March 19, 2017 FIRST CHURCH, CONGREGATIONAL * 357-7518 Rev. Tom Cofer, Pastor * tom@firstchurchcongregational.org Website: www.firstchurchcongregational.org
First Church, Congregational Sanctuary * March 19, 2017 * 11 O clock Third Sunday in Lent *Sharing God s Love Prelude O Sacred Head J. Brahms Welcome and Announcements Introit: *Hymn No.618- Give to the Winds Your Fear DIADEMATA *Opening Prayer (Unison) God of grace and truth; we come to your house today to worship you. We bring all of ourselves to you, all of the good, the bad, and the ugly. We entrust our hidden, fearful, and fragile selves to your transforming power and gentile, loving care. Blessing, glory, and honor are yours alone. Thank you for the many ways your Spirit breaks into our lives and into this troubled world. We offer this prayer in the name of the One whose name is above every name, Jesus the Christ. Amen. *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, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. *Gloria Patri No.. 805 Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Choir Anthem God Is All You Need Mary McDonald Reading of the Psalm Psalm 95 One: O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Many: In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! One: Fro he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me and put me to the proof, though they
had seen my work. Many: For forty years I loathed that generation and said, They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways. Therefore in my anger I swore, They shall not enter my rest. *Hymn No.607- Immortal Love, Forever Full verses 1,.2 SERENITY Scripture Lesson Luke 9:10-17 Sermon Give Up Running Away for Lent Rev. Tom Cofer Coming to God in Prayer The Worship of God with Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory If Thou Would Trust in God to Guide Thee J. S. Bach *The Doxology Praise God from whom all blessing flow; praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen *Prayer of Dedication: Great Provider, bless these offerings and multiply them according to your will. May they restore hope and wholeness to those who benefit from them. In Christ s name, we pray. Amen. *Hymn No. 613 Come, Ye Disconsolate CONSOLATOR Ministry Moment: What problems or challenges have you been running away from, or have a tendency to run away from? Be strengthened by Jesus model of dealing with problems from our scripture lesson from Luke. Apply this model to a problem/challenge in your life and be blessed by the working of the Holy Spirit. *Benediction, Choral Response, and Silent Commitment Postlude God of Grace P. Manz * Those who are able to do so are invited to stand at this point in the service.
Please note: All Hymns we sing are located in the Red Hymnal Book located in front of you. Please join us. WELCOME! Our Mission is to: Welcome all people into the Family of Jesus Christ Minister to people in the name of Jesus Christ Teach people about Jesus Christ Lead People to serve and proclaim Jesus Christ I will bless you so that you will be a blessing, said God to Abram (Genesis 12:2). May each of us gathered this morning [evening] be blessed so we may go out and bless others. Welcome. This morning s arrangement of altar flowers are presented to the glory of God by The Dean Family in memory of (Auntie Kay) Carolyn Judge. Liturgist: Clara Nichols Service Opportunities: Receive the invitation to be more hands on in your ministry today the different ministries of the church need you! Invite someone new to experience the good news with us tell them how important First Church is in your life and how God can bring them peace and love! Don t forget about joining a class or a small group or two if you haven t already they are great opportunities to grow your faith and share in fellowship with one another. Join us for Lenten Wednesdays in the Social Room each Wednesday evening at 7 PM. Also, don t forget about the pajama drive for Hope Chest. Women s Fellowship book swap will be all of March in the Social Room Blood Drive March 20th 12:00pm- 6:00pm
Speaker Series Sister Mary McCormick will be speaking here at First Church Congregational, on March 21st at 7pm about the History of Women in the Church. Sister Mary McCormick is from St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Wickliffe, OH. She has her Ph. D. with a major in Contemporary Systematic Theology, from Fordham University. Currently she is the General Superior, of Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown and a Professor of Systematic Theology at St. Mary s Seminary and Graduate School of Theology. Please join us to learn more about how women played important roles in the church throughout history. March PJ Madness at first Church has officially begun. The Missions Board is collecting pajamas for children in sizes 4-12 all this month. You can drop off your donations before church or anytime for that matter. There will be baskets in the Chapel Lobby as well as in the Social Room lobby. Hope Chest had indicated a BIG need for children s PJs, and we want to make sure children are cozy and warm at night instead of cold. We ll have a Pajama Party and Movie Night April 1st at 6pm Maple Syrup Building Fund Fundraiser Freshly prepared maple syrup will be available to members of the First Church, Congregational family or anyone who attends services, Sunday, April 2. In exchange for a pint of tasty syrup, recipients are asked to donate to the First Church Building Fund. Along with this we will also be selling handmade items. We are looking for any members who are willing to make and donate handmade items to be available for purchase during this fundraiser. All proceeds from these items will go into the building fund. If you have any questions please contact Sylvia Jayne or Clara Nichols for more information. All donations are greatly appreciated. You can drop off your donations at the church office. Any items not sold on this day will be placed out for purchase at the Salad Luncheon on April 21st with all proceeds still going to the building fund.
Monday March 20th @ 12-6pm Blood Drive Tuesday March 21st @ 1pm Heidelberg Wednesday March 22th @ 7pm Give up Something Bad for Lent Saturday March 25th @9am Vitality Days Sunday March 26th OGHS Wednesday March 29th @ 7pm Give up Something Bad for Lent Saturday April 1 @ 6pm PJ Movie night Sunday April 2 during service Maple Syrup Fundraiser Wednesday April 5th @ 7pm Give up Something Bad for Lent Easter Memorials If you would like to offer a Memorial or a Lily for Easter on April 16 th, please fill out the form below and send it with your check to the church payable to First Church, Congregational. Memorial lilies are $8.50 each. Deadline for orders to appear in the Easter bulletin is April 9 th. Unless you hear to the contrary, lilies will be delivered after the 11 O Clock service to those members and friends needing a caring touch this Easter Season. If anyone is willing to help deliver the lilies that would be greatly appreciated. Name: In Memory of: Number of Lilies you are ordering times $8.50 each = Total of $ I will pick up the Lily for personal use after service. _ I will not pick up the Lily for personal use after service. Please clip, fill out and mail to the church office or drop in offering plate. Thank you!
Notes: Luke 9:10-17 Give Up Running Away for Lent The most important thing I learned today : Because of this I will : Budgeted Pledges/ Contributions/ Loose Plate/ Donations January-December 2017 Contributions for 2017 Actual Pledges/ Contributions/ Loose Plate/ Donations January- December 2017 Under/Over Budget Pledges/ Contributions/ Loose Plate/ Donations as of January 2017 $24,124 $19,286 -$4,838
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FELLOWSHIP & SERVICE March 19-182017 SUNDAY Contemporary (Chapel) 9am Child Care (Nursery CE Building) 9-12 am Choir (Sanctuary) 9:15 am Bells (Bell Room) 10am Sunday School (CE Building) 10am Traditional Worship (Sanctuary) 11 am Fellowship Hour (Social Room) 12pm MONDAY Affirming Life (Chapel Lobby) 10:30 am Blood Drive (Social Room) 12-6pm Yoga (Davis Room) 3:30 pm Council (East Room) 7pm Boy scouts (Social Room) 7 pm AA (North Room) 8 pm TUESDAY Heidelberg (Social Room) 1pm Yoga (Davis Room) 5:45 pm Cub Scouts (CE Building) 6pm Painesville Women s Choir (Sanctuary) 7 pm Speaker (Chapel) 7pm WEDNESDAY Knitting Group (Social Room) 12pm Girl Scouts (North Room) 6 pm Venture Crew (Davis Room) 7pm Lenten Study (Social Room) 7pm THURSDAY Turbo (Exercise Class) (Davis Room) 6 pm Pearl Street AA (Social Room) 6 pm REIKI (Lounge) 7pm FRIDAY Recovery (North Room) 8 pm SATURDAY PIYO (Exercise Class) (Davis Room) 8:30 am Kettle Ball (Exercise Class) (Davis Room) 10 am Vitality Days 9am Please be sure you are filling out the pew pads each week. Christy will be using these to