Christmas Day Service 2020

Gourock St. John’s
Christmas Day 2020
Service prepared by The Rev. Teri Peterson
Email: tpeterson@churchofscotland.org.uk

~~~~Transcript:

*Hymn #301: Hark the Herald Angels Sing

John 1.1-14 (NRSV), lighting the Christ candle
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Carol Calendar: O Come, All Ye Faithful

Teri’s Christmas Tree

*Hymn #313: See in Yonder Manger Low

Poem: I cannot tell you how the light comes (Jan Richardson)

I cannot tell you
how the light comes.

What I know
is that it is more ancient
than imagining.

That it travels
across an astounding expanse
to reach us.
That it loves
searching out
what is hidden,
what is lost,
what is forgotten
or in peril
or in pain.

That it has a fondness
for the body,
for finding its way
toward flesh,
for tracing the edges
of form,
for shining forth
through the eye,
the hand,
the heart.

I cannot tell you
how the light comes,
but that it does.
That it will.
That it works its way
into the deepest dark
that enfolds you,
though it may seem
long ages in coming
or arrive in a shape
you did not foresee.

And so
may we this day
turn ourselves toward it.
May we lift our faces
to let it find us.
May we bend our bodies
to follow the arc it makes.
May we open
and open more
and open still

to the blessed light
that comes.

*Music: Love Came Down at Christmas (improvisation by Philip)

Poem: First Coming (Madeleine L’Engle)

He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace
He came when the Heavens were unsteady
and prisoners cried out for release.

He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He died with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait

till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
He came, and his Light would not go out.

He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.

We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!

Prayer
Thank you, God, for coming to be with us in the midst of everything.
Thank you for bringing your Word to life,
and thank you for living alongside us from birth to death,
not in a faraway powerful palace,
but in a normal family in all its complexity and wonder.
We never expected you to come so close —
right into our houses, when we’re still in our pyjamas,
without even time to sweep up the needles that have dropped off the tree overnight.
Yet here you are, demanding our full attention.
Now we pray that you would keep our eyes on you when you’re no longer a cute baby cooing and rolling over and sleeping in our arms…
Give us the stamina and courage to keep you at the centre of our lives
when you are stretching our minds,
asking questions,
and pointing a new direction.
Give us hands ready to reach out with your compassion,
hearts ready to open wider than we ever imagined,
feet ready to walk beside the wandering,
and minds set on your justice.
Remind us that the gift of Christmas isn’t just for Christmas, it’s for life —
abundant life, in the kingdom you are bringing to earth, even now.
We pray for your counsel, your peace, your comfort, your love
to be known in this and every place,
until all the world joins the song of the angels,
with our voices and our deeds.
We ask in the name of that beloved baby who is lord and saviour of all, Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

*Music: The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman music by Dan Forrest (virtual choir video)

Benediction

You who have seen glory, shine it into the world!
You who have heard the word, speak it into the world!
You who have come to the manger, bear Christ into the world!
As you celebrate, may you know the fullness of grace and truth.
Love has come, and never will leave us.
May the love of God be the foundation on which we live,
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be the light that guides our way,
May the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be in our every breath.
Go in peace. Amen.

Christmas Eve Service 2020

Gourock St. John’s
Christmas Eve 2020
Service prepared by The Rev. Teri Peterson
email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland (dot) org (dot) uk

~~~~~Transcript:

Organ Prelude: Christmas Night Pastorale, by Corelli

Hymn #294: On Christmas Night All Christians Sing

Welcome

Fischy’s 2020 Christmas song: Even in the Strangest Times

Lighting the Christ Candle
One: For the anxious new parents and the creatures of instinct,
All: the light shines.
One: For the onlooker and the message-bearer,
All: the light shines.
One: For those at work and those working at home,
All: the light shines.
One: For the traveller and the host,
All: the light shines.
One: Far from the centre of power,
regardless of the plans of the authorities,
in the midst of everyday life,
with ordinary people,
All: the word became flesh and lived among us.
~Christ Candle is lit~

Hymn #315: Once in Royal David’s City (virtual choir video)

Reading: Luke 2.1-7 (Alan & Helen)
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Reflection
You may have heard me talk before about the layout of an average family’s house in ancient Palestine — how the ground floor had two sections, the front section was at street level, and the back section raised a few feet up, and then there might be an upper room, either built in or as a loft or even as a sort of shack on the roof. The street level at the front was where animals were kept. The raised bit at the back of the ground floor was where the family lived, with perhaps a table and some stools, maybe a fire at the back, and sometimes a straw mattress on the floor, or sometimes just wool blankets. At the very front of this platform, were little indentations that could hold animal feed, so that animals could eat at head-level. And then the upper room was for guests.

That upper room was already full when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem — which means there were likely already half a dozen people up there sharing straw mattresses and blankets on the floor. Now of course there would have been a lot of people traveling for the census, but it was still absolutely unthinkable to turn someone away — offering hospitality and caring for guests was the most important duty in the ancient world. But there was no space in the upper room, and the family was crammed into the back half of the ground floor…so the only available space was down front, with the animals.

Keeping animals in the ground floor of the house meant their body heat could help keep the house warm in winter. It would also keep them safe, as animals were likely any family’s most expensive possessions, since they could provide wool and milk, perhaps eggs, or even meat — for the family and for trade. It was risky to have travellers bedding down amidst their literal livelihoods, but it was also the only option.

So often we picture Jesus being born out in a field surrounded only by freshly-bathed animals and silent snowfall. But far more powerful is the truth of the story: that he was born right in the middle of everything, surrounded by people who had to figure out how to make it work with what they had. It wasn’t particularly clean, it wasn’t quiet, it wasn’t solitary….but it was still beautiful.

Yes, of course the Son of God being born is beautiful, as any baby is. But just as beautiful is the real picture that never quite fits into a Christmas carol: the picture of people putting their own comfort at the bottom of the priority list, in order to make room for others in need. The picture of young and old, family and guest and animal, unable to sleep through Mary’s shouts and cries and the unsettled animals, gathering around to encourage and support a mother in labour, to swaddle an infant and lay him in the safest place—the indentation that served as a food trough, where he can’t roll off the edge or get stepped on—and to celebrate the safe delivery, which was by no means guaranteed in those days, or now. The picture of a new family, unconventional and non-traditional in many ways. The picture of people who didn’t just say no because they didn’t have the perfect answer, but who instead took a risk and found that their last available floor space was now occupied by the baby who would change the world.

There was no room for guests…but that’s ok, because Jesus didn’t come to be a guest, separate from us. He was born in the middle of the mess and mystery of life, and that was made possible by people who put others first, who prioritised hospitality and compassion more than their own comfort and security, who were willing to figure out how to help even when the obvious answer was no.

It doesn’t make a pretty Christmas card or a lilting carol, but it does give us something to live by, every day of the year.

Music: O Holy Night (BSL video)

Reading: Luke 2.8-14 (Reids)
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

Reflection
I saw a music video recently in which this part of the story involved an angel basically herding the shepherds out of the fields toward the town. It made me laugh, which was not the point of the video! but also made me think about what that night might have been like. The shepherds were terrified, just as the disciples will be later when the glory of the Lord shines around at the Transfiguration, just as the ancient Israelites were terrified at Mount Sinai when the glory of the Lord shone from Moses’ face. To come that close to God’s glory is to be able to see things perhaps you’d rather be able to ignore.

So maybe the angel herded the shepherds, who were used to doing the herding themselves. Or maybe the shepherds ran away in fear and had to be corralled back together to hear the good news. Eventually, though, the whole host of heaven — like all the stars in the sky — can hold back no more, and they burst into song.

While today in covid-times that would be more than enough cause for us to take many large steps backward, in that moment it must have been a wonder to behold. To see all God’s messengers, the great cloud of witnesses, the stars themselves, singing praise.

I wonder what style of music they chose? Were they classical types, sounding like Handel’s Messiah? Or more like a praise band? Or perhaps like a school show, or like a church congregation, everyone making a joyful noise and sometimes even singing in tune, even if they can’t quite all clap together.

I like to imagine that the choir of angels singing actually sounds like something we could join in with. Not too perfect, because then it’s intimidating to try. Not so off-key that you can’t pick out the melody. Somewhere in between, it’s just right: the sweet spot where all of us can sing of God’s glory and share the good news, in a way that sends others running to see the amazing things God has done.
Music: Gesu Bambino by Pietro Yon

Reading: Luke 2.15-20 (Bolsters)
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Reflection
Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.

She must have been exhausted, between travel, and labour, and the first hours of motherhood. There would be more tired days ahead, too, with midnight feeding and inexplicable crying and trying to toddler-proof a first century house. Even the Son of God would still have his moments, surely, and his parents would likely have an experience very similar to any other parent — what one of my friends describes as “the days are long but the years are short.”

Many parents want to hold onto these moments, these memories, forever, but then the days are so long with sleep deprivation and worry and threenager battles…and the years so short, you blink and they’re grown. Yet here at the very beginning, Mary does what any mother does: treasures the moment, holds onto it, and hopes for time later to think it all over and figure out what it means.

Strangers had praised him and repeated the words of angels into his ears. Songs of God’s glory were still echoing around. Everyone was amazed. And Mary — prophet who sang of God’s kingdom overturning the powers of this world, teenager who said yes to God, mother of the Messiah…she treasured, and pondered.

What might it look like for us to join Mary in letting the word sink into our hearts, to let it become such a part of us we aren’t sure where we end and the word begins? To treasure it, and hold on to it for dear life through all the ups and downs that are coming? To find that all that pondering of the word changes how we speak and respond and act?

As we receive the gift of the Word Made Flesh this night, may we be transformed by holding this treasure. Amen.

Music: Adam lay ybounden

Prayer
Holy God,
we give you thanks for coming among us once again,
revealing your love for your world,
calling us into new life by bringing your kingdom to earth in a baby.
Your presence shines with glory,
even as your fullness dwells in fragile flesh —
not in the official structures,
but in borrowed homes and among working people,
in an occupied land and a troubled time.
We give you thanks that
as you walked in the garden,
as you led your people,
as you spoke with your prophets,
you meet us here again, tonight.
Whether we are prepared, or not;
whether it feels familiar or strange;
whether we are in the appointed place or out in the fields;
even now you break open the barrier between heaven and earth.
We expected you, O God,
yet still your coming surprises us.
When you break through,
pushing your way into our lives when we aren’t quite ready,
all we can do is give you our full attention.
Like a baby we can’t take our eyes off of,
we look to you in wonder, in awe, and a little bit of fear.
What will you be like?
How will you change us?
How can we do our best for you?
Yet you just reach out and take hold of our hands and our hearts,
offering love beyond measure,
and asking only the same in return.
**~silence…leading to Silent Night (hymn #309)

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Olive’s reflection and reading John 1

*Recording of Adeste Fidelis

Benediction
This holy night, may your eyes shine with the light of the star.
This holy night, may your hands carry the weight of generosity.
This holy night, may your heart sing with the peace of the heavens.
This holy night, may your life reflect glory.
And may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, go with you, this night and always. Amen.

*Organ postlude: Ding Dong Merrily by P. Wedgewood / arr. P Norris

Sunday Service for 20 December 2020, fourth Sunday of Advent

Worship for 20 December 2020, 4th Sunday of Advent
Prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson, Gourock St John’s
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland (dot) org (dot) uk

~~~

Hymn #303: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

Reading, Sermon, Prayers

Hymn: My Soul Cries Out With A Joyful Shout (Canticle of the Turning)

~~~~~~

Lighting the Fourth Advent Candle

In the darkest times we cannot see to make our way…
our eyes adjust, but still everything is shadowed and grey.
We reach out, desperate
for comfort
for balance
for the familiar
for hope
In the darkest times,
even a faltering light can be just enough:
the flame flickers, twinkles, dances—and it is dazzling!
For in its light, we see light: God in our midst.

~Candle is lit~

However impossible it seems,
God’s promise will be fulfilled —
and blessed is the one who sees the truth of God’s kingdom in our midst.
Come, O come, Emmanuel, God with us, and we will rejoice.

Reading: Luke 1.46-56
Today we pick up right where we left off last week, with Mary visiting her relative Elizabeth. They’re both pregnant and Elizabeth has blessed Mary for her trust in God’s word to her. I’m reading from the gospel according to Luke, chapter 1, beginning at verse 46, from the New Revised Standard Version.

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.

For the word of God in scripture,
For the word of God among us,
For the word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.

Sermon: Mary Sings

This week I read a startling news article. Did you know that 2020 is the year that human-made things literally outweighed nature? This is the year that all the stuff we have created — our built environment of concrete and metal and glass, machinery, waste, everything we own — all of that now weighs more than all the entire biomass of the earth. Plastic alone weighs more than all the animals on land and sea! And the vast majority of that mass has been created since the second World War.

Reading about this definitely gave me pause when I was shopping for Christmas gifts. How can we celebrate the Christ who turns everything upside down and at the same time not add to this heavy footprint on God’s beloved creation?

I also had Mary’s song at the front of my mind as I was reading about the study titled “poverty linked to higher risk of Covid death” showing that those living in poorer health board areas of Scotland were more likely to have severe cases of Covid requiring intensive care, and because fewer critical care beds were available in those areas, people in economically deprived areas are more likely to die. We’ve seen the effects of that in Inverclyde through this pandemic, and the statistics nationwide bear out that more poor and disadvantaged people are dying—both from Covid and from other things going untreated as the health service tries to cope.

And again, the news this week is full of the epidemic of drug misuse in Scotland, and here in Inverclyde a rising rate of drug use and deaths. Of course we know that drugs and deprivation go hand in hand, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to us.

Into the middle of this reality, where hope seems impossible, Mary sings.

Like all of us, she begins from her own personal experience. Though she was not a person of power or status or wealth, just a poor teenager in an out-of-the-way town in an occupied land, God noticed her. God loved her. God called her. And she sang of her gratitude, her awe and wonder, her praise. This thing that God had done — called her to be a prophet and the mother of the Messiah — would not be easy, yet she said that God had done great things for her! She may have been scared, as anyone in her position would be, but her confidence in God’s goodness was enough to raise her voice.

And then, halfway through, Mary recognises that her own personal experience, her own little life that has been unremarkable, is also part of something bigger. Something that God has been doing for a long time, and will continue to do through her and her son, and on into the future: upend the systems of this world and make them look more like the kingdom of God.

From generation to generation, God works with power and mercy, through the lowliest and the marginalised, to fulfil the promise that changes everything: scatters the proud, brings down the powerful, and sends the rich away empty, while lifting up the lowly and filling the hungry with good things.

This is the Word that becomes flesh in Jesus. This is the promise that Mary is bearing in her body, the fruit of her faithfulness. This is who God is and what God does — from the earliest days of scripture to the very end of the book and beyond.

I wonder how many of us would join Mary in praising God for these things … given that we are far more likely to be the proud, powerful, and rich in this scenario? We are, globally speaking, at the top of this system that God is turning upside down. We are the ones whose lifestyles have created a situation where our stuff weighs down God’s creation. We are the ones who stand at arms length from the realities of deprivation and wring our hands and make a donation here and there and pray for something to change.

We should be careful what we pray for, because the song Mary sings is definitely about change. It’s about an upending of a system that is, frankly, immoral and against the values of God’s kingdom. Which is not to say that those of us who benefit from the system are bad, but rather that the entire system is. We can’t even claim that it’s broken, because the reality is that it’s working exactly as it’s been designed — to privilege the few at the expense of the many, to lift up some on the backs of others. And that system is exactly what God in the flesh will challenge, insisting on valuing every person as a beloved child of God, deserving of enough to eat and inclusion in the community and compassionate care…and that challenge is what will get him killed by the powers that do not want to be scattered or sent away empty. But the Mighty One who looks with favour on Mary will not be thwarted. Not this time, not ever. This is a promise that cannot be broken, and God will find a way to fulfil it, even if it means breaking the power of death to do it.

If this is what God is doing in Christ, then we who are called the Body of Christ had better be ready to be a part of it. If we celebrate Christmas and then nothing is different afterwards, we haven’t celebrated the Messiah that Mary is singing about today. Her words echo through the generations calling us to the kind of impossible Christmas that changes the world. What does the Word of God Incarnate have to say to those who live in such dire poverty that drugs seem the only comfort? Or to those who get richer while the poor get poorer? What does the community of those who love Mary’s son have to say to those who care more about their ability to shelter money in tax havens than about the lack of critical care beds in our hospital? How does the magnificat sound to the earth that groans under the weight of our economy’s need for constant consumption?

I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing Christmas was just about celebrating a birth and then getting back to normal life, just like any other birthday party. But what God is doing in Christ is saving the earth and all that is in it, even if that means saving us from ourselves. This is an act of love so monumental that it turns everything upside down. Who are we to wish that God would…what, love us a little less so we could go on as before? It’s impossible for God to do anything but love, and to fulfil promises, and this is the promise that makes Mary rejoice and that hopefully brings us the same kind of joyful commitment to God’s call that we, too, will be willing to bear God’s word in our bodies—and into the world that is desperate for the good news to be more than just pretty words or songs or cards or presents.

May it be so. Amen.

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
God who has created and is creating,
through all of history you have been making things new.
Your vision of justice and peace, compassion and community,
has always been and will always be.
Remember your mercy, O God,
and fulfil your promise of new life for all.

In this season when we prepare for your coming among us in the flesh,
we pray for all who cannot afford to wait any longer for justice —
for those yearning for peace;
for those facing holidays with an empty stomach;
for those whose physical and mental health is suffering;
for those whose Christmas list asks only for a safe place to call home.
Remember your mercy, O God,
and fulfil your promise of new life for all.

We pray too for those at the other end of the Magnificat —
for the rich, that they may learn true generosity;
for the full, that they may know the gift of emptying;
for the powerful, that they may use their position to do justice;
for the proud, that they may experience wonder and extend grace.
Remember your mercy, O God,
and fulfil your promise of new life for all.

We give you thanks, living God,
for your faithful people who have taught us your way.
For those who have recognised your work in our lives,
offering encouragement and blessing when we most needed it.
We thank you for friendship unconfined by generation,
for voices that cause our spirits to leap,
for the family of faith that nudges us to the next step on your path.
Remember your mercy, O God,
and fulfil your promise of new life for all.

Nothing will be impossible with you,
and so we ask for the blessing of trust that we might follow wherever you lead,
in the name of the One who is making all things new, Jesus the Christ,
who taught us to pray together
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Benediction
Go into your week committed to God’s call, to bear the word of God into a world that needs the good news to be lived and enacted by us all. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you; may the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion; may the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone; and may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.

Announcements

* If you would like to attend in-person worship in the sanctuary, you will need to book a place as we can only safely accommodate 35 people at a time under current distancing guidelines. Please phone Cameron (630879) on a Friday morning between 10-12 or Anne Love (07904 617283) on a Saturday morning between 10-12 to book in for that Sunday. If we reach our capacity, you’ll be given the first seats the following week.
Inside the church: face coverings must be worn, you may give your offering at the door rather than by passing it through the rows, we will ask you to sit in a particular seat to ensure everyone’s safety as there is a one-way system in place, and the service will be around half an hour with no singing but with instrumental music. Families are welcome, and children should stay in the service for the whole half hour — there will be a children’s time for them though! If you’ve been out of the area in the past 2 weeks, or if you have any symptoms that could be covid, please plan to worship online rather than in person.
If the government Tiers or regulations change, that could affect our services. Should that happen, we will contact everyone who is booked in for a service, and will use all our regular communication channels to advise of any new restrictions or procedures or plans.

* Online and audio recording-by-phone (call 01475 270037 to listen to the service) worship will continue, and the print version will continue to be available on request.

* The theme for Advent is “The Blessings of an (Im)possible Christmas.” You may want to have a candle handy when you worship at home during Advent, so you can join in the Advent Candle Lighting.
In addition, there is a daily devotional for Advent, written by members of the congregation. Print copies are available, and it is also posted each day on our Facebook page.
Teri will be doing a “carol calendar” throughout Advent via Facebook Live, too!

Christmas Services:
We will have online services for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the first Sunday of Christmas (27 December, led by the Moderator of the General Assembly, no in-person worship that day).

We will also have an in-person Christmas Eve service at 7pm, with all the usual protocols in place — please book by phoning/texting/emailing Teri no later than 21 December (manse: 632143, mobile 07549866888, email tpeterson@churchofscotland.org.uk).

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!

The Boys Brigade is again meeting in the large hall — if you know any boys from P1 – S6 who would like to explore what it’s all about, please contact Alan Aitken: alanandrewaitken at gmail dot com. There are spaces available in all sections (Junior Section on Mondays at 7pm, Anchor Boys on Tuesdays at 5:30pm, Company Section on Fridays at 7:30pm). The Guides are working on their plans and hope to start up after Christmas. For information, contact Gillian Dick: gndick at hotmail dot com.

No other organisations or groups are currently using our halls, so that we have time to adequately clean and ensure the space is safe for everyone. This will be reviewed after Christmas.

The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church by post or with a neighbour who is coming to in-person worship and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!

Sunday service for 13 December 2020, third Sunday of Advent

Worship for 13 December 2020, 3rd Sunday of Advent
Prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson, Gourock St John’s
Email: tpeterson at churchofscotland dot org dot uk

Reflection Music to Begin Worship: Hymn #285 The Angel Gabriel

Hymn #287: No Wind At The Window

Reading, Sermon, Prayers

Hymn 320: Joy to the World
classical version

or praise band version!

Lighting the Third Advent Candle
In the darkest times we cannot see to make our way…
our eyes adjust, but still everything is shadowed and grey.
We reach out, desperate
for comfort
for balance
for the familiar
for hope

In the darkest times,
even a faltering light can be just enough:
the flame flickers, twinkles, dances—and it is dazzling!
For in its light, we see light: God in our midst.

~Candle is lit~

However impossible it seems,
here we are, the servants of the Lord, both perplexed and joyful —
and blessed is the one who trusts that with God all things are possible.
Come, O come, Emmanuel, God with us, and we will rejoice.

Reading: Luke 1.26-45
Today we transition from a season of reading from the Old Testament to the New, beginning the gospel according to Luke, which we will read from now until Easter.
The first two chapters of Luke’s gospel are like an overture, setting the scene for the story of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Luke’s primary themes are all present in the overture, so we have a hint of what is to come.
Luke begins with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who are elderly and childless. Zechariah is a priest who receives a visit from the angel Gabriel, telling him that Elizabeth will bear a son and they are to name him John. Zechariah is doubtful, and Gabriel takes away his ability to speak until John is born. Today’s reading from Luke chapter 1 begins at verse 26, six months after Elizabeth became pregnant. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

For the word of God in scripture,
For the word of God among us,
For the word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.

Sermon: Three Wise Women
Every single time I read this story, I think about how much Gabriel sounds like an alien when he greets Mary. Instead of “hello” he says “greetings favoured one” — and she was much perplexed. Of course she was perplexed — who talks like that? Even in ancient Palestine, I’m fairly certain people did not go around saying “greetings favoured one” to each other.

Aside from the strange stilted alien phrase, though, there’s more to be perplexed about. Why does the angel address her as “favoured”? She must have wondered what he was talking about, or if he had picked the wrong girl. After all, she was betrothed but not yet married, likely a young teenager. In Nazareth the tradition says that Gabriel met Mary at the well — a tradition which connects Mary to a long line of women in the Old Testament whose marriages were made at the well, including Rebekah who became the wife of Isaac, Rachel and Jacob, and Moses’ wife Zipporah. While Mary would know those stories, she would never have expected to be part of one! She was a poor teenager from a nondescript family in a town far from the centres of power, in an occupied land. For an angel to address her as “favoured” would be confusing indeed — favoured by whom? In what sense? Not in any of the usual ways.

While she was still pondering this strange word, Gabriel explained that actually, he meant favoured by God. He doesn’t say why, though. What was it about Mary that drew God’s attention? She wasn’t anybody important, just a girl at the well. But she barely had time to think that thought before Gabriel said she was going to be a mother!

So often our pictures of Mary are of a quiet, shy girl who keeps her eyes down and submits to whatever she’s told. But Mary’s first out-loud question proves her to be a bit more practical than we usually give her credit for. She wants to know how this is going to work — the mechanics of the situation. She doesn’t yet live with her husband-to-be, so…what’s the next step?

Gabriel’s answer that she’s going to be filled with the cloud of God’s presence, like the cloud that filled the Temple when it was built, or like the cloud that covered Mount Sinai, may or may not have been very comforting. But as Gabriel insisted that nothing is impossible with God, Mary spoke up again: Here am I, the servant of the Lord.

A lot of prophets have answered God with this same phrase — in Hebrew it’s “hineini”. Here am I. Moses says it, and Samuel, and Isaiah — and all of them said it before God actually told them what he was calling them to do. This is the answer of someone who trusts their relationship with God enough to say yes, even though the fullness of the task is not yet clear to them.

Mary is the first woman to ever be recorded saying “hineini” in response to God’s call. She agrees to carry God’s Son, without yet knowing the full picture of what that will mean — including the risks to her own physical health, to her safety in her family and community, or the challenges of parenting, let alone parenting the son of God! Like the prophets before her, she trusts God, and that will have to be enough even though she doesn’t have a map.

Gabriel did give her a hint, though, when he mentioned Elizabeth. Mary headed straight there, apparently by herself, to get some advice from her older relative. It was a fair distance from Nazareth into the hill country, which is the area that includes Jerusalem and Bethlehem and other surrounding villages. When she arrived, Elizabeth too joined the ranks of the prophets, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking truths neither she nor Mary understand yet. Over the next three months they will have many such conversations, passing knowledge from generation to generation, sharing the experience of growing a world-changing child in their bodies, blessing each other with the companionship of women while the men of the story are silent on the sidelines.

I originally titled this sermon “Three Wise Women” as a balance to the wise men of Epiphany. Those travellers came from afar and symbolise the whole world recognising the Messiah who has been born…but before those wise men can set out on their journey, before the star shines in the sky, before any of the Christmas story can take place, we need the three wise women of this story first! And I can hear you wondering, because there are only two women named in the story. Of course Mary was wise enough to trust God’s impossible word. And Elizabeth wise enough to recognise God at work in and through Mary’s life. And the third….is the Holy Spirit! In the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Aramaic which Mary and Elizabeth spoke, the word for Spirit is a feminine noun, ruach, so would usually use the pronoun “she” or “her”—and even better, in the Old Testament the Spirit is sometimes personified as God’s wisdom, and so the third wise one appears in the story! God’s Spirit fills Elizabeth and she speaks God’s wisdom.

I particularly love Elizabeth’s last Spirit-filled line: “blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

How often we need this encouragement! From one generation to another, to be reminded of the blessing that is born of trust, even in something that seems impossible. It’s a blessing that only asks we take the next step, even if we aren’t sure what the one after will be. Mary says “here I am” and then visits Elizabeth, and slowly the path begins to unfold before her, one step at a time. And it turns out that what seemed impossible before isn’t really, because with God, nothing is impossible.

Perhaps in this season where so much normality feels out of reach, we too can trust God enough to take just the next step and see what God unfolds after that. Or perhaps this is a season when we are the ones who are called to speak with the Spirit’s voice and encourage those who are struggling with what the next step might be. Whether that’s across the generations or across other divides, can we reach out to one another and find the blessing together?

May it be so. Amen.

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
From generation to generation,
your world-changing grace passes, O God —
one to another, telling the story
and sharing the hope.
You send messengers to young girls
and fill old women with your Spirit,
you speak through songs and dreams,
and even when we are perplexed
you entrust us with your Word.
May we, today,
believe there will be a fulfilment of your promise.
May we, today,
have the courage to take the next step
even when the whole path is unclear.
May we, today,
be ready for your disruptive blessing
for us and for the world.
In the midst of all the difficulties,
we pray you would send your peace.
In the midst of all the grief,
we pray you would send your comfort.
In the midst of all the uncertainty,
we pray you would guide us.
We are grateful for your gifts this season,
especially for the gift of scientists
and their perseverance and cooperation,
as they have sought ways to bring an end to the pandemic.
We thank you for their hard work
that has brought the first vaccines.
We thank you for those who have supported them,
at home, in the scientific community, in government,
and those who have worked so hard
in health care to save lives up to this point.
When it seemed impossible,
they trusted that they could take the next step
toward your bigger picture of health and wholeness for all.
We thank you for all who have sacrificed so much during this time,
for the ways people have showed love for their neighbours near and far.
We thank you for the unexpected gift
of time and space to evaluate our priorities.
We pray for the courage to insist
on a healthier future for all your people,
to advocate for those who are
suffering under austerity and from isolation,
to reach out to those who have been pushed to the margins,
to work for a day when all can live without fear.
We hear you calling, O God,
and we want to be the ones who say “here I am”
even if we’re nervous about what you might ask of us.
Remind us again that nothing is impossible with you,
and that your blessing will carry us through.
We ask these and all things in the power of the Holy Spirit
and in the name of Christ, the coming king,
who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Benediction
Go into your week trusting that the blessing of the first step will carry you forward into God’s future, remembering that nothing is impossible with God! And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you; may the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion; may the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone; and may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.

Announcements

* Young Adult Bible Study meets on Zoom at 1pm (BYOPizza). We are reading chapter 12 of Revelation today! If you’d like login information, contact Teri.

* Online and audio recording-by-phone (call 01475 270037 to listen to the service) worship will continue, and the print version will continue to be available on request.

No other organisations or groups are currently using our halls, so that we have time to adequately clean and ensure the space is safe for everyone. This will be reviewed after Christmas.

Sunday Service for 6 December 2020, second Sunday of Advent

Worship Service for 6 December 2020
Second Sunday of Advent
Prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson, St John’s Gourock
Email: tpeterson@churchofscotland.org.uk

~~~

Hymn: Light of the World

Reading, Sermon, Prayers

Hymn: For Everyone Born

~~~~~~~~

Lighting the 2nd Advent Candle
In the darkest times we cannot see to make our way…
our eyes adjust, but still everything is shadowed and grey.
We reach out, desperate
for comfort
for balance
for the familiar
for hope
In the darkest times,
even a faltering light can be just enough:
the flame flickers, twinkles, dances—and it is dazzling!
For in its light, we see light: God in our midst.

~Candle is lit~

However impossible it seems,
hope is alive, even in the midst of this world,
and blessed is the one whose living hope reveals God’s good news.
Come, O come, Emmanuel, God with us, and we will rejoice.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Reading: Isaiah 61.1-11, New Revised Standard Version

The book of Isaiah is thought to be the work of three prophets living in different times in Israel’s history—first Isaiah spoke to the people before they were conquered and taken into exile; second Isaiah spoke to people who were in exile, looking forward to coming home; third Isaiah spoke to people who had returned and were again living in a rebuilt Jerusalem, probably sometime around the year 500 BCE. While first Isaiah seems to have a heavy focus on injustice and coming consequences, with occasional reminders of God’s promise, and second Isaiah is heavy on the comfort of God’s covenant, third Isaiah blends both call and promise, reminding people that God who saves them also requires something of them—that the covenant God makes with us still has two sides, and we are to live a particular way in response to God’s grace. Today’s reading comes from the centre chapter of Third Isaiah, chapter 61, and it encapsulates the core message of this later prophet. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,  because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,  to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,  and release to the prisoners;  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,  and the day of vengeance of our God;  to comfort all who mourn;  to provide for those who mourn in Zion—  to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning,  the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness,  the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.  They shall build up the ancient ruins,  they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities,  the devastations of many generations.   Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,  foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;  but you shall be called priests of the Lord,  you shall be named ministers of our God; you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,  and in their riches you shall glory.  Because their shame was double,  and dishonour was proclaimed as their lot, therefore they shall possess a double portion;  everlasting joy shall be theirs.   For I the Lord love justice,  I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense,  and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.  Their descendants shall be known among the nations,  and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge  that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.  I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,  my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,  he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,  and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  For as the earth brings forth its shoots,  and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise  to spring up before all the nations.

For the word of God in scripture
For the word of God among us
For the word of God within us
Thanks be to God

Sermon: Creators of Justice and Joy
For the people Isaiah was speaking to, the world had turned a corner, but they weren’t all the way out of the woods just yet. They had hope that something new was on the horizon, though. The question was: would they simply go back to the way things were, or would they make an effort to live into God’s future?

Isaiah offers a vision of a way forward, not a way back. And it begins with good news — of liberation for those who have been bound by injustice, and of binding-up of wounds and brokenness; good news of release and of God’s attentiveness; glad tidings of comfort and joy.

It’s a beautiful vision, that the prophet is called to offer comfort by providing joy. Did you hear how he was to do it? Not by simply saying “rejoice!” and expecting people to snap out of their doldrums, but by actually giving them the things they need in order to rejoice, physically changing one thing that leads to another. It’s a very down-to-earth and embodied way of lifting up dignity and providing a path to renewal of both body and spirit — and from that renewal of each person can come the renewal of whole communities and even the world. So we can picture the prophet walking about among people who are sitting in the ashes of their dreams, wiping their foreheads and giving them a garland to wear instead. From that small outward first step can come more steps — taking the burial ointments and replacing them with the anointing oil of a celebration; lifting their faint spirits by draping them in kindness and uplifting words.

It may feel like baby steps, but those small acts of comfort will allow the people to rise from the ashes into a mighty oak, the kind of tree that is so strong and beautiful that all who see it praise the Lord. And that strength will be enough for them to draw on to build up what was in ruins, to share the good news with the whole city and indeed all generations by creating justice and joy for others.

It can be tempting to read this as only about spiritual restoration, but the prophet is pretty clear that this justice and joy is both spiritual and practical, economic even. Those who have been on the underside of a system that depends on underpaid labour while the rich get richer will find themselves fairly paid, and indeed with land to their own names. Those who have been left to mourn alone and forgotten will be surrounded by comfort. Those who have been imprisoned by debt, fear, greed, worldly expectations, and despair will be set free. This new covenant God is proclaiming is a covenant of jubilee — of re-setting the playing field so that everyone has enough and all can experience abundant life. Those who live according to this covenant will be an inspiration to others, a model for how God’s kingdom can come on earth as it is in heaven — like a garden, displaying God’s glory for all to see. Rebuilding the community in such a way that those who were on the margins, or left out completely, are now integral members treated with dignity, will be a source of joy not just for the people in that place but in every place.

This is not simply a return to what was, because before this crisis, too many were suffering in the unjust system that we simply took for granted. This is a chance to build up from the ruins something new. And that begins at a very basic level: recognising the weariness and grief, and offering the practical things needed to take the first steps toward hope and peace, and maybe even toward joy.

Because God doesn’t tell the people to just get to work already, what are they waiting for? God anoints the prophet, sending them to first go and speak good news, to cover the people in words of liberating love, compassion, peace, and justice. And then to bring them along the first step, providing what they need. And only then, when the people’s needs are met and their dignity is restored, then they can look up and see their place in God’s work. It is from their healing, not from their brokenness, that new growth is possible.

We know from experience that when we are in the midst of grief, fear, depression, or anxiety, when we are feeling trapped in pain, that it is nearly impossible to see anything but ashes. We, rightly, look inward and care for ourselves as best we can, though it feels like slogging through mud in the shadowed valley. It’s only when we are comforted, when someone puts out their hand to help — whether that’s bringing a meal, or picking up some work we can’t manage, or sending a card, or letting us know they have solved a problem that was getting us down — that we can begin to look up and out, and perhaps then to offer that same care to another. How much more true that is when it comes to big issues of injustice. When people are hungry, or sleeping rough, or in fear of their lives, or trapped in debt, it takes all their energy just to go day to day. What a difference a helping hand can make. Imagine, then what a difference changing things so that no one goes hungry, or fears for their life, could make. That’s what the liberating love of God calls us to do — to build on the blessings we have received so that others can experience them too.

This vision of God’s way was given to the prophet, and later it will be Jesus who reads these words for his first sermon in his hometown, and says that these words are fulfilled in him. In him, justice will be restored, and through that justice, people and communities and the world will be restored too. And…we are the Body of Christ. This is what Jesus said he was about, and therefore it is what we, his people, are also supposed to be about.

This is what we’re waiting for, when we are preparing for Christmas. This is what people should see when they see Christians celebrating the birth of Christ, God with us. In a world where hope is only beginning to penetrate the impossible, where both people and land are weary, we are called to demonstrate God’s blessing, not only for ourselves, but for all.

May it be so. Amen.

Hymn: Light Dawns On A Weary World
Words: Mary Louise Bringle
Tune: Temple of Peace by William Rowan

Light dawns on a weary world
when eyes begin to see
all people’s dignity.
Light dawns on a weary world:
the promised day of justice comes.

Refrain:
The trees shall clap their hands;
the dry lands, gush with springs;
the hills and mountains shall break forth with singing!
We shall go out in joy,
and be led forth in peace,
as all the world in wonder echoes shalom.

Love grows in a weary world
when hungry hearts find bread
and children’s dreams are fed.
Love grows in a weary world:
the promised feast of plenty comes.

Hope blooms in a weary world
when creatures, once forlorn,
find wilderness reborn.
Hope blooms in a weary world:
the promised green of Eden comes.

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

You bring us tidings of great joy, Lord,
even into our weary land.
You proclaim freedom and release,
comfort and gladness,
to a world longing for renewal of our bodies and our spirits.
Where we have felt parched,
you are bringing up new life.
Where the earth has languished,
you are planting a new garden.
Where your people have withered,
you are restoring justice and hope.
Let our whole being exult in you,
and our joy ring out in praise.

For You are a God of good news,
providing and renewing with your generous spirit.
We give you thanks for your comfort,
providing just what we need to step from mourning toward dancing.
We pray you would console those whose spirits are faint,
strengthen those whose bodies are frail,
encourage those whose minds are weary.
May all who suffer know wholeness in your presence.
(Brief silence)

We pray you would hasten the day of freedom,
that all who labour under a heavy yoke may stand tall,
that all may enjoy the fruits of their own work,
that all who carry the crushing load of debt or poverty may breathe easily.
May those who bear the weight of this world’s injustice be lifted up.
(Brief silence)

We pray you would restore your devastated creation,
bring peace to places of violence,
bring hope to those who feel forgotten,
bring dignity to those who have been excluded.
May your parched land and its people spring up with living water.
(Brief silence)

We pray you would pour out your Spirit on your Church,
knit us together as one Body,
move us from apathy to action,
make us a sign of your compassion and grace.
May all who see us understand your will for your kingdom to come on earth as in heaven.
(Brief silence)

We ask these and all things in the name of the coming Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ,
who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Benediction
Go into your week looking for ways to demonstrate God’s blessings, to reach out with compassion and justice, to renew community and restore hope. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you; may the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion; may the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone; and may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.

Benediction Response
Words and Tune (Gourock St Johns) by John L Bell

Now may the Lord of all be blessed;
now may Christ’s gospel be confessed;
now may the Spirit when we meet
bless sanctuary and street.

Announcements

* Young Adult Bible Study meets on Zoom at 1pm (BYOPizza). We are reading chapter 10 of Revelation today! If you’d like login information, contact Teri.

Online and audio recording-by-phone (call 01475 270037 to listen to the service) worship will continue, and the print version will continue to be available on request.

*** Deadline approaching soon!
Gourock Schools and Churches Together is sponsoring a Christmas Window Competition on the theme of Christmas Carols! Choose a window that faces the street, decorate it on the theme of a Christmas carol, and if you want to enter the competition, return your entry form by the 10th of December so the judging can begin on the 11th, with prizes announced at the end of the following week. Since we can’t have a carol service this year, we thought we’d have a visual one instead! Enjoy walking about the town and seeing all the carols depicted in windows. You can enter online here, or you can get a paper entry form and either snap a photo and email it in, or return it to the manse.

* The Boys Brigade is again meeting in the large hall — if you know any boys from P1 – S6 who would like to explore what it’s all about, please contact Alan Aitken: alanandrewaitken at gmail dot com. There are spaces available in all sections (Junior Section on Mondays at 7pm, Anchor Boys on Tuesdays at 5:30pm, Company Section on Fridays at 7:30pm). The Guides are working on their plans and hope to start up after Christmas. For information, contact Gillian Dick: gndick at hotmail dot com.

No other organisations or groups are currently using our halls, so that we have time to adequately clean and ensure the space is safe for everyone. This will be reviewed after Christmas.

* The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church by post or with a neighbour who is coming to in-person worship and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!

Sunday Service for 29 November 2020, the first Sunday of Advent

29 November 2020, First Sunday of Advent
Worship prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson,
St. John’s Church of Scotland, Gourock
Contact: tpeterson at churchofscotland dot org dot uk

Music: O Come O Come Emmanuel

Reading, Sermon, Prayers

Hymn 291: When Out of Poverty is Born

~~~~~

Lighting the First Advent Candle
In the darkest times we cannot see to make our way…
our eyes adjust, but still everything is shadowed and grey.
We reach out, desperate
for comfort
for balance
for the familiar
for hope

In the darkest times,
even a faltering light can be just enough:
the flame flickers, twinkles, dances—and it is dazzling!
For in its light, we see light: God in our midst.

~Candle is lit~

However impossible it seems,
God’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting,
and blessed is the one gifted with God’s vision.
Come, O come, Emmanuel, God with us, and we will rejoice.

Hymn: O Come O Come Emmanuel

Children’s Time

Reading: Joel 2.12-16, 26-29 New Revised Standard Version
The prophet Joel was a learned interpreter of sacred text—he quotes the Torah and other prophets many times in his short book. He spoke to people in Jerusalem, warning them of the consequences of not following God’s way, and painting beautiful word pictures of God’s promise and faithfulness. Today’s reading from chapter 2 begins with the words “Yet even now” which signal a big change, a complete turnaround, that needs immediate attention. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.

Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain-offering and a drink-offering
for the Lord, your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sanctify a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Sanctify the congregation;
assemble the aged;
gather the children,
even infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her canopy.

You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again
be put to shame.

Then afterwards
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female slaves,
in those days, I will pour out my spirit.

Sermon: Yet Even Now (Blessings of an Impossible Christmas 1)

This may seem like a strange reading to start the season of Advent. We don’t read from Joel very often, though bits and pieces might sound familiar from other times of year — sometimes at the beginning of Lent we hear the call to “rend your hearts and not your clothing” and of course Peter’s sermon on the first Pentecost quoted this bit about “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.” Maybe Advent was feeling left out, and didn’t want to be the only season with nothing from the prophet Joel!

The first chapter of the book of Joel describes a nation losing hope — he talks about a plague of locusts, which could be about ecological destruction or a metaphor for an invading army, which brings its own kind of environmental damage. The first chapter of Joel is all about a land that has been ravaged and has nothing left to offer, and a people who don’t see their own part in bringing the story to this point or how they can play a role in the unfolding of God’s future story either. The world was turned upside down and everything was uncertain.

And that is when Joel says: Yet even now.

Even now, when you’re anxious and worried.
Even now, when it feels like you have nothing to offer.
Even now, as you try to figure out how to manage everything going on.
Even now, with this situation and these rules and restrictions and under these circumstances.
Even now, when it feels impossible.

Yet even now, says the Lord…return to me with all your heart.

Your heart that has been broken again and again in this season — as we have had loss upon loss, of life, of livelihood, of relationship, of security, of celebrations, of hope, of time. Bring it all.

And then…though it feels like our hearts can’t take anymore, God invites us to be broken open one more time. But this time it’s just that, a breaking open— a chance for all that is in us to be revealed, and for all that God offers us to be received.

In that open space, God will leave a blessing, even if we aren’t sure what that means just yet.

But isn’t that just what Advent is about? An opening, a making space, a preparation for God to come into the world and do a new thing. An impossible new thing, the divine becoming human, taking on flesh and living among us…even now.

The prophet called the people to come and worship, in the midst of all the devastations of the year — and remember, worship involved bringing offerings of the land to the Temple. But there was nothing to offer, the land was ruined, the crops and animals gone. They were empty-handed. They could not worship the way they were used to…but still all of them, even the people usually left out, were to bring what they had: their hearts, their minds, their strength, all broken open. God would take care of the rest, though maybe not in quite the way they expected.

Perhaps this is not such a strange reading for Advent after all.

This year when so much we are used to feels impossible, God is still calling us to break open and make space…to turn to God with all our heart, and find that there is a blessing we never expected, poured out.

Into all those open hearts, God was pouring out the Spirit — not just on church people, not just on leaders, not just men, not just adults, not just on those who were ready or worthy — on all flesh. God coming to earth wasn’t just for some, but for all. We might hear the word from strangers or outsiders, we might hear it coming from our own mouths, we might hear God speaking through the people on the lowest rung of society, in a different accent or a completely different way of communicating. Joel calls us to be ready, to open our hearts to receive the truth that God is in our midst — even if God comes in a peasant baby born to an unwed teenage mother in a borrowed stable in an occupied foreign territory.

This Advent season, can we stand to break open our hearts one more time? To listen for the voice of the Spirit coming from unexpected quarters, in the midst of a devastated land?

Perhaps we might listen for the Spirit speaking through those who show us our complicity in that devastation — something the people of Joel’s time couldn’t see, and something we too often turn away from. When we recognise our part in the destruction of the land we can also recognise our part in its healing — the visions poured out on the young and the old can show us a way forward for living in harmony with creation.

Perhaps we might listen for the Spirit speaking through those who are imagining a way of worship that meets the challenges of a new day and a new generation — in Joel’s time they were forced to change because they physically could not do what they use to do. How familiar that feels today! Will the visions and prophesies poured out on young and old show us a path toward encountering God anew?

Yet even now, says the Lord: return to me with all your heart.
Yet even now, says the Lord: you shall know that I am in your midst.
Yet even now, says the Lord: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.

This may be an Advent and Christmas like no other…but in the most important way, it’s the same as ever: in the disruption, in the darkness, in the wondering and the waiting, Emmanuel, God is with us.

May it be so. Amen.

Hymn#291: When Out Of Poverty Is Born

Prayer
Come, O come, God, and be with us.
We are longing for your presence
in the midst of all that is going on this year.
Our preparations look different,
our plans are scaled down,
our hopes and dreams and visions uncertain.
Still you promise, though.
You promise that when we turn to you,
we will find you were already here.
You promise to come and dwell with us,
to open our eyes and hearts to see and know your grace.
We pray this day that you will be faithful to that promise,
and help us to be faithful to your call in return.
Through the shadows, we hear your voice of grace and mercy, Holy One.
You call all people to yourself, and we are unprepared.
We confess that rending our clothing is easy,
for we are accustomed to performing outward displays.
Rending our hearts is harder.
We do not want to feel exposed —
not even to you, and especially not to the others you call.
We admit that we are wary of your spirit being poured on all flesh,
that we are not sure about those people we don’t know,
who are outside our community
(or outside our institutional control)
speaking your word to us.
We confess that we’d like your visions and dreams to be safe
and confined to the story we already know and love,
that children can act out while we snap photos —
and edit them —
to show our friends.
Rending our image is hard, O God.
Allowing others to speak words that challenge our image of you is harder.
Forgive us.
Give us courage to be honest with you and one another,
and to find your blessing in the midst of that truth.
We give you thanks for your mercy and steadfast love,
seen in your creation and your continued call.
We thank you for the blessing of your voice,
and even more for your Word made flesh,
born on the margins,
teaching words some did not want to hear,
healing those overlooked,
dying at the hands of the state,
rising to embody your power of life,
and coming again even now as prince of peace.
We pray for your peace and justice,
your healing and hope,
your comfort and compassion
for all who are in need in this season.
And we pray you would open our ears and minds and hearts
to hear you crying out from the earth and its people —
in Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan, as violence and hunger collide,
in Ethiopia and Nigeria as war inches closer
across central America after devastating hurricanes,
in India and Taiwan amidst protests,
in hospitals and care homes, schools and offices, where people worry and wait for relief,
and in every place where your people are suffering.
May all see your vision and dream your dreams.
May all know and live as if you are indeed our God.
And may we, your church, be made
into a blessing that finds its way into every open space,
that we may indeed rejoice in the name of the One who is coming in the flesh.
We ask these and all things in the name of Jesus the Christ,
who taught us to pray together,
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Benediction
As you go into this Advent season, may your heart be open to receive whatever blessing God has for you, and may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you; may the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion; may the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone; and may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.

Announcements

* The theme for Advent is “The Blessings of an Impossible Christmas.” You may want to have a candle handy when you worship at home during Advent, so you can join in the Advent Candle Lighting.
In addition, there is a daily devotional for Advent, written by members of the congregation. Print copies are available, and it is also posted each day on our Facebook page.
Teri will be doing a “carol calendar” throughout Advent via Facebook Live, too! So Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!

* The Gourock churches are sponsoring a Christmas Window competition for those who live in Gourock! The theme is Christmas Carols — so choose a carol, decorate a street-facing window in that theme, and send in your entry form by 10 December! The judging begins on the 11th and prizes will be announced later the following week. We may not be able to sing together at a carol service, but we can have a visual carol service as we walk around our neighbourhoods, so let’s make the whole town festive together! You can enter online here, or you can get a paper entry form and either snap a photo and email it in, or return it to the manse.

Inside the church: face coverings must be worn, you may give your offering at the door rather than by passing it through the rows, we will ask you to sit in a particular seat to ensure everyone’s safety as there is a one-way system in place, and the service will be around half an hour with no singing but with instrumental music. Families are welcome, and children should stay in the service for the whole half hour — there will be a children’s time for them though! If you’ve been out of the area in the past 2 weeks, or if you have any symptoms that could be covid, please plan to worship online rather than in person.

If the government Tiers or regulations change, that could affect our services. Should that happen, we will contact everyone who is booked in for a service, and will use all our regular communication channels to advise of any new restrictions or procedures or plans.

Online and audio recording-by-phone (call 01475 270037 to listen to the service) worship will continue, and the print version will continue to be available on request.

No other organisations or groups are currently using our halls, so that we have time to adequately clean and ensure the space is safe for everyone. This will be reviewed after Christmas.

Christmas Day Service 2020

Christmas Eve Service 2020

Sunday Service for 20 December 2020, fourth Sunday of Advent

Sunday service for 13 December 2020, third Sunday of Advent

Sunday Service for 6 December 2020, second Sunday of Advent

Sunday Service for 29 November 2020, the first Sunday of Advent

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