Hampstead Congregational Church UCC

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Hampstead Congregational Church

December 28, 2025

First Sunday After Christmas

No Matter Who You Are or Where You Are on Life’s Journey,

You are Welcome Here!

Order of Worship

Prelude                                                                                                           Herb Tardiff  

Greetings and Announcements                                                                   

Call to Worship (responsive)                                                                      Judy Dobson                

Leader:  We waited.

People:  And imagined a savior. 

Leader:  We imagined power.

People:  One like the world but stronger and on our side. 

Leader:  We imagined a king on a white horse wielding a sword.

People:  We got a baby born in a stable among the livestock. 

Leader:  We imagined the work done for us through the destruction of our enemies.

People:  We receive a baby who will teach us our calling to seek reconciliation and to love expansively. 

Leader:  Praise be to God for the unexpected babe of Bethlehem.

People:  Praise to the wisdom of love.

Invocation   (unison)                                                                                   Judy Dobson

      God of hope and light, your good news has been emblazoned across the skies, the great starry night of Jesus’ birth, sung by angels, celebrated by shepherds, witnessed by animals. You have given to us a new chance, a reminder of your continual love for us. Be with us in this worship, we pray. Guide our thoughts, our lives, our spirits. Heal and restore us. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

Passing of the Peace of Christ 

(Feel free to pass the peace by shaking hands, offering hugs or waves.  Those who would like to share peace without physical contact are invited to place their hands over their hearts in greeting.)

*Opening Hymn:

Scripture Readings: Matt 2: 13-23 (NRSVUE)                                        Judy Dobson  
13Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

     ¹⁶ When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. ¹⁷ Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah,
    wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

¹⁹ When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ²⁰ “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” ²¹ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. ²³ There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Children’s Message

Sermon:  “The Empire Strikes Back”                          Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

Special Music

Call for Concerns & Celebrations

     (Please write joys and concerns on the papers in the baskets in the pews and pass them to an usher.  The Congregational Response is: “Hear Our Prayers”)

Pastoral Prayer                                                                Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

     The Lord’s Prayer:

     Our Father, 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.

Call to Offering

*Doxology:        Praise God for gifts of hope and peace;
                           Praise God for gifts of joy and love;
                           Praise God for sending Christ to dwell: 
                           On earth for us – Emmanuel.  Amen.

*Prayer of Dedication                                                          Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

        Steadfast God of refuge and promise, even when the world makes no room, even when fear seems stronger than hope, you are with us. In the flight to Egypt, in the cries of grief, in the fragile beginnings of new life, you make a way. Receive these gifts, O God, as signs of our willingness to make room for your kingdom among us. Use what we bring—not just our treasure, but our time, our voices, our compassion—to heal what is broken, to protect the vulnerable, and to embody your saving love. In the name of Jesus, our Light in the shadows. Amen.

*Hymn of Going Forth: 

*Benediction                                                                              Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

     Family of Christ, go now into the world in the blessing and power of the Triune God to resist the misuse of power in our world, to point to the signs of good news all around us, and to work for the empowerment and flourishing of all people, especially the vulnerable among us. Amen.

Music Usage permitted through OneLicense HCC License # A-730412 and CCLI License Number 2927783. All rights reserved.

Announcements:

Office Closed on New Year’s Day:  Just a reminder that the office will be closed on New Years Day.  Office hours this week will be Monday and Wednesday 9am -3pm.

December 29^th Church Weekly Calendar