January 2 @ St. Paul's UMC: Announcements

Join us at 10:00 a.m. for Wednesday morning Zoom fellowship here.

Ladies Lunch Bunch will meet Thursday, January 6, at The Depot in Boulder at 11:45. Please let Joan Cooper know if you would like to join us.

Men's Breakfast will meet at Le Peep in Boulder at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 8. No reservations are needed.
 
De-Hanging of the Greens is Saturday, January 8, at 10:00 a.m. If you are able to come earlier in the week, feel free to stop by. Contact Judy Waller if you have any questions.
 

Gift cards for grocery stores may be sent to the Louisville UMC, so they can be distributed to people negatively impacted by the wildfires in Boulder County, December 30, 2021.

Louisville United Methodist Church

Attn: Erin Windt

741 Jefferson Avenue

Louisville, CO 80027

January 2 @ St. Paul's UMC: Worship

 

Epiphany Sunday / Second Sunday of Christmas

Today’s Meditation Verse: “Arise! Shine! Your light has come; and the Lord’s glory has shone upon you.” —Isaiah 60:1

Welcome... Pastor Charles

Prelude... Christopher Wahl

*Call to Worship (inspired by Isaiah 60:1-3) ... Joey Vander Vorste

People of God, arise, shine, for your light has come! The light of Christ has come into the world. Immanuel. God with us. So, arise, shine, for your light has come! And we will follow the light—when it shines brightly in the night sky and when it glows dimly on the horizon. We will follow the light–when it leads down familiar paths to expected destinations or when the road is unfamiliar and the star rests above a dubious-looking

home. We will lift up our eyes and look around. And when we see the Christ child, may our hearts be overwhelmed with joy. When we are in the presence of Immanuel, may our knees bend in worship. When our journey brings us, finally, to the heart of God, may our hands open in generous sharing; may our mouths open in generous praise.

—Joanna Harader, http://spaciousfaith.com

*Hymn... ““We Three Kings” (UMH #254)

Prayer Litany for Epiphany of the Lord Sunday... Joey Vander Vorste

We thank you God that you know what it is to be human, fragile and vulnerable, searching for ways to stay alive in dangerous and complicated times. We thank you that you know the struggles and temptations of living in darkness. And we thank you that you give light to the world. We confess that sometimes it’s easier to stay in the shadows, where things can stay hidden, where people can’t see our cracks and flaws. Cast your light on our darkness and forgive us, God of love. We confess that we have at times brought darkness into the world by our anger, our selfishness, our violence. Cast your light on our darkness and forgive us, God of love. We confess that we are sometimes skeptical of light and find it easier to trust its absence. Cast your light on our darkness and forgive us, God of love. And in this silence, bring the confessions that are on your heart and mind into the light of God’s love.

[Silence]

We know in faith that God restores and renews, and that our sins are forgiven. Thanks be to God.

—Cheryl Lawrie, http://holdthisspace.org.au

*Offering/Doxology (UMH #95)

Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebrations

Pastoral Prayer...Pastor Charles

First Lesson: Isaiah 60:1-6... Joey Vander Vorste

Special Music... Christopher Wahl

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 2:1-12...Pastor Charles

Pastor: This is the Word of God for the people of God.

People: Thanks be to God.

Sermon... Pastor Charles / “The light has come”

Communion / The Lord’s Prayer 

*Hymn... “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light” (UMH #206)

*Words for the Journey... Pastor Charles

*Postlude... Christopher Wahl

Devotional for the Ninth Day of Christmas

Fused glass ornament

Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting. Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings and teach us to be merry with clear hearts. 

 

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children, and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’s sake. Amen.

 

—attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson

 

From the Mountain Sky Conference Disaster Response Team

Shelter: Please make sure that everyone has a safe and warm place to stay! The YMCA in Lafayette (95^th and Arapahoe - 2800 Dagny Way, Lafayette (accepting pets) is the largest shelter and will remain open indefinitely.  At this location survivors can get meals, clean water and space heaters. There is also another center at Rocky Mountain Christian Church, 9447 Niwot Rd. (95th and Niwot Road) (not accepting pets. To get an electric heater you could also stop by Boulder YWCA at 2222 14th St. between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. or the Superior Community Center at 1500 Coalton Rd. Superior. 

FEMA: This is now a federally declared disaster which makes the assistance and funding available through FEMA accessible. They do offer financial assistance and it's also a way of “raising your hand” to let volunteer organizations know that you need help. Please encourage everyone who was impacted by this disaster to register with FEMA.  

Residents and business owners who sustained losses can begin applying for assistance starting Sunday by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.   

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and more counties and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are fully completed. 

Donations Management: The state emergency team and the Colorado VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster – we are members of this group) are working on a plan to organize both accepting donations and distribution of the donated items. When I get specifics on this process, I will let everyone know. This can get out of control so a process to do this is great!  

Disaster Assistance Center – A physical facility will be opened early next week where survivors can go to meet with “agencies” (this is the term used to encompass faith-based organizations like us and other volunteer driven organizations) to find someone who can help with their specific issue. We will participate in this as it’s a great place to distribute our cleaning and fire kits.   

Crisis Cleanup – There is a website where survivors can go to indicate that you need help in cleaning up your home or property.  If anyone in your church needs this service, please direct them to www.crisiscleanup.org or call 720 206 0627.  Agencies (like us) can access this site to locate them who have the resources to help. Caution everyone that using this site is not a guarantee that someone will reach out to you, but it is one avenue to pursue. 

UMCOR responds to Boulder County fire

December 31, 2021 at 4:04 PM 

Strong winds fed a fast-moving fire in Colorado this week, causing thousands of people to evacuate and destroying hundreds of homes. Join us in prayer for those who have lost so much to this all-consuming fire.

UMCOR is in communication with the Mountain Sky Conference to determine immediate and long-term needs.

GIVE NOW IN SUPPORT OF U.S. DISASTER RESPONSE: https://umcmission.org/advance-project/901670

Devotional for the Eighth Day of Christmas

Nativity ornament - Balsa wood

May this holy season be for each of us a time of moving beyond what is “reasonable” and toward the star of wonder; moving beyond grasping tight to what we have to unclenching our hands and letting go, following the Light where it leads; moving beyond competition toward cooperation, seeing that all humans are sisters and brothers; moving beyond the anxiety of small concerns towards the joys of justice and peace.

May the transforming acceptance of Mary and Joseph, the imagination of the shepherds, and the persistence of the wise men guide us as we seek the Truth, always moving toward the Divine promise, always aware God can be hidden in the frailest among us, always open to the unexpected flash of Grace, to the showing forth of that Love that embraces us all.

 

 

—from Education for Justice www.educationforjustice.org

Adapted by J.M. Deren from “Blessings and Benedictions,” by W.L. Wallace, Shine On, Star of Bethlehem, CAFOD, 2004 Posted by Marianist Social Justice Collaborative, http://www.msjc.net/

A prayer for the New Year

Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.

We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us-but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year. 

In the midst of life's uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love. 

In the midst of life's inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need. 

In the midst of life's temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost. 

And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need. May our constant prayer be that of the ancient Psalmist: "Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end" (Psalm 119:33). 

We pray for our nation and its leaders during these difficult times, and for all those who are seeking to bring peace and justice to our dangerous and troubled world. We pray especially for Your protection on all those who serve in our armed forces, and we thank You for their commitment to defend our freedoms, even at the cost of their own lives. Be with their families also, and assure them of Your love and concern for them.

Bring our divided nation together, and give us a greater vision of what You would have us to be. Your Word reminds us that "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12).

As we look back over this past year we thank You for Your goodness to us - far beyond what we have deserved. May we never presume on Your past goodness or forget all Your mercies to us, but may they instead lead us to repentance, and to a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives this year. 

And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise and hope of this new year, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith. This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come.

- Billy Graham