United Church of Christ

United Church of Christ

North Church of Portsmouth An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ March 31, 2019 10:00 AM Fourth Sunday in Lent PRELUDE Lento F. Chopin WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS You are welcome here no matter who you are and no matter where you are on life s journey, YOU ARE WELCOME HERE. INTROIT The Church of Christ (vs1, 2, 3, 4) #623

CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) Leader: This is the day that God has made; People: let us rejoice and be glad in it. Leader: O Come, let us worship and bow down; People: let us kneel before God, our Maker. *HYMN Our Father, We Have Wandered #371 *OPENING PRAYER (unison) Come, O Creator, O Immensity of love, O Eternity of mercy. Come, and be with us and in us and beside us and over us. Be as hands upon us, and fashion us for shining. Be as warmth within us, and fire us for caring. Be as strength beside us, and shape our lives for healing. Abide in our prayers, the spoken and the unspoken; and make your Word come true in our flesh, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen. SONG OF CONFESSION (unison) Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me. PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison) God of love and justice, we long for peace within and peace without. We long for harmony in our families, for serenity in the midst of struggle, and for commitment to each other s growth. Yet we confess that we are often anxious; we do not trust each other, and we harbor violence. We are not willing to take the risks and make the hard choices that love requires. Look upon us with kindness and grace. Show us how to walk in your ways, through the mercy of our Savior. Amen. *Indicates those who are able may stand *Indicates those who are able may stand

Silence kept ASSURANCE OF GRACE (responsive) One fact remains that does not change: God has loved you, loves you now, and will love you always. This is the good news that brings us new life. *PASSING OF THE PEACE You are invited to stand and greet one another with the Peace of Christ, symbol of God s forgiveness. Please return to your place as the Gloria Patri begins and remain standing. *GLORIA PATRI #734 Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen. TIME WITH CHILDREN ANTHEM Coming Home Bailey/Mayo THE READING OF SCRIPTURE Luke 15: 1-2 & 11-32 SERMON WELCOME BACK Rev. Frank Newsome Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out. Welcome back, to that same old place that you laughed about. Well the names have all changed since you hung around. But those dreams have remained and they ve turned around. Who d have thought they d lead ya back here where we need ya. Yeah we tease him a lot cause we got him on the spot. Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back. John Sebastian PASTORAL AND 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. THE MORNING OFFERING Call to Offering Let us present with joy our offerings of commitment and support for the work of Christ s church.

Offertory The Father's Love D. Moore *Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God above, you heavenly host; Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost. Amen *PRAYER OF DEDICATION (unison) O God, most merciful and gracious, of whose bounty we have all received: accept, we pray, this offering of your people. Remember in your love those who have brought it and those for whom it is given; and so follow it with your blessing that it may promote peace and goodwill among all people and advance the kingdom of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. *HYMN Softly and Tenderly #348 BENEDICTION *CONGREGATIONAL BENEDICTION RESPONSE Go Now in Peace Go now in peace: though friends must part, your presence lives in every heart. Your gifts to us no words can tell: go now in peace, in Christ go well. *POSTLUDE Hymn of Praise J. Denton **************************************************************************** The Rose on the alter this morning is for the birth of Parker Allen Leach, born March 19, 2019. Parker is the son of Jared and Bryanna Leach and grandson of Marcia and Randy Leach. The North Church Children will be holding a bake-sale during coffee hour on April 7 to raise money for the purchase of a llama through Heifer International for their Rogers Mission Project this year. Your support is so greatly appreciated.

Lectionary Readings for March 31, 2019 Luke 15: 1-2 and 11-32 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them. Then Jesus said, There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me. So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, How many of my father s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands. So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his slaves, Quickly, bring out a robe the best one and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to celebrate. Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound. Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him! Then the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.

We are glad that you are worshiping here today. If you seek a church home in Portsmouth, we hope that you will return to worship with us again. The tear off form on this bulletin or a pew card, filled out and placed in the offering plate or handed to an usher or the pastor, will help us to know you better as we serve God together. On this day and all days we keep Marondera Church, our Ukama partner in Zimbabwe in our prayers. Holy Communion is usually celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. The Table is open to all. The cup contains grape juice and a gluten-free bread is available please speak to a Deacon. Children are welcome at the discretion of their parents. The Reader today is Gail Darrow. The Deacons of the church are: Brenda Delfino, Joanne Coleman Yeaton, Nancy Layton, Gail Darrow and Caroline McMullen. The Choir Members of the church are: Gail Darrow, Caroline McMullen, Liz Good, David Greer, June Lurvey, Judy Ringer, Jill Newsome, Marjorie Perkins, Betsy Murphy, Nichole Prince, Gay Adams and Joyce Silva The Bell Choir Members of the church are: June Parker, Brenda Delfino, Nancy Layton, Betsy Kinner, June Lurvey, Mark Shaw, Mark J. Shaw, Betsy Murphy and Joyce Silva Large print bulletins & Assistive listening devices are available from the ushers. We welcome all of God s children in worship. Should it be needed, there is a staffed nursery in the lower level. Please ask a Deacon for assistance.

This Weeks Calendar All Worship services begin at 10 am Sunday, April 7 Fifth Sunday in Lent The Sacrament of Communion will be celebrated Worship at Parish House Sunday, April 14 Palm Sunday Worship at Market Square Sunday, April 21 Easter Sunday Worship at Market Square Sunday, April 28 Second Sunday of Easter Worship at Market Square Sun. 3/31 Mon. 4/1 Tues. 4/2 Wed. 4/3 Thurs. 4/4 Fri. 4/5 Sat. 4/6 Sun. 4/7 PH Worship Confirmation Kick Off Event Troop 164 Mtg. Cabinet Meeting Pack Parent Meeting Play Space & Little Artists OA new members OA/OA (Men) Choir Bell Choir Journey Song (MS) AA Meeting ACA Mentor (PH lounge) PH Worship Confirmation Class Troop 164 Mtg. 10am 11am 6pm 3:15pm 7:30pm 10am 5:30pm 6pm 6pm 7pm 7pm 7:30pm 10am 10am 11am 6pm Seafarer s Friend Ditty Bag Project We will be collecting items to fill the bags during April. Our goal is to make and fill 10 ditty bags that will be delivered to Seafarer s Friend in early May. Here is the list of items that are needed to help us fill the bags: Small memo pads, Pens/pencils, Playing Cards, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Dental Floss, Individual size pkgs. facial tissues, Band Aids, Shaving Cream, Razors, Men s deodorant, Heavy weight work socks, Shoelaces for work boots (54-55 ), Watch cap style knit hats. Please place your donations in the bin under the poster in the Parish House foyer.

Journey Song Concert Friday, April 5, 2019 North Church at Market Square 7:00-8:00 PM Journey Song is a volunteer group of over 50 singers who sing for hospice patients in eleven different facilities in the seacoast area. These singers are giving a public concert, this coming Friday that is opened and free to the public. Please come and enjoy the voices of Journey Song as a way to support this community based group. PLAY SPACE and LITTLE ARTISTS at the Soul Café We are back by popular demand and ready to begin our second year at North Church! Infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their parents are invited to come and play in our Sunday school space downstairs in the Parish House on Wednesday mornings from 10a.m.-12 noon, January 9- April 17, 2019. Volunteers are needed to welcome families into our Play Space each week. If you are interested in joining the fun, please contact Jill Newsome or Pam Woodward. We look forward to hearing from you! GATHER (Formerly Seacoast Family Food Pantry) The North Church support of Gather is an ongoing mission. You make a difference when you bring an Item of the Month each time you come to worship. For April, we encourage you to bring canned fruit NO SUGAR ADDED and/or deodorant.

I/We would like to know more about this church I/We are visitors this Sunday NAME: DATE: EMAIL: PHONE: ADDRESS: NORTH CHURCH STAFF: Senior Pastor Rev. Frank Newsome fnewsome@northchurchportsmouth.org Director of Music Ministry Mr. Nathan Amsden office@northchurchportsmouth.org Superintendent of Church School Ms. Brenda Delfino office@northchurchportsmouth.org Administrative Assistant Ms. Paula Schena office@northchurchportsmouth.org Custodian Mr. Paul Gobbi office@northchurchportsmouth.org OFFICE INFO: 355 Spinney Rd., Portsmouth, NH 03801 (603) 436-9109 Mon. - Fri./ 9am - 2pm office@northchurchportsmouth.org