December 13, 2020.
Thank you for worshipping with us at Calvary Moravian Church. To support our ministries, you can mail the office a check (948 N. 21st St. Allentown 18104). An online giving portal is at: https://mmfa.info/calvary-moravian-church-pa-donation-form/.
10:45 a.m. : Worship with us via ZOOM or on our Calvary Moravian Church Allentown Youtube Channel.
https://zoom.us/j/673028163, Meeting ID: 673 028 163
You can call this number and listen to the service on any telephone as well:
(929) 205-6099 (enter 673028163#).
Bulletins are available from Friday onward in the Little Library on Livingston St.
Sunday school at 10 a.m. – Advent Devotionals (same Zoom).
Worship will start at 10:45 a.m. via Zoom or on our Calvary Youtube Channel.
Helping our Neighbors at Esperanza Moravian Church!
Esperanza Moravian Church, a bilingual church and ministry outreach to the neighborhood of South Bethlehem, is collecting food to help hungry kids in the neighborhood. We will continue to collect microwaveable Mac and Cheese cups (just the cups not the boxes) to donate as part of this effort or funds to purchase these. Please call us to arrange a drop-off.
Daily Texts
Moravian Daily Texts for 2021 are available, contact the church office The cost is $11.00 for regular print, $13.00 for large print.
Advent Devotional “Do Not be Afraid” – Last Session Dec. 16th.
Join us on Wednesday morning, Dec. 16th from 10 – 11 a.m. or Wednesday evenings from 7 – 8 p.m. Let Pastor Janel know if you need the PDF for this week’s focus on Love.
Wednesdays at 10 a.m. https://zoom.us/j/94658842137, Meeting ID: 946 5884 2137
Wednesdays at 7 p.m. https://zoom.us/j/96061712916, Meeting ID: 960 6171 2916
For Christmas!
You can still order your “Lovefeast to Go” or Moravian sugarcake for pick up on December 23. Contact the office or look to your email for the link to order. Christmas Eve worship will be via Zoom (or Youtube and saved there for later viewing) at 4:30 p.m.
Pick up for Lovefeast to Go and Sugarcake Orders
Dec. 23. TIMES TBA.
Moravian Blue Christmas Online Service
The holiday season is hard for some of us, particularly this year with the challenges that Covid presents. You are not alone. If you are dealing with a broken relationship, if you are mourning or remembering the loss of a loved one, if you are struggling with depression or sadness, the Northern Provincial Advent & Christmas Planning Team would like to invite you to join us for a different kind of worship service…of comfort…of lament…of hope.
– We will be offering a Blue Christmas Worship Service on Sunday, December 20th at 7:00 pm ET via Zoom video conference. You can find the access link on https://moravianchristmas.org/2020/11/blue-christmas-service-dec-20/– Please sign up at any time before the service. By doing so, you are helping us plan ahead to create a smooth and meaningful online worship experience. (Optional) Please have with you a piece of cloth or paper that you can tear.
Worship Service – Dec. 13, 2020.
“This Sunday’s prayers are adapted from prayers by Sarah Are | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org, used with permission”.
Introit. “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” performed by Anne Ettinger.
Call to Worship: Dreaming and Sowing Joy (Psalm 126:1-3),
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
Lighting of the Advent Candle “Sow Joy”
Close your eyes. What is your dream?
We light this 3rd Candle of Advent to Dream, to Sow, to Imagine Joy.
We might dream of big things, or small ones, but let us dream of what brings joy, and know that it comes from God.
So today we light the candle of joy as a reminder that God’s dream for this world involves the end of all tears.
God’s dream for this world involves a joy that overflows and is contagious.
So may this fire burn bright, and as it does, may we sing and dance.
May we laugh and hold onto the people we love.
May we sow joy in a hurting world, and may it be an act of holy resistance. Amen.
Hymn 260. Rejoice, Rejoice, The Kingdom Comes.
Rejoice, rejoice, the kingdom comes; be glad, for it is near.
It comes with joy surprising us; it triumphs o’er our fears.
Give thanks, for as the kingdom comes, it brings God’s own shalom,
a state of peace and justice, where all with God are one.
Rejoice, rejoice, God’s will stands firm, throughout all time and space.
It is a quiet, steady force, pervading ev’ry place.
It snaps the brittleness of hate, unties the bonds of greed.
It holds out love abundant which never fails our need.
TEXT: M. Lynnette Delbridge (1987). ©1987 by M. Lynnette Delbridge; Used with permission.
TUNE: Traditional English melody. Arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). From the English Hymnal (1906). Used by permission of Oxford University Press.
Prayers of the People: Where did you see joy, where is joy needed?
Prayer
Scripture. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24. Sharon Ettinger.
Message “Joy: An Act of Holy Resistance”. Rev. Janel Rice
“Do Not Fear”. A Christmas Pageant for a Joyful Celebration of Jesus’s Birth
With special thanks to:
Parent & child: Tiffany & Nikayla Myers
Angel “Gabe”: Sophie Rice
Mary: Mary Venditta
Elizabeth: Janel Rice
Joseph: David Venditta
Caesar: Gary Handwerk
Shepherds: John, Jennifer, Wyatt Graeffe
Sheep: Emily and Olver Graeffe
Magi 1: Christian Rice
Magi 2: Alma McMahan
Magi 3: Jeff Diehl
King Herod: Jim McMahan
Special Music – “The Magnificat” © Flo Paris Oakes, used with permission.
Performed by Reserved Parking, a Moravian-based group from NC.
Benediction
Calvary Moravian Church 