North Presbyterian Church Second Sunday of Advent

December 6, 2015—10:45 a.m.

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Prelude Sleepers Wake! A Voice Is Sounding J.S. Bach

Greeting, Welcome, and Opportunities for Discipleship Welcome visitors! If you feel comfortable, please introduce yourself at this time. We are glad you are here. We hope you will fill out the friendship pad (in the pew holder) to help us get acquainted. We also invite you to join us in Westminster Hall for coffee.

Everyone—please silence your cell phones.

Advent Candle Lighting We light the second candle of Advent and give thanks for the light of Christ, shining in the lives of all people. May it light our path to Him. With John the Baptist, we cry out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” The Messiah is coming, let us prepare the way.

Invocation

*Hymn 93 Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (Please pass “Joys and Concerns” to center aisle to be collected during the singing of the hymn.)

*Call to Confession

*Prayer of Confession Refining God, you have sent us prophets and we have not listened. We have not always determined what is best or made way for your reign in our lives, our church, and our society. Forgive us, we pray, and renew your covenant within us, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Reprinted by permission of Westminster John Knox Press from Feasting on the Word® Worship Companion. Copyright 2012.)

*Silent Confession (A time for personal confession of sin.)

*Assurance of Forgiveness Hear the good news! God loves us. God forgives us.

*Response (Hymn 583) Gloria, Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, Gloria, alleluia, alleluia!

*Passing of the Peace Having received Christ’s peace, let us share it by turning to our neighbors and greeting them, saying “May the peace of Christ be with you!”

Children’s Time

Anthem Hark, the Glad Sound arr. Shaw

WE HEAR THE WORD OF GOD

Prayer for Illumination

Scripture Readings Malachi 3:1-4 p. 889 Luke 3:1-6 p. 60 The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Sermon “Refinement” Rev. William Hennessy

WE RESPOND AND GIVE THANKS TO GOD

Anthem Unless the Lord Build the House Fedak

*A Litany of Renewal of Dedication God of the universe, the heavens cannot contain your glory. Yet you have come to be with us in Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit you are present with us now in the risen Christ. We dedicate this house of worship to your honor and glory. We thank you, O God, for all the gifts that have come together in this building in our first 60 years of service, for the craft and art of many hands, for contributions of money and material, for labors of love and commitment. Bless the work of our hands, O God, that this place may continue in offering your welcome to many and diverse people, that all who seek you here may know your

presence in their lives. By your grace may the Gospel of Jesus Christ be lived and proclaimed through the work and worship we share, may the joy of baptism and the healing of communion be celebrated faithfully, and may the body of Christ, of which we are each a member, be nurtured and strengthened for service in the world. We renew our dedication of this building, O God, and we rededicate our lives to the service of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all honor and glory now and forever. Amen.

Prayers of the People

Offering Offertory: Savior of the Nations, Come Zachau

*Doxology (tune: Truro Hymn 93) Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Christ, all people here below; Praise Holy Spirit evermore; Praise Triune God, whom we adore. Amen.

*Prayer of Thanksgiving and The Lord’s Prayer The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.

…and now we pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

WE DISPERSE TO SERVE GOD IN THE WORLD

*Hymn 106 Prepare the Way, O Zion

*Charge

*Benediction

*Congregational Amen (Hymn 568)

*Postlude Rejoice, Rejoice Believers Swedish Folk Tune arr. Manz

*Those who are able, please stand.

300 North Forest Road

Sunday, December 6

8:30am Worship/Chapel

9:30 Bible Study/RC

Children’s & Youth Choir

Rehearsal

10:45 Worship/Sanctuary

11:45 Coffee Hour/WH

4:00pm Taize Service/Chapel

Monday, December 7

7:00pm Session/Chapel

Tuesday, December 8

9:00am Staff mtg./ofc.

11:30am Martha Circle/Pres. Vlg.

12:30pm Bible study/Lib.

4:45pm Worship comm./RC

7:00pm Membership/S251

Deacons/DR

Wednesday, December 9

10am-1pm RC open

6:30pm Sarah Circle/Alderfer home

Thursday, December 10

6:30pm Handbells/Sanc

7:30 Adult Choir

Friday, December 11

10:00am Staff Christmas breakfast

brunch/off-site

7:30-10:00pm ACE rehearsal/WH

Saturday, December 12

10am-12pm Christmas pageant

rehearsal/sanctuary

1:00 & 3:00pm Recitals/sanc

2-9pm LE3/WH

8-11pm WCF/Chapel

Sunday, December 13

8:30am Worship/Chapel

9:30 Adult Ed./Lib.

Bible Study/RC

10:45 Worship/Sanctuary

11:45 Coffee Hour/WH

4:00pm Service of Peace, Hope &

Light

Save the Dates: December

20 Christmas Pageant

(10:45 and 4pm)

24 Christmas Eve Services

(4 and 10pm)

ACE—Amherst Chamber Ensemble EGA—Embroidery Guild

DR—Dickinson Room

FJC—Family Justice Center

FONP—Friends of Night People

Kit—Kitchen

LE3—Tutoring program

Lib—Library

NPC—North Presbyterian Church

Ofc—Office

RC—Resource Center

WH—Westminster Hall

Christmas Offering

The Mission Committee is pleased to announce our choices for the 2015 Christmas Offering.

This year we will again divide the offering between a local and an international organization.

Locally, we have selected Harvest House, which is made up of three separate ministries and

serves 20,000 Western New Yorkers, regardless of race, religion or culture. We have decided

to send aid to MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) for the global refugee crisis.

Both of these agencies will work on our behalf to assist those who need love and care during

the holiday and the rest of the year. Please consider how you will respond to this request. We

ask that you thoughtfully consider responding in gratitude for the lives of your own children

or grandchildren and for the lives of North’s children.

See the full North Star article on page 4. You may respond to the mailing or give online at

http://northchurchwilliamsville.org/. Click on the “Donate” button. On the secure giving form

select “Christmas offering.” Thank you!

Winter North Star

The December-January issue is available at http://northchurchwilliamsville.org/weekly-bulletin-

and-north-star/. Be sure to check it out so you don’t miss a beat!

Adult Education: 9:30 a.m. in the library

November 29-December 20 (Advent)

Feasting on the Word curriculum

(Each week the curriculum can be found in the “Quick Links” section in the Thursday e-mail

communication to the congregation.)

December 6 Luke 1:68-79

December 13 Isaiah 12:2-6

December 20 Micah 5:2-5a

Sunday Morning Bible Study: 9:30 in the resource center

We will be studying themes from Ephesians. Study leaders are volunteers.

Tuesday Bible Study

Feel free to join the Tuesday Bible Study for one or more of the coming weeks: no books or

preparation required. Bring a bag lunch at 12:30 p.m. in the library, followed by Bible study

from 1:00 to 2:00. Here are the passages we are studying, all on the theme of advocates of

justice for all:

Dec 8 Ezekiel 18:1-13, 31-32

Dec 15 Zechariah 7:3-14

Dec 22 Malachi 3:1-10

Giving Trees

There are two Giving trees this year. One is decorated with tags for wish list items for young

mothers and children in the Homespace program. Stop by if you would like to take part in

this project. A member of the Mission Committee will be there to assist you. Gifts should be

returned to the church no later than December 20. Please wrap the item and attach the gift

tag. Enclosing a gift receipt makes it convenient for the recipient. If shopping is not your

thing, we can do some of it for you. If you prefer to give a monetary donation, we will apply

it toward purchase of some of the items.

The second tree is our “mitten tree.” There are no tags or sign ups. If you can bring a pair of

mittens, a hat, scarf or warm socks, please just clip them on the tree. There is always a need

for these items, and they will be distributed to children and adults through local agencies.

Thank you for helping to make Christmas special for families in our community.

Women’s Circles

Martha Circle: Christmas celebration, Tuesday, December 8, at 11:30 a.m. at Presbyterian

Village, Building 3.

Sarah Circle: Christmas celebration at the home of JoAnne Alderfer, 146 Bridle Path,

Williamsville, on Wednesday, December 9, at 6:30 p.m.

Service of Peace, Hope and Light

Sunday, December 13, 4:00pm

For many people the Christmas season is a bittersweet time. For those who know that this

Christmas will be a hard one because they have had a death in the family, a loss of job or

health, a broken relationship, or because of painful memories of Christmases past, the

deacons of the church offer this special service. This is a quiet meditative worship service,

giving participants the chance to meet, worship, and reflect as Christmas approaches. All are

welcome. There will be a time of refreshment and fellowship following the service.

Worship with Us Christmas Eve

We invite you to worship with us on Christmas Eve. We will be having two services: a family-

centered service at 4:00 p.m. and another at 10:00 p.m., which includes celebrating

communion.

One Service Only

Please note that on Sunday, December 27, we will have just one worship service at 10:45 a.m.

Multi-Church Youth Group Event

Tuesday, December 29

Youth Group Day, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Meaningful mission work, recreation, dinner, fun, fellowship,

games for 6th-12th grade youth

Book Groups (library)

Morning (10:00 a.m.):

December 16, 2015: Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence by Karen

Armstrong (2014).

January 20, 2016: In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming (2007, mystery)

February 16: The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance,

and Empower the Mind by Michio Kaku (Feb. 2015)

Stewardship: Gratitude for God’s Gifts

Recently the church mailed a letter from Session reminding us how we as a church bring

blessings to others. If God has blessed you through North Church and you desire to respond

by furthering the mission and ministry of North, please consider making your gift reach the

church by noon on December 31 so that we can plan for the upcoming year. You may mail

your gift, in full, or a portion of your pledge, to North Presbyterian Church, 300 N. Forest Rd.,

Williamsville, NY 14221. Or you can donate online at http://northchurchwilliamsville.org/ and

click on the “Donate” button. Any gift of any size blesses someone. Thank you!

Mission Statement

Brought together by our shared faith in

Jesus Christ,

Called by God to live as faithful disciples,

Blessed by our diverse gifts and experiences,

We commit ourselves to:

Worship together,

Teach and learn from one another,

Nurture each other with care and love, and

Reach out in ministry and mission to

the world.

(Adopted by the Session June 5, 2006)

Preacher: Bill Hennessy Ushers (8:30): Marilyn & Tony Link

Coordinator: Randy Bigler Liturgist: Ann Eisenlord

Lock-up: Randy Bigler Pianist (8:30): Jane Cary

Counters: Bill Clark, Linda Gowans Greeters (10:45): Debbie & Tim Hutton

Acolyte (10:45): Erin Parker Childcare: Regina & Sarah Hennessy

Pianist /Organist (10::45) Marlene Harrington Ushers (10:45): Kerri Bigler, Karen Hopkins,

Amy & Gary Nelson

Visitors—You are important to us. We invite you to come to the chancel area in the front of

the sanctuary after the (10:45) service to learn more about North Church. You may also

approach anyone wearing a yellow ribbon today. Fill out a visitor card and put it in the offering

plate if you wish to be contacted.

Ministers: The Congregation

Pastor/Head of Staff: The Rev. William T. Hennessy Director of Sacred Dance: Olivia Ebsary

Administrative Assistant: Cynthia Machamer Bookkeeper: Judy Blackchief

Facilities Coordinator: Mike Callaghan Childcare Supervisor: Regina Koteras

Director of Music, Organist: Marlene Harrington Webmaster: Tara Martin

Director of Music, Children & Youth: Marty Shafer

Elders & Deacons

Elders (Session)

Clerk of Session: Sylvia Bigler

Class of 2016

Sue D’Angelo

Jeff Ebsary

Linda Gowans

Brad Hahn

Kaitlyn Khayat

Class of 2017

Neil Arnold

Wendy Ayler

Lee Broad

Chad Kahler

Diane Sprague

Class of 2018

Joe Alber

Ralph Doerzbacher

Bill Ervin

Carol Meyers

Board of Deacons

Moderator: Glenn Hopkins

Class of 2016

Kerri Bigler

Karen Hopkins

Jo Yorko

Sheridan Skura

Class of 2017

Mary Atwood

Cynthia Ebsary

Olivia Ebsary

William Schulz

Class of 2018

Glenn Hopkins

Viki Komjathy

Warren Marcus

Shirley Mazourek

Church School

Teachers Today

4 yrs.-grade 3

Kennedy Schultz & Debbie Hutton

Grade 4-8

Lauren Stirling &

Warren Marcus