Sunday Bulletin

Prelude           “How Brightly Shines the Morningstar”                Andreas Armsdorff

Introit             “Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty”                

Welcome & Announcements

Epiphany Call to Worship         Lay Leader
O come, let us worship the Lord and
consider what wondrous things God has
done:
The Magi who study the heavens
follow a guiding star!
O Come, let us worship the Lord and
consider what wondrous things God has
done:
The peoples who live in the shadows
see a glorious light!
O come, let us worship the Lord and
consider what wondrous things God has
done:
The Christ who embodies the Word
unveils the hidden plan, making us
joint heirs of the promise of salvation
through the gospel!
O Come, let us worship the Lord,
For God has done wondrous things!

Hymn           “What Child Is This”     #162

Unison Prayer
God, We praise you for breaking into the darkness of this world
with the glorious light of your presence. A light which made your
love for the world visible in the babe born in Bethlehem – Jesus Christ,
your son, our Savior. A light which guided those gift-bearing travelers
from afar to find and worship the Christ-child. A light which leads us
to you, now revealed in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

Children’s Message

Reading Isaiah 60:1-6

The Gloria Patri                                                                    #35

Anthem          “Lamb of the Light”                           Cornell

Prayers of the People

Hymn           “We Three Kings”     #132

Reading       Mattherw 2:1-12

Message       “Guiding Light”                            Rev. Dan Haugh

Offering                                 
Offertory         “How Far Is It to Bethlehem” Paul Manz
Doxology*                                                                            #46
Offertory Prayer*

Communion

Hymn           “Sing of God Made Manifest”     #176

Benediction      

Closing           “Here I Am, Lord” refrain

Postlude        “In Dulci Jubilo”          J.S. Bach

Calendar of Events

Monday, 12/29            Noon AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, 12/30            7:30 AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, 12/31      Noon AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
                                    5:30 Choir Rehearsal in Organ Loft

Happy Birthday this week to:
John Peterman on 1/7
Gianna Gendimenico and Paul Louviere on 1/8
Karen Miller on 1/10

Happy Anniversary this week to:
Michael and Melody Frank on 1/5
Alexander and Catherine Bichlier on 1/9

Announcements

The ushers today are the Deacons. Thank you for helping today.

Please mark your calendar for our Annual Meeting which will be on January 25, 2026 following the 9:30 worship service. More information to come.

Green Tip for January: “Is a River Alive?”

Its All Connected, Its All Alive… Stowe is an environment of spectacular beauty and a unique mountain environment and each hill, valley and notch has its own tributary of flowing water both large and small. These flows in turn connect to larger flows, our named brooks and streams… large rivers and lakes and, eventually,  the sea. Each of us residing here or visiting are connected to these flows physically, emotionally and aesthetically. We are also connected to them bodily in less poetic ways…

Every swallow of water we take;  each meal we eat; the medications we take; our wash water for our laundry, dishes, hygiene; the personal care and beauty products we use; the fertilizers and chemicals we apply to our gardens, crops and lawns; our dog waste… even the ski wax we apply to make us go fast (or faster). All of these elements of our abundant  and privileged lives that make our life easier, healthier and more aesthetically pleasing  are magically carried “away”; ( down our drains and off  our lawns and fields, off our roads and ski slopes).  All these human produced by-products must metabolized by the living network of flowing water that surrounds us with its myriad biological functions and interdependent ecologies that are each incredibly fragile…. 

We must ask ourselves, “if a River is Alive (I think it is) what obligations do we have to protect it and all the life that depends upon it ( including our own)?”

Unlike the decisions we make regarding how we handle our more tangible physical refuse, our treatment of our living waters is so easy for us to ignore. However, if we think for just one moment  “would I drink this or use it to water my garden”,  the impact of our choices becomes so much clearer. “Away” no longer exists in our interconnected and interdependent environment…  “Away” is always someone else’s “home”.

These brooks, streams and rivers that surround us are truly “Alive” in their own right and, in turn ,give us life. Take time to ponder that as you do your wash, take a shower or clean your paint brush in the sink…

These thoughts are inspired by the Book “Is A River Alive” by Robert Macfarlane and the podcasts produced by The Yale “Forum on Religion and Ecology”  
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forum-on-religion-and-ecology-spotlights/id1540371096?i=1000739214156

Musical Notes by Karen Miller

Prelude:  Philip Nicolai (1556-1608) was a beleaguered Lutheran pastor of several churches during the difficult time of the religious wars in Germany.  He also lost many parishioners to the plague which prompted him to write a series of meditations for his congregation, to which he added two hymns, both of which have become world-famous.  They book-end the Christmas season.  "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (Wake, awake, for night is flying) is a favorite Advent hymn, and "Wie schoen leuchtet der Morgenstern" (How bright appears the morningstar) is often included in the Epiphany section of hymnals.  It is Hymn No. 105 in the Chalice Hymnal.  This latter tune was used by Andreas Armsdorff (1670-1699) to create a chorale prelude where the entire melody is presented by the pedal line.  Armsdorff studied law as well as music, was a pupil of Johann Pachelbel, and served at the Reglerkirche, Andreaskirche, and Kaufmannskirche in Erfurt.  He lived a short 29 years.

Anthem:  Garry A. Cornell (b. 1940) served as an organist in Columbus, Ohio and was founder and director of Celebrations Unlimited, a music publishing enterprise based in Columbus.  A.M.S.I. published his choral piece "Lamb of the Light" in 1978 for which he used a text by Herbert F. Brockering that reads: “Star of the wise, star in the east, lead to the Lamb of the Passover feast.  Star of the high, O star of the least, lead to the Lamb of the Passover feast. Star of the heart, star in the sky, lead to the Lamb who is reigning on high; Lord when we praise, Lord, when we cry, lead to the Lamb who is reigning on high; Star of the Word, star in the night, lead to the Lamb who now rules on the right;  Lamb of the feast, the Lamb of the light, lead to the Lamb who now rules on the right.”

Offertory:  Paul Manz (1919-2009) was organist at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis for 37 years and then served as artist-in-residence at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.  He dearly loved to lead hymn festivals rather then giving solo organ recitals.  He composed many sets of hymn and chorale based pieces.  His "Improvisations for the Christmas Season", set 2, includes a short work based on "Stowey", a tune often paired with the text "How Far Is It to Bethlehem".  The tune remains in the soprano line, sometimes on string stops, sometimes on a solo stop.

Postlude:  J. S. Bach wrote several pieces based on the melody "In Dulci Jubilo".  This tune was composed to accompany the text "Good Christian men, rejoice" and was first published in Klug's Gesangbuch of 1535.  In this Bach piece, the pedal line is often sounding a single note while the melody is in the soprano line with a running alto line accompanying it.