Plymouth Congregational Church A Congregation of the United Church of Christ

Transcription

1 Plymouth Congregational Church A Congregation of the United Church of Christ Service of the Word October 8, 2017 Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost 10:00 am THE GATHERING RINGING OF THE BELL PRELUDE The Water, Like Glass Joseph Gentry Stephens *OPENING HYMN Morning Has Broken *CALL TO WORSHIP One: In the beginning, God made the world: Made it and mothered it, Many: Shaped it and fathered it, One: Filled it with seed and with signs of fertility, Many: Filled it with life and with song and variety. One: All that is green, blue, deep, and growing: Quinn G. Caldwell *Please rise if you are able

2 Many: God s is the hand that created you. One: All that is tender, firm, fragrant and curious: Many: God s is the hand that created you. One: All that crawls, flies, swims, walks, or is motionless: Many: God s is the hand that created you. One: All that speaks, sings, cries, laughs, or keeps silence: Many: God s is the hand that created you. One: Let all that has life and breath praise the Lord! Many: Alleluia! Praise God! *MUSICAL CALL TO COMMUNITY We will sing once through in unison, then as a round, following your section leader WORDS OF WELCOME PRAYER OF CONFESSION *ASSURANCE OF GRACE *PASSING OF THE PEACE *PRAISE SONG Day by day (repeat), O, dear Lord, Three things I pray; To see thee more clearly, Love thee more dearly, Follow thee more nearly, day by day. STORY FOR ALL AGES THE REFRESHMENT OF FORGIVENESS Please share a sign of peace with those around you. THE GIFT OF THE WORD ANTHEM The Blue Green Hills of Earth Kim Olner SCRIPTURE Exodus 28:2-3 2

3 SERMON Rabbi Glenn Jacob *HYMN Touch the Earth Lightly No. 569 PASTORAL PRAYER THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER As we pray today, we will light a candle for each of the 59 people who died in the shooting in Las Vegas this week, remembering their names and calling out for help in turning our grief into meaningful action. THE PRAYER OF OUR SAVIOR 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 sins as we forgive those who sin against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. In an effort to pray in unison while respecting the different versions that many of us have prayed since childhood, we will cycle through the different versions over the course of a year. We will pray the prayer with sins through the end of MUSICAL RESPONSE (unison) Seek ye first the kingdom of God And God s righteousness And all these things shall be added unto you, Allelu, alleluia. OFFERING OURSELVES AND OUR GIFTS CALL TO THE OFFERING This week, we receive the UCC s Neighbors in Need special offering to support domestic ministries of justice and compassion. OFFERTORY ANTHEM The Heavens Are Telling Franz Josef Haydn *DOXOLOGY Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below. Praise Holy Spirit evermore; One God, triune, whom we adore! Amen. *PRAYER OF DEDICATION Old Hundredth *CLOSING HYMN God Marked a Line and Told the Sea Duke Street 1. God marked a line and told the sea Its surging tides and waves were free To travel up the sloping strand But not to overtake the land. 2. God set one limit in the glade Where tempting, fruited branches swayed. And that first limit stands behind The limits that the law defined. 3

4 3. The line, the limit, and the law Are patterns meant to help us draw A bound between what life requires And all the things our heart desires. 4. But, discontent with finite powers, We reach to take what is not ours And then defend our claim by force And swerve from life s intended course. *BENEDICTION 5. We are not free when we re confined To every wish that sweeps the mind. But free when freely we accept The sacred bounds that must be kept. POSTLUDE March Flor Peeters Today we welcome Rabbi Glenn Jacob to the pulpit. Rabbi Jacob serves as the Executive Director of New York Interfaith Power and Light of which our own David Alicea is immediate past Board President. NYIPL and its member congregations provide a religious response to global climate disruption, helping congregations reduce their carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, use renewable energy, and educate their members on climate change. Rabbi Jacob also serves as an interfaith chaplain and Hillel director at Adelphi University. Plymouth Runs On YOU GREETERS: Luis Morales and Bob Watrous USHERS: George Bain and Bill Bucher ACOLYTE: Harry Crawford FLOWERS given by a friend in celebration of the Plymouth community OFFERING COUNTERS: Sue Bogucz and Elaine Wolf You can volunteer for many of these ministries via the Plymouth website Go to the Get Involved page and click on the link above the choir photo. Hospitality Ministry Please consider serving as a host for Community Time. There is a sign-up chart in the bell tower entrance. It s easy and we ll help you! Flowers Make our worship space even more beautiful for the glory of God and in honor of whatever you choose. A sign-up sheet is found in the bell tower entry. The cost is $25, but plans for larger or multiple arrangements can always be made. Accessibility: Individual listening headsets are available on the table at the back of the sanctuary. Please contact one of the ushers for help. An elevator and ramp are available. LARGE PRINT BULLETINS ARE IN THE BACK OF THE SANCTUARY. Welcoming Children in Worship: Children of all ages have a place in worship and in the life of the church. Nursery care is offered at 10:00 am for infants. Sound is piped into Memorial Hall next door to the Sanctuary for those who would welcome a space apart. Worship Clipboards: Worship clipboards with age-appropriate bulletins and coloring paper are available in the back of the Sanctuary for our elementary aged children as a support to their attendance in worship. We hope you will find these clipboards a welcoming and supportive means of engaging your children during the worship service. *Please rise if you are able

5 There is ample free street parking on the blocks around our church on Sundays, as well as in the lots behind the Catholic diocese building. For those able to walk a short distance, parking here will allow those with mobility impairments or small children to use the spots directly in front of the church. 5

6 TODAY following worship: Some Things You Ought to Know Capital Campaign Update We have commitments totaling $735,162. $700,294 has been paid on those commitments so far. We re in the home stretch, team! Keep it up! Learning Community Forum with Rabbi Glenn Jacob - 11:15am (Memorial Hall) Next Sunday, after the Children s Sabbath service, you are invited to Memorial Hall for a Mission Trip Luncheon. Come grab a sandwich and enjoy each other s company as we see photos and hear stories from the youth and their leaders about their experience at Heifer Farm in Rutland, MA. The luncheon is free and open to all, so please join us and show your support of our youth! The Food Pantry is collecting SHAMPOO during the month of October. Please place your contributions in the box in the back of the worship area. Plymouth ROCKS: We will be serving lunch at the Rescue Mission on Sunday, October 22. The group will leave Plymouth around 10:15am and will finish serving shortly after 12pm. Young (ages 12 and up) and old are welcome! Please note the dress code: close-toed shoes (no sandals), long pants, capris or shorts to the knees, and no tank tops. RSVP to Chris Hopkins (christinehopkins03@gmail.com; ) October Wreath Sale: Sunny Aslam, Ayesha Aslam, Kirsten Hubel, and Chris Hopkins will be traveling to Nicaragua with the NY Conference next year to team up with the teachers in Iglesia Mision Cristiana. Support their trip! A 24" wreath is $20, a 28" wreath (perfect for a front door) is $25, and a 32" wreath is $30. They will be taking orders throughout October and expect delivery around Thanksgiving. 20 Years of SAGE Upstate! SAGE Upstate will be celebrating its 20 years of supporting LGBTQ people as they age on Saturday, October 14 th at 5:00pm at the Harrison Center at All Saints Church. Cost is $40 to join us at Plymouth s table, and checks and reservations should be made out and sent to the Plymouth office. Subsidies are available for those for whom the cost is prohibitive! We are invited to Fairmount Community Church UCC s Service of Remembrance and Farewell on Sunday, October 15 at 3pm. This is their final worship service in the sanctuary on West Genesee Street before they begin their new journey as they will be worshiping in new space shared with Robinson Elmwood United Church. Fall 2017 Interfaith dialogue series starts mid-october, with the dialogues occurring over six sessions, at two hours each. There are still spaces available in two circles: Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm; October 17, 24, November 7, 14, 28, December 5 Thursdays, 5:30-7:30 pm; October 19, 26, November 2, 9, 16, 30 RSVP to Kofi Addai: kaddai@interfaithworkscny.org or call (315) ext

7 Author to speak on ending poverty: Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis will at Hendricks Chapel from 7 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 11. In her book, Always with Us? What Jesus Really Said about the Poor, Theoharis maintains that poverty isn t inevitable. Celebrate the 500 th anniversary of the Reformation through music: Symphoria s Reformation Concert on October 29 at 2:30 pm in St. Paul s Episcopal Cathedral in Syracuse. As a special Symphoria offer, you can receive a 20% discount on concert tickets by using the code LUTHER500. A Mighty Fortress is Our God: Liturgy and Music after the Reformation, a workshop about music in worship after the Reformation, will be held on October 21, 9:30 am-2:30 pm at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Fayetteville. Registration begins at 9:00 am. $10 Registration fee includes lunch THIS WEEK AT PLYMOUTH Mon. Oct. 9 Church Office Closed Plymouth ROCKS serves Meals on Wheels, Read-in (book study) 5:00pm - Parlor Tues. Oct. 10 Board of Deacons 5:15pm Parlor Plymouth ROCKS planning group -5:30pm Adult Ed. Room Board of Trustees 6:30pm Parlor Wed. Oct. 11 McMahon-Ryan Interfaith Service 12:00noon - Sanctuary Thurs. Oct. 12 Food Pantry 10am 12noon - Parlor Bell Choir Rehearsal 5:30pm Choir Rehearsal 7:00pm Sun. Oct. 15 Worship Children s Sabbath 10am Youth Mission Trip Lunch 11:15am Memorial Hall (no Chapel Time or Learning Community) Music Notes for October 8, 2017 The themes for today s service deal with our relationship to the planet we live on. Our prelude is an evocative piece (the composer calls it ambient music ) originally for choir with no words; the composer intended the specifics of every performance to be freely determined by the performers so that each performance could evolve in its own way. I imagine the piece describing a time when waters covered the surface of the earth. Joseph Gentry Stephens (b. 1972) is an American composer and conductor of choral music. The Paul Winter consort included our anthem in their Mass for Mother Earth. The text was inspired by astronaut Russell Schweickert, who described the cool, green hills of earth after his trip on Apollo 9. For the earth forever turning, for the land, for skies and sea; To our Lord we sing returning home to our blue green hills of earth For the mountains, hills and pastures in their silent majesty; For the stars, for all the heavens, sing we our joyful praise to thee. For the sun, for rain and thunder, for the season s harmony; For our lives, for all creation, sing we our joyful praise to thee. For the earth forever turning, for the land which gave us birth; 7

8 To our Lord we sing returning home to the blue green hills of earth. Our offertory anthem is taken from Franz Josef Haydn s ( ) oratorio The Creation. Haydn was employed most of his adult life in the remote countryside of Hungary providing daily concerts for the noble Esterhazy family. Here, in isolation, he wrote over one hundred symphonies, and about 70 string quartets, as well as operas, concertos, and other music. In his later life, the Esterhazy family lost interest in music, and Haydn was more free to travel. The Creation was written for a London audience, but soon performed all over Europe. Our three angel soloists are soprano Kat Skafidas as Gabriel, tenor Kyle Seniw as Uriel, and bass Michael Chellis as Raphael. Flor Peeters ( ) was a Belgian (Flemish) organist and composer who was renowned also as a teacher. Our postlude is taken from a collection of sixty short pieces that he wrote for church and concert use. About Plymouth Plymouth was founded in 1853 by a group of Syracusans who wanted to create a Christian abolitionist bulwark in the city. Since then, we have fought against slavery, poverty, and war; for immigrants, natives, workers, LGBT, and women s rights; and sought to be agents of mercy in a hurting world. We believe in beauty, laughter, the struggle for peace with justice, taking risks for God, and the Way of Jesus Christ. Our faith is over 2,000 years old; our thinking is not! We are Open and Affirming We believe God calls us to welcome all people and their gifts regardless of gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, physical ability, socioeconomic status, or religious background. We are Just Peace We covenant to live actively within the holy longing that weds justice with the quest for peace within us, between us, in community, and across the globe. We covenant to affirm the sacredness of all life and to honor and preserve creation We are Sanctuary We provide a space of physical, emotional, and spiritual safety for immigrants without documents, and specifically pledge to the principles of the national New Sanctuary Movement. We are Progressive Christians We try to walk in the way of Jesus Christ, our brother and savior. We believe God speaks new meanings for new days, and that She does so not only in the church and the ancient words of the Bible, but through the insights of science, the arts, the revelations of other religions, and the best strivings of the human spirit. We believe God has granted us a purpose, and that life is too short for long-faced religion. Join us! Rev. Quinn G. Caldwell, Pastor Dr. Joseph Downing, Director of Music Kim Looney, Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries Kathy Ferro, Church Administrator Mark Johnson, Sexton 232 East Onondaga Street Syracuse, New York (315) plymouthsyr.org office@plymouthsyr.org 8