Sunday, December 31, 2023 Christmas Sunday and New Year’s Eve

 

Hymn       See Amid the Winter’s Snow #76VU

Scripture Lessons:       Isaiah 61:10-62:3

                                     Psalm 148 p.871VU

                                     Luke 2:22-40

Hymn           From Heaven Above to Earth I Come #72VU

Meditation 

Prayer:  God, above time, above space, yet with us an in us in Christ, we who are creatures of time and space come to you today with thankfulness. 

      We give you thanks for the year that is passing. We thank you for the many ways in which you have touched us, in moments of great happiness or in deep distress. You have been present in Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. 

      We thank you for the people who matter to us and through whom you have been present to us in their love. 

       We thank you for your church, the community of faith in whose company we have journeyed, whose friendship we value, whose challenge we welcome, and whose wide boundaries are not defined by time, by space, or by death. 

      As we move on now into a new year, give us grace to leave behind our regrets and our failures and any sense of guilt, to let go of the past with gratitude, and to leave in your hands the future in faith— to live in each moment in joyful discipleship, in the company of him who is always Emmanuel, God with us. Amen. ( a prayer by John Harvey, printed in the Iona Community’s Hay and Stardust)

Hymn      All Beautiful the March of Days #530VU

This Sunday there will be a combined service held in Ormstown at the hall at 11am. We will begin at 10:30 with coffee and conversation. All welcome. 

Next Sunday we will be back to our regular schedule, with a 9:30 service in Ormstown and an 11:00 service in Howick. 

We continue to hold the families dealing with loss in this season, including the families of Donald McCormick and Karen Jones Buchanan, following their deaths before Christmas. 

A memorial service will be held for Donald McCormick Saturday, January 13th in St Paul’s United Church at 2pm, with visitation from 12-2:00 in the church. 

Sunday, December 24, 2023 The Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve

 Merry Christmas to one and all! 🎄

Hymn         O Come All Ye Faithful #60

Scripture Lessons:       Luke 1:26-38

                                     Luke 1:47-55

                                     Luke 2:1-20

Carol         Away in a Manger #69

Meditation

Prayer:  Thank you, scandalous God, for giving yourself to the world, not in the powerful and extraordinary, but in weakness and the familiar: in a baby,; and in bread and wine. 

   Thank you for offering, at journey’s end, a new beginning; for setting, in the poverty of a stable, the richest jewel of your love; for revealing, in a particular place, your light for all nations. 

   Thank you for bringing us to Bethlehem, House of Bread, where the empty are filled, and the filled are emptied; where the poor find riches and the rich recognize their poverty; where all who kneel and hold out their hands are unstintingly fed. Amen. (a prayer from the United Church’s worship resource, Celebrate God’s Presence.) 

Carol      Go Tell It on the Mountain #43

This Sunday, which is both the fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve, there will be a morning service in Howick, at 11am  and an evening service at 8pm in St Paul’s in Ormstown. Both will be family services. 

The next service will be a combined service in Ormstown, at the hall, to be held Sunday, December 31st, at 11am. 

We hold the family and friends of Donald McCormick, who died this week. A service of remembrance and thanksgiving for his life will be held in the new year, Saturday, January 13th in St Paul’s United Church. 

Our sympathy and support is offered to the family and friends of Karen Jones Buchanan who died this past week from cancer. 

Happy birthday to Violet Deschamps, who celebrates her 90th birthday this week. 

 

Sunday, December 17, 2023 The Third Sunday of Advent

 

Hymn       Good Christian Friends Rejoice #35VU

Scripture Lessons:        Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

                                      Psalm 126 p.850VU

                                      I Thessalonians 5:16-25

Meditation 

Prayer:  God of birth, we watch in fear for your coming; scared of the pain and risk, the struggle of new life emerging and our own capacity to bear it, God of waiting, 

WAIT WITH US. 

God of the future, we watch in hope for your coming; anticipating an unknown future, uncertain of the unnamed reality, not sure of the form it will take. God of waiting, 

WAIT WITH US. 

God of celebration, we watch in joy for your coming; expectant with promises of freedom, eager for new possibilities, delighting in the gift of birth. God of waiting, 

WAIT WITH US. Amen. (a prayer by Jan Berry, printed and published in the Iona Community’s Candles and Conifers.) 

Hymn      Joy to the World #59VU

This Sunday is Communion Sunday in both Howick (9:30) and in Ormstown (11:00). 

Franklin United Church will be holding their Candlelight Christmas service this evening at 7:30pm. 

Congratulations and best wishes to Dorothy Wright as she and her family celebrate her 100th birthday. 

We hold in our prayers the family of Marlene Stuckey, following the death of her mother this week. We will hold them in our thoughts and prayers through the Christmas season and into the New Year when they prepare to remember to give thanks for her life. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Bev Cocher following her death this month. 

Next Sunday will be Christmas Eve and there will be services in Howick, at 11am and in Ormstown, at 8pm. All are welcome to either (or both) services. 

Many thanks to all who worked, donated, or supported the Christmas Sale in Howick last weekend. It was a great success and raised about $1500.00 for the repair of the elevator. We thank the community for the generosity that was shown. 

A few messages from Howick’s Treasurer: if there are people who would like to receive envelopes, please speak to Wilene and she will provide them. The envelopes we are currently using are undated, so if you have envelopes remaining, you may continue to use them. 

      Also, the books for 2023 will close on December 28th, so if you wish to make a donation for 2023, please make it by that date. Funds may be sent by e-transfer to howickunitedchurch@gmail.com or by mail to Wilene Cullen, 2134 Rte 138 Howick QC J0S 1K0. 

Please note that the books of the Memorial Fund for Howick will also be closing December 28th. If you wish to make a memorial gift in memory of someone for 2023, please get it to Grace by or before December 28th. Thank you. 

The donations to the Canadian FoodGrains Bank made through Howick United Church, will be sent away on Monday, December 18th. If you still wish to make a donation for this year please do so before this date, or you may make an individual donation online or by mail with the CFGB envelopes. 

There will be a combined Christmas Sunday and New Year’s Eve held on Sunday, December 31st at 11:00 in the hall in Ormstown. We will begin at 10:30 for some coffee and fellowship time. 

Sunday, December 10, 2023 The Second Sunday of Advent

 

Hymn      Hark the Glad Sound #28

Scripture Lessons:      Isaiah 40:1-11

                                    Psalm 85 p.802VU

                                    Mark 1:1-8

Hymn       There’s a Voice in the Wilderness Crying #18VU

Meditation 

Prayer:  With John the Baptist and all your saints, we ask this grace:  that we may know repentance for our sins, that is true and heartfelt; let us prepare a way for the Lord and make his paths straight. 

 

   With John the Baptist and all your saints, we ask this grace: that our nation may be turned around to the values of God’s kingdom; let us prepare a way for the Lord and make his paths straight. 

   With John the Baptist and all your saints, we ask this grace:  that your church may be renewed by the fire of your Spirit; let us prepare a way for the Lord and make his paths straight. Amen. (a prayer from the Iona Community’s Candles and Conifers) 

Carol        Herald Sound the Note of Gladness #28VU

This Sunday will be White Gift Sunday, when we will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Christmas baskets and the local food bank. There will be services in Franklin at 9:30, Ormstown at 11:00 and in Howick at 11:00, led by Evie Kerr, as Debbie Beattie will not be able to be with us this month. 

Good news! The elevator in Howick is working and unlocked now! (Really this time!)  It will be available for the sale on Saturday and the service on Sunday. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Louise Johnson, who died this week and whose memorial service will be held Sunday, December 10th at 2:30, following the visitation beginning at 1:30 at the McGerrigle Funeral Home. 

Unit B (retired) of the Howick United Church will meet on Tuesday, December 12th for lunch at the home of Winnifred Sherry. Soup and some extras will be provided, but a few cookies or goodies could be added.

The UCW of Howick United Church will meet on Wednesday, December 13th at 6pm in the church for its annual Christmas Potluck supper. Gifts will also be collected for women receiving Christmas baskets. 

St Paul’s Stewards and the Trustees will be meeting Tuesday, December 12th at 7:30pm in the hall, in part to discuss the parking situation. 

Worship Schedule: Sunday, December 17th Communion Sunday in Howick (9:30) and Ormstown (11:00)

          Candlelight Christmas Service in Franklin 7:30pm

Sunday December 24 Advent 4 and Christmas Eve service in Howick 11am

           Christmas Eve service in St Paul’s, Ormstown 8pm

Sunday December 31 New Year’s Eve combined service 11:00 in the hall in Ormstown , fellowship time starting from 10:30am.

Sunday, December 3, 2023 The First Sunday of Advent

 

Hymn.     O Come O Come Emmanuel #1VU

Scripture Lessons:        I Corinthians 1:3-9

                                      Psalm 80:1-7, 17, 18 p. 794VU part 1

                                      Mark 13:24-37

Meditation 

Prayer:  We are waiting, Jesus; come and live with us soon. 

Jesus, we are waiting because we know who you are:  the Creator of the world, 

the God who took on human form, the son of Mary, a girl just like any other girl, 

We are waiting Jesus; Come and live with us soon. 

Jesus, we are waiting because we have faith in you. We know that we can trust in you. 

We remember that you are good to us, and we thank you for all the good things that you give to us every day. 

We are waiting, Jesus; Come and live with us soon. 

Jesus, we are waiting here, here in Howick, here in Franklin, here in Ormstown,

waiting for you to come into our homes, our streets, our shops and our offices, to fill them with your light and peace. 

We are waiting Jesus; Come and live with us soon. 

Jesus, we are waiting for you to come and change things: to bring health to our sick ones, 

to make our refugees welcome, to comfort those who have lost loved ones; and to turn us around 

so that we can be your ears and eyes, in this world that needs you so much.

We are waiting Jesus; Come and live with us. ( a prayer by John Davies, printed in the Iona Community’s Candles and Conifers)

Hymn.     Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus #2VU

This Sunday’s services will be at 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick. Both will offer craft and activities for children and families. Howick’s service will end with a soup luncheon. All welcome. 

Howick’s Stewards will meet on Wednesday, December 6th at 7pm in the church hall. We will be discussing decisions about the furnace. 

Next Sunday we will be holding White Gift Sunday in all three of our churches. Franklin’s service will be at 9:30, Ormstown’s will be at 11:00, and Howick’s will also be at 11:00, lead by Evie Kerr as Debbie Beattie is not able to be with us that day. We will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Christmas baskets and the local food bank. 

St Paul’s Stewards are planning a meeting on Tuesday, December 12th at 7:30pm. 

Howick UCW will be holding its annual potluck supper on Wednesday, December 13th at 6pm in the church and the goody plates will be prepared the next morning in the church as well.

Worship Schedule: Sunday, December 10 White Gift Sunday 9:30 Franklin.   11:00 Ormstown

                                11:00  Howick with Evie Kerr

Sunday, December 17 Communion Sunday, 9:30.  Howick.     11:00.  Ormstown

                                    Candlelight Christmas Service in Franklin 7:30pm

Sunday, December 24. Advent 4 and Christmas Eve 11:00. Howick

              Christmas Eve service in Ormstown, 8pm

Sunday, December 31 New Year’s Eve service combined service in hall in Ormstown 11:00