ROCKY HILL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Established 1727 September 8, 2013-10:00 a.m. Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Friendly Church at the Center An Open and Affirming Community
~ O R D E R O F W O R S H I P ~ We welcome all and extend a special greeting to our guests; our service is enriched by your presence! Please join us in for fellowship time after worship. The Welcome Table in offers information about the church and members who can answer your questions. Hearing devices and large-print bulletins are available for worship ask an usher. Nursery care is always available downstairs in Room 4. * P l e a s e r i s e i n b o d y o r i n s p i r i t. * B o l d t y p e d e n o t e s c o l l e c t i v e r e s p o n s e. WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS The Rev. Brenda Pelc-Faszcza Please include your full address and phone number as you sign our friendship registration pads, and please wear your nametags. All announcements should be written down and given to the ushers or pastors prior to worship. If you have a prayer request you would like read aloud for today s prayers, please fill out one of the prayer cards found in the pew racks (your name is optional) and be prepared to pass it to the center aisle at the time of the offering, when the cards will be collected. PRELUDE "Praeludium" by Gordon Young CALL TO WORSHIP From our everyday places we come, to this place The Spirit of God is upon us! From our everyday moments we come, to this moment The Spirit of God is upon us! To be called into the worship of God, we come. The Spirit of God is upon us! To give praise to the One who makes everything, we come The Spirit of God is upon us all! Meghan D. Young *HYMN I Sing the Mighty Power of God New Century 12 *GATHERING PRAYER AND THE LORD S PRAYER Maker of all things, Giver of all gifts, we gather as your people once more to open our inner hearts and our common heart to your truth.
Awaken us, that we might see and hear and understand. For surely your Spirit is upon us! Surely your Spirit is alive in us! Walk with us in this day, that we will not forget who we are, or what our lives are for. This we ask in Christ s name, as we also say together: 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. *RESPONSE: The Gloria Patri MESSAGE FOR ALL AGES ANTHEM "Praise Rondo" by Jan Antholz The Choir Praises to God, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit; Worshiping, serving loving, come let us sing. Shout with the joy of our salvation, forever singing; We are his congregation, praises we bring. Praise his name, all people of the earth; Praise to him who reigns above all. Lord, your name is everlasting; We, your servants, hear your call. Praise him for his creation, his wondrous revelations; From ev'ry land and nation, worship we give. Great is the Lord our God, and mighty in pow'r and wisdom. Lord, who made earth and heaven, help us to live.
Put not your trust in rulers of earth, for they surely will perish. God, who made heaven and earth and sea, will keep his promise to me. He sets the prisoners free, and he touches those who are oppressed. This is the God who lives on high, In his strong arms we rest. READING FROM THE SCRIPTURES Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Luke 4:18-21 SERMON "A Liberating Faith" The Rev. Edwin Ayala *HYMN Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness" New Century 286 OFFERING OF GIFTS Following the receiving of offerings by the ushers, the pastor(s) will come to the center aisle to receive prayer request cards. Invitation to the Offering For those who have already given their offering, Giving Cards are available in your pew so that all may participate in the act of the offering. Offertory Anthem "Create in Me a clean Heart" Send forth thy light and thy love, O Lord. Fill my heart with they Holy Spirit. Lead me, lead me into thy presence And teach me to love thy ways, O Jesus. Restore unto me thy joy of thy salvation, And uphold me with thy free Spirit. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence And take not thy Holy Spirit from me. by Freylinghausen/Christiansen *Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God for all that love has done; Cr e ator, Christ, and Spirit, One
*Prayer of Dedication PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Joys & Concerns Pastoral and Silent Prayer Prayer Response *HYMN Christian, Rise and Act Your Creed New Century 537 *BENEDICTION *POSTLUDE "Bachiana" by Gordon Young GREETERS HOSPITALITY USHERS Daniel Guijarlapudi and Sujalhahe Pullagura Jeannie Alessi and Jean Goff Al & Joan Diaz; Randy, Liz, Kaedryn, and Toryn Pulling; Diana Hellyar We welcome our guest preacher today, The Rev. Edwin Ayala, Executive Director of the Christian Activities Council in Hartford The flowers are given in memory of Marianne Lowry by Steph Heneghan. Re-Covenanting Sunday September 15 th, 2013 10:00 am Join us for Re-Covenanting Sunday as we remember the promises we make to God and each other to act in love and discipleship as a community of faith. As we begin a year of reflection, transformation, and growth, come September 15 th and be part of the spirit filled worship, special music, S.P.I.R.I.T. programming for our children and youth, and an ALL church block-party picnic following worship.
S.P.I.R.I.T. Corner Children are invited to remain in worship today, following along with the children and youth bulletins. The 2013-2014 S.P.I.R.I.T. Church School will begin on September 15 th. GROW YOUR FAITH & GET INVOLVED WITH S.P.I.R.I.T. The RHCC S.P.I.R.I.T. Church School is a place that values intergenerational relationships, growing in faith, and learning throughout our lives to be the disciples Christ calls us to be. You are invited to come join the circle and get involved. We are currently in need of a Shepherds and Learning Center Guides. Shepherds stay with a particular age group and help the class and learning center guide, connect the bible story from week to week over the course of a 4 week unit. Learning Center guides prepare engaging activities to teach the bible story through community service, drama, games, crafts, and food. Training and lesson plans are always provided. If you are interested in shepherding, being a learning center guide, or sharing a gift or talent at a one-time class, please contact Meghan Young at meghan@rhccucc.org. NURSERY VOLUNTEERS: Nursery Volunteers are needed for the fall. If you are interested in volunteering in the Nursery during Sunday morning worship, please contact a member of the Childcare Committee or email them at RHCCchildcare@gmail.com for more information. You can also sign-up outside the Nursery. SCRIP-SURE What is it? Scrip-sure is a fundraising program for our church, which allows the regular shopping we do at a variety of retailers to generate income for the church. How? Participating retailers sell gift certificates or gift cards to our church at a discount. Church members buy the certificates for full face value and redeem them for full face value, and our church keeps the difference as revenue. Everybody wins! The retailers get our business, and our church gets a regular source of revenue that involves nothing other than what we would all be doing anyway shopping/spending at grocery stores, drugstores, restaurants, gas stations, and many other businesses, including online retailers. For the first four months of the fiscal year, RHCC has earned more than $5,000 through the Scrip- Sure program. Thanks to all who continue to support this important fundraiser. We will be sending in a special scrip order this week, with cards available for pickup next Sunday. If you were unable to place an order at the end of August, or if you just need to stock up, please place your order at the scrip table in this morning, or email your order to Dave Hall (treasurer@rhccucc.org) by midnight tonight (Sunday). We also have a variety of cards in inventory available for immediate purchase this morning, including (but not limited to) Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chico's, Home Depot, Kohl's, On the Border, Panera, Sunoco, and Target. In addition, we always carry cards for Big Y, CVS, Stop & Shop, Trader Joe's, West Side Marketplace, and Whole Foods. See Gail Hall at the scrip table for a full listing of available cards, or to have all of your questions answered.
ALL-CHURCH CONVERSATIONS: PREPARATION FOR PASTORAL SEARCH 11:30 12:15 Sept. 22, Oct. 6, Oct. 13, Nov. 6 Important conversation for all members of the church ~ to reflect together on where the church is at this moment in time ~ to articulate visions, hopes, concerns, and our sense of what comes next ~ to discern what we need in new pastoral leadership going forward These conversations, to be led by our Interim Pastor, are the groundwork for the upcoming pastoral search. They are one way for us to make good use of this interim period. Please plan to be part of them. Weekly Bible Study: Wednesdays, 12 noon 1 p.m. (Fiorilli Room) Begins Sept. 11 Led by the preaching pastor for the week, the study is based on the Scripture text(s) coming up for the following Sunday in worship. All are welcome. No experience necessary. Bring your favorite translation or pick one up from the shelf. Brown bag lunch is optional. Fall Book Study: Two Thursday evenings, Nov. 14 and 21, 7 p.m. Led by Rev. Brenda Pelc-Faszcza Falling Upward: Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, by Richard Rohr In this small and readable book, Franciscan and well-known spiritual author/teacher Richard Rohr explores the sequence of spiritual tasks through life and how they shift. It is not a book on aging. It is about spiritual journey, as it unfolds in human life. Rohr writes: There are at least two major tasks to human life. The first is to build a strong container or identity; the second is to find the contents that the container was meant to hold It is when we begin to pay attention and seek integrity precisely in the the task within the task (what we re really doing when we re doing what we re doing) that we begin to move from the first half to the second half of our own lives.it is hard work. Most often we don t pay attention to that inner task until we ve had some kind of fall or failure in our outer tasks. Please use the sign-up and book order request in. Books will be $12 each. Sign-up deadline is Sun., Sept. 29.
RHCC GOLF TOURNAMENT SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 ND This year s fall RHCC golf tournament is scheduled for Sunday, September 22, 2013 at the Wethersfield Country Club. We are planning for (6) foursomes and the first tee time will be at 12:30. Cost for (18) holes of golf and an electric cart is $50. We will also collect $5 from each player to defray the cost of awards for the winning team and anchor team. A four-player best-ball scramble format will be used to speed play. A sign-up sheet will be available in in September, or you can contact Bill Hoffman (860-563-1367) to reserve your spot. Don t miss out on this fun event! Calling all Bowlers The new bowling season will start on 10/7 and we are looking for anyone interested to join us. The bowling league meets on Monday nights at 7:00 at Bowl-o-Rama in Newington. Interested persons should add their name to the sign-up sheet in Chapin Hall or contact Michele Jokl at mjokl@joklfamily.com. No experience necessary. Save the Date!! HOMECOMING/HERITAGE SUNDAY / SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2013 Come join us for a Special Sunday! 10:00 a.m. Service Honoring 50+ Year Members andfood, Fun, & Fellowship in. More information to follow. For transportation call the church office at 860-529-4167
This Week at RHCC S e p t e m b e r 9 9:00am Yoga with Lynn 10:30am Apple Rehab Service 5:30pm Yoga with Lynn 7:00pm RHCCNS 7:00pm Women s AA 7:30pm Bell Choir M o n d a y Fiorilli Room Loft S e p t e m b e r 1 0 8:30am Breakfast Club 7:00pm Council T u e s d a y Bob s Coffee Shop Fiorilli Room S e p t e m b e r 1 1 W e d n e s d a y 9:00am Quilters Room 6 12:00pm Bible Study Fiorilli Room 6:00pm Kaplan Room 24 7:30pm Adult Choir Choir Room S e p t e m b e r 1 2 T h u r s d a y 5:30 pm Tops 8:00pm Men s AA A u g u s t 3 1 8:30am Yoga with Lynn 6:00pm Dinner/movie S a t u r d a y Sept 8 Nancy Hall Scott Janes Mollie Engel 9 Eleanor Maynard Thomas Schreier Mckayla Stewart Joey Aseltine 10 Eleanor Mahar Lisa Corvo Stephen Cardello 11 Amy Wiknik Katherine Flynn 12 James Rolfe 13 Ryan Moore 14 Peyton Laporte O f f i c e H o u r s Monday Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Friday 8:30 to 12:00
Rocky Hill Congregational Church, United Church of Christ 805 Old Main Street Rocky Hill, CT 06067 Church Office: office@rhccucc.org / 860 529-4167 Church Website: rhccucc.org Visit us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/rhccucc Open and Affirming Statement Because we believe that all people are created in God s image and thus are blessed and loved equally by God, and because love is a unifying and strengthening force within our Christian Faith, We, the members of the Rocky Hill Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, hereby declare ourselves an Open and Affirming Christian community, actively expressing Jesus inclusive embrace of all people. We welcome all who seek to follow Jesus, including persons of every age, gender, race, national origin, faith background, marital status and family structure, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, mental and physical ability, economic and social status, and educational background, to share in the life, leadership, ministry, fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities, blessings and joys of our church family. Jesus teaches us to welcome all God s children into God s covenantal community. As we grow together in faith and love, we will strive to celebrate the diversity in which God has created us. Approved by congregational vote June 2009 Ministry Team Ministers: All the members of the church Interim Senior Pastor: The Rev. Dr. Brenda Pelc-Faszcza brenda@rhccucc.org Acting Associate Pastor for Faith Formation: Meghan D. Young meghan@rhccucc.org Minister of Music: Mary DeLibero mary@rhccucc.org Webmaster: Dave Hall webmaster@rhccucc.org