January 19 – Second Sunday after Epiphany

1 Corinthians 12:1–11 | John 2:1–11

Today’s scriptures remind us to stay open to the new places and new ways that God’s work is revealed. Sometimes, we fall prey to the tendency to see God’s activity in predictable places. We forget that scripture shows us, again and again, that God acts in unexpected ways. In 1 Corinthians 12:1–11, the Holy Spirit manifests individualized gifts in each person and Jesus performs a miracle at a wedding in Cana in John 2:1–11.

The Senior Choir will be singing.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

January 19 Worship Bulletin

ERUCC also holds a healing worship service with Holy Communion at 8:30 AM.

January 12 – Baptism of Christ Sunday

Isaiah 43:1-7 | Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Luke’s account of Jesus’ baptism identifies Jesus as the manifestation of God’s salvation as described in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the same way that Luke’s baptism narrative invites us to take a backward glance at the promises of the Hebrew Scriptures, this week’s Isaiah passage encourages a future gaze to the fulfillment of God’s promise to one day gather people from East, West, North, and South in the realm of God. This week’s backward glance and future gaze remind us that Jesus is the center of all of God’s promises.

This day, we celebrate Jesus’ baptism and remember the role our baptism has played in our lives. It is a day we also remember that along with Jesus, we are beloved by God and empowered to participate in God’s healing work in the world. Spirit will be sharing in music leadership.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

January 12 Worship Bulletin

ERUCC also holds a healing worship service with Holy Communion at 8:30 AM.

January 5 – Epiphany
The Road Isn’t Straight

Matthew 2:1-12 | Isaiah 43:16-21

Too often, we’ve been told that a successful life is a linear one. But in reality, our lives unfold with many unexpected twists and turns. The Magi follow a star, embarking on a long journey in a foreign land to honor the newborn Christ. Instead of returning to Herod as commanded, they trust their dreams and go home by another way. Their road isn’t straight, but God “makes a way in the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:19) as they follow their intuition and diverge from the expected path.

We will share communion at the chancel rail this morning and receive our star words for the year. The Senior Choir will be singing.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

January 5 Worship Bulletin

ERUCC also holds a healing worship service with Holy Communion at 8:30 AM.

December 29 – First Sunday After Christmas
Don’t Forget to Laugh

Psalm 148  |  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The birth of Christ brings good news of great joy to all people, which is cause for celebration. On this Sunday after Christmas, we encourage you to be playful, not to take yourself too seriously, to laugh. For laughter is like hope—it has a ripple effect. It’s one of many ways we live and share good news.

Today, we celebrate our annual lessons and carols service with our college students reading the scriptures. The Senior Choir will be singing. The Cambridge Handbell Choir will share special music.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

December 29 Worship Bulletin

ERUCC also holds a healing worship service with Holy Communion at 8:30 AM.

December 24– Christmas Eve
Love Knows Your Name

Christ’s birth makes the vastness of God personal. The God who made the seas and the stars is also the God who made your beautiful hair and your striking eyes. The God of creation takes on flesh, which means you are fully known. When the angels visit the shepherds in the fields, their message is global but also personal: “To you . . . a savior is born.” This birth is good news for everyone, especially those who are ignored or disenfranchised. On this night, God is born, and this God of love knows your name.

Livestream 7:30 PM Worship Service

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Worship Bulletin

ERUCC also holds a Christmas Eve Children’s worship service at 5:30 PM and a Christmas Eve Communion and Candlelight Service at 10:30 PM in the Sanctuary.

December 22– Fourth Sunday of Advent
Hope is Worth the Risk

Hope is vulnerable and can feel like a tremendous risk, especially if you’ve experienced loss or trauma. But Mary shows us a resilient hope that takes risks—she risks her body to bear a son who will become the hope of her people. Similarly, Joseph makes a risky choice to stay with Mary; dismissing her quietly would have kept him safe. But instead, he chooses hope. He chooses to trust the angel, and it makes all the difference. It can feel safer and easier to be a cynic, but the world doesn’t need more cynics. It needs people who say, “It can be better,” and make it so.

Today, we celebrate our annual lessons and carols service with our college students reading the scriptures. The Senior Choir will be singing. The Cambridge Handbell Choir will share special music.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

December 22 Worship Bulletin

ERUCC also holds a healing worship service with Holy Communion at 8:30 AM.

December 15 – Third Sunday of Advent
Do the Good That is Yours to Do

Isaiah 58:9b-12 | Luke 3:7-16

As John the Baptist teaches about bearing good fruit, the crowds, tax collectors, and soldiers ask him, “What, then, should we do?” His answer to each group is slightly different but ultimately the same: “Do the good that is yours to do.” We can each bear good fruit through acts of justice and righteousness. We can all be what Isaiah calls “repairers of the breach” by satisfying the needs of the afflicted.

The Senior Choir will be sharing a cantata this morning and Young Spirit will share special music.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

December 15 Worship Bulletin

ERUCC also holds a healing worship service with Holy Communion at 8:30 AM.

December 8 – Second Sunday of Advent
We Can’t Go Alone

Ruth 1  |  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

One of life’s most essential lessons is that we are never meant to go alone. And yet, modern culture pushes us more and more into lonely silos. If Ruth had followed her culture’s norms, she would have gone home to her family of origin after her husband died, but instead, she commits herself to her mother-in-law, Naomi. Together they form a new family and covenant. Ruth and Naomi travel together to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, foreshadowing the journey Mary and Joseph will one day take to be counted in the census. Both Ruth and Naomi, as well as Mary and Joseph, are unconventional pairs, but if God can bring unlikely people together, God can form us into a covenant community, too.

We will receive new members this morning. Spirit  will be sharing in music leadership and Children’s Music and Movement will share special music. Our Congregational Meeting will follow worship in the Community Room with a light lunch and by Zoom.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

December 8 Worship Bulletin

ERUCC also holds a healing worship service with Holy Communion at 8:30 AM.

December 1 – First Sunday of Advent
You are a Blessing

Isaiah 43:1-7 | Luke 1:26-38

Mary is described as “blessed among women” (Luke 1:28). She is neither wealthy nor powerful, and yet she is chosen to bear God’s child. Her story begins with blessedness and so does ours, for the prophet Isaiah declares that we are claimed by a God who calls our name. We are a blessing because we belong to God. When blessedness is our beginning, we begin to see the world—and others—through the eyes of a God who says: “You are precious in my sight” (Isaiah 43:4).

We will share in communion at the chancel rail this morning. The Senior Choir will be singing.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

December 1 Worship Bulletin

ERUCC also holds a healing worship service with Holy Communion at 8:30 AM.