Falmouth Congregational Church United Church of Christ An Open and Affirming Congregation 267 Falmouth Road Falmouth, Maine 04105 207.781.3413 Serving Christ and Community since 1754 Third Parish Church; 1833 The Brick Church The Reverend Michael H. Richards Pastor and Teacher
10:00 AM FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT MARCH 18, 2018 THE COMMUNITY GATHERS THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Knowing what time it is involves knowing whose time it is. LIFE OF THE CHURCH HONORING OUR CALL TO BE PEACEMAKERS *Passing the Peace of Christ One: May the peace of Christ be with you. All: And also with you. (As a sign of our reconciliation with God and one another, we invite you to turn and greet those around you sharing the peace of Christ saying: The Peace of Christ be with you. And also with you. ) PRELUDE Thy Rebuke Hath Broken His Heart and Behold, and See if There Be Any Sorrow from Messiah Bob Stakel, vocal G.F. Handel BRINGING FORTH THE LIGHT OF CHRIST CALL TO WORSHIP All: In times of weakness, in moments of temptation, the covenant holds. All: When the journey is rough, when friends let us down, the covenant holds. All: In our struggle to be a faithful community, in the uncertainty of faithful endeavors, the covenant holds. All: In our work for justice, in our response of worship, the covenant is proved. You will be our God, and we will be Your people.! *HYMN OF PRAISE Morning Has Broken No. 53 Virginia Eddy, guitar *OUR LORD S PRAYER (sung in unison) No. 307 MISSION MOMENT Dolores Vail and Jess Collins PRAYER OF INVOCATION One: You welcome us, O God, as travelers along the highway of faith. All: We have set out in hope and we believe You are with us on the way. One: The end of this Lenten season brings home the challenge of the journey. All: But You, O God, have given us the person of Jesus Christ, to trust and to follow. One: Jesus says The hour is come, the cross stands menacingly at the end of the road.
All: We will not look back; we will confront the self-serving powers of darkness. One: Love Crucified reveals a wonderful new prospect. All: Death is not the end; the Way goes on beyond the cross; Love is eternal. Amen. CALL TO CONFESSION PRAYER OF CONFESSION One: Tell us, Jesus, why were you crucified? All: I was crucified for speaking out against political leaders. I was crucified for standing with the poor. I was crucified for treating children and women as equals. One: You would be crucified today, Jesus! One: Tell us, Jesus, for whom did you care especially? All: I cared for the mentally sick and the physically challenged. I cared for those who had socially shunned diseases. I cared for widows. I cared for those who had lost loved ones. One: Your care is still needed! One: Tell us, Jesus, what did your followers find difficult? All: They found it difficult to understand my close relationship with God. They found it difficult to come to terms with my death. They found it difficult to believe that life and hope can arise from dead ends. One: Jesus, nothing has changed! One: Tell us, Jesus, do you have some words for your church? All: The people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing. One: We will try to be faithful! ASSURANCE OF GOD S LOVE AND FORGIVENESS Laurie Davis One: The past is left in the past. The crowds are cheering. The time of repentance and new life is here! All: We are ready to make amends. We are ready for a fresh start. We are ready to look at our lives and our church life, in the light of Christ. One: The past is left in the past. The palm branches are waved. The time of confidence, the time for change, has arrived! All: Nothing can stop us now! Not opposition, not crucifixion. We will live by the Word of God. Christ is our Risen Promise! One: In Christ you have nothing to fear. Peace is yours! All: Praise to Christ s name! Amen. WE HEAR GOD S WORD
THE WORD OF GOD Old Testament Lesson Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV p. 694; RSV p. 696 ) One: This is the Word of the Lord All: Thanks be to God Gospel Lesson John 12:20-33 (NRSV p. 93; RSV p. 101 ) One: This is the Word of the Lord All: Thanks be to God SERMON Create a Connection out of a Division Laurie Davis *HYMN Let There Be Peace on Earth No. 677 Virginia Eddy, guitar WE RESPOND TO THE WORD SHARING OUR JOYS AND CONCERNS PASTORAL PRAYER Mark Horton Mark Horton PRAYER RESPONSE Amen Danish OFFERING OUR GIFTS TO GOD Jack Davis The Invitation The Offertory How Beautiful Twila Paris *Doxology No. 47 Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. *Prayer of Dedication One: The coming sacrifice of Christ calls us to wonder about the effectiveness of our gifts. All: Will our worship speak to the needs of the coming generation? Will reconciliation arise out of conflict? Will we move from self-interest to concern for others? Will we see the faith community as a priority for ourselves and for our neighborhood? Will we move out to address the needs of a troubled world? One: Time will tell, but we are committed to keeping the cross before us a symbol and a measure of what we can achieve in Christ. All: Amen. *CLOSING HYMN Creator God, Creating Still No. 62, vs. 1,3,4 *COMMISSIONING One: Go from the church joyfully! All: We stand with the crowd and feel the excitement of Jesus coming into the city. One: Go from the church in solidarity with your friends! All: We mingle with the disciples and sense the significance of the occasion, the foretaste of a testing time ahead. One: Go from the church determined! All: We look towards the cross-hill and know that God s love is more than a match for all that lies ahead. *COMMISSIONING RESPONSE Carrying the Light of Christ into the World
*HYMN Go in Peace No. 445 Go in peace and the peace of God be with you this day. Go in peace and the peace of God be with you always. Celebrate and share the joy! Celebrate new Life! Go in peace and the peace of God be with you always. POSTLUDE When I Survey the Wondrous Cross arr. Albin Whitworth (During the postlude, you may be seated to listen, or you may leave.) (*) Please rise in body or spirit. Throughout the order of worship, if print is in bold, words may be spoken together in unison. NRSV Bibles are on the pulpit side of the sanctuary and the RSV Bibles are on the lectern side of the sanctuary. Please silence or turn off your cell phone before you enter the sanctuary. Thank you! Worship Participants Greeters: Paul Davis, Sarah Davis Liturgist: Jack Davis Ushers: Paul Davis, Judy Currier, Peggy Horton, Mark Horton Special thanks to Laurie Davis, Jack Davis and Mark Horton for leading worship today while Pastor Michael is away on vacation. Special thanks to Bob Stakel and Virginia Eddy for sharing their musical gifts with us today. We welcome you to worship and invite you to join us after the service in Fellowship Hall for refreshments. If you are visiting us today, please pick up a Welcome Bag in Fellowship Hall or in the Narthex. We encourage you to sign the guest book. Children will be dismissed for Kids Church following the Mission Moment. Visiting children are always welcome! Kids Church takes place in the downstairs classrooms, and runs until 11:15 AM. Children in preschool through grade 2 will not be dismissed after class until picked up by a parent. We need your help with the annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 31. There is a signup sheet in Fellowship Hall for you to volunteer. For more information, please contact Kristen Coleman, kristen.coleman@maine.edu. Say cheese! We are currently requesting all friends and members of the church sign up to have your pictures taken for our new in-house pictorial directory. Jack Davis will be available following worship today and on Wednesday, March 21 to take your picture. A sign-up sheet is available in Fellowship Hall. This endeavor will only be as successful as your participation so please sign up right away! One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS): This important offering from our church is one of the 5 for 5 missions of the National United Church of Christ. OGHS supports international programs of health, education, agricultural development, relief, and refugee assistance in more than 80 countries. We will dedicate your offerings to OGHS today. Tutti a Tavola! Please join us for an Italian Dinner next Saturday, March 24, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. There will be salads, lasagna, Italian dishes, and desserts, as well as live violin music. A portion of the proceeds will go to supporting the Family Promise program. If you would like to volunteer that evening, please sign up on the lists in Fellowship Hall. Hope to see you there. Ciao!
PLEASE REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS Robbie Coleman Charlie Grubb Maureen Grubb Bee O Brien Maytha Southard Laurie & Roger Marin Kerry Golding Ted Vail Barry Hamilton Please let the church office know if we have missed someone. We will keep people on the prayer list for one month. If you would like them to continue on the prayer list, please update us so that we may better pray for them. Thank you. Pastor Michael is currently on vacation through March 20. Should you have a pastoral emergency during that time, please contact the church office or leave Gini a personal voice mail message at 781-3413 and your need will be addressed. Thank you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Falmouth Food Pantry will be open on the following days in March: Monday, March 19 from 9 AM until 11 AM; Tuesdays, March 20 and 27 from 9:30 AM until 11:30 AM; and Thursday, March 22 from 4:30 PM until 6:30 PM. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Maine Conference is looking for people from the Portland area who would be willing to provide housing and a modest breakfast for a guest/guests attending the BTS Center Convocation event April 20-22 (an event for which our Maine Conference is a co-sponsor, along with the BTS Center). We want to provide an option for people from our Conference churches who want to attend Convocation, but for whom the cost of a hotel room would be prohibitively expensive. Guests would need housing the nights of April 20 (Friday) and 21 (Saturday). Please let the Conference know if you are able to serve as a host home by March 14, either by email: conference@maineucc.org or telephone: 1-800-244-0937. Next Sunday s Lectionary Palms: Mark 11:1-11; John 12:12-16; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Passion: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1-15
Church Office Hours Monday-Thursday: 9:00 AM 3:00 PM, Closed on Friday Church Phone: 207.781.3413 Visit our Web site: www.falmouthcongregationalchurch.org Church Office e-mail: fccdesk@maine.rr.com Sunday 10:00 AM Worship This Week s Schedule March 18 ~ One Great Hour of Sharing Dedication 10:10 AM Kids Church 11:15 AM Coffee Fellowship 11:15A 12:30P Pictures for Pictorial Directory (Fellowship Hall) 11:30 AM Lenten Bible Study Tuesday March 20 10:00 AM Bible Study (OceanView) Wednesday March 21 2:00 PM Called to Care (Grant Room) 6:00 PM Ministry of Facilities (Grant Room) 7:00P 8:00P Pictures for Pictorial Directory (Fellowship Hall) 7:30 PM Chancel Choir Rehearsal Saturday March 24 11 AM 1 PM Easter Egg Hunt Sunday March 25 ~ Palm Sunday 9:00 AM Choir Practice 10:00 AM Worship 10:10 AM Kids Church 11:15 AM Coffee Fellowship 11:30 AM Lenten Bible Study 11:30 AM Ministry of Christian Education Easter Candy Orders Ready for Pick Up Please join us for worship at the following Easter services: Maundy Thursday March 29 at 6:30 PM (Starting with a simple meal) Easter Sunday April 1 6:00 AM (at Town Landing) 10:00 AM Trouble seeing the small print in the bulletin? Please ask an usher for a LARGE print bulletin and hymns. Falmouth Congregational Church UCC is a fragrance-free environment. Please help us to accommodate our members and visitors who are chemically sensitive to fragrances and other scented products. Thank you for not wearing perfume, aftershave, scented hand lotion, fragranced hair products and/or similar products.