I wanted to share this caroling service which revolves around the relighting of the Advent & Christ Candles. Attendance is often down on the Sunday following Christmas and I'll be away on vacation. So we designed a service that allows the people to reflect together through litany and
song. Perhaps it will be of some help to someone out there.

Peace, Blessings and A Joyous Christmas to All!
Ted

Weekly Bulletin: December 26, 1999 (10:30 a.m.)
The First Sunday of Christmastide
A Festival of Carols
A Contemplative Thought
If Jesus is born anew in hearts that love
How do I reflect the "Jesus-life" that is in me?
Come, Lord Jesus!
Reign in my life today! Amen.

Note About Today’s Service
Today’s service is highly participatory with shared leadership from our
congregation.
Where there are parts for leaders, we need people to step forward and take
responsibility for sharing those parts.
The flow of the service follows the traditional Christmas Carols that are part of
our Advent/Christmas/Epiphany Celebration. We will "sing the story" today of Jesus’
birth with all the festivity that such songs bring.
May your voices echo the jubilation and excitement of this Christmas birth which
grants us identity as children of God.
Rejoice and Sing!

The Beginning
Prelude
Words of Friendship & Welcome

The Advent Candle of HOPE
VOICE Today we re-light the candles of our Advent Display. The first candle
represents HOPE.
PEOPLE The people of Israel waited a long time for their Messiah…Centuries that
expanded to a Millennium. Life had been hard. Invasion upon invasion. Fear from
the outside. They hoped for a Messiah who would provide them safety.
VOICE So the Candle of Hope reminds us of the tremendous longing of God’s people for
one who would set them free. (Child Re-Lights The First Candle)
PEOPLE Thanks be to God for Hope…the Hope and reality of a Messiah in Jesus, the
Bethlehem Child who is born to save his people.
SING #116 vss. 1,2,5,7 "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"
#113 (all) "Little Bethlehem of Judah"
#103 vss. 1,3 " Watcher, Tell Us of the Night"
PRAYER Holy God, for years your people awaited the dawn of your Presence. Now you
have come. No longer do we wait. All we need do is open our hearts to receive your
Holy Presence among us. Come, Lord Jesus! Shine in our lives today. Be our hope
for the eternally present moment of our living. Fill us with your Christ Light and
dispel the gloom of night. Then may we find the power, compassion and the abiding
hope to bear your light unto a world that will benefit from the Good News and Glad
Tidings you bring! For this we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Advent Candle of PEACE
VOICE We re-light the candles of our Advent Display. The second candle represents
PEACE.
PEOPLE Warfare. Personal discord. A spiritual life dominated by rule-keeping as
opposed to a genuine affection and quest for God. Peace...anything but peace ruled
the day.
VOICE What is it like to have armies invade your space decade after decade and
century after century? What is it like to be deported to far off lands as a means
of quelling uprisings? What is it like to have no sense of being rooted in one
place among all your people? It happened to Israel long ago. In more recent times
the names might be: Native Americans, Bosnians, Latvians, Cambodians, and so many
more.
PEOPLE Jesus comes to be our peace. He grants us identity as his disciples. He
shows us a way. He bears the peace which passes all understanding. He leads us to
become makers of peace. He imparts to us the Spirit of peace who is our Comforter
and Guide.
VOICE Today we relight the candle of PEACE as a sign of the Prince of Peace who
comes to rule our hearts, guide our words, and make way for his Reign among us.
(Child Re-Lights The Second Candle)
PEOPLE Thanks be to God for the Prince of Peace…the Peace and reality of a Messiah
in Jesus, the Bethlehem Child who is born to save his people.
SING #128 "In the Bleak Midwinter"
#124 "Away In A Manger"
#131 "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
A TIME OF PRAYER
Passing of the Peace of Christ (greet one another)
Our Joys and Concerns
Our Unison Prayer: Holy and Merciful Savior, we lift to you the prayers for your
people: those that are spoken and those that are raised from the silent corners of
our hearts. We have friends and family who need the tender touch of your healing
presence. We abide in a world torn by division and strife that need your peace
makers among us. We know of those whose lives are deeply affected by the loss of
loved ones who require the heart-felt friendship of your caring community. We have
learned of major disasters which claim thousands upon thousands of lives or singular
acts of violence which wreak untold havoc. God of the Manger and of the Cross and
of the Open Tomb, hear our prayers this day for all your people. Respond to your
people in the name of Jesus, our Savior. And hear us as we prayer in the manner
which he taught us: "Our Father, who art in heaven…Amen."
The Advent Candle of LOVE
VOICE We re-light the candles of our Advent Display. The third candle represents
LOVE.
PEOPLE How often do people feel unlovable? More often than we care to admit. Many
people experience feelings of despair and negativity. Many people descend into very
low places emotionally and spiritually. Many others lead lives of quiet desperation
in isolation, among the homeless, and in places where society wishes to keep them
hidden.
VOICE Jesus has come to shed light in dark places. Jesus has come to show a whole
new way of being guided not so much by rules for every circumstance, but by a
guiding principle of a love ethic. For God so loved the world that He sent His only
Son. That’s how John put it.
PEOPLE As his disciples who receive him in the manger on the outskirts of Bethlehem,
we are also to see the revelation of God’s own self-giving, self-sacrificing love.
This is a love borne witness to through Jesus’ life and ministry. His compassionate
care of those on the fringes. His love shared even as he felt the death pangs upon
a Roman cross.
VOICE Today we relight the candle of LOVE as a sign of the Bethlehem Child who comes
to rule our hearts, guide our words, and make way for his Reign among us. (Child
Re-Lights The Third Candle)
PEOPLE Thanks be to God for the Prince of Peace…the Peace and reality of a Messiah
in Jesus, the Bethlehem Child who is born to save his people.
SING #133 "O Little Town of Bethlehem"
#148 "What Child is This?"
#134 "Silent Night"
OFFERTORY
We offer our gifts to share in the mission of Christ’s love. In truth, we are
here to give ourselves away in the name of Christ that his love may be released into
the world. Let us give thanks to God through the offering of our lives.
Chorale Anthem
Doxology
The Advent Candle of JOY
VOICE We re-light the candles of our Advent Display. The fourth candle represents
JOY.
PEOPLE Jumping up and down on Christmas morning, filled with exuberance and
excitement, children dance down steps and through hallways. They bound with energy
to discover the joy of presents.
VOICE But those presents are really a symbol of a far greater gift we would do well
to remember. And that gift, not surprisingly, is the gift of Jesus Christ, the Holy
One of God, the Savior.
PEOPLE So perhaps it is possible to use those gifts as teaching opportunities. The
joy we know in giving…the joy so apparent as colorful paper is shredded and boxes
are opened…these are really meant to point beyond themselves to something much more
significant.
VOICE For the gift of Jesus unleashes not a momentary joy, but a joyful spirit that
will last a lifetime and beyond. It doesn’t depend on conditions and
circumstances. Rather, it is a matter of the heart and will. Jesus’ birth provides
us a lens through which we see the world from a godly perspective where God’s hope,
peace, love and joy are instruments of redemption and reconciliation. Today we
relight the candle of JOY as a sign of the Bethlehem Child who comes to rule our
hearts, guide our words, and make way for his Reign among us. (Child Re-Lights The
Fourth Candle)
PEOPLE No wonder we speak of joy this season. For that joy finds a home in us. A
joy that, unlike a flame, may NEVER be extinguished. Thanks be to God for the
jubilant joy of Jesus…the Joy that Jesus, the Bethlehem Child, is born to save his
people.
SING #129 "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice"
#132 "Joy To The World"
#135 "O Come, All You Faithful"

The Advent Candle of CHRIST!!!
VOICE We re-light the candles of our Advent Display. The final candle represents
Jesus the Christ himself.
PEOPLE But one candle remains, the white central candle…and central it must be.
VOICE The history of God’s people throughout the millennia reminds us that when God
was pushed aside and the people relied only upon themselves, they lost sight of
their identity and purpose. They wandered aimlessly as in a wilderness with no
clear destination.
PEOPLE To light the Christ Candle is to remind ourselves of the central role Jesus
is willing to play in our lives. But we must let him. We must ask him. We must
invite him. For he does not come unwelcomed nor uninvited.
VOICE So today as we conclude our service with this Christ Candle lighting (Child
lights that candle now) we make a statement that Christ will be OUR CENTER.
PEOPLE He will be OUR HOPE. He will be OUR PEACE. He will be THE LOVE OF OUR
LIFE. He will be OUR JOY. And this we must share. Thanks be to God for the Christ
Light among us…a light that centers us, warms us, leads us, and grants us purpose.
For Christ is born to save his people. Praise be the name of our Lord!
SING #154 "Go Tell It On The Mountain"
BENEDICTION (Unison)
We go forth to bear the light of the Christ at work in us that all may know the Good
News of God. And may the blessing of God be upon us to make of us a healing
instrument for our world today. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior,
Born to Save! Amen.

--
Rev. Ted Newcomb
Trinity United Church of Christ
612 S. Delaware Drive
Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, USA 18343
http://www.trinityucc.net
roaminrev@enter.net
ICQ# 4580073
~~~~~
Live with intention. Walk to the edge.
Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret. Continue to learn.
Appreciate your friends.
Do what you love. Live...as if this is all there is!
-Mary Anne Hershey