THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. March 4, 2018, 10:00 a.m. Hancock United Church of Christ, Congregational 1912 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA

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1 photo by Edgar Castrejon, unsplash.com THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT March 4, 2018, 10:00 a.m. Hancock United Church of Christ, Congregational 1912 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA

2 MOMENT FOR REFLECTION GATHERING TOGETHER TO PRAISE GOD Hancock is pleased to welcome today new friends from the Ahlulbayt School for Knowledge in Natick, an Islamic school. The children who have come will join our children in our Church School, the youth will join our Junior Youth Organization in making lunches for the Outdoor Church, and the adults will be in our sanctuary during the worship service, participating as they feel comfortable. We are delighted that you are with us this morning, and may God's blessings be upon us all! Scripture is filled with stories and teachings in which the social orders of the world are reversed under God s reign. Counter to expectation, God choose the youngest, rather than the eldest, peasants over kings, the poor over the wealthy who exploit them. And in this morning s lesson from the first letter of Paul to the church at Corinth, we see this amazing pattern again, as foolishness is exalted over conventional wisdom. Those who see and seek the reign of God must be willing to have their expectations overthrown to make room for God to work in their lives. What might some of our own expectations be that the foolishness of God seeks to alter? PRELUDE.... Kleine Prelude and Fugue in D Minor.... J.S. Bach HANCOCK PRAYS If you have come this morning with a joy or concern that you would like to have included in the morning prayers, please fill out a Hancock Prays card that you will find on the back of the pew in front of you. Read it carefully, remembering that our worship services are televised and live-streamed over the internet. Place the card in the offering plate as it passes by later in the service. The cards will be brought to the ministers for inclusion in this morning's prayer. Many: Come, Holy Spirit! Meet us and teach us and move us and change us through your grace-filled love. Praise be to God! *OPENING HYMN....Heaven and Earth and Sea and Air... #62 WORDS OF WELCOME PRAYER OF INVOCATION.... Emelia Attridge GATHERING SONG....Walk With Me... Walk with me, I will walk with you And build the land that God has planned Where love shines through CHILDREN S TIME... David C. Clark PreK-5 th graders will have classes in the Christian Education Wing and can be picked up there after the service. 6 th and 7 th graders will be making sandwich lunches for Cambridge Outdoor Church in the kitchen and will rejoin the service for Communion. 8 th and 9 th graders will have OWL in the Upper Room. GIVING THANKS TO GOD THE MORNING OFFERING.... OFFERTORY.... When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.... Gilbert Martin Chancel Choir CALL TO WORSHIP.... One: Deep now in the season of Lent, we gather for worship ready to encounter the fullness of God. Many: Truly, God s reign is at hand, and we must learn to see with new eyes what God is doing in the world and in our lives. One: Ready to be honest, ready to be open, let us seek God in sermon and song, in prayer and in praise. When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the death of Christ, my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them through his blood. See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. *Congregation standing some may wish to remain seated 2 3

3 *DOXOLOGY....#S-23 CONGREGATIONAL SONG OF THANKSGIVING....Amazing Grace PRAYER OF DEDICATION Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God all creatures here below; Praise God above, ye heavenly host: Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost. Amen. LIFE TOGETHER Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found Was blind, but now I see. PASTORAL PRAYER THE LORD S PRAYER Through many dangers, toils, and cares I have already come; 'tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will leave me home. STORIES FROM THE JOURNEY... Tom Ransohoff CALL TO CONFESSION.... Spirit of the Living God... #281 Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison) We confess our our blindness, O God. You seek to enter our lives and our world with transforming love, but we do not see, and cling instead to old ways, bad habits, conventional wisdom. You sent Jesus to us to give us new eyes for seeing that your reign is coming, is at hand, is always as near as our own breath. Forgive us, we pray, for ignoring his teaching, and grant that we may live ever more faithfully in expectation of your forgiving and empowering mercy... TIME OF SILENT CONFESSION WORDS OF ASSURANCE AND PARDON One: Friends, God s mercy and forgiveness are deeper and wider than our sin. Through the love of God, made known to us in Jesus Christ, we are made whole and new again. Many: We give thanks and praise to God for new life in Christ. We are forgiven. We are washed clean by the power of God s love which is for all! 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. THE GOOD NEWS IS PROCLAIMED THE EPISTLE READING Corinthians 1:18-31 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God s weakness is stronger than human strength. Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. 4 5

4 THE SERMON...."Divine Folly"... Rev. Paul Shupe GATHERING WORDS (responsively) COMMUNION LITURGY One: We gather now at the table of Christ, seeking mercy, forgiveness, joy and peace. We remember that this is his table, and so we say, Many: Come from the north and come from the south, come from the east and come from the west. Come regardless of age or race or sex or creed or orientation or identity. Christ. There are gluten-free wafers available on each tray. Even if you have never shared the communion before, you are most welcome to join us this day. During the worship service this morning, the middle-school members of our Junior Youth Organization have been making lunches for our unsheltered sisters and brothers served by the Outdoor Church in Cambridge. The lunches will be eaten today, and so we offer our blessing upon this meal, recognizing that it is of one spirit with the communion meal that we have shared together. COMMUNION ANTHEM.... Come Thou, Holy Spirit...P. Tshesnokoff Chancel Choir One: Come not because you must, but because you may. Many: Come because it is our Lord s table, and he bids us come. WORDS OF INSTITUTION (responsively) One: Friends we gather now just as we are, men and women and children who have heard his call. We are among his disciples this day, and so we remember on the night he was betrayed, Jesus sat at the table with disciples, and when they had eaten Come Thou Holy Spirit, O Spirit, come descend upon us, we pray. Come, blessed Spirit, Thou gift from heaven, Fill our hearts with joy divine, Blessed Spirit come, o come. THE PRAYERS OF BLESSING Come thou heavenly Spirit, Thou consoling fire Descend upon us we pray; O heavenly Spirit descend upon us Alleluia. Many: He took the bread, and blessed and broke it, and he gave it to them, saying to them, Take and eat. This is my body, broken for you. Eat of this bread as often as you will, and remember me. One After they had shared the bread, he took a cup, and he blessed it, and he gave thanks to God for the gift of the wine, and he poured it out for them and said, Many: This is the cup of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin. Whenever you drink of it, remember me. One: These are the gifts of God... Many:...for the people of God. Come, let us share the feast! THE BREAD AND CUP ARE SHARED This table is truly open to any and to all who are in need of the gifts of healing and hope, of mercy and peace. It is our custom to hold the bread until all have been served and then eat together, a visible reminder to us of the ties that bind us to one another in the love of Christ. As you are served the cup, you are encouraged to drink as you are ready, a visible reminder to us that each of us in personal relationship with Youth: Bless, O God, the meal that we have prepared for our sisters and brothers of the Outdoor Church. Let their bodies be nourished, and their spirits lifted by this meal. And let each of us rededicate ourselves to work for a more just world in which all your children are safe and secure in homes, and are sustained by good food and sheltered by the love of community. One: Hear us, O God, as we extend our thanks for the bountiful feast that we have shared with others on this Communion Sunday. All: We give thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us at your table by granting us the presence of Jesus Christ. Strengthen our faith, increase our love for one another, and send us forth into the world in courage and in peace, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our risen Savior, Amen. CLOSING HYMN.... Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise... #12 BENEDICTION *PASSING THE PEACE POSTLUDE.... Adagio.... J.S. Bach *Congregation standing some may wish to remain seated 6 7

5 Today s Flower Offering The chancel flowers this Sunday are given in loving memory of our parents, Virgina and Jim Cooper and Charlotte and Dick Wyman, by Charlie and Sally Wyman. Hancock Concert Series Presents: A Joyful Noyse Today, March 4 at 2:00 p.m., the Hancock Concert Series will present the early music ensemble A Joyful Noyse in Songs of Three Marys. This Lenten concert explores the gospel and apocryphal narrative of the Biblical women named Mary. Music drawn from Telemann s Magnificat, Caldara s Maddalena ai piede di Christo, Handel s Resurrezione, and dramatic Dialoghi of Cozzolani and Mazzocchi along with short works by Charpentier and Clermabault paint a compelling picture of the women who witnessed and propelled the story and teachings of Jesus. Admission is a suggested donation of $15 at the door, but all are invited to attend regardless of ability to pay. powerful documentaries. Music in Social Justice Movements Class On Sunday, March 4, 11, and 18 from 11:15 a.m. 12:00 p.m. in the Kathie Stuart Room, we will be offering a class on Music in Social Justice Movements. Taught by Dr. Elke Jahns-Harms, the class will look at how music has shaped civil rights movements and helped to overcome brutal dictatorships. Each session will include presentations, discussions, music videos and excerpts from Elke Jahns-Harms holds a PhD in International Development and Master s degrees in Music and Public Affairs, and has worked on multiple continents on projects related to social and environmental justice and music education. She performs professionally on classical and Native American flutes and sings in a number of choruses. Easter Lily Order Form 2018 office use: Hancock United Church of Christ date 1912 Mass Ave Lexington MA initial (781) office@hancockchurch.org Every year the sanctuary is filled with beautiful lilies and other spring flowers in memory or honor of those loved by members of the congregation at Hancock. Dedicate lilies to a loved one in your family by submitting this form no later than Monday, March 19. Checks made out to Hancock Church (memo: lilies ) can be mailed, delivered to the church offices, or left in the collection basket. The suggested donation for each plant is $10. Name /Phone Number of Plants Suggested Donation Total Donation $10 per plant I am interested in making a delivery to another Hancock Member: The lilies will be delivered to church members who are in the hospital or must stay at home. Please let us know if you are interested in volunteering to make a delivery "If you check yes, someone will contact you to give you more details. If you have any questions, please contact Congregational Care Coordinator Emelia Attridge at emelia.attridge@hancockchurch.org or by calling the church office. yes Please write what you would like printed in the bulletin: These flowers are given by: These flowers are given in honor/memory of: no 8 9

6 Lenten Labyrinth Meditation Donation Pick-Up Day for Household Goods on March 10 The labyrinth will be available for meditation and reflection in Clark Hall each Sunday in Lent. Please feel free to visit before or after worship. Information about the labyrinth will be provided for those who are interested. Learn More About Hancock at Our Information Brunch Are you new to Hancock? Have you been coming to Hancock for some time? Would you like to learn more about the church and community? If so, please join us for an Information Brunch today, March 4 at 11:00 a.m. immediately following the 10:00 a.m. Morning Worship service. We will meet in the Dining Room. The Information Brunch is a great opportunity to hear about Hancock's mission and history and any questions you may have about the church. Children are welcome to attend and ask questions. We'll have sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Please contact Bettina McGimsey at bmcgimsey@alumni.virginia.edu to RSVP. Whether you've been coming to Hancock for just a few weeks or for a while, please join us for what is always a lively and informative discussion! Grief Group Continues on March 4 For anyone experiencing grief and seeking conversation, mutual support, and community, Grief Group continues on the following Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m.: March 4, April 8, May 6, and June 3. Please contact Emelia (emelia.attridge@hancockchurch.org) or David (david.clark@hancockchurch.org) if you have any questions. Household Goods in Acton provides gently used household items and furniture for the recently homeless, refugees, veterans, and families in need who require assistance setting up a clean, comfortable place to live. On Saturday, March 10, Home Team Moving has generously volunteered to pick up donations for Household Goods here in Lexington. Do you have extra sets of dishes, cooking utensils, silverware, pots and pans, working small appliances, kitchen table and chairs, clean couches and chairs, clean mattresses, towels, sheets, or baby items? ((Visit Household Good's website for more information on donation guidelines. Please be aware that not all items are accepted.) To arrange a pick-up, contact Ben Damian at Home Team Moving: (617) For any questions, contact Joyce Murphy at William Raveis Real Estate: joycemurphy@gmail.com or (781) Adult Christian Education Book Group on March 12 and 26 The Adult Christian Education Book Group is currently reading Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This is the basis of the Hancock Lenten theme this year (which is also Life Together). Please join us for lively and thought-provoking discussions on Monday mornings, March 12 and March 26, at 10:00 a.m. in the Pearson Room. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Lunch Group on March 15 Erin go Bragh! On March 15 at 12:30 p.m., celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Lunch Group as we meet at Waxy O'Connor's (94 Hartwell Avenue, Lexington). To RSVP, please contact Loretta Porter at (781) or lorettaporter@comcast.net. All are welcome! 10 11

7 Blitz Home Builders Volunteer Opportunity Blitz Home Builders is hosting their annual Build June 7-15, 2018 in Morris County, NJ. They will be building 3 new homes with the local Morris Habitat Affiliate. Volunteers 18 years and over (16 yrs with parental permission and activity restrictions) are welcome to participate in this event. No building experience necessary. All skills will be taught as needed. Cost of the event is an $85 nonrefundable registration fee, transportation to and at the event, hotel accommodations which will be approximately $80/night double room, and some dinners. The registration fee covers a Build t-shirt, daily continental breakfast, lunch, and snacks at the site, and the Annual Meeting Dinner one night. (They recommend budgeting $25-30/day for meals.) To register to be part of Team Hancock, go to BlitzHomeBuilders.org and click on Morris Build 2018, then send Cheryl an that you are attending. Registration deadline is March 27, For questions, contact Cheryl Kraley at cheryl@kraley.com or (781) Fellowship Café During Lent, to go along with our Lenten theme of Life Together, we are turning the Wilson Room into what we are affectionately calling The Fellowship Café. The Fellowship Café will be open Sundays from 8 a.m-12 p.m. and weekdays from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Come in and make yourself a cup of coffee with our new Keurig machine, have a seat in a comfy chair, enjoy conversation with a friend, or someone who you don t know well yet, or sit at the community table and get some work done. We hope to see you there! Seminar on Investing for Your Child or Grandchild's Education Mark your calendars! On Sunday, March 18, longtime Hancock member and Certified Financial Planner Mary Hastings will offer a free financial seminar entitled, "Investing for Your Child or Grandchild's Education." This will be held at 11:15 a.m. in the Pearson Room. She will also be holding a seminar on charitable giving on Sunday, April 29. Learn More About Place of Promise on March 18 On Sunday, March 18 at 11:00 a.m. in the Dining Room, Beth Kidd, the founder of Place of Promise, a new mission partner of Hancock, will visit. She will tell how she came to start Place of Promise and answer questions about how its mission has evolved. It s a remarkable story, going back to the 70 s when Beth was a young nurse working at Boston City Hospital, living in Roxbury with her husband, and literally walking the streets at night tending to the alcoholics and drug addicts whom she d nursed during the day. After many years of this, some churches supported her in buying a house in Dorchester where these people, and others like them who had nowhere else to go, could live. When Dorchester became too troubled, Beth moved her work to Lowell Place of Promise now consists of four houses there. You ll find that Beth has a rare combination of a nurse s practicality understanding the kind of structure and services that people in recovery need and a missionary s heart knowing that the most important thing these folks need is the sense that God loves them. But how to nurture that sense in folks who have a long burden of shame from bad choices, who are used to ingesting a substance to erase the shame? It s not easy, yet Place of Promise often does it. Witness the parole officers at prisons and case workers at detox centers who call regularly to place people there. Come hear Beth s stories of delivering God s love. The program will discuss three issues: Fossil Fuel Divestment: How and Why? HEAT will be hosting a discussion of Fossil Fuel Divestment on Sunday, March 11 at 11:00 a.m. in the Pearson Room. Join us to learn about UCC's leadership, Hancock Church's success and what it could mean for your investments. 1. What is the process that David Kilroy and the Endowment Committee have used to move the Hancock Church Portfolio toward Fossil Free Investments? 2. How can individuals use this process for their own portfolios? 3. What other organizations are moving toward Fossil Free Investments, and what are the moral reasons for this movement? All are invited! 12 13

8 Welcome to Hancock! The Week Ahead We are delighted that you chose to worship with us today and are strengthened by your participation in our service! We warmly invite you to coffee and refreshments immediately following worship. Coffee can be found through either of the doors next to the Chancel. If you d like to learn more about our church community and activities, please take the flier hanging in the pew. You may also fill out the Welcome slip in the pew holder, and hand it to one of the clergy or ushers today. We hope that you feel very much at home here and that you will make Hancock Church your church. If you have any questions, our Welcoming Committee would be happy to help: welcoming@hancockchurch.org. Child care is available each Sunday beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the nursery and toddler room. All children and youth are invited to worship with their families, to come forward for the Children s Gathering, and then recess to the Church School for K-5. Older children are invited to stay in worship or help with younger youth. Large print bulletins, hearing assist aids, and an elevator are available at Hancock Church. Please ask an usher for assistance. All services are recorded and cablecast locally by LexMedia Cable TV (RCN 3, Comcast 8 and Verizon 35) Sunday 10 AM and 7 PM, Tuesdays 10 PM. For more information, please visit the Hancock website at *** Service DVDs Available Just fill out the orange form just outside the television studio on the lower level. The cost is $10.00 which can be paid upon ordering or upon pickup at the church. All proceeds go to support the television ministry. Hancock Church Sermon in HD Online at Watch Service Live Online at from 10am-11am Sunday, March 4 8:30am Music Rehearsals 9:00am Coffee Fellowship 9:00am Labyrinth Walking 9:00am Bible Study with the Preacher 9:00am Marting to Glory 9:40am Joys and Concerns 10:00am Morning Worship in Sanctuary 10:15am OWL (8 th and 9 th Grade) 10:15am Church School 10:15am JYO Sandwich Making 11:00am Choristers 11:00am Fellowship Hour 11:00am JYO Choir 11:00am Labyrinth Walking 11:00am New Member Information Brunch 11:15am Music in Social Justice Movements 2:00pm Hancock Concert Series: Joyful Noyse 3:30pm Well Music Rehearsal in Clark Hall 5:00pm The Well in the Chapel 6:00pm Grief Group 7:00pm HYG in Upper Room Monday, March 5 1:30pm Skyloom 7:00pm Christian Service Committee 7:00pm Deacons 7:00pm Nominating Committee 7:00pm Parish Life Committee 7:00pm Prudential Committee 7:00pm Welcoming Committee 7:00pm Gathering of All Committees Tuesday, March 6 8:30am Hancock Weekly Submission Deadline 10:00am Staff Meeting 11:00am Staff Worship Planning Wednesday, March 7 1:15pm Consort 6:00pm 22 Muzzey Street Parent Group 7:00pm Carillon Rehearsal Thursday, March 8 6:30pm Boy Scout Troop 119 7:30pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal 7:30pm Hancock Young Adults Friday, March 9 9:30am Morning Glory Ringers 11:00am Friday Friends Book Group Saturday, March 10 10:00am AA Meeting in Dining Room 11:20am Study Group 3:00pm Plaster Posaunes Brass Group Sunday, March 11 8:30am Music Rehearsals 9:00am Coffee Fellowship 9:00am Labyrinth Walking 9:00am Bible Study with the Preacher 9:00am Marting to Glory 9:00am Waffle Church 9:40am Joys and Concerns 10:00am Morning Worship in Sanctuary 10:15am OWL (8 th and 9 th Grade) 10:15am Church School 10:15am JYO (6 th and 7 th Grade) 11:00am Choristers 11:00am Discussion on Fossil Fuel Divestment 11:00am Fellowship Hour 11:00am JYO Choir 11:00am Labyrinth Walking 11:00am Relational Meeting Core Team 11:15am Music in Social Justice Movements 3:30pm Well Music Rehearsal 5:00pm The Well 7:00pm HYG in Upper Room 14 15

9 Hancock Covenant of Welcome We welcome all who seek to know God. We believe that, although we are many members, we are one body in Christ. We have been called as well as challenged by God to respect and reconcile our differences. We recognize and love each individual as a child of God. We welcome, respect, support, and lovingly encourage people of every race, ethnicity, creed, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, and physical and mental ability to join us on our journey of faith. The faith journey indeed calls Hancock Members not to be silent in the face of prejudice, injustice, and exclusion, but to express our faith, in word and deed, for justice and inclusiveness for all humanity. As Paul wrote in Galatians, In Christ there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for all are one... Paul Shupe, Senior Minister paul.shupe@hancockchurch.org Barbara Callaghan, Minister barbara.callaghan@hancockchurch.org Andrew Harris, Student Minister andrew.harris@hancockchurch.org David Clark, Student Minister david.clark@hancockchurch.org Mark Morgan, Director of Music mark.morgan@hancockchurch.org Marilyn Becker Associate Director of Music marilyn.becker@hancockchurch.org Emelia Attridge Congregational Care Coordinator emelia.attridge@hancockchurch.org Church Office Phone: (781) Hancock Community Prayer: (781) Church Office Hours: M-Th 9:00-3:00, F 9:00-2:00 For Emergency Pastoral Support: Paul: (781) Barbara: (336) For bulletin announcements, corrections, or suggestions, office@hancockchurch.org To conserve trees and your pledge dollars, consider sharing your bulletin. Please recycle.