically and in spirit!

Laura

(This is a service to be done at home on Christmas Day.  It is adaptable to be something done alone with quiet and reflection or with a group of people of various sizes and ages who are in a boisterous mood.  Whether there are children and pets tearing through wrapping paper, or quiet solitude, both are perfectly appropriate for this special morning.)
 
Invitation to Worship
(To be read aloud by one person, or read to yourself.) 
 
Throughout all of history Christians have gathered on this bright and beautiful morning to celebrate Christmas. We sit around our trees and exchange gifts in honor of the baby born to us, Immanuel, God with us, Christ the Lord! We sing our jubilant hymns and share slices of our spice cakes. We tell the old, old story and light the candles around the wreath.
 
But even before there was a baby, even before the coming Messiah was known to us in the flesh and bone of a human being, the faithful throughout time and space remembered: “hope.” Unexpected, quiet, and often whispered in the prayers of women forgotten by time and memory, these voices made straight the path in the wilderness and prepared the way for the coming Lord.
 
So on this Christmas Day, let us gather, in this space, and join our voices along with those ancient proclamations and together whisper: “Hope.”
 
Lighting of the Christ Candle
(If you have an Advent Wreath at home, you can light the purple and pink candles, and the white candle after reading this aloud.  If you DO NOT have an Advent Wreath at home, you can still read through the liturgy out loud, and light your one candle at the end.)
 
With the birth of the Christ Child, gathered around the crèche with Mary, Joseph, and shepherds, we leave our Advent journey behind.
 
The journey we leave behind, but not so its promise:  Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love have been woven into the crude coverlet in which the child is swaddled. The light of their candles abides now in the Christ Candle, the unique Light that breathes life into all things, the shining Light that illumines all things; the divine Light that will never be quenched.
 
Scripture: John 1.1-5
The Voice was and is God. This celestial Word remained ever present with the Creator; His speech shaped the entire cosmos. Immersed in the practice of creating, all things that exist were birthed in Him. His breath filled all things with a living, breathing light— A light that thrives in the depths of darkness, blazes through murky bottoms. It cannot and will not be quenched.
 
Prayer (with the Lord’s Prayer)
Living God, grant us the vision to gaze on your Light; grant us the courage to walk in your Light; and grant us the compassion to share your Light with all. We pray these and all things in the name of God-with-us….
Our Father, who art in heaven….

​A Baby to Make a Path & Zechariah’s Proclamation of Hope
Before there was a whisper that a girl named Mary engaged to a carpenter named Joseph would have a baby and name him Jesus there was another family: Elizabeth and Zechariah. The hope of their child would pave a road in the wilderness for his coming cousin and friend, the messiah, Christ the Lord.  And Zechariah sang his beautiful, clear song of hope.
 
Luke 1:67-80
“Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.’
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.”

​The Time Had Come
And the time finally came, as it had for Elizabeth and Zechariah, that Mary and Joseph welcomed their little one into the world. The women ran back and forth, ferrying hot water and clean cloths to the barn where Mary labored, not exactly the place anyone expected the embodiment of hope to come into the world:
 
(Some can tell the story a line at a time with motions, inviting the children to repeat after the leader, if there are children present.)
 
Caesar Augustus, the ruler of Rome (make crown on head)
decided to take a census. (counting fingers)
A census is when you count all the people. (point to all people)
Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem (walking in place)
for the census. (counting fingers)
Mary was very pregnant. (indicate pregnant belly)
While they were in Bethlehem, (make pointed roof over head with hands)
the time came (point to wrist/watch)
for Mary to give birth. (indicate pregnant belly)
She gave birth to a baby boy. (rock baby)
She wrapped him in strips of cloth (wrap strips of cloth)
and laid him in a manger (indicate laying down)
because there was no room at the inn. (shake finger “no”)
 
In a field nearby, there were shepherds (hold shepherds staff)
watching their flocks at night. (indicate watching)
Suddenly, an angel appeared. (flap arms like wings)
The shepherds were afraid. (Hands to mouth, like nail biting)
The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. (wag finger “no”)
“I bring you good news of great joy! (arms out wide/forward)
“A Savior is born today!” (arms up like a Y)
Suddenly, there was an army of angels (flap arms like wings)
praising God and saying, “Glory to God!” (hands cupping mouth as if shouting)
 
The shepherds said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem (Swing arm “let’s go”)
and see the new baby.” (rock baby)
The shepherds ran to Bethlehem (run in place)
And found Mary and Joseph and the baby. (rock baby)
The shepherds told them (hold shepherds staff)
what the angel had said. (flap arms like wings)
And all who heard it were amazed! (arms out)
The shepherds went back to their fields (walking)
Glorifying and praising God! (arms up, like a Y)

​Anna’s Proclamation of Hope
An elderly woman came up to the new parents, as of course the older members of religious communities have done since time began: drawn by the beauty and hope of a new life in the midst of the faithful. And Anna sang her great hope:
 
Luke 2:36-38
“There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Response Time
(You can wonder about these questions together, aloud, on your own, or in a journal.  Let your mind fill with wonder as you let your eyes wander around the scene of Jesus birth, and these proclamations of hope)
 

• I wonder what stories of Christmas past have been important to you?
• I wonder how others are celebrating Christmas Day around the world?
• I wonder if you have ever experienced darkness?
• I wonder if you have ever experienced a flash of light in that darkness?
• I wonder what hope looks like? Sounds like? Feels like?
• What does the Light feel like? What does it look like, and sound like?
• I wonder what proclamation of hope you will make?
• I wonder what response is brought forth as you have listened to these scriptures?
• I wonder if you are feeling compelled to sing? draw? pray? call a friend? write a letter to a leader?
• Each Sunday we read and practice liturgy.  The word liturgy means “the work of the people.”
  • I wonder what work would God have you do after hearing these scriptures?

Blessing
Believe:
for light is now in the world
Believe:
for God has become one of us
Believe:
for Love is born in each of us
Believe:
for the manger is full
 
Go and believe
it is as the prophets said
and the blessing of Christmas
of family
of friends
and of God
be with you today

This morning at my yoga class we had a substitute instructor whom I had never experienced before, but for whom I am so thankful.  At the end of class we always have time for relaxation in a particular pose that allows you to both relax, and to open yourself to the blessings of the universe, and that God is sending you.  Because it is also a small class, the instructor will come around and touch you in a certain spot while you're in this pose, either your forehead, or your hands, or maybe your feet.  They will offer this healing touch with some essential oils, and also by paying attention to where you may need release.  This morning the instructor touched my forehead and said, "such a furrowed brow."  At the end of class she offered me a hug, because she said she could tell I was carrying a lot with me this morning.

Perhaps you, like me, may find yourself this Advent season struggling with the twin demands of a busy calendar and a soul that longs for time to connect deeply with God; peace in the midst of struggle.  Last week we began to prepare our hopeful hearts for the coming of Christ into our lives, both as a tiny babe, but also in the many ways in which we wait for and yearn for Christ.  This week, we add a layer of peacefulness to our hope.  Peacefulness that is welcome, and yet elusive, during such a busy season.

This week's scriptures of Isaiah 40:1-11 and Mark 1:1-8, point to making a pathway for peace in the midst of struggle.  As one prayer puts it, "As water is restless until it reaches its level, so the soul has not peace until it rests in God" (Sudar Singh, UMH 423).

God's peace comes to us even in the midst of our busy journeys and our rocky paths.  Won't you come join us on Sunday morning as we explore how we have seen God's comfort and peace at work in our world, our community, and in ourselves?

ALL are welcome!  #allmeansall - ALL are welcome to join us for worship at 10:30am on Sunday mornings.  You can also check out some of the many ways to be involved within our church community, to help prepare yourself for the coming of Christ, by visiting our Advent & Christmas worship page.

​We hope you have a peaceful week, and to see you soon!

Can you believe that tomorrow begins a new church year?  As we observe the beginning of Advent, we too observe the beginning of our church calendar, which begins with Hanging of the Greens.  Won't you join us tomorrow morning for Hanging of the Greens?

Please check out all the things happening during Advent and Christmas, by visiting that worship page here, as well as check out the "Social Media Advent Challenge" below in which you are invited to participate all the way through the Christmas season.

Regardless of how you participate this Advent season, we hope to see you soon, to worship and serve together, in God's great name!