If you would like to watch the service as a playlist, please click here and you will be directed to our YouTube page. If you prefer, you may click on the individual links below at your own pace.

Prelude, Welcome, Invocation, Telling of the Christmas Story

Opening Prelude – “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” offered by Catherine Berg

Welcome – Rev. Andy Bachmann

Invocation – “Faces at the Manger” by J. Barrie Shepherd, read by Donn Smith-Lopez

And so, at last, we come to this night,
We come to this stable of birth,
a little breathless, to be sure,
perhaps a bit preoccupied about those last few things
to be checked off our list before we close our eyes,
but we gather here, just the same, to sing beloved songs,
to hear the ancient promises of light in the darkness,
of hope beyond all fears.

“Venite Adoremus,” says the carol, “Oh come let us adore him.”
So let us be here, simply be here,
With nothing else we can do now,
Nothing else we can bring,
Nothing else even to be said,
Except Behold, Be blessed,
Be still, be at peace!

The Lighting of the Christmas Candle –  Andy, Lisa, Alexandra, and Aubrey Ingram

The Telling of the Christmas Story –  Rev. Andy Bachmann and Rev. Talia Raymond

Readings, Sermon, Music, Prayer, Silent Night

Poem – “Let the Stable Still Astonish” by Leslie Leyland Fields offered by Rev. Talia Raymond

Let the stable still astonish:
Straw-dirt floor, dull eyes,
Dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen;
Crumbling, crooked walls;
No bed to carry that pain,
And the, the child,
Rag-wrapped, laid to cry
In a trough.
Who would have chosen this?
Who would have said: “Yes,
Let the God of all the heavens and earth
be born here, in this place.”?
Who but the same God
Who stands in the darker, fouler rooms of our hearts
and says, “Yes, let the God
of Heaven and Earth
be born here—-
In this place.”

Poem  – by Wayne Saffen, read by Rebecca Beachy 
In silence, a star looks from afar almost unnoticed.
The child of God in natal quiet takes on humanity.
Bethlehem sleeps.  Jerusalem sleeps.  Rome sleeps.  A world sleeps.
But Mary does not sleep; Joseph does not; shepherds do not;
God does not sleep. God gives, all unawares, in spite of human fears:
Daily bread, precious blood, parent to child, life to life,
While people sleep, while the earth turns,
While only watchers wake and only wakers watch.

Sermon – “The Fullness of Time” – Rev. Bromleigh McLeneghan

Special Music – “This is My Wish” by Tim Lauer and Angela Peters Laurer, and a compilation of Christmas past at the United Church of Gainesville – featuring the Youth Choir from Lessons and Carols, 2019.

Prayer – Rev. Talia Raymond

Closing Song – “Silent Night” offered by Andy and Stella Bachmann with Dominic Durante, cello

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin, mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavn’ly host sings Alleluia!
Jesus, Lord at your birth
Jesus, Lord at your birth.

Benediction- God, help us in our celebration to bend our strength, day by day, toward a Christmas yet to come: When all people, of every stock and branch, of every color and nation, will sit down together and join hands in peace.

Merry Christmas!

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Christmas Eve Offering for the Emergency Loan Fund – Each year during the Christmas Eve services we receive a special offering which helps to support UCG members and others in our community who need help throughout the year. Individuals and families who are experiencing times of crisis and transition are assisted by your help. To give, click here.   Thanks for your generous gifts to this Christmas Eve offering. 

Post Christmas Office and Staff Schedules – Everyone on our church staff works full days and weeks during December. In recognition of their need for holiday time as well as some down time, the church office is closed from December 24 through January 1. The front office answering machine will be checked daily for messages. Any situation that needs immediate attention will be referred to one of the ministers or to the appropriate staff person. Note that e-mail will not be checked during this Christmas break.  From all the Staff of UCG, we wish you a blessed holiday season filled with peace!