FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC
WELCOME TO OLDTOWN
North Attleborough, MA • December 21, 2025
Making Room for Love
Choosing to act with compassion and kindness toward others.
Ministers: ALL of our Members and Friends
Pastor & Teacher: The Rev. Kelly Thibeault
Welcome to the Oldtown Church!
We are so glad that you have chosen to worship with us today. We invite you to join in on the bold print in the bulletin and to stand as you are able any time you see a ⇑. The restrooms are out the back door of the sanctuary to the right, as is a little space in case your little one needs a walkabout. Here in Oldtown, we are all about being curious, so don’t be afraid to ask questions, and please join us for fellowship with coffee and snacks after worship!
Finally, as a way of honoring our time together and truly loving our neighbor, we ask that you please silence your phone or, better yet, turn it off, allowing yourself to be truly present in worship.
PRELUDE
GATHERING MUSIC
WELCOME / WORSHIP WAYS
A TIME OF CENTERING
No room, only a manger of hay,
No room, He is a stranger today,
No room, here in His world turned away,
No room, no room, (no room.) 2x
A TIME FOR MAKING ROOM / OPENING PRAYER
CALL TO WORSHIP
Do you see it?
See what? I’m too busy.
Do you see it?
What are you talking about?
Do you see it?
No, I don’t have time.
Do you see it?
Yes! God’s love is all around us. How did we miss it?
⇑ HYMN C#163–”Infant Holy, Infant Lowly”
TIME OF SHARING
God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay;
For Jesus Christ, our Savior, was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r when we were gone astray:
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy.
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH
We are a people who seek to be brought together by the love of Christ.
Our faith teaches us that God gives us unconditional love and forgiveness.
Acknowledging God’s free gift of grace,
Let us light the Candle of Love.
SET THE BABY IN THE STABLE
SUNG RESPONSE (to the tune of Away in a Manger, C#147)
Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.
SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 2:1-7 (NT 71)
SERMON: “Lives of Love”
PREPARING OURSELVES FOR PRAYER (C#144, verse 4)
O Little Town of Bethlehem, descend on us we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and 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, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
CHORAL RESPONSE
OFFERING OF OUR GIFTS
GIFT OF MUSIC
⇑ DOXOLOGY (C#151, verse 5)
Then entered in those wise men three,
Full reverently upon their knee,
And offered there, in his presence,
Their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, born is the King of Israel.
⇑ PRAYER OF DEDICATION
LOVE OF THE CHURCH
⇑ SENDING HYMN C#164–”Good Christian Friends, Rejoice”
⇑ BENEDICTION
⇑ BENEDICTION RESPONSE (C#445)
Go in peace, and the peace of God be with you this day.
Go in peace, and the peace of God be with you always.
Celebrate and share the joy! Celebrate new life!
Go in peace, and the peace of God be with you always.
POSTLUDE
*** Our worship has ended; let our service begin! ***
The Oldtown Message
December 21, 2025
OLDTOWN CALENDAR
Sun December 21: Household Huddle 9am
~ Worship 10am
Wed December 24: Second Serving Thrift Shop 9am-noon
~ NO COFFEE CONNECTION
~ Christmas Eve Worship 7pm
Sat December 27: Second Serving Thrift Shop 9am-noon
Sun December 28: NO HOUSEHOLD HUDDLE
~ Worship 10am
Wed December 31: Second Serving Thrift Shop 9am-noon
~ NO COFFEE CONNECTION
Check our Online Calendar for even more Oldtown, denominational, and local events, free webinars, and other resources!! Have something you’d like added to the calendar? Email calendar@oldtownucc.org with all the information, and we’ll get it posted.
OLDTOWN PRAYER LIST
Edi, Lynn, Tim, Mark, Cyndy, Joan, Justine & Nolan, Dana, Miranda & K family, Jan & Kylie, Steven, Tegan, Ken, Lynne, Kaye, Karen, Samantha, Robin, Donna, Winnie, Carl, Michael, Sue C., Laura, Jim, Daniel, Nancy, Muriel, Michelle, Joe, Bob, Gloria, Barry, Magda, Erik, Hailey & Bryce, Al, Denise, Rhonda, Jake, Cindi, Henry, Roxanne, Val, Myrtle, Deane, Rusty, Gianna, Kelsey & Nick, Bill, Autumn, Judy, Kayla, Edie, Renee, Perilene, Newell Family, Paul, Diane, Carol, John, Liesel, Robert, Joey, Matthew, Buddy, Cherrie, Jayne, Uncle Bill, the Gird Family, Walter, Kathleen, Celeste, Logan, Holly, Katie, Emily, Kerry, Barbara & family, the Riley family.
To add a name to the list, email Pastor Kelly at PastorKelly@Oldtownucc.org, text 508-695-1713, or drop a note in the offering plate.
ADVENT PRAYERS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
Morning Prayer – Loving God, help me to put aside my worry and my need for perfection that I might truly make room and appreciate each moment. Amen.
Evening Prayer – Gracious God, this week we remember the birth of Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem long ago. Such a sacred moment in such an unexpected place. As I take time to slow down tonight, help me to reflect on the sacred moments that I experienced today in unexpected places. Amen.
OLDTOWN UPDATE EMAIL
Do you get our Friday Email, aka “The Oldtown Update”? Our Oldtown Update is like a weekly newsletter that lets everyone know what is going on in Oldtown. If you do not receive it and would like to, drop a note in the offering with your email address or let Pastor Kelly know. Subscribe to our Friday Email Updates online, or let Pastor Kelly know your email address.
STEWARDSHIP CORNER
Weekly Giving
- Last week, we welcomed 52 people in worship, and our total giving to the church was $1,610.27, which is $187.19 more than expected.
- So far, this year’s congregational giving has been $5,600 more than expected. Keep up the great work!!
We are familiar with the story of Jesus’ birth, and many of us can quote a version of John 3:16 from memory, but sometimes we don’t connect the two. The nativity story is the story of God’s action described in the Gospel, the gift God gives us all. When we struggle with loneliness or weariness or feel distant from God, remember the lengths to which God went to show His abundant, unconditional love for us. May the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love of God be yours this Christmas season and throughout the year.
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him.
~ John 3:16-18 (NLT)
First Congregational Church, UCC of North Attleborough
(Oldtown Church)
675 Old Post Road, North Attleborough, MA 02760
508-695-1713
Pastor Kelly’s email: PastorKelly@oldtownucc.org
Church Email: church@oldtownucc.org
Website: www.oldtownucc.org
YouTube: www.youtube.com/oldtownucc
Facebook: www.facebook.com/oldtownucc
Subscribe to our Friday Email Updates
Learn more about our denomination: www.ucc.org
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