The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme 2 Ferry Road, Old Lyme, Connecticut (860) 434-8686 Website: www.fccol.org
November 25, 2018 Prelude Lighting of the Candle SUNDAY WORSHIP Steven R. Jungkeit, Senior Minister Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager, Senior Associate Minister Carleen R. Gerber, Associate Minister Simon D. Holt, Director of Music *Processional Hymn: #63 All Things Bright and Beautiful *Call to Worship: *Invocation Creator God, how magnificent are your creatures We give thanks for the beauty of the earth We give thanks for the beauty of our neighbors To know this is the beginning of wisdom; to live it is the path of true life. Let us thank you with songs of gratitude and deeds of peace. Come, let us worship God with humble hearts. *The Lord s Prayer Welcome and News of the Church *Hymn: #65 Many and Great, O God Offertory Invitation Offertory Selection *Doxology: Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God for all that love has done; Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Amen *Offertory Prayer 9:00 AM Julia Clark
A Time for Children What a Wonderful World! God s Neighborhood (children proceed to classes) Hymn: #364 This Little Light of Mine (First verse only, as children leave. Congregation can remain seated.) Pastoral Prayer Pastoral Prayer Response: As We Are Gathered Scripture: Genesis 1: 29-31a (OT, pg. 2) Psalm 104: 1-6, 10-25 (OT, pg. 532), 33 (OT, pg. 533) Matthew 6: 28-29 (NT, pg. 6) Sermon: THE BRIGHT BLESSED DAY, THE DARK SACRED NIGHT The Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager *Hymn: #27 Now Thank We All Our God Benediction Postlude *Congregation Standing
We thank you for worshipping with us. Following the life and teachings of Jesus, we are a church that strives to be a place of grace, welcoming all regardless of theological expression, age, race, gender, sexual identity, national origin or financial means. In our Church Constitution we recognize that each member shall have the undisturbed right to follow the word of God according to the dictates of his or her own conscience, under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, established in 1665, cherishes this proud Pilgrim tradition. We are honored by your presence among us, and we invite you to help us become what we endeavor to be. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The flowers this morning are given by Bob and Sally McCracken in loving memory of their parents Henry & Eleanor McCracken and Charles & Carolyn Wood. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The deacon on duty is Peter Barndt. The hosts for fellowship hour this morning are Barbara and Alan MacGregor. Our Light Keeper this morning is Julia Clark. Childcare is available every Sunday morning in the nursery downstairs at the 9 AM service. If you need help finding it, please ask the ushers to assist you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you are visiting us for worship this morning, we welcome you, and invite you to join us in Fellowship Hall for fellowship and refreshments. We invite you to pick up a Welcome packet, which can be found in the vestibule. We hope this information will be helpful in acquainting you with our church and its activities and programs. Quiet Activity Bags for young children are in the vestibule. They are colorful bags with quiet projects for our youngest members. Please feel free to offer these bags to your children. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Rev. David W. Good serves as our Minister Emeritus. The Rev. Rebecca T. Crosby is our Minister for Haitian Outreach. Christmas Open House Potluck in Fellowship Hall Friday December 14th 5:00-7:30 PM Bring your favorite dish and sing your favorite carols with the beautiful voices of our choir, visit with friends and celebrate the beauty of the holiday season. As a special treat for parents and caretakers, you are welcome to bring your children to Sheffield Auditorium for an evening of supervised fun while you relax with the big kids in Fellowship Hall! No need to RSVP, but please do stop by!
ELEPHANTS IN WINTER on December 1-2 The current chill in the air (at last!) reminds us all that the semi-annual Stampede of the Elephants is about to come to Old Lyme! The hugely popular pre-christmas Elephants-in-Winter sale takes place in the Fellowship Hall of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Street, on Saturday, December 1st, from 9 am to 2 pm; and again on Sunday, December 2nd from 9 am to 4 pm. There will be no half-price sale this year (except on elephants). The Elephants In Winter Sale features assorted Christmas decorations and gifts, handmade craft items, and special treasures from many of FCCOL s mission partnerships: from the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, from Haiti, and from Palestine. Adult Forums Today's Adult Forum speaker is Joseph & Martine Kazadi, Old Lyme Refugee Family from Congo. December 2: Dr. Kate Ott, Christian Ethics in the Digital Age. Book Group The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness Preparing to Practice by Rabbi Rami Shapiro. This inspiring book explores Judaism s 13 attributes of Lovingkindness as a framework for cultivating a more complete spiritual life. Practices are drawn from a variety of faith traditions to help us recognize the divinity within ourselves and others. We meet on Wednesday, November 28th at 10:00 am in the library. All welcome! Led by Martha Beaudoin and Laura. Contemplative Prayer Circle It doesn t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don t try to make them elaborate, this isn t a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak. --Mary Oliver. Join us on Wednesday night, November 28th from 6:30-7:00 pm in the Hoag Parlor for a time of deep listening for the Spirit moving within and among us. We ll explore different prayer practices over the weeks including lectio divina, centering prayer, music and meditation. Mothers of a New Creation Journey to Israel/Palestine March 12-23, 2019 This journey will have a special focus on the role of women, past and present, in their struggle to give birth to a New Creation. The Land of Canaan, sometimes called the "Holy Land" or the "Land of Promise", is a place replete with the sacred stories of women who by their love, courage, resilience and determination endeavor to make their communities a place where all God's children could learn to live together in peace. For more information contact Ann Perry at aperry@tolef.org or (804) 824-6778.
Never doubt that small groups of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead We share our lives and our blessings with each other. During our 2019 Stewardship Campaign, please faithfully consider how your investment can strengthen our ability to share all our blessings within our community and around our world. Children s Choir Join us on Wednesdays, 5:00 to 5:45 pm, in the Sheffield Auditorium. We welcome all children to this lively group of musicians. Bible Study Becky Crosby will continue the study on Paul from last year and strive to answer the question, "What happened to Christianity after Paul's death? To guide our study, we will read the book by Bart Ehrman, "The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World." All are welcome (no need to have studied Paul with us last year). We will meet every Thursday, November 29 - December 20, and January 3 & 10 in the Library. Bring a Bible if you have one. If not, we have one for you! Ladies Who Stitch Don t miss our sales events! We want to be your gift supplier! Our creations are available at the Elephants in Winter sale days December 1 st & 2 nd and at the Essex Meadows Holiday Bazaar December 6 th. We reconvene on December Mondays, We continue to collect reusable shopping bags for the Shoreline Food Pantry. Questions: email Eunice at eunicetaylor@me.com. Caregiver s Group: meets Friday, November 30th at 10:00 am in the Hoag Parlor. A Special Caregiver Group will meet on Friday, December 21st: A Room of One's Own: Caregiving through the Holidays. Led by Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager. Puccini and Saint-Saens featured at Cappella Cantorum Concert Bring in the spirit of the holiday season by attending Cappella Cantorum s Christmas Concert Sunday, December 2, 3:00 p.m. at John Winthrop Middle School, One Winthrop Road, Deep River. Cappella s Masterworks Chorus will perform Puccini s Messa Di Gloria and Saint-Saens Christmas Oratorio, two glorious works from the late 1800s. Featured soloists will be soprano Abigail Paschke, tenor Brian Cheney and baritone Paul Fletcher. Simon Holt will direct the chorus and professional orchestra. Tickets are $30 purchased in advance, $35 at the door. Puccini is best known for his later works, the operas Tosca, La Boheme, Madama Butterfly and Turandot. His Messa Di Gloria was composed earlier but is no less masterful. Saint- Saens is perhaps best known for his opera Samsun et Dalila and The Swan from his Carnival of Animals. For more information or tickets visit www.cappellacantorum.org or call 860-526-1038.
New Members It is our custom to receive new members twice a year. If you have been attending, or visiting, and would like to talk about membership, Steve, Laura or Carleen would love the opportunity to sit down over a cup of coffee and chat! Please call any one of us and let s set up a time and place. We will receive new members on December 2nd. The new members orientation meeting will be Wednesday, November 28th, at 7:00 pm in the Hoag Parlor. There will be a New Members luncheon on December 2nd at 12:00 pm in the Sheffield Auditorium. Child care available. Sunday Memorial Flowers December 30th is open for Sunday Memorial Flowers. Please contact Gisele Perry at 860-382-3115 for more information. This Morning In God s Neighborhood What a Wonderful World! A Time for Children - God s Neighborhood, Today in God s Neighborhood we will be reviewing Psalms and making cornbread for New London Community Meal Center. Today, November 25 - We welcome parents who have children in the nursery to attend a coffee reception in the Hoag Parlor at 10:00 a.m. for a time of fellowship. Hosted by Board of Youth Education. Tonight, the SPF will be serving food at the New London Community Meal Center. Senior Pilgrim Fellowship made 12 pumpkin pies on November 10, the Sunday School will be making cornbread this morning and we had lots of great help in making chili! Thank you to all! December 2, 5:00 to 7:00 pm - Sunday Night Soup meeting for Pilgrim Fellowship. This month we will be inviting some friends from other faith traditions to share each of our Celebrations of Light. Many cultures have a celebration of light at this time of year. Let s appreciate and learn about the meanings of these celebrations as we join together! Both JPF and SPF (middle and high school) are invited to join in the discussion and sharing. RSVP to me by 11-29-18 so I make enough soup! Gifts Made with Love Children in our Sunday School program will stay after the 9:OO service on Sunday, December 9, to create holiday gifts for the special people in their lives. A pizza lunch and healthy snacks will be provided. Parents may pick up their children at 2:00 p.m. There are registration forms outside the office and on the God s Neighborhood bulletin board. Please RSVP by December 2. Laptop Computer Needed We have a family without financial means who need a laptop computer to be able to connect to the internet. It should hopefully be a recent model with Windows 7 or above. If you know of one that could be donated, please contact Diane Hart at antqcar391@comcast.net or 860-681-2991.
Lina Tuck - Testimonial It is difficult to choose one thing that makes me love this church so much. As a community member, my family has attended FCCOL since 2002 and became members in 2006. Over these years, I have served on the Board of Arts and Music, Search Committee for the Senior Minister Position when David Good retired, Board of Deacons and more recently Chair of the Immigrant Assistance Committee. The key to all of these opportunities that I ve had are the interactions with fellow church members, getting to know new friends, sharing in common interests and finding out about our unique differences. The friendships that I have made are what keep me coming back to FCCOL. The soulful ministry that Steve, Carleen and Laura provide is the crowning centerpiece. Each has been a friend, a comforter and a guide. I look forward to the thoughtful words that each provide during Sunday services and know that they are more than those words. They are real, they are funny, but most of all they are kind. I am honored to part of this community of hope, grace and love. Calendar of Events and Meetings for This Week Sunday School TODAY at 9:00 am. Nursery Parents Meeting TODAY at 10:00 am in the Hoag Parlor. SPF Meal Center Today at 3:30 pm in New London. LBS Board Meeting Tuesday, November 27th at 10:00 am in the Library. Board of Deacons Tuesday, November 27th at 7:00 pm in the Library. Book Group Wednesday, November 28th at 10:00 am in the Library. Poetry Group Wednesday, November 28th at 4:00 pm in the Hoag Parlor. Children s Choir Wednesday, November 28th at 5:00 pm in the Sheffield Auditorium. Prayer Circle Wednesday, November 28th at 6:30 pm in the Hoag Parlor. New Members Orientation Meeting Wednesday, November 28th at 7:00 pm in Hoag Parlor. Senior Choir W ednesday, November 28th at 7:30 pm in the Sheffield Auditorium. Bible Study Thursday, November 29th at 10:45 am in the Library. Board of Missions Thursday, November 29th at 7:00 pm in the Hoag Parlor. Care Group Friday, November 30th at 10:00 am in the Hoag Parlor. Elephants in Winter Sale Saturday, December 1st and December 2nd at 9:00 am in Fellowship Hall. New Member Luncheon Sunday, December 2nd at 12:00 pm in the Sheffield Auditorium. SPF Dinner Sunday, December 2nd at 5:00 pm in Fellowship Hall.