Thank you for joining us for this live stream (or recording, as the case may be) of Sunday worship. May it bless you! You may need to click “Play” to launch the stream, which will be live around 9:50 AM.
Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Sunday, December 28, 2025. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily.
Service of Worship December 28, 2025
First Sunday after Christmas Day
Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor
Guest Pastor, Rev. Linda Petrucelli
WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD
Please note that audio and video of this service are being live streamed on the Internet and will be recorded. The right rear section of the sanctuary will not be captured by any cameras. Please be aware that in other sections you may be visible at times.
Prelude: O Come, All Ye Faithful Kayleen Yuda
Lighting of the Candles
Ringing of the Bell
Welcome Rev. Linda Petrucelli
* Call to Worship: (based on Palm 148) Stefan Tanouye
Leader: Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens and the heights!
People: Praise God, all you angels, and all the heavenly host!
Leader: Praise the LORD, sun and moon; praise God, shining stars!
People: Praise God, highest heavens; praise the LORD, all the waters!
Leader: Let them praise the LORD, who commanded their creation.
People: Let us praise the LORD, who has created a home for all who live.
All: Let us worship God!
* Hymn #129: Good Christian Friends, Rejoice (v. 1-3)
* Invocation: (based on Hebrews 2:10-18) Stefan Tanouye
We thank you, O God, because in Jesus you have chosen to call us ‘ohana and embrace us as kin. As we live through joy and woe, so have you. You have shared our flesh and blood and suffered for our sake. Merciful and faithful companion, bless us with your presence in this time of worship, and hear our grateful praise. Amen.
Please be seated
WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD
Anthem: Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella Kayleen Yuda
Time with the Children Rev. Linda Petrucelli
Scripture: Matthew 2:13-23 Stefan Tanouye
Now 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.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 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.’
When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,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 wise men.Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
‘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.’
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘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.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over 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. 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 Nazorean.’
Isaiah 63:7-9
I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done for us,
and the great favor to the house of Israel
that he has shown them according to his mercy,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
For he said, ‘Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely’;
and he became their savior
in all their distress.
It was no messenger or angel
but his presence that saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Sermon: Detours Rev. Linda Petrucelli
WE RESPOND IN WORD AND DEED
Pastoral Prayer Rev. Linda Petrucelli
Please join me in 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 and ever. Amen
* Hymn #148: What Child Is This (v. 1-3)
Call to Offering Stefan Tanouye
We are blessed to appreciate and celebrate the gift of Jesus, whose love is greater than we can ever know. In this moment, let us celebrate with a gift that will help others experience God’s love, whether it comes through a prayer, a meal, a shelter, or a friend. Whether you share your gift here in the church today, through a gift online, or via an envelope in the mail, let the offering now be received.
Offertory: Infant Holy Infant Lowly Kayleen Yuda
* Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost – Amen
* Offertory Prayer Stefan Tanouye
Accept these gifts, O God, from the love we bear for you. You dared to take on human life with all its dangers; in these gifts we pray that you will receive some of humanity’s joys. Receive them, we pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Rite of Confirmation
Pastor: We invite to come forward those who wish to affirm their baptism by being confirmed.
Friends in Christ, we all are received into the church through the sacrament of baptism. These people have found support and nurture in the midst of the family of Christ. Through prayer and study they have been led by the Holy Spirit to affirm their baptism and to claim in our presence their covenantal relationship with Christ and the members of the church. They are here for service to Jesus Christ, using the gifts which the Holy Spirit bestows.
Hear the words of Jesus: I am the vine, you are the branches. Anyone who abides in me, and I in that person, is the one who bears much fruit. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Questions of the Candidates
Pastor: Do you desire to affirm your baptism into the faith and family of Jesus Christ?
Candidates: I do.
Pastor: Do you renounce the powers of evil and desire the freedom of new life in Christ?
Candidates: I do.
Pastor: Do you profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?
Candidates: I do.
Pastor: Do you promise, by the grace of God, to be Christ’s disciple, to follow in the way of our Savior, to resist oppression and evil, to show love and justice, and to witness to the work and word of Jesus Christ as best you are able?
Candidates: I promise, with the help of God.
Pastor: Do you promise, according to the grace given you, to grow in the Christian faith and to be a faithful member of the church of Jesus Christ, celebrating Christ’s presence and furthering Christ’s mission in all the world?
Candidates: I promise, with the help of God.
Pastor: Let us unite with the church in all times and places in confessing our faith in the triune God. Do you believe in God?
All: I believe in God
Pastor: Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
All: I believe in Jesus Christ.
Pastor: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
All: I believe in the Holy Spirit.
Prayer of the Candidates
Pastor and Candidates: O God, my God, known to me in Jesus Christ, I give myself to you as your own, to love and serve you faithfully all the days of my life.
Prayer of the Congregation
Pastor and Congregation: Almighty God, who in baptism received these your servants into the church, forgave their sins, and promised them eternal life, increase in them the gifts of your Holy Spirit. Grant love for others, joy in serving you, peace in disagreement, patience in suffering, kindness toward all people, goodness in evil times, faithfulness in temptation, gentleness in the face of opposition, self-control in all things. Thereby strengthen them for their ministry in the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Act of Confirmation
Prayer of Confirmation
Question about Participation
Pastor: Do you promise to participate in the life and mission of this family of God’s people, sharing regularly in the worship of God and enlisting in the work of this local church as it serves this community and the world?
Confirmands: I promise, with the help of God.
Greeting of Christian Love
* Hymn #51: O Sing a Song of Bethlehem (v. 1 -4)
Please be seated
Announcements Rev. Linda Petrucelli
Benediction Rev. Linda Petrucelli
Postlude: Joy to the World Kayleen Yuda
* Please stand if you are able.
PERMISSIONS
O Come, All Ye Faithful
John Francis Wade, John Innes
Tune: © 1990 Tribune Music, Inc.,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Good Christian Friends, Rejoice
Text German and Latin, 14th cent.
Trans. by John Mason Neale, 1855
Public Domain
Tune IN DULCI JUBILO 14th cent. German melody
Public Domain
Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Traditional French carol
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
What Child Is This
Text by William C. Dix, 1865
Tune GREENSLEEVES 16th cent. English melody
Public Domain
Infant Holy Infant Lowly
Dale Wood
Tune: © 1995 Lorenz Corporation
(admin. by Music Services)
All Rights Reserved.
ASCAP Text: © 1995 Lorenz Corporation
(admin. by Music Services)
All Rights Reserved. ASCAP
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
O Sing a Song of Bethlehem
Text by Louis F. Benson, 1899
Tune KINGSFOLD trad. English melody
Harm. by Ralph Vaughn Williams, 1906
© 1906, Oxford University Press
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Joy to the World
Franklin Ritter
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
IMPORTANT DATES
The Giving Tree – Donations of canned/packaged food for The Food Basket and toiletry items for Hope Services may be placed under the Giving Tree through the end of the year.
Sundays, 8:30 AM – Holy Cross Singers Rehearsal in the Lounge
Mondays, 11:30 AM — Pickleball lessons; contact Connie 808-936-7534 or
Ruth at rnduponte07@gmail.com to sign up.
Wednesdays, 11:00 AM– One Song from Church of the Holy Cross streamed live
Wednesdays, 5 PM – Bible Study in Pastor’s Study and via Zoom (The meeting link and Bible references will be in the Weekly Chime). Bible Study will resume on January 7, 2026.
Other Faith Groups that meet at Church of the Holy Cross
The United Church of Christ, Pohnpei – Sanctuary, 12 noon
Rev. Bensis Henry
Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa – Sanctuary, 2:00 p.m.
Rev. Sitau Ofoia, Jr.
The Bedesta Church – Sanctuary, 4 p.m.
Rev. Edmes Edwin
Pastor Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Guest Pastor Rev. Linda Petrucelli
Moderator Stefan Tanouye
Vice Moderator Lorraine Davis
Lay Reader Stefan Tanouye
Chapel Decorations Cindy Debus
Organist / Pianist Kayleen Yuda
Choir Director Bob Grove
Hand Bell Director Anna Kennedy
IYAA Choir Director Stuart Mori
Projected Imagery Sue Smith
Live Stream Director Ruth Niino-DuPonte. Bob Smith
Videographers Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith, Woody Kita,
Mace Peng, Cindy Debus
Sound Engineer Ben Yamaki
Sunday School Teacher Gloria Kobayashi
Sunday School Aide Johanna Narruhn
We welcome you to worship this day. Church of the Holy Cross seeks to help its members, friends, and visitors follow the guidance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, encouraging all people to love one another according to the teachings of Jesus. We live and teach the faith, speak good news, minister to people near and far, and work with other households of faith and helping agencies to improve our community and our world. To support our ministries, please visit our Donate Page.
