Worship Service - December 3, 2023

Welcome to the December 3, 2023 Worship Service

Here you will find visual pieces to this morning's worship service. When the audio stream for the service begins at approximately 10:25am, you will be able to listen to it at http://listen.uucfm.org:8000/stream-church. The stream will open in a new tab in your browser. Click the browser tab for this page to come back to view visuals while the audio plays.

You may also access the service via Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/5264858673.

You may follow along with the service with this Order of Worship. An online donation button is at the bottom of this page for contributing to the morning offering. Additionally, the words for our covenant and the lyrics for the hymns are provided on this page below the photos. Please join us in singing along! Even though you are not here in body with us, we know that you are with us in spirit. We are glad that you are here!

"Mystery"

Mary Cline Golbitz, Lay Minister
Leslie Gatto, Worship Associate

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Gathering Music

Jon Dalton, piano
UUCFM Musicians
UUCFM Choir

Welcome

Leslie Gatto, Worship Associate

Opening Words

Beloved Mystery Hold us Close,(adapted) by Rev. Dr. Rebekah Savage
Mary Cline Golbitz

Chalice Lighting

Lighting the Advent Candle

Mary Cline Golbiz

Opening Advent Hymn

#225 - O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and with your captive children dwell.
Give comfort to all exiles here, and to the aching heart bid cheer.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come within as Love to dwell.

O come, you Splendor very bright, as joy that never yields to might.
O come, and turn all hearts to peace, that greed and war at last shall cease.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come within as Truth to dwell.

O come, you Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by your presence here.
And dawn in every broken soul as vision that can see the whole.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come within as Light to dwell.

O come, you Wisdom from on high, from depths that hide within a sigh,
to temper knowledge with our care, to render every act a prayer.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come within as Hope to dwell.

Covenant

Love is the spirit of this congregation
And service its law
This is our great covenant
To dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love
And to help one another
~ James Vila Blake

A Story for All Ages

"I Wonder" by Annaka Harris
Leslie Gatto

Stones of Intention

Leslie Gatto

Musical Interlude

Jon Dalton, piano

(After you add yours, the counter will record it.
Please know that you are doing this in community.
Feel free to come back to this page later and see how many online stones joined with yours.)

May your prayers be heard and your hearts be restored

Centering

"Prayer for all people" by Rev. Sandy Boyce (adapted)
Mary Cline Golbitz

Message

"Mystery"

Mary Cline Golbiz

Hymn

#1003 - Where Do We Come From

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?

Where do we come from?

Mystery. Mystery. Life is a riddle and a mystery.

Where do we come from? Where are we going?

Online Morning Offering

Leslie Gatto

Community Sharing Partner:

One of the ways we live our spiritual values in the world is by making them real through the form of financial contribution. We invite you to enliven your commitment to this community and be generous in giving to support the work of this Congregation during this challenging time. Every month we also donate funds to a community organization in Lee County. Our Community Sharing partner in December is Quality Life Center. Quality Life Center's mission is to strengthen and instill pride in family and community through programs and services to cultivate self-discipline, self-development, build confidence and promote cultural awareness

Please give generously. Thank you!

If you would like to make an online donation to UUCFM or pay your church pledge virtually, please click the yellow Donate below -- which takes you to our PayPal account. Please make a note in the space provided by PayPal to indicate whether your contribution is for UUCFM, our community sharing partner, or goes towards your pledge. Thank you.

For a complete list of methods to donate, please visit contribute.uucfm.org.
Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Musical Interlude

"People Look East"
UUCFM Choir
Jon Dalton - Director

Words of gratitude:

By the work of our hands, and the work of our hearts, our love is made real.
May we be grateful for all that is given, and grateful for all that is shared.

Extinguishing the Chalice

Words by Elizabeth Selle Jones

We extinguish this flame but not the light of truth,
the warmth of community or the fire of commitment.
These we carry in our hearts until we are together again.

Closing Words

"The Mystery of Being Here" - John O’Donohue
Mary Cline Golbiz

Farewell Words

Leslie Gatto

Postlude

Jon Dalton, piano
UUCFM Musicians