Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people -- Matthew 4:19

Transcription

1 Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people -- Matthew 4:19

2 Aria Charles Callahan An Open and Affirming Congregation No matter who you are or where you are on life s journey, you are welcome here. is available for infants and toddlers on the main (sanctuary) level in the crib room beside the stairwell. are available from the ushers. to welcome guests and help one another! A warm welcome to all, especially those who are worshipping with us for the first time or who have returned after a long absence. As we gather this morning, please spend a moment in prayer for those around you and for those outside our walls and far away. At the passing of the peace, find someone you don t yet know well and share some warmth. Invite someone to join you for Coffee and Community after worship. All are welcome here in God s house-be welcoming! Be welcome! * - An asterisk is an invitation to rise (in body or in spirit). Bolded text is an invitation for the congregation to read in unison. Welcome to worship on this Third Sunday of Epiphany. This time and this place are made sacred by your presence, your listening, your sharing, your singing, and your prayer. Thank you for journeying with us today. Saw You Never in the Twilight Harold Friedell In the Midst of New Dimensions 391 Hear us now, O God, as we offer ourselves in worship; as we celebrate the warmth, depth and breadth of our congregation; as we celebrate the light and the faith we share; unite us as one heart this morning. Unite us in one mind and purpose to hear, do, and celebrate your call. Amen. (The One Speaks and the Voices Sing) One: We are a Christian community where all can and do participate. Grounded in God s love, we nurture one another. Deep Voices: To Know God s Word, To know God s Word, One: We are all God s children, and we accept and confirm our differences. God loves each of us unconditionally, and we reflect that love in our openness to others. High Voices: Be a beacon of faith, compassion, and justice for all. Be a beacon of faith, compassion and justice for all.

3 One: Deep Voices: One: High Voices: One: Deep Voices: High Voices: Children: Creative, participatory and expressive Worship helps us encounter God and binds us together into the body of Christ. The Spirit is at work through music, the Word and celebration of our lives together. To know God s Word, To know God s Word, Young and old, we are all growing in our Christian formation. Inquiry and dialogue draw us to God and open us to the change needed in ourselves and the world. Be a beacon of faith, compassion, and justice for all. Be a beacon of faith, compassion, and justice for all. We are called to do God s work of justice and peace. We seek to serve others as Jesus served and be transformed by the encounter. To know God s Word, Be a beacon of faith, compassion, and justice for all. Be a beacon! (Shouting) One: In caring for one another, All: May we be untiring. One: In sheltering one another, All: May we be strong. One: In holding one another, All: May we be tender. One: In greeting one another, All: May we remember we are greeting the face of Christ. One: Let us share the sacred peace of Christ with one another. Hannah Rice Hill G. Vosper, adapted CONGREGATIONAL ANNUAL MEETING Today, After Worship All members are encouraged to attend the Annual Meeting of the Congregation today after worship. We will receive reports from church officers, ministers and staff; vote on the annual operating budget; consider and vote on revised Bylaws; and discuss plans for Childcare will be available. Come and celebrate FCC s ministry, thank outgoing leadership, welcome incoming leaders, help us plan for the future and give thanks to God for a spirit-filled year! COLLEGIUM VOCALE OF ST. LOUIS PRESENTS Four Sacred Cantatas of Christoph Graupner Next Sunday, 3pm In the Sanctuary The Collegium Vocale of St. Louis is proud to present Victory over Death: Four Sacred Cantatas by Christoph Graupner," a concert of baroque sacred music, on Sunday, February 1 at 3pm in the Sanctuary of First Congregational Church. Music director Dr. Bruce Carvell will provide an introductory lecture at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free, and free parking is available on the adjacent church lot. The four cantatas to be presented have been newly edited from Graupner's manuscripts especially for this concert and will be the American premieres of this music. Accompanying CVSL is an ensemble of top local baroque wind and string players. Founded in 1997, Collegium Vocale of St. Louis is an ensemble devoted to presenting historically informed performances of a diverse and wide-ranging repertory of 17th - and 18th-century music for voices and instruments.

4 SUNDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY LAMENTATIONS AND THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY A BOOK AND PEOPLE WORTH CONSIDERING Today - February 22 9am We have begun a six-week study of the relevancy of suffering as narrated through the book of Lamentations and through the historic and contemporary African- American experience. Valerie Jackson, our Eden Seminary student intern, studied Lamentations in her fall semester, and brings us this course from her studies. Attend one session or all six. You will find meaning and a renewed appreciation for lament. A sign-up sheet is available online and at the Sign-Up Center. Please contact the church office with any questions. Today - Martin Luther King Jr, a voice of Lament Jan 25th - HOW? The first word in the book of Lamentations and primary questions of a suffering community: How could God allow this to happen? How long will it last? Feb 1st - Daughter of Zion: Living with Hopelessness Feb 8th - Children and Youth in Lament Feb 15th - Anger and Talk Back in Lamentations Feb 22nd - The Hidden Power of Suffering LUNCH & LEARN BIBLE STUDY Monday, January 26 12pm Join Heather this Monday for a lively lectionary-based lunchtime Bible study. Come as you are with your questions and enjoy good company and casual guided study. Bring your lunch if you d like and a Bible if you have one. Sign up at the Sign-Up Center. Children may come forward and sit on the chancel steps. H. Ronald Hall 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. Followers of the Lamb Shaker Text & Tune 1847 arr. Philip Dietterich O brethren ain t you happy, O brethren ain t you happy, O brethren ain t you happy, ye followers of the Lamb. Refrain: Sing on, dance on, followers of Emmanuel. Sing on, dance on, ye followers of the Lamb. O sisters ain t you happy, O sisters ain t you happy, O sisters ain t you happy, ye followers of the Lamb. Refrain O I m glad I am a Christian, I m glad I am a Christian, I m glad I am a Christian, ye followers of the Lamb. Refrain O, I mean to be obedient, I mean to be obedient, I mean to be obedient, ye followers of the Lamb. Refrain

5 Mark 1:14-20 (NRSV) Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. Rev. Heather Arcovitch You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore 173 Would you like to submit a prayer request to be read? Prayer cards are in the holder on the pew back in front of you. Ushers walk up the center aisle during this anthem to receive the cards. O Jesus, Very Light of Light Howard Helvey You Walk Along Our Shoreline Perry Nelson You walk along our shoreline where land meets unknown sea. We hear your voice of power, Now come and follow me. And if you still will follow through storm and wave and shoal, Then I will make you fishers but of the human soul. You call us, Christ to gather the people of the earth. We cannot fish for only those lives we think have worth. We spread your net of gospel across the water s face, Our boat a common shelter for all found by your grace. We cast our net, O Jesus; we cry the kingdom s name; We work for love and justice; we learn to hope through pain. You call us, Lord, to gather God s daughters and God s sons, To let your judgment heal us so that all may be one. O Jesus, make your people one!

6 WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE Wednesday, January 28 Potluck Supper 6:15pm Program 7pm How humans have been able to move beyond other animals to produce civilization and society: from brute physical reality to a social reality that exists only because we think it does. If you missed the first session about this, don t worry because the key facts will be repeated in less than 5 minutes. The remainder of this session examines how it can be that brains lead to consciousness and minds, which in turn allow human societies to exist. The theory we examine identifies both the good things that society provides and what can go wrong with it. Led by Don Ronken. The program starts at 7pm in the upstairs Social Hall. Before the program, a shared community meal begins at 6:15. Everyone is welcome! Please contact Shirley Bild with questions: bild.shirley@gmail.com. WOMEN S BOOK GROUP Wednesday, February 4 7:15pm Copies of the February book club selection The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes are in the book club bag in the church office. Please sign your name & phone number when you take one. Please contact Janet Hoyne with any questions: janethoyne@sbcglobal.net. OLD HUNDREDTH 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. Rev. Elizabeth Dilley Bless these gifts, offered in hope for the fulfilling of all your promises, gracious God. May they draw all your children together in peace and joy, in order that the world may be filled with Christ s love. Amen. Renew Your Church 311 Beautiful Star of Bethlehem R. Fisher Boyce Psalm 19 This morning s fellowship continues Benedetto Marcello ( ) Congregational Annual Meeting begins immediately after worship. Please help yourself to coffee and a snack in the Tower Room before the meeting. Choristers, please join Ron Hall in the Choir Room Go in peace renewed to love and serve our God! Copyright OneLicense.net #A GIVING ENVELOPES If you are a giver whose address we have, there is a box for you. If you are a Green Giver* or give in another way, please place your box on our bookkeeper, Don Hubatka s, desk in the church office. He can remove your name from the envelope list for next year. *To give green, go to our website, and click GIVE NOW.

7 Champagne & Appetizers with Live Pre-Dinner Music at 6:30pm, Followed by Dinner at 7pm Upstairs in the Social Hall, $25 Per Person Spacing is limited, so please RSVP by Sunday, February 8 Concert begins at 8:15pm in the Sanctuary Free Admission A love offering for the concert will be received to enrich FCC s recital ministry.

8 SUNDAY January 25 9:00 am Sunday Morning Bible Study: Boardroom 10:00 am Quiet Time: Chapel 10:30 am Worship Service 11:30 am Annual Meeting of the Congregation: Sanctuary 11:30 am Choristers: Music Room 6:30 pm 6-8 Grade Youth Group: Fellowship Hall 6:30 pm High School Youth Group: Parlor MONDAY January 26 12:00 pm Lunch & Learn: Boardroom TUESDAY January 27 11:30 am Women s Gathering: Parlor 7:30 pm Bell Choir Rehearsal: Music Room WEDNESDAY January 28 6:15 pm Wednesday Night Live Dinner and Program: Social Hall THURSDAY January 29 7:30 pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal: Music Room FRIDAY January 30 6:30 pm FCC Council Party SUNDAY February 1 9:00 am Sunday Morning Bible Study: Boardroom 10:00 am Quiet Time: Chapel 10:30 am Worship Service 11:30 am Coffee & Community: Parlor 11:30 am Choristers: Music Room 12:00 pm First Sunday Lunch in Kirkwood: TBA 3:00 pm CVSL Concert: Sanctuary 6:30 pm 6-8 Grade Youth Group: Fellowship Hall 6:30 pm High School Youth Group: Parlor Heather Arcovitch harcovitch@firstcongregational.org Senior Minister Hannah Rice Hill Interim Minister of Faith Development for Children & Youth hrice@firstcongregational.org H. Ronald Hall Director of Music / Organist rhall@firstcongregational.org Mia Ulmer mia@birchtreestudiostl.com Youth Specialist George H. Sirois Administrative Assistant / Communication Specialist office@firstcongregational.org / gsirois@firstcongregational.org Anne Chao anne@firstcongregationalpreschool.org Valerie Jackson valvacious13@gmail.com Don Hubatka dhubatka@firstcongregational.org Ronald Brooks James Harrison Jon Tiede jon.tiede@jumpcompany.com Preschool Director Student Pastor Bookkeeper Custodian Assistant Custodian FCC Council Moderator Church office hours are Monday through Friday, 9am - 5pm. Never place a period where God has placed a comma God is still speaking! An Open and Affirming Congregation First Congregational Church of St. Louis, United Church of Christ 6501 Wydown Blvd, St Louis, MO Facebook: