Jesus said that his purpose in life was to increase our joy, and make our joy complete.  This will be a Sunday of pure, all out, wall to wall joy!  We have been advertising three of those joys: hosting the West Newbury Congregational Church, UCC in a joint service starting at 11:00 AM; bringing back the wildly popular old time church music of Bruce and Caleb Freeberg; and sharing a potluck lunch after the service.

There will be other joys as well: the warm, loving presence of the Rev. Cindy Batten as she co-leads worship; the voices of some of West Newbury’s lay leaders as well as ours; a dramatic reading/skit for the Children’s Time with actors from West Newbury and Bradford; reading the covenants of both congregations together; and taking communion, which is never more joyful than when we share it with people from outside our congregation.

The Freebergs will lead us singing Go Down, Moses, and Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, and Welcome Table, and I’ll Fly Away, as well as joining in on the chorus of Just a Closer Walk with Thee.  In addition, they will play Celtic airs and reels before the service starts, Oh Glory, How Happy I Am as the Offertory and Farewell to Erin as the Postlude.  We will be hearing some beautiful scripture passages: I Kings 17:8-24; Psalm 30; Galatians 1:11-24 and Luke 7:11-17.  The sermon will borrow its title from the Psalm, “Taking Off Sackcloth and Clothing with Joy.”

Please feel free to invite guests. The more, the more joyous!  Thank you!