Order of Service

“Green”

lyrics by Peter Mayer, arr. by Adam Podd

When winter’s gray is on the sky,

Rust upon the leaves that lie,

Red on the last few berries clinging,

Brown on the branch where the bitter wind’s singing—

Even when white obscures the scene,

Still, in winter, there is green.

Waving defiant pine tree boughs,

Cedar needles, stubborn and proud,

Hiding inside the seeds of summer,

Deep in the root where it sleeps under cover—

Patiently waiting there unseen,

In the winter, there is green.

Death may raise its voice today;

O, but Life will have its say,

Speaking in lovers and in children,

In poets’ pens and philosophers’ visions.

Life is a planet’s daring dream:

Earth’s devotion, spoken in green.

So keep it in your winter store,

Hang its garland ’round the door,

Grant to your heart its hopeful promise,

Fashion a wreath for its blessing upon us.

Winter brings browns and grays indeed;

But when it comes, remember green.

“In Wholeness” by Rev. Sean Parker Dennison

Leader: Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. We have nearly circled through the season, 

     seeking a change in our hearts and our world, as these tapers of wick and wax are transformed into light and heat.

Congregation: May we be changed by the spirit of the season.

Leader: Let these messages by magnified on Christmas Day.

Congregation: We light the candles for hope, peace, joy, and love.

Fox Steals the Dark by Erica Baron

“Winter Solstice Chant”

by Anne Bearheart/Julie Middleton

Deep, deep, deep into the heart of the Winter.

Deep, deep, deep into the womb of the Mother.

Deep, deep, deep where there is no other

song but the song of my soul.

“Dark of Winter”

by Jason Shelton and Shelley Jackson Denham

“In the Dark”

by Lea Morris

What we seed in the dark grows

What we seed in the dark grows

What we seed in the dark grows

How? No one knows.

“Honor the Dark”

by Lea Morris

Honor the dark

As you do the light

Receive the gifts that come to us

By day and by night

I choose to honor the dark

Uncertainty and change

Deliver us from fear

Until only love remains

"A Light in the Storm"

“Still Rising” by Jason Shelton & Gretchen Haley

"Ringing in Hope"

The Church shares this month's offering with Susquehanna Harbor Safe Haven.

     Congregation: Spirits of the Center, West, South, East, North, we release you. Go if you must, stay if you will. Thankful blessings be with you. The circle is open, our work is done. May all depart in peace and return again in joy.

“Honor the Dark” by Lea Morris