The Congregational Church of Westborough UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST West Main & Church Streets, Westborough, Massachusetts No matter who you are or where you are on life s journey, you are welcome here! WE WELCOME VISITORS AND NEWCOMERS! We are an Open and Affirming Church Available are nursery care, large print bulletins, and an elevator. Pastor Paul Sangree, Senior Pastor Rev. Elaine S. Gaetani, Pastor of Spiritual Development
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF WESTBOROUGH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Feb 5, 2017 1 10:00 AM Today we share in the Sacrament of Communion. The invitation to the table is from Christ and is not restricted by us. Therefore, our table is open to all who love the Lord Jesus Christ. *The congregation is invited to stand. SERVICE OF PREPARATION PRELUDE Elegy by Kevin Norris WELCOME *CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: Today we come, giving thanks for the gift of life, People: And for the Giver of life! Leader: Spirit invites us to live from a place of gratitude and service, People: Remembering that we are one with all people. Leader: All of us are members of the body of Christ. People: When we harm another, we harm ourselves also. All: When we serve another, we serve ourselves also, and build up the body of Christ. *OPENING SONG This Little Light of Mine African American Spiritual Led by JoySpring This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. (x3) Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine! In my daily life... All around the world... Everywhere I go... COMMISSIONING OF HAITI HEARTLINE MISSIONARIES (children can go to Sunday School after the commissioning) *CALL TO CONFESSION Let us go within a moment of silence, to examine our hearts, and to offer them to our allembracing God. *PRAYER OF CONFESSION (Unison) Spirit of Light and Love, we confess that we are too often addicted to the drug of busyness. We take on too much, overwhelming our spirits and overburdening our schedules, leaving little time for family, faith, and service. May we touch the still, small voice inside that tells
us to slow down. May we have the courage to say No because we have already said Yes to God s call to serve. Grant us courage to serve ALL your people, clarity of mission and purpose, and wisdom to know when to rest. Forgive us for neglecting those persons and relationships which are so important, and give us insight to live a balanced life. *WORDS OF ASSURANCE Friends, hear the good news: There is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do to make God love us less. We are a forgiven people! *THE LORD'S PRAYER (Unison) 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. SERVICE OF WORD AND SACRAMENT CHOIR ANTHEM Communion Prayer by Allen Pote PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Pastor Paul Sangree OFFERING OF OUR GIFTS Invitation: Let us bring our gifts before God! (In each of our pews today is a black friendship book which we encourage you to fill out and pass to the person next to you during the offering. If you have been with us before, just put down your name, but if you are new today, please let us know who you are. If you can, please leave the sheet on the top of the book at the end of the pew. Thanks!) Offertory Anthem Open the Eyes of My Heart Paul Baloche JoySpring *Doxology (Unison) Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God above, ye heavenly hosts: Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost. Amen. *PRAYER OF DEDICATION Thank you, Spirit of Life, for inspiring and encouraging Your people towards good works. May these gifts be used in Your service, and may we listen to You in the stillness of our hearts, always prodding us to be bold in peaceful witness for Your unconditional, agape love. SERMON SCRIPTURE Mark 10:35-45 (Pew Bible page 823) SERMON It s Not What You Do Rev. Matt Carriker 2
SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER We are pleased to announce that the Communion in our church will be served with gluten free bread. *INVITATION TO COMMUNION *AFFIRMATION OF FAITH INVOCATION WORDS OF INSTIUTION SHARING OF THE BREAD AND CUP PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING (Unison) God, thank you for the gift of Yourself. This is the greatest gift of all. It is the gift that You pour out to us every day. May we open our hearts, minds, and entire beings to You. May we empty ourselves to let Your love, peace, and joy fill our hearts. By Your grace, we are one. Thank you for the gift of our Oneness with You and all of creation that we touch through this sacrament. We love You. Amen. *CLOSING HYMN #494 They ll Know We Are Christians ST. BRENDAN S *BENEDICTION *SUNG BENEDICTION Go Ye Now in Peace Joyce Elaine Eilers Go ye now in peace, and know that the love of God will guide you. Feel his presence here beside you showing you the way. In your time of trouble, when hurt and despair are there to grieve you, know that the Lord will never leave you. He will bring you courage. Know that the God who sent his Son to die that you might live will never leave you lost and alone in His beloved world. Go ye now in peace. Go ye now in peace. *PASSING OF THE PEACE BLESSING: May the Peace of Christ be with you. RESPONSE: GO NOW IN PEACE. (We are all invited to pass the peace of Christ to each other now.) *POSTLUDE Air by George Blake We welcome Rev. Matt Carriker as our guest preacher. Matt and his wife Latoya, with significant help from our church began the Agape Spiritual Community in Waltham in 2015. Megan Huber greeted you and serves as liturgist. Audrey Lord and Joan Truesdell are Deacons of the day. Communion servers are Cathie Achorn, Nancy Cook, Roy Rogers, Beth Dapolite, James McClung and Pam Faustine. 3
OPEN DOORS GROWING FAITH! This is our vision statement. It speaks to our desire to open our doors to all of God s children, and to have all of the love and acceptance that is in this place flow out of our doors for the community and beyond. Our hope is also to grow faith in kids, youth and adults so that we can walk together in Jesus way, led by the Holy Spirit. Join us! Join us downstairs for the Souper Bowl Tailgate and Ice Cream Sundaes! PRAYERS & CELEBRATIONS FOR FEB 5, 2017 Continued Prayers: Serena Leiser; Carolyn Bent recovering from knee surgery; Dee Mumby (Cathie Achorn s mother); Dick Birch; Helena Engberg At Beaumont: Judy Ellis (recovering from surgery) Prayer requests: You can place prayer concerns on the church s email distribution list at eprayers@uccwestboro.org. If you would like a prayer request included in today s service, please let a Deacon know prior to the start of worship. Prayers will remain listed for 8 weeks. If you would like a prayer renewed, please call the church office. ANNOUNCEMENTS PARKING OPTIONS Please know that in addition to parking in our lot or on the street, you can park next door in the library parking spaces on Parkman St., or behind the Forbes building next to the library. We re glad you re here! SERMON AND BIBLE STUDY EVERY SUNDAY AT 9AM Please join us every Sunday morning at 9AM in the Chapel downstairs for a Bible Study focused on the sermon Scripture of the day! We always have a great conversation! ANNUAL FISCAL MEETING FEB. 12 Call: The 292nd Annual Fiscal Meeting of The Congregational Church of Westborough will be held Sunday, February 12, 2017 at or after 11:15 AM in the church vestry. The purpose of the meeting is as follows: 1. To hear and act upon the reports of the Church Clerk, Missions Committee, Stewardship Committee, Treasurer and Moderator. 2. To transact such other business as may regularly come before the meeting. David R. Smith, Church Clerk MEN S STUDY GROUP ALPHA All men are welcome to join our Men s Study Group! We meet every Monday night from 7:00 8:30 in our chapel. It is a casual group that continues to explore what it means to be a Christian man today. We ve decided to use the Alpha curriculum for the next two months. So, whether you ve participated in Alpha previously OR this would be your first time, we would love to have you join us for the whole program or just come to try it out. If you d like to learn more about this group just show up Monday or contact Rich.Lord@charter.net 508-878-5050. 4
MISSION OF THE MONTH Our Mission of the Month for February is Celebrating our church's support for Heartline Ministries in Haiti. We'll have info on the Mission table and we ll be looking forward to the group's sharing with the congregation after they return from the trip in March. Our Haiti missionaries are going Mar 1-10 th. Thank you, Marilyn/Mission Team WOMEN S FELLOWSHIP MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT, MON, FEB. 6 TH Pot Luck Supper - Monday, Feb 6 th Social Time: 6:00 Dinner : 6:30 Program: 7:30 A-M Bring a main Dish N-Z Bring a salad/veggies Program Committee bring a dessert Program: The Great Molasses Flood Doris Bonnell, our speaker, is a Westborough and New England historian. She is part American Indian, a genealogist and expert on the disastrous flood that took place in the North End of Boston in 1919. Mission: Valentine s boxes for students. Donations of either goodies (see sign up board) or money to cover postage. ************************************************************************************* Looking Ahead - be sure to put these on your calendar: March 6 th Origami Project Annie Wales will guide us through a project using recycled materials. 6:30 social time, 7:00 meeting April 3 rd The Life of Christ in Word and Song Directed by Nancy Gage, various singers and several people doing readings. Meeting at 6:45 LENTEN TRIADS This fall, I went to a spiritual growth conference, and I was interested to hear our speaker, who was very good, make the comment that the best way for people to grow in their faith is to be in groups of 3 or 4. I was intrigued by that, and starting doing some research and I discovered many other people who agreed with him. So I began talking to our staff and leaders about putting this into action during the upcoming season of Lent in March. This Wednesday, Feb. 8 th at 7 PM, we will have a meeting for those in our church who might be willing to lead a group of three or four during Lent for six weeks. Would you be willing to consider doing this? The purpose of these groups will be to build trust with one another, to learn from one another, and to encourage one another. The groups can meet anytime that the people agree to for a total of 60-90 minutes a week, using questions that we will be giving the leaders. We will then be encouraging everyone else in the church to sign up during February to be in a group during Lent, so that you will be able to grow in your faith during this special season. Look for more information about it! Pastor Paul YOUTH GROUP MISSION TRIP As most of you are aware, the Youth Group is in the midst of planning a mission trip to St. Vincent. Wendy has set up a couple ways to donate money for the trip. You can also visit, like and share our Facebook page: Youth Group Mission Trip to St Vincent @westborouccyouthgroup OR Donate@YouCaring.com search: Congo Westboro Mission Trip to St. Vincent. SCOUT SUNDAY FEB 12 TH Scout Sunday will take place on Sunday, February 12. We invite all Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and their leaders to participate by wearing their uniform to the service. Join thousands of Scouts as they celebrate 5
Scout Sunday. The Boy Scout Law says, A Scout is Reverent. Scouts of all ages promise to do their duty to God. Scouting values strengthen character through family, community, and faith. PRAYER TIME CARDS We are encouraging people to speak to a pastor upstairs before the service if you want a prayer lifted up on Sunday morning, or you can fill out a blue card (located at a table near the front entrance, outside the sanctuary and in the pews) and give it to a Deacon, Thanks! DISMAS HOUSE Our church goes on the first Thursday of the month to cook and serve a meal with the people of Dismas House, a home for ex-prisoners. If you would like to help, be in touch with Karen Hutchinson at millarhutch@aol.com. We will go again March 2 nd. Donations of Stop and Shop cards are greatly appreciated to help with the shopping for the meals! Thank you. GROCERY CARDS 2017 Goal: $ 8,000 2017 YTD Sales: $ 672.00 It s a New Year with a new Church budget. The Grocery Card Committee has made a commitment to the 2017 Operations Budget of our Church for $8,000.00. We will need more members buying grocery cards on a regular basis to meet that goal. With your participation, we can do that and more! Eat healthy and shop local with your grocery card. Happy Healthy New Year! Stop by our table after worship on Sundays for more information or contact one of us and we will deliver them to you. Karen Hutchinson at 508.870.1782 or millarhutch@aol.com or Nancy Quimby at 774.249.4431 or nquimby11@gmail.com or Sally Petersen at sbpetersen4@gmail.com and 366.5169 COFFEE HOUR Would you like to serve by helping out with the coffee hour after church downstairs? Please look for the sign-up downstairs on the coffee hour table. Email Suzanne Arpante at sbarpante@aol.com. Thanks! JOIN US FOR PLAYGROUP We meet in the nursery downstairs on Wednesday mornings from 9:30-11:00am. Questions call Sandy Horton 508-410-9000 Pastor Paul Sangree, Senior Pastor phsangree@gmail.com Rev. Elaine S. Gaetani, Pastor of Spiritual Development - revelaineg@aol.com Wendy Reardon, Director of Children s and Youth Ministries - wendysreardon@yahoo.com Clayton Heidbreder, Minister of Music/Organist claytonlh1@gmail.com Sue Menzel, Director of Bells westcongmusic@gmail.com Linda Hartley, Pastoral Associate lhartley@ants.edu Office hours: Mon & Fri 9-1, Tues,Wed,Thurs. 9-2,Church office phone 508/366-2000 General Church email westboroucc@verizon.net Church website www.uccwestboro.org www.facebook.com/thecongregationalchurchofwestborough 6
Feb 5 Communion Sunday Souper Bowl Tailgate 9:00 AM Bible Study/Chapel 10:00 AM Worship & Church School 11:30 AM Deacons/Kerygma Room 4:30 PM BSA TLC/Kerygma Room 5:30 PM GSA/Vestry Feb 6 Monday 6:00 PM Women s Fellowship Pot Luck/Vestry 7:00 PM Men s Group/Chapel 7:30 PM AA/Nursery 7:30 PM BSA Comm./Kerygma Room Feb 7 Tuesday 9:45 AM Whitney Place Service 10:30 AM Beaumont Service 11:15 AM Willow s Communion Feb 8 Wednesday 9:00 AM Weaver s Guild/Vestry, Kerygma Rm, classrooms 9:30 AM Playgroup/Nursery 3:30 PM Journey Home Singers/Choir Room 7:00 PM Triad Leaders Meeting 7:00 PM Choir rehearsal 7:30 PM JoySpring rehearsal Feb 9 Thursday 10:00 AM Staff Meeting/Kerygma Room 11:00 AM PCC/Fannie Forbes Room 6:30 PM BSA/Vestry Feb 10 Feb 11 8AM-Noon Friday (no events scheduled) Saturday BSA Pancake Breakfast Sales/Vestry Feb 12 Scout Sunday (Pastor Paul preaching) 9:00 AM Bible Study/Chapel 10:00 AM Worship & Church School followed by Souper Bowl Tailgate 11:15 AM Congregational Meeting 5:30 PM GSA/Vestry 7 Valentine s Boxes will be assembled in the Chapel Feb 7 th -11th