Order of Worship

GATHERING MUSIC My Heart is Ready by Cindy Kallet

My heart is ready and what am I gonna do,
My heart is ready and what am I gonna do,
My heart is ready and what am I gonna do,
Oh God, my heart is ready and what am I gonna do?

My mind is ready…

My voice is ready…

My hands are ready…

WELCOME    

* OPENING SONG  Let’s Build a House

Let’s build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live
A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace

[Refrain]: 
All are welcome, welcome in this place,
All invited to come and know God’s grace
All are welcome, the love of Christ to feel.
Cause all of us are welcome here
All are welcome in this place

Let’s build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat
A banquet hall on holy ground where peace and justice meet
Here the love of God, through Jesus is revealed in time and space

[Refrain]

Let’s build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone,
To heal and strengthen, serve and teach and  live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger bears the image of God’s face

[Refrain]

OPENING PRAYER

PASSING OF THE PEACE    

Peace be with you… ...and also with you

* SONG Teach Your Children Well by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

You, who are on the road
Must have a code you try to live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye

Teach your children well
Their father's hell did slowly go by
Feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's the one you'll know by

Don't you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

And you, of tender years
Can't know the fears your elders grew by
Help them with your youth
They seek the truth before they can die

Teach your parents well
Their children's hell will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's the one you'll know by

Don't you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

SCRIPTURE John 3:1 - 7 reader, Judy Beaupre

READING “Practicing” by Linda Pastan

SONG OF PREPARATION Take, O Take Me as I Am

SERMON Rev. Rebecca Anderson

MUSIC FOR REFLECTION Lay Down Yr Mountain

Rebecca Anderson and Nick Photinos

SHARING OF JOYS AND CONCERNS led by Hannah Carl

When in the past week did you see God at work? 
What concerns would you like to turn over to God’s care?

PASTORAL PRAYER & LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father/Creator/Parent, 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 sins as we forgive those who sin against us. 
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen

GIVE, SERVE, SHARE: Announcements

OFFERTORY

* DOXOLOGY

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God, all creatures here below.
Praise God above ye heavenly host,
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost. Amen. 

* CLOSING SONG Starting Over Chris Stapleton

Well the road rolls out like a welcome mat
To a better place than the one we’re at
& I ain’t got no kinda plan
But I’ve had all of this town I can stand

& I got friends out on the coast
We can jump in the water & see what floats
& we’ve been saving for a rainy day
Let’s beat the storm & be on our way

(Chorus)
And it don’t matter to me
Wherever we are is where I want to be
And Honey, for once in our lives
Let’s take our chances and roll the dice
And I can be your lucky penny

You can be my four-leaf clover
Starting over

Now this might not be an easy time
There’s rivers to cross & hills to climb
& some days we might fall apart
And some nights might feel cold & dark

But nobody wins afraid of losing
& the hard roads are the ones worth choosing
Some days we’ll look back & smile
And know it was worth every mile

(Chorus)

* BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE

*     *     *    

Announcements

Faith & Politics Small Group - Today (and this month)

How do we address injustice and how does that relate to our concepts of faith (broadly understood)?  Join Dublin-based Susan Burgess on-line and explore how others (e.g., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Harvey Milk, Derek Bell, Dolores Huerta, AOC) have tried to make political change in a way that aligns with their visions of the world.  We’ll use their examples to help us reflect upon our own faith journeys in relation to political change. Group members will view documentaries on their own which we will then discuss together as a group in weekly meetings on Zoom on Sunday, January 4, 11, 18, 25 from 2-3 pm. Sign up here if you plan on joining!

Book Group Reads “Brooklyn” - Feb. 4th

Join us Wednesday, February 4th at 7pm for our next Book Group. We’ll be discussingBrooklyn, by Colm Tóibín:

(from the publisher) Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America, she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.

Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

Sign up using here if you plan on reading with us!

Adult Sunday School - Feb. 1st

Join us for our next Adult Sunday School session on Feb. 1st after worship! This unit is titled Shameless: Undoing the connection between religion and shame about sex/sexuality. In honor of Valentine’s Day, this month’s adult Sunday School will look at the ways Christianity (and the culture writ at large) have contributed to feelings of shame about sex and sexuality. We will discuss the messages we received about sex and sexuality and use texts from authors like Nadia Bolz-Weber to unpack the shame we have likely internalized. Join Hannah Carl to create new messages for yourself and others about sex and sexuality in the context of Christianity. We hope you’ll join us after worship on Feb. 1st!

Nick and Yasuko @ The CheckOut - Feb. 1st

Join us Sunday Feb. 1st at 3pm at the CheckOut for a chance to hear Bethany’s own Nick Photinos (cello) and Yasuko Oura (piano)! Together, they’ll be presenting Cello as a Human Voice, a concert that explores the cello’s unique ability to sing, speak, and communicate with the expressive depth of the human voice. Spanning a wide range of repertoire by Chicago-based composers, this program highlights the cello’s lyrical qualities and its deep connection to vocal expression. Grab your tickets here! We hope to see you there!

February Book Group: Brooklyn - February 4th

Join us Wednesday, February 4th at 7pm for our next Book Group. We’ll be discussing Brooklyn, by Colm Tóibín.

(from the publisher) Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America, she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.

Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

Sign up here if you plan on reading with us!

Digging Up Your Roots Small Group - February 5th

Join Bud and Judy on Thursdays in February for a “Digging Up Your Roots” small group in the Parlor:

Have you ever wondered where that great grandfather you've heard about came from, or how your mother's aunt came to America? Genealogy research can be fun and enlightening and, yes, sometimes frustrating. In February, Bud and Judy will lead a small group that delves into what you can and cannot do with resources that are readily available online, and what you can do with the information you find. If you've been digging up those old family stories for a while, come and share your experiences, And if you've never even dipped your toe into the genealogy waters, come and we'll take you through the basics. You might get hooked.

Thursdays in February at 7 p.m. in the parlor. Sign up here if you plan to join us!

Shrove Sunday Pancake Breakfast - Feb 15th

Nobody actually calls the Sunday before Ash Wednesday “Shrove Sunday” but here at Bethany, we celebrate this obscure church holiday each year with a Pancake Breakfast (where we eat waffles, not pancakes).

Join us Sunday February 18th after service for our annual Lenten breakfast celebration! We’ll have coffee, waffles, and syrup but we need you to bring everything else. Sign up here if you're able to help with cooking, decorations or clean-up.

Pathways to Creativity Small Group - Feb. 17th

If you were lucky enough to hear Rebecca’s Christmas reflection then you know that God is the ultimate creator. And if we’re all created in God’s image, we were all born to be creators. For the early part of our lives, if you were anything like me (hello – this is Ron), you probably did all sorts of creative things like finger paint, or play with puppets, or make friendship bracelets. Unfortunately, as we grow older, many of us stop being creators, convincing ourselves that creativity is the realm for other people, and certainly not for me.

If you’ve always wanted to be creative (painter, writer, poet, singer) but unsure how to proceed, I invite you to discover and recover your creative self. Over 6 weeks we’ll go through Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. We’ll explore why you may have stopped being creative and through weekly discussions and exercises I hope to re-ignite your creative self. We’ll do this primarily through process-oriented art, emphasizing materials exploration (all materials included) and mark-making (no technical skills needed - I can’t draw to save my life). For the last three weeks we’ll try our hand at making palimpsests as a way to explore our very many layered selves. Don’t know what a palimpsest is? Take a listen to Vince’s sermon from 07/25/2023 and how God gives us all the second chances we need!

Join me for one, any, or all sessions:

Tuesday, Feb. 17th
Tuesday, Feb. 24th
Tuesday, March 3rd
Tuesday, March 10th
Thursday, March 19th
Tuesday, March 24th

Sign up here if you plan on joining!

Help Make Worship Happen

For the next couple months, our pastors will be flying solo, which means we could use your help now more than ever! Please sign up here if you’re able to help.

Give and Get Help

Throughout the holiday season, we will continue to collect canned goods and other non-perishable food items to be delivered to Nourishing Hope. Contact us anytime at bethany.ucc.assistance@gmail.com if you, your family or those close to you have needs that are not being met. We will try to help, or at least point you in the direction of help.

Subscribe to Bethany’s Google Calendar (a work in progress!)