S L D 2 S P J 22, 2014

Transcription

1 S L D 2 S P J 22, 2014

2 Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and civilrights activist. He played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of King received the Nobel Peace Prize in He was assassinated in April 1968, and continues to be remembered as one of the most lauded African-American leaders in history, often referenced by his 1963 speech, ʺI Have a Dream.ʺ Please join in reading those parts of the service printed in bold. When this symbol ( ) precedes an element of the service, please rise in body or spirit. Ushers will collect prayer requests during the first hymn. Blue prayer cards are located in pews. F P C, W, V S, J 22, :30 & 11:00 A.M. A Thought Upon Entering: We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. - Martin Luther King, Jr. T C G P G W A P : Variations on The Gift of Love Janet Linker I : Come Christians Join to Sing arr. Williamson C W God of the open road, God of the twisting path, God of the narrow and upward way, your people are gathered for worship! In this hour, give us provision for the journey, courage and faith and compassion, and endurance to face any hardship. Open our eyes to see you walking beside us, protecting us, encouraging us, loving us. T I G P Gracious God, make each of us an instrument of your grace. Weave us into a community showing forth your power and tenderness. Bless us and our differences and undergird our courage to stand together. We call on you today to gather us in your love. Lead us to be er know you and glorify you on each step of the journey of our lives. In the name of Jesus, let us now keep silence and breathe in the love of God. Amen. H 525: Here I Am Lord Daniel Schu e P C God is light; in him there in no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fel-

3 lowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Most holy and merciful Father, we confess to you and to one another, that we have sinned against you by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not fully loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not always had in us the mind of Christ. You alone know how often we have grieved you by wasting your gifts, by wandering from your ways. Forgive us, we pray you, most merciful Father; and free us from our sin. Renew in us the grace and strength of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen. S C A P C R : Hymn 554, v. 2 A G By law God enforces. The stars in their courses, The sun in its orbit obediently shine; The hills and the mountains, The rivers and fountains, The depths of the ocean proclaim God divine. We, too, should be voicing Our love and rejoicing With glad adoration, a song let us raise: Till all things now living Unite in thanksgiving, To God in the highest, hosanna and praise. T C L G W (11 a.m.) C M (Children may leave for Wee One s Worship) C P : He s Got the Whole World In His Hands Rebecca Dellinger, Soprano arr. Hogan S R : Ma hew 5:43-48 New Testament, p. 5 S : Loving Your Enemies Sermon Series: Historic Sermons for a New Day The Rev. Maren Sonstegard-Spray Wee One s Worship (W.O.W) Parents are welcome to escort children ages 3 through kindergarten to the W.O.W room (108) for the remainder of the worship hour. This sermon series comes as a request to reflect on the relevance of some classic sermons for today s church.

4 Keep Your Lamps Keep you lamps trimmed and burnin the time is drawin nigh. Children don t get weary the time is drawin nigh. The Doxology is Hymn 592 in the Hymnal. The Four Cents A Meal offering is a special offering taken once a month to support hunger relief. The idea is that throughout the month we set aside four cents for every meal to help those who are food insecure. Our own Jubilee Kitchen benefits from this offering. T C R F P T I T L P H 404: Precious Lord, Take My Hand p. 16 in the Hymnal (Traditional) P L T O G T O : Keep Your Lamps arr. Andre Thomas Chancel Choir T D P D T C D S H 391: Take My Life H (The 4 Cents A Meal Offering will be received at this time.) B C R : Guide My Feet Traditional Spiritual P : Finale on The Gift of Love arr. Janet Linker USHERS AT 8:30 A.M. Don & Barbara Utz, Chuck & Mary Lou Gulosh, John Dorsey USHERS AT 11:00 A.M. Barry & Linda Smith, Tom & Kathy Bell THE FLOWERS ON THE WORSHIP CENTER ARE IN CELEBRATION OF THE 60TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY OF STEPHEN & BARBARA EISENHAUER GIVEN BY THEIR FAMILY Children in Worship We welcome children learning to worship alongside their adult family members and with their church family. Worship bags are available in the hallway outside the sanctuary for use by children, as well as the Children s Own Worship Library bookshelf for children to borrow a book to aid them in worshipping. We also offer childcare during the worship services for infants and toddlers up to age 2 in room Children ages 3 through kindergarten may stay with family or can be escorted by a parent to room 106 when it is time for Wee One s Worship.

5 SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE First Presbyterian Church begins its summer Sunday morning worship schedule on July 6. The schedule is as follows: 7:30 a.m. Boyd Chapel 8:30 a.m. New Stone Gathering in Fellowship Hall 10:00 a.m. Sanctuary There is no summer Sunday school for youth and adults. A combined children s Sunday school for ages 3 through completed 4th grade will be 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The summer worship schedules run through August 31. The regular order of services and Sunday school resumes on September 7. CHURCH CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 22: Sunday, June 22: 7:30 a.m. Worship Service in Boyd Chapel with Communion 8:30 a.m. Worship Service in Fellowship Hall 8:30 & 11:00 a.m. Worship Services in Sanctuary Monday, June 23: 7:00 p.m. Cub Scouts Scout, Stine & Rumble Rooms Tuesday, June 24: 8:15 a.m. Men s Coffee Chick-fil-A 7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts Scout, Stine & Rumble Rooms Wednesday, June 25: Thursday, June 26: 4:00 p.m. Organ Upkeep Team Meeting Choir Room 6:30 p.m. Venture Crew Scout Room 7:30 p.m. Final Chancel Choir Rehearsal Friday, June 27: 6:30 a.m. Men s Bible Study Graham Room Saturday, June 28: 9:30 a.m. Jubliee Kitchen 4:00 p.m. Wedding Chapel STAFF ON VACATION Maren Sonstegard-Spray will be on vacation June 23 through June 29. SAVE THE DATE: The Church Picnic will be Sunday, August 24, 12:00 noon, in Jim Barnett Park. THIS IS MY SONG: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION OF GOD & COUNTRY A concert of patriotic music favorites will be presented on Sunday, June 29, at 6 PM in the Sanctuary. The concert will feature the combined Chancel Choirs of First Presbyterian Church and Thrasher Memorial United Methodist Church of Vinton, VA. There will also be a FREE picnic themed dinner before the concert at 5 PM on the walking mall. We would love to have extra singers join us for this event! If you would like to sing with the combined choirs you are invited to attend Thurs. choir rehearsals from 7:30-8:10 PM.

6 HELP BRING OUR GUATEMALAN FRIENDS TO VISIT The Guatemala Team is beginning the planning and fundraising for our Faith Stories Project Women s trip to visit us in October. The first step is their Passport and Visa applications. The cost is a little less than $400 per woman. If you would like to support one of the women in this process, the Guatemala Team will be in the Gathering Space to answer questions and accept your contributions. JUBILEE KITCHEN UPDATE Many thanks to Sharon Luzadder who has agreed to be a coordinator for the JK! Sharon is a regular 1st Pres volunteer for the JK. JK team members are Sue Cooper, Wanda Hoover, Mark and Gretchen Johnson with Meredith and Parker, Susan Kagey, Patti Keeton, Amanda Simmons and Sandy Wolfe. Our preference is to have 2 coordinators, so if you have any interest in participating in this great ministry in this role please call Sandy Cleaver or Patti Keeton The coordinators and the team will be meeting in the next several weeks to discuss how to proceed. LEARN ABOUT THE AUSTIN ORGAN Interested members of the congregation are invited to join Bryan Kirk, Organist and Director of Music at the First Presbyterian Church of Glen Falls, New York, and our organ upkeep team on Thursday, June 26 at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary. Bryan, who grew up in this church and who, because he learned to play on this instrument, has a special love for it, will be presenting information about the organ and exploring ideas for its long term maintenance and improvement. CHILDREN S MINISTRY If a parent is attending Sunday School, nursery care is available during the Sunday School hour in room108/109. Sunday School Classes: 2-Year Old Class Room #107 3-Year Old Class Room #209 4-Year Old Class Room #212 Kindergarten through 4 th Grade Stine Room Vacation Bible School will begin today Sunday, June 22-June 26. Our theme will be Weird Animals! It is not too late to register. Register at our table in the main hallway this morning. CDs and shirts are available for purchase. Summer Sunday School and Wed Night Children s Program- During all of July and August, there will be Summer Sunday School during the 10AM service beginning at 10 and ending at 11 in the Stine Room. We have a special curriculum to accommodate kids age 3-completed 4th grade, and it will be a fun time for all involved. Nursery will also be offered for children 0-2 as usual during 10:00 church. Worship and child care at the combined 8:30 summer service will be as usual. Also, mark your calendar for 3 Wednesday evening programs planned for July 16, August 6, and August 20th from 4:30-7:00 which will include rec time, a meal and a mission project. More details to come.

7 From Loving Your Enemies by Martin Luther King Jr. Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, on November 17, Another way that you love your enemy is this: When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time which you must not do it. There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That s the time you must do it. That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system. Now for the few moments left, let us move from the practical how to the theoretical why. It s not only necessary to know how to go about loving your enemies, but also to go down into the question of why we should love our enemies. I think the first reason that we should love our enemies, and I think this was at the very center of Jesus thinking, is this: that hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum. [tapping on pulpit] It just never ends. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that s the strong person. The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil. And that is the tragedy of hate, that it doesn t cut it off. It only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. Somebody must have religion enough and morality enough to cut it off and inject within the very structure of the universe that strong and powerful element of love. So this morning, as I look into your eyes, and into the eyes of all of my brothers in Alabama and all over America and over the world, I say to you, I love you. I would rather die than hate you. And I m foolish enough to believe that through the power of this love somewhere, men of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed. And then we will be in God s kingdom. We will be able to matriculate into the university of eternal life because we had the power to love our enemies, to bless those persons that cursed us, to even decide to be good to those persons who hated us, and we even prayed for those persons who despitefully used us.

8 SERMON NOTES: F P C FOUNDED JULY 16, 1788 ORGANIZED SEPTEMBER 7, 1800 THE REVEREND DR. RICHARD W. REIFSNYDER Pastor THE REVEREND MAREN SONSTEGARD-SPRAY Associate Pastor for Youth & Christian Nurture TODD M. BOWMAN Director of Children s Ministry PATRICIA B. BYERS Organist THE REVEREND DR. DAN McCOIG, JR. Associate Pastor THE REVEREND ELIZABETH LEWIS Parish Associate JOSH O DELL Minister of Music LYNN R. REIFSNYDER Director of Adult Handbell Choirs MISSION CO-WORKERS Rev. Dr. Karla Ann Koll and the people of Costa Rica Dr. Leslie and Dr. Cynthia Morgan and the people of Bangladesh Amanda Craft and the people of Guatemala & Mexico Church to Church Partnership with the Metu and Ke a congregations in Metu, Ethiopia 116 South Loudoun Street Winchester, Virginia fpcwinc.org