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.

November 24 – Reign of Christ Sunday

2 Samuel 23:1-7  |  John 18:33-37

Reign of Christ (Christ the King) Sunday brings us full circle in the liturgical year. Today, our scriptures show us the circle of hope in which our faith is grounded and our lives transformed: God’s covenant, Christ’s reign, and the Spirit’s abiding presence.

The Senior Choir will be singing. The Cambridge Handbell and Chancel Handbell choirs will share special music this morning.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

November 24 Worship Bulletin

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

November 17 – Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

1 Samuel 1:4-20  |  Mark Mark 13:1-8

The times in which we live bring challenges and doubt; our faith can become battered by fear rather than buoyed by trust. Scripture tells us our ancestors lived in similar times, and by reading their stories, we are reminded of the need for perseverance in the face of our experiences. By God’s grace, faithful waiting can bear fruit; despair can be transformed into hope, and emptiness can overflow with new life.

The Senior Choir will be singing.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

November 17 Worship Bulletin

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

November 10 – Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17 | Mark 12:38-44

Today’s readings challenge us to look past mere appearances into the deeper and sometimes subtle sources of oppression in our world. We are called to take the time to identify the motives and systems that exploit the most vulnerable and to trust in another way – God’s way. God is present in the resilient hope that emerges from the most humble and unexpected places within this struggle for justice.

Spirit will be sharing in music leadership this morning.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

November 10 Worship Bulletin

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

November 3 – All Saints Sunday

Ruth 1:1-18  |  Mark 12:28-34

We will share in Holy Communion at the chancel rail on this All Saints Sunday as we remember in prayer those members of the congregation and friends and family members who have died in the past year.

The Senior Choir will be singing

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

November 3 Worship Bulletin

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

October 27– Reformation Sunday

Jonah 3:1-5, 10  |  Mark 10:46-52

The Rev. Rebecca Shillingburg will preach and lead worship. The Senior Choir will sing. Market Street Brass will be featured.

Livestream 10:30 AM Worship Service

October 27 Worship Bulletin

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