This half day retreat (2 and 1/4 hours) was created for Brunswick United Methodist Church in Maine by its Council of Ministries:  Tara Robertson, Darren Joyce, Lori Umberhind, & Corley Byras, Rev. Karen L. Munson, and Music Director Shari Tarleton.  The event brought together worshipers from 2 weekly services, traditional and contemporary to get to know each other, themselves, and the ministries of the congregation.

       We feel small and weak, but we are gathered together to signify the power of              God who transforms death into life. That is our hope, that God is doing the impossible:   changing death to life inside of each of us, and that perhaps, through our community, each one of us can be agents in the world of this transformation of brokenness into wholeness, and of death into life.   -Jean Vanier

Prep:  
*Invite each group or ministry in the church to prepare a trifold display and one page information sheet before hand for the Ministry Fair. 
*Choose a simple Spritual Gifts inventory to introduce. 
*Place in bulletins:  names tags, index card, Mr Potato head puzzle piece with a "getting to know you" question on the back (see below). 

Worship   
Theme: “”Body of Christ

Gathering Music  “We Are The Body of Christ”  

Greeting  As we worship and fellowship today, let us keep our eyes and ears open to God’s particular gifts in each other.

Call to worship from 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11, by KL Munson
Leader:  Come and learn, God’s gifts await.   
ALL:  We come, ready to receive.
Leader: Turn away from “false gods,” silent and demanding.

ALL:  We turn toward God, from whom all blessings flow.

Leader: Come, celebrate the many gifts of the one Spirit.

ALL:  We come rejoicing in many ministries and one Lord.

Leader:  Come, learn and celebrate the Spirit’s activity in our midst.

ALL: We come to see each other’s gifts, to celebrate each other’s ministries.

Leader: Come to the connection Christ is creating

ALL:  We come to hear wisdom, to seek knowledge,

           to share faith, to witness miracles in the making.

Leader: Come, bless the one LORD, from whom all gifts and grace flow.

ALL:  We come.


Music                         Gather Us In    TFWS 2236

Children’s message  “When the Body Works Together”  
    Would you please turn your imaginations on?  
     I want you each to imagine that you are one big ear.  Nothing else, just an ear, all of us. Are you imagining that you are a big ear?  OK.  Now please walk to the back of the room, as an ear.  Can you get there?  What's the problem.  (We don't have any feet or legs). Oh, ok.  Then lets each imagine that we are a foot, a great big foot.  Are you imaging what it would feel like to be a big foot? Now, big feet, tell me what I'm saying. (whisper a message).   What's wrong?  Why can't you hear, big feet?  


You need ALL the parts of your body don't you?  You need all the parts to work together, just like sports teams need all the parts of a team to work together. 
Churches are like that too.  Every single person here, and the people who aren't here today, is essential.  The great teacher, Paul of Tarsus, called that "being the Body of Christ."  One of the things churches do is help each person discover what gifts God is giving them and how to share it.  


Here's an example of how the Body of Christ worked together here.  Some years ago, the people in the church saw (with the eyes) that the church needed some new facilities.  They listened to each other (with their ears), and thought about it (with their brains) and got to work (with their hands and other gifts) and found a way to build.  To do that they had to borrow money.  We've been paying back that money.  This spring, the church decided to finish paying it back so that more money would be available for ministry.  And today we get to celebrate the vision form those years ago, and the persistance of the years between, and the "get it done" of the past month.  We get to tear up the mortgage becuase we don't need it any more.


Mortgage disposal  -"Frst Tear" Peggy Weinzetl (final Campaign helper)  

Welcome, worship is our love offering to God!

Preparations:  Gather a bible, 4 candles and something to light them with.

This week in MOSAIC worship, the children will be bringing the Christmas Story to life.  If you have children at home (or adults who aren’t afraid to play) consider getting out a pile of bathrobes and scarves and suiting up to act out Matthew 1-2.  The first part of Matthew isn’t action packed, but it will give you a chance to talk about your own family tree.



Music to gather and inspire our thoughts:

Carol:                     There’s a Song in the Air                              

Call to Worship

L:  This is the moment to prepare,
P:  to receive the good news of Christmas.
L:  This is the day to wait,
P:  for joy is about to fill us to overflowing.
L:  This is the time to celebrate,
P:  as we listen to the Dream,
     as we welcome the Birth,
     as we embrace the Love of our God.

Lighting of the Advent Wreath

Reader:  
Do not be afraid, salvation is at hand. God is about to do a mighty thing.                                                                            Joseph’s dream of God’s promise will soon be our reality.
God’s promised Messiah will be none other than Emmanuel, God with us.
We light the fourth Advent candle in hope of the coming Emmanuel, God in the flesh.
God’s healing of human brokenness comes by way of God taking on human flesh.

                                      Light three candles

Reader: Come, Lord Jesus.
All: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Amen.

Advent Song          Vs.3  The Faith We Sing # 2090.

Light the advent candle, four: Think of joy forever more;
Christ Child in a stable born, gift of love that Christmas morn.
Candle, candle, burning bright, shining in the cold winter night;
Candle, candle, burning bright, fill our hearts with Christmas light.

Unison Prayer                  by Ruth Duck, U.S.A.
ALL:    In the advent season, when the past has fled, unasked,
            away and there is nothing left to do but wait
           God, shelter us.
           Be our surrounding darkness;
           be the fertile soil out of which hope springs in due time.
           In uncertain times, help us to greet the dawn and labor on, love on,
           in faith awaiting your purpose hid in you
           waiting to be born in due time.  Amen. 

Silence

Words of Assurance

Reader: 
         God who is shelter surrounds us with the Spirit of hope.
         Christ who is coming shines light at the edge of darkness.
         Know that the Lord is God, it is God who made you,
         and God who is with you.

If you are worshipping with others, exchange signs of Christ’s peace.

Entering God’s Word Together:

The Gospel According to Matthew 2: 1-15

The Wise Men recognized God’s call through a star.  What’s your sign of God’s call?

If you opened up your treasure chest, what would you find to offer to Christ? 

This call takes the wise men and the holy family far from their homes. Have you ever felt the gospel drawing you away from what’s comfortable? 

Morning Message        Christmas Blender                  by Jeremy Wayland

Music for Meditation  Carol of the Epiphany  by John Bell

Praying Together

Receive God’s gift of time to be in prayer, offering God any burdens or joys that you are aware of for yourself, others, the world. Don’t rush.  Receive silence as well as words.  God has all the time in the world for you!

Then join in praying with Jesus:
      Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever.  AMEN                                                                                 

Sharing gifts and self: 

If you are worshiping with others, take turns naming God’s spiritual gifts that you recognize in each other.  Make sure that everyone has a gift named! If you are worshipping by yourself, take a few minutes to name the gifts you recognize in at least 3 people you know. Next, name gifts that God has placed in your life this day.

 2 Sundays of storms are wrecking havoc on end of the year budgeting. 
   You can help us catch up via the church’s paypal link: http://www.umcbrunswick.org/giving.html  

Prayer of Thanksgiving:
   We offer our gifts to the one who gives us all things.
   We offer our lives to the one gave us life.
    To God,  Creator, Christ, and Spirit, one
   We bring our offering of thanks and praise.  Amen

Witnessing to God’s Grace at Work

 *Call, email, or text at least one person to share God’s love.

 *Think about whether you know someone in your neighborhood or church who might appreciate being checked on in the storm.

 *Don’t forget to check the Grace Notes (updated on the web site) for what’s going on!  http://www.umcbrunswick.org/grace-notes-e-news-and-monthly-newsletters.htm

Our Church’s work:

The United Methodist Church is….
Helping students sing the way from fear to healing for Arapahoe High School in Colorado.

The United Methodist Church is…..
 A listening presence in places of pain. “I had grown men crying on my shoulder, saying that their sons and daughters were students at Arapahoe,” said the Rev. Ryan Canaday, associate pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Highlands Ranch. “We had one family where the wife was a teacher at Columbine and the husband is a math teacher at Arapahoe, so for them it was a double whammy.”

The Methodist Church is  ….
Supporting recovery in the Philippines and Oklahoma from typhoon and tornado

The United Methodist Church is….
Leading “No More Malaria”, partnering with the United Nations and the Global fund to mitigate malaria in Africa.

The United Methodist Church…is supplying leadership to address world problem:  Bishop Thomas Bickerton, chairperson of the executive committee for Imagine No Malaria says, "Today there's a 3-year-old who's going to be bitten by a tiny bug, and, in 48 hours, she is going to die. She's the reason I do what I do. To make the world a healthy place for every child has everything to do with what Mr. Wesley intended us to do."

The United Methodist Church is……
Providing Child Friendly spaces in Syrian Refugee Camps.

Preparation for Worship:  Gather a bible, 3 candles  (if you do not have an advent wreathe at home) and something to light them with.

Welcome!  Worship is Our Love Offering to God!

Gathering. 

Music to gather and inspire your thoughts:

            Carol: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
            Contemporary: Hope was Born this Night
Call to Worship            by Thom Shuman

When our hallelujahs have shattered into pieces:
our God comes!  Singing new songs to us.
When hope lies in tatters at our feet:
Our God comes!  To mend our brokenness with love.
When we think we need to wait:
Our God comes!  To reign forever in our hearts.

 
Opening prayer
O God, whose will is justice for the poor and peace for the afflicted,
Let your herald’s urgent voice pierce our hardened hearts and announce the dawn of your kingdom. Before the advent of the One who baptizes with the fire of the Holy Spirit, let our complacency give way to conversion, oppression to justice, and conflict to acceptance of one another in Christ.

We ask this through the One whose coming is certain, whose day draws near: your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN

Lighting the Third Advent Candle                                    by Ben Gosden

Reader:   (May also be read by different voices alternating lines)

Good news, God is filling the hungry with good things!
Good news, God is lifting up the lowly!
Good news, God is about do his mightiest work!
He will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth from all nations.
We light the third Advent candle remembering that God’s Promised One
comes to comfort all who are afflicted
and to afflict all who might be too comfortable.

Light three candles

Come, Lord Jesus.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Amen.


Advent Song          Vs.3  The Faith We Sing # 2090.

Light the advent candle, three: Think of heavenly harmony
Angels singing “Peace on Earth” at the blessed Savior’s birth.
Candle, candle, burning bright, shining in the cold winter night;
Candle, candle, burning bright, fill our hearts with Christmas light.

Sharing God’s Word
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 35: 1-10, James 5: 7-10
                                  The Gospel according to Matthew 1: 18-25

Reader:  God’s word for God’s people
All:  Thanks be to God.

Music for Meditation: A Strange Way to Save the World.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGsarig0V2c

Entering God’s Word Together:

            Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes.

            How might you react to a heavenly messenger’s appearance?

            Who speaks in this passage? 

            What does God need Joseph to do?

            Why does Joseph agree?

 Morning Message      "What a Man's Got to Do."     by Karen L. Munson

Praying Together

            Receive God’s gift of time to be in prayer, offering God any burdens or joys that you are aware of for yourself, others, the world. Don’t rush.  Receive silence as well as words.  God has all the time in the world for you!

Then join in praying with Jesus:

            Our father, who art in heaven, hollowed be thy name.
            Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
            Give us this day our daily bread.
            Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us,
            and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
            For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  AMEN.

Sharing gifts and self: 
If you are worshiping with others, take turns naming God’s spiritual gifts that you recognize in each other.  Make sure that everyone has a gift named! If you are worshipping by yourself, take a few minutes to name the gifts you recognize in at least 3 people you know. Next, name gifts that God has placed in your life this day.

Prayer of Thanksgiving                        by Thom Shuman
It is your nature to be holy, and gracious in the giving of Jesus,
your Child, our salvation.
He comes to the barren places, so life might blossom in us.
He comes into our brokenness, so we might be made whole.
He comes into our silence, telling us of your miracles of grace and hope.
He went into our death, and comes forth bringing resurrection for all.
As we prepare to celebrate his birth and to journey with him once again,
we thank you for giving in Jesus. AMEN

Witnessing to God’s Grace at Work Going Forth to Serve and Share
 *Call, email, or text at least one person to share God’s love.
 *Think about whether you know someone in your neighborhood or church who might
appreciate being checked on in the storm.

 *Don’t forget to check the Grace Notes (updated on the web site) for what’s going on!  http://www.umcbrunswick.org/grace-notes-e-news-and-monthly-newsletters.html

        O God, our help in ages past,

         our hope for years to come,

         our shelter from the stormy blast,

         and our eternal home.

Let us name what we hope for…….._

        Under the shadow of thy throne,

         still may we dwell secure;

         sufficient is thine arm alone,

         and our defense is sure.

 

         Before the hills in order stood,

         or earth received her frame,

         from everlasting, thou art God,

         to endless years the same.

 
Let us name what we count on………..

       A thousand ages, in thy sight,

         are like an evening gone;

         short as the watch that ends the night,

         before the rising sun.

 

        Time, like an ever-rolling stream,

         bears all who breathe away;

         they fly forgotten, as a dream

         dies at the opening day.

Prayer:  Oh God, we remember.  Not everything, but we do remember.

              We remember others who gathered around the table with us.

                   friends who provided your shelter in life’s storms

                  and celebrated with us along life’s journey.

            We remember the beauty we have witnessed in your world.

            We remember that our short lives are cradled in your eternal life.

            Forgive us when we forget that you are the author, the reader,

                   and the end of our lives.  _

             Free us for joyful participation in life as our hope in Christ

                   leads us to you.  AMEN