THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT DECEMBER 17, 2017* ALL WHO ARE ABLE ARE INVITED TO STAND.

GATHERINGPlease prayerfully allow the silent, sacred space of the sanctuary

and the quiet stirrings of the Spirit to prepare your heart and mind for worship.

PRELUDE “Gottes Sohn ist kommen, BWV 600” J.S. Bach

* CALL TO WORSHIP Rev. Kathryn Kibbie LairdPastor: In the beginning, when God made heaven and earth, and darkness was over the face of the deep,People: God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.Pastor: When the time was right, God sent Jesus into the world,People: and all that came to be was alive with his life, and that life was the light of the world.Pastor: The light shines in the darkness,People: and the darkness will never overcome it.

LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLE The Reeves Family Leaders: Friends, no less than upon Mary, God’s favor and love rest upon us. No less than to shepherds

working by night, God bears light into our darkness.We light the first candle as a promise to keep awake, to be attentive to signs of Christ’s coming. We light the second candle as a promise that in the midst of the world’s darkness and cold,we will abound in hope.We light the third candle as a promise that we will not live in fear, but will rejoice in God’s gift of love and light.Please join with us in prayer:

People: Wondrous God, we watch and wait for the warmth and light of your presence. As candle- light is not overcome by darkness, we rejoice that your light is within us, even in the wintry seasons of our lives. Help us to live in hope that your birth will occur in every heart and the world will fall to its knees in joy. Amen.

* THE PROCESSIONAL HYMN No. 5 “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” PICARDY

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison) Rev. Mary Marple Thies Merciful God, we confess that we are both infected and affected by the spirit of our times. Our cynicism is the fruit of our experience, not the key to the future. Our fears and suspicions divide us, keep us from being the beloved community you desire. Our analysis may describe the mountain before us, but is helpless to move it. Rather than embrace the light, we have become overwhelmed by darkness. As Christmas approaches, give us a share of that divine naivete enjoyed by Elizabeth and Zechariah, Mary and Joseph, and unnamed country folk, who encountered angels, believed the good news, and recognized the Christ among them.

TIME OF SILENT CONFESSION…

KYRIE ELEISON James MacMillan

DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS

* CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE Hymn No. 28, v. 3Good Christian friends, rejoice with heart and soul and voice; Now ye need not fear the grave: Jesus Christ was born to save!

Calls you one and calls you all to gain the everlasting hall.Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!

SHARING OUR LIFE AND MINISTRYPlease sign the card and pass it to your neighbor. As you pass it back to the center, take note of who is here so we can become better acquainted. Visitors, please give your address, telephone, and e-mail information.

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY BAPTISMGarrett and Nadya Swanberg present their son, Sebastian Tristan Swanberg for baptism.

WELCOMEWith joy and thanksgiving, we welcome Sebastian into Christ’s church to share with us in his ministry, for we are all one in Christ.

CHILDREN ARE INVITED TO SUNDAY’S COOL ROTATION(Please bring your buck and a can offering with you to Sunday’s Cool)

T H E W O R D

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION (unison) Wendy StahlHoly One, giver of life and light, as your word is read and proclaimed, illumine our hearts and minds, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, our lives may reflect God’s glory. Amen.

FIRST LESSON Isaiah 43:1-4 (OT page 672)Reader: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.People: Thanks be to God.

ANTHEM “Of the Father’s Heart Begotten” arr. David Willcocks Of the Father’s heart begotten, ere the world from chaos rose, He is Alpha : from that Fountain allthat is and hath been flows; He is Omega, of all things yet to come the mystic Close. By his word was all creates; He commanded and ‘twas done; earth and sky and boundless ocean, universe of three in one.All that sees the moon’s soft radiance, all that breathes beneath the sun. This is he, whom seer and sibyl sang in ages long gone by; This is he of old revealed in the page of prophecy; Lo! he comes, the promised Saviour; let the world in his praises cry! Sing, ye heights of heaven, his praises; Angels and Archangels, sing! Wheresoe’er ye be, ye faithful, let your joyous anthems ring, every tongue his name confessing, Countless voices answering. Evermore and evermore.

SECOND LESSON Luke 1:26-38 (NT pages 57-58)Minister: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.People: Thanks be to God.

SERMON “The Best She Could” Rev. Kathryn Kibbie Laird

R E S P O N D I N G T O T H E W O R D

* HYMN No. 9 “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” VENI EMMANUEL

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLEMinister: The Lord be with you.People: And also with you.Minister: Let us pray...

LORD’S PRAYER (unison)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.

MISSION OF THE CHURCH – Stewardship

PRESENTATION OF TITHES, OFFERINGS, OURSELVES & COMMITMENTS FOR 2018 –We invite you to bring your offering forward and place it in the offering plate. We also invite you to bring either your stewardship card for 2018, or the card indicating that you have already turned your stewardship care in, and place it in the basket.

OFFERTORY “Rejoice in the Lord alway” Anon. 16th Century Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say rejoice. Come bless the Lord, draw near to worship Christ the Lord and bless his name, His holy name, declaring he is good. Oh, that men would praise him, would praise his name, 'til the ends of the earth.

* RESPONSE “What Can I Give Him?” CRANHAM

* PRAYER OF DEDICATION

S E N D I N G

* HYMN No. 11 “O Lord, How Shall I Meet You?” VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN

* CHARGE AND BLESSING (Please be seated for the Choral Response & the Ringing of the Church Bell)

CHORAL RESPONSE “Watchman, Tell Us of the Night” ABERYSTWYTH

RINGING THE CHURCH BELL

* POSTLUDE “Kommst du nun, Jesu vom Himmel herunter, BWV 650” J.S. Bach

* SPECIAL CALLED CONGREGATIONAL MEETING to vote on dissolving the pastoral relationship, with regret, between the Rev. Paul E. Gilmore and the First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan, effective January 15, 2018.

TODAY AT FIRST PRESBYTERIANWelcome to the Service of Worship for the Lord’s Day. Parents of infants through age four are encouraged to take their children to the Nursery School classrooms during our services. Students in pre-K-7th grades should follow their teachers to the Common Room.

Today in Sunday’s Cool, we will celebrate that Jesus is Born! The younger grades will create jingle bell tambourines and make a joyful noise in telling the story of Christ’s Birth. The older grades will play a Christmas Quiz game show, testing their knowledge of the Christmas Story in the style of Jeopardy. Please bring your buck and a can and join us. In the Barn, our Tweens will prepare for Christ’s coming by claiming the Spirit’s power to act for justice, as described by the prophet Isaiah. Teachers assisting with preK-4th grade Spark Rotations today – Meredith Petitjean, Lauren Garguilo, and Whitney Childs; 5-7 th grade in the Barn for Feasting on the Word with Tindley Gilbert and Anne Wagner.

Youth News: What is happening at FPC for our ESYG (4th- 5th graders and their friends),MSYG (6th-8th graders and their friends), and HSYG (9th-12th graders and their friends). All are welcome!

ESYG (4th- 5th) MSYG (6th-8th) HSYG (9th-12th)12/17 5:30PM White Elephant GiftSwag, and dinner in Youth Barn

12/17 5:30PM White Elephant Gift Swag, anddinner in Youth Barn

Greeters: The Gilbert family; Worship Coordinator: Kevin Sheridan, Ushers: Peter Bayer, Andrew and Lisa Gifford, Peggy Hooker; Cross Bearer: Armin Thies; Advent Candle Readers: The Reeves family; Lay Reader: Wendy Stahl; Musicians: The First Presbyterian Church Choir

Congratulations to Garrett and Nadya Swanberg on the baptism of their son, Sebastian, great-grandson of Ruth Swanberg.

Let us keep in our thoughts and prayers: New Prayers: family of Ann Blose Edyt (Marion Blose’s daughter.) Continued concerns: Neil Coakley; Ann Depuy; Anita Gilmore; Graham Harden; Vince Lombardi; Jim Mierendorf; Nancy Russell; The Stricos family (friends of Joe and Diana Ruszkowski); John Voorhies. The Abo Noktah family (our Syrian refugees): Khaldoun (father), Khawla Alzob (mother), daughters Hanin and Zain, and sons Yaman and Ahmed.

Flower Memorials: If you wish to have flowers in the sanctuary to celebrate an anniversary, a baptism, a birthday, or to memorialize a loved family member or friend please call Barbara Wentzel, Flower Coordinator, at 203-966-5402 or email at barbarawentzel@mac.com.

Christmas Flowers: To contribute to the Christmas decorations in the sanctuary this year, either in your name or as a memorial, please call the church office or send in a check* marked “Christmas Flowers” along with the necessary information by December 20. *amount is discretionary.

No Gift Too Small! The Bell Tower Society welcomes gifts and bequests of all sizes. Every dollar given makes a difference in serving the long-term welfare of our church. If you have questions about remembering the church in your estate plans, please contact Peter Flournoy in the church office.

Cents-ability: On December 3, we collected $127. Our total collection since we began Cents-ability at our church in November 2011 is $18,390. Thank you for your awareness and generous response to hunger. If you would like more information on Cents-ability or need a Cents-ability cup, please see Robin Lewis. Remember to fill up your Cents-ability cup ‘til it runneth over! Our next collection is January 7.

New Canaan Food Pantry: Items in need now due to low/no stock are Mayonnaise, Herbal Tea, Crackers, Cookies, Canned Tuna, Canned Chicken, Coffee – Regular & Decaf, Cereal, Pancake Mix – Add water only. No beans or soup are needed now. Please drop these items in the shopping cart at the back of the Sanctuary and Robin Lewis will make sure they are delivered to the New Canaan Food Pantry.

FPNS Holiday Book Drive Benefiting The Malta House. Please join the FPNS family by giving a book to children in need this holiday season! Elm Street Books has preselected books based on the children’s ages and will wrap and hold the items for us to deliver at their annual Christmas brunch on December 23rd. Just ask for the FPNS book selection when you are in the store. The Malta House is an organization in Norwalk providing a nurturing home environment, support services and independent living skills to pregnant and parenting mothers of all faiths and their children.

FPC Christmas CDs for sale! Share the sound of FPC with family and friends this Christmas! CDs from the 2016 FPC Christmas Concert: Music for a King is available for purchase at coffee hour. You may also call the church office if you are unable to purchase CDs on Sunday morning. CDs are available for $15 for one, and three for $40. Music includes settings of familiar carols for choir, harp, flute, and oboe, Stephen Paulus' Three Nativity Carols and the U.S. premiere of two carols by Alex Freeman from Finland. Get into the holiday spirit with music from FPC!

THIS WEEK AT FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH178 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan, CT 06840

Tel.: 203-966-0002 // web page: www.fpcnc.org

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17: 3rd Sunday of AdventComing Forward Sunday

10:00 AM Worship and Sacrament of BaptismRev. Paul E. Gilmore preaching

10:15 AM Sunday’s Cool Classes for Grades preK-7 11:15 AM Coffee Hour11:00 AM Special Called Congregational Meeting11:15 AM Board of Deacons11:30 AM Christmas Pageant Rehearsal 3:00 PM FPCC Concert warm-up4:00 PM FPC Christmas Concert and reception5:30 PM MSYG/HSYG White Elephant Gift Swag

and Christmas dinner in Youth BarnMONDAY, DECEMBER 18

2:00 PM Meditation Group6:30 PM Purple Heather Dancers

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 199:30 AM Leadership Team7:00 PM Session8:00 PM Men’s A.A.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2010:00 AM Music Librarians 10:30 AM Pastoral Care Team 5:00 PM Carol Choir5:00 PM Confirmation Class

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 213:30 PM Special Church 6:00 PM English Handbells 7:30 PM FPC Choir

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 239:15 AM A.A. (closed discussion)

10:30 AM A.A. (open discussion)2:00 PM Christmas Pageant Dress Rehearsal

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24: 4th Sunday in Advent 10:00 AM Worship and Sacrament of Baptism 11:15 AM Coffee Hour4:00 PM Pageant Cast Call4:45 PM Carol Sing5:00 PM Christmas Pageant and Family Service9:00 PM FPC Choir Rehearsal

10:00 PM Candlelight and Communion Service

Christmas Joy OfferingWe will once again this year be supporting the Christmas Joy Offering of the Presbyterian Church (USA). There are special envelopes for this collection in your bulletin. Fifty percent of this collection is provided to the Board of Pensions for assistance programs to provide support to retired and active church workers and their families. The other fifty percent supports Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges. We hope that you will

continue to support these efforts as you have in the past.

Children & Pets Carol Service and Blessing of the Animals

Sunday, December 31 at 10 a.m.People of all faiths and their animal companions are welcome to attend! Members of the congregation and visitors – adults and children alike – are encouraged to bring their leashed or caged animals during the service. All are invited to come forward to receive an individual blessing from the ministers. Dogs, cats, horses, goats, llamas, ferrets, frogs, turtles and hedgehogs are some of the animals that have received blessings at past services. A real, live pet is not required to participate – well-loved stuffed pets are welcome, too.

Attention: Christmas Pageant Rehearsals today!

Calling all children! Please join in this wonderful retelling of the Christmas Story. No

prior choir participation is required!

For those children who are in grades 2 or below, please meet in the Sanctuary and then go to the

Cherub Choir Room with Mrs. Tate. The youngest children (ages 1-4) who play the animals

DONOT need to come to rehearsal until Dec. 17.

Pageant Rehearsal dates: Sunday, December 17, 11:30-1:00pm

Rehearsal and Costume Fitting in Sanctuary and the Cherub Choir Room.

Saturday, December 23, 2–4pmMandatory Dress Rehearsal

Sunday, December 24All-cast Call at 4pm for a 5pm Service

It’s beginning to feel a Lot likeChristmas!

We would love to see your Christmas cards! Consider adding FPC to your card list. Send us your card and we’ll put it on

the church bulletin board. It’s fun for all to see festive cards — including photos of

your family.Send or bring cards

to: First Presbyterian Church

178 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan, CT

Children and Youth Mission Project - The Blessing Tree

This winter we hope you will consider helping K- 12 students in Fairfield County who come from low income homes. Please purchase hats, gloves, and mittens for our HORIZON’S MITTEN TREE or used (or new) children’s coats and fleeces for ages K-12. Collection begins November 26 and ends on December 20.

Plan to join us for worship on Christmas Eve.

Fourth Sunday in Advent10:00 a.m. An Iona Christmas

Worship Sacrament of Baptism

4:45 p.m. Carol Sing/5 p.m. Christmas PageantThe Cherub Choir and Carol Choir will join with other children of the Church School to present our Annual Christmas Pageant under the direction of Rev. Chris Tate on Christmas Eve at 5:00 PM. Peter Flournoy will also being playing trumpet before this service. FPC is the place to be on Christmas Eve!

10:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion ServiceThe First Presbyterian Church Choir

Meditation by Rev. Paul E. Gilmore

May God’s presence which drives out fear God’s glory which makes all of life holy

God’s comfort which nourishes our hearts God’s love which sustains us

Bring to us and the world God’s blessing and peace

The Reverend Paul E. Gilmore, The Reverend Kathryn Kibbie Laird, Victoria Shields and the staff and officers of First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan