A Service of Worship for
The Second Sunday of Advent
December 6, 2020

Artist: Louis Glanzman

​It is in deeds that we become aware of what our lives really are, 
of our power to harm and to hurt, 
to wreck and to ruin; 
of our ability to derive joy and to bestow it upon others; 
to relieve and to increase our own and other people’s tensions. 
 It is in the employment of our will, 
not in reflection, 
that we meet our own selves as they are; 
not as we should like them to be.  
In our deeds we expose our immanent as well as our suppressed desires, 
spelling out that which we cannot apprehend.  
What we may not dare to think, 
we often utter in deeds.  
The heart is revealed in the deeds. 

Abraham Joshua Heschel
Worship notes are included at the bottom of this page and in the Worship Order located at the link below.
With this link you can make a donation to Covenant through PayPal or a credit card. 
Adult Education - TODAY,  9AM
​The adult education class will continue with recorded lectures by John Dominic Crossan, one of the prominent scholars of the life of the historical Jesus. Response to last week’s talks was quite positive. The title of the lecture series is “The Challenge of Jesus,” referring to the threat Jesus posed to the Roman Empire and, by extension, to local rulers of the empire such as Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate. In the selections for this week, Crossan will talk first about Herod the Great, who was actually quite a significant figure. Other segments will provide further information about time, place, history and theolog.
​Zoom link is available on the Online Gatherings page on our website: https://www.covenanthouston.org/covenant-gatherings.html
Full worship service video:
COFFEE TIME Gathering on Zoom
Today, 11AM
We will begin as a large group and discuss the elements of worship we find particularly meaningful. After that, we will transition into “rooms" for coffee time. 
​Log in details on the Online Gatherings page. 
Quarterly Business Meeting Video 12/6/20202
Prelude
"Come, Savior of the Nations" by J. S. Bach; Patrick Parker, organ.

​Call to Worship

Lighting the Advent Candle
Richard Johnson and Lisa Spiro light the second candle of Advent 2020 - Peace.

Opening Sentences
Peace is the heart of God
but how shall we find peace between people?
There can be no flower of peace
from the seeds of discord;
there can be no fruit of peace
from the root of injustice;
there can be no reaping of peace
from the sowing of oppression.
But when in our thoughts
we honour God and our neighbours,
when in our words
we encourage those who are lonely or depressed,
when in our actions
we seek justice and freedom for all,
then peace breaks out with happiness
in all the places where people meet
and women and men, young and old,
join in the tongues of all the nations
to praise the Prince of Peace,
Jesus, Emmanuel, God alongside us.

Presentation of a Bible to Townes Kyle-Robbins:
Minister: Every week we read from the sacred stories together and each of us understands them a bit differently. Listening together we can hear many things.
People: Thus, we are joined as a community of interpreters, giving and receiving in our search for what is sacred.
Minister: One of our customs is to offer our children the sacred stories in the hopes that they will read them carefully and offer us their insights.
People: For we affirm that every person has access to the divine.
Minister: There is one among us, Townes, who has recently turned ten. We welcome him, officially this day, into the community of interpreters. Together we have much to learn from each other. Townes, we would like to give you a Bible. It is full of stories that are sacred to us. Will you read them and think about them, always remembering that they are meant to teach us love for God, our neighbors, and our world?
Townes: I will read these sacred stories and seek to learn from them.
People: Then together we will join with you, Townes, and with others in the great and ongoing conversation among interpreters. We will share our understanding, our experiences, our questions, and our hopes as we read from the sacred stories and open ourselves to the dialogue that follows. We welcome and affirm you as a companion in this process.

​Scripture Lesson: Matthew 1:12-25

​Time for Children

Confession
Unison Confession
God of stables, stars and surprises,
of light and hope and new life:
Open our eyes and hearts to what you are about in our world.
​
Forgive our obsession with property and propriety.
Forgive our compromises and our narrowness of vision.
Open us to your grace that we might hear again
the song of the angels, and respond
with a song in our hearts and lives.

Picture
Music
"Joseph, Dearest, Joseph Mine," The Covenant Singers; David Lee, director; Patrick Parker, organ.
Picture
​



Proclamation

​Hymn
"Le How a Rose E'er Blooming" Trans. Theodore Baker; The Covenant Singers. 
​
​Prayer
Each of us comes metaphorically
to this place of gathering
        To be with one another,
        to share our stories, to hear others’ tales,
        To share struggle and hope,
        health and gaping wound,
        To celebrate beauty and sit with ache.
 
Into this space we come--
from a world being rent asunder
         By exchanging the truth for lies,
         By wars and rumors of wars,
         By would-be strongmen who, this time,
         appear to lack skill and coordination.
 
May we find hope in the possibility of new life,
         Strength by which we may overcome helplessness,
         Comfort to salve loneliness,
         Love that conquers failure and death.
         
Come, be among us, Child of God,
        ​Disturb the swamps of our stagnation,
         And stir among us, stir into life
         The formless beginnings
         Of a new and better world.
 
Amen.
- Nicholas Stepp
​Invitation
​
​Prayer of Dedication
Behind resistance,
behind aggression and jealousy,
behind any kind of tension,
there is a soft spot 
we are trying to protect.
Someone’s actions hurt our feelings
and before we notice what we’re doing,
we armor ourselves
in a very old and familiar way.
We can either let go
and connect with that soft spot
or we can continue 
to stubbornly hold on…
 
The real work of the peacemaker
is to find the soft spot
and the tenderness in that very uneasy place
and stay with it.

Doxology
​
Affirmation of Faith
Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues.
 
Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.
 
We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?
 
Into this climate of fear and apprehension,
Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness
high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.
 
It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence
and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.
 
Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged
as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.
 
In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.
 
We tremble at the sound.
​We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.
 
It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.
 
On this platform of peace, we can create a language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.
 
We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Non-Believers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation.
 
Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul.

Benediction

Postlude
"Come, Savior of the Nations" by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck; Patrick Parker, organ.
Worship Notes

The worship leader is Nicholas Stepp.

The prelude is played by Patrick Parker, organ.

The Call to Worship is from Night Visions by Jan L. Richardson, a quote from Jack Boozer.

The Opening Sentences is “Meditation” by John Johansen-Berg.

The Unison Confession is from Worship for All Seasons, Volume 1 edited by Thomas Harding.

The Prayer of Dedication is adapted from Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chödrön.

The Affirmation of Faith is “Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem” by Dr. Maya Angelou.
​
The postlude is played by Patrick Parker, organ.
​
Sunday schedule for today: 
9:00 - Adult Education with Zoom
10:00 - Worship via videos on the Worship Page
11:00 - Transition from worship to coffee time with Zoom

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