First Parish Church, Congregational On the Village Green Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt, Interim Pastor Donald R. Dunn, Director of Music-Organist Jessica Skidmore, Christian Ministry Coordinator Tori Potter, Sexton Nancy Klebart, Office Manager 978-526-7661 office.fpchurch@verizon.net www.firstparishchurch.org
MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE Children s Sunday, May 20, 2018, 10:00 a.m. ORGAN PRELUDE: Prelude in Classic Style Gordon Young (1919-1998) ANNOUNCEMENTS CALL TO WORSHIP (adapted from Touch Holiness) Atticus Smith Leader: Come, let us worship Almighty God. People: Let us lift up our songs, our prayers, our praises. Leader: Come, let us honor Jesus Christ. People: Let us love Christ with our hearts, our minds, our spirits. Leader: Come, let us be filled with the Spirit of the Living God. People: Breathe in us, Breath of God. Alleluia. *HYMN: Breathe on Me, Breath of God NCH #292 black PRAYER OF INVOCATION (from the New Century Hymnal) Spirit of Love, Spirit of Truth, Guide us as we pray, To think and wish and praise the best, And mean the words we say. Hushed is our quiet room, Still is this place of prayer; Silent, we bow our heads and feel Your presence everywhere... *THE LORD'S PRAYER 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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. 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: 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
SCRIPTURE READING: Acts 2:1-4 Addie Goundry When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. CHILDREN S SERMON: What is Pentecost? RECOGNITION OF TEACHERS, LEADERS, AND CHILDREN *HYMN: Jesus Loves Me NCH #327 black MORNING PRAYER Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer Silent Prayer If/when you decide to share joys/concerns, please be mindful of people s privacy when mentioning personal details. Today s prayer will be prayed in stanzas, and after every stanza, we will sing the refrain: Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us. OFFERTORY SENTENCE Collection by Sunday School Students OFFERTORY ANTHEM: Spirit, Open my Heart Words by Ruth Duck (b. 1947) and written in 1994 Tune: Wild Mountain Thyme, traditional Irish melody Arranged by Alfred V. Fedak (b. 1953) Spirit open my heart, to the joy and pain of living. As You love, may l love, in receiving and in giving. Spirit open my heart. God replace my stony heart, with a heart kind and tender. All my coldness and pain to Your grace I now surrender. (Refrain) Write Your love upon my heart, as my law, my goal, my story. In each thought and word and deed, May my living be Your glory. (Refrain) May l weep with those who weep; share my joy of sister, brother. In the welcome of Christ, May we welcome one another. (Refrain)
*DOXOLOGY: Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise God all creatures here below, Praise God above ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. HONORING OUR GRADUATES *HYMN: We Are Marching in the Light of God NCH #526 black *[The Removal of the Flame, which symbolizes the Spirit of God accompanying us out into the world] CLOSING PRAYER/BENEDICTION (written by Rev. Marlayna) Rev. Marlayna and Austin Hardwick O God, you are our Shepherd; You lead us every day. Help us all to follow you And never go astray. Comfort us when we re afraid; Remind us all to rest; Help us all to share your love, So everyone is blessed. Amen. *CHORAL RESPONSE ORGAN POSTLUDE: The Church in the Wildwood Dan Miller (b. 1954) * * * * * All are invited to celebrate the growth in faith of our Sunday School children and our entire church family with brunch immediately following worship on the Village Green. Sidewalk chalk art, corn hole and crafts for young and not-so-young. Food and fellowship for all. Let's have some fun together in the beautiful spring sunshine and celebrate our children's growth and our vibrant faith community. Looking forward to seeing you all there! Hosted by the Diaconate and Vitality.
Participants in worship today are the children & youth of First Parish. We recognize and congratulate the following 2018 Graduates who have participated in our SS & YG programs. Philip Cicala Sam Demeo Elizabeth Dolan Zachary Edwards Heather Holley Andrew Milne Grace Porter The Deacons are Lynda Griffiths and John Feuerbach. Readers and Greeters are always needed, to volunteer speak to the Deacons, or you can also sign up online. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0444aca629a5f94-diaconate Listening devices are available for those in need; they are at the back of the Sanctuary. Feel free to address a Deacon should you need help using them. Welcome to all who are new to our worship. To join our mailing list fill out a Welcome Card to place in the collection plate or contact office.fpchurch@gmail.com, 978-526-7661 ext 1. FPCC CARE TEAM Have you shared the experience? We support FPC families with meals, rides, & visits through times of illness and loss. Please contact Sue Pick (suepick1@me.com or 978-548-0145) if you would like to share your ideas, time, and talents with the FPC Care Team. SEASIDE PARISH KNITTERS We would love to have you join us on the 1 st and 3 rd Thursdays (May 17) of the month in the Conference Room of the Chapel, 3-5 PM.
MY STORY Vitality would like to bring back the My Story segment during our church service. If you have a short 3-5 minute story about your faith journey, please see Mary Ellen or call at 978-526-7178 and we will talk. This is a really great event when added to our Sunday worship. Thank you in advance for considering doing this. If you have already shared a story and have another, this would be a great time. Weekly Food Donations When you go to church Sunday mornings or to a meeting during the week, remember to take one item that can be donated to Open Door. Food baskets located in the Chapel and Church. It is easy to forget, but you can think ahead and bring one food item that will be much appreciated by folks who really need our help. Brown Bag Lunch on Friday, May 25, sign-up to help online or see Lelly Smith or Muriel Parker. Included in the MISSION of our congregation is caring for God's creation. Especially as Spring reveals the wonder of it all, we think conservation! We will be putting forth alerts and reminders to help us awaken to God's creation and consider our own actions to care for this amazing town and the wider world we have been given. What can we do to help with CONSERVATION? Here are some ideas from your Missions Committee. Our Green Church on the Green Transportation Notes How do we travel these days? 1. Carpool / Use public transportation 2. Walk / Bicycle 3. Pre-plan / Combine errands
SETTLED PASTOR SEARCH PROCESS TO BEGIN BY THE END OF THE SUMMER Do you feel called to serve? First Parish will soon begin the process of searching for a new pastor. According to our church bylaws, the Church Council is responsible for appointing church members to serve on the search committee two from the Diaconate, one each from the Trustees, CE, Stewardship, Music, Missions and Youth Group, and 5 members-at-large. Council agreed that ideal criteria for serving on the committee include: regular church attendance, positive outlook, good listening and synthesizing of information skills, not being shy about speaking up in meetings, and looking to God for guidance. Further, the chair of the committee should have strong organization, motivation, and computer skills. Our hope is to create a cohesive committee that is representative of our faith community with a balanced mix of ages, gender, family contexts, and theological perspectives, and with a shared commitment to the future of our church. Once the search starts, it will likely take six to nine months. The main components of the work include developing interview questions that help us assess whether a candidate would be a good match for our values, purpose, and vision; reading through candidates profiles; deciding who to interview; conducting interviews; and then recommending a candidate to the congregation. The committee will meet once or twice a month to prayerfully work through their tasks, and individuals will be expected to read candidates profiles in between meetings. There may also be a few visits to other churches to hear candidates preach. Our UCC Area Minister, Rev. Wendy Vander Hart, will help guide the committee through the search process, and Rev. Marlayna can be a guide as well but only on the process itself, not in the choosing of candidates. If you feel that serving God in this capacity might be a natural fit for your talents and interests, or if there is someone you would like to nominate who would also be a good fit, then please feel welcome to speak with, or to email church moderator, Nancy Peterson nancypete1@gmail.com. (Note: As a balanced mix of various components is required, not all people who volunteer for the committee
may be appointed to serve.) VISION PROCESS Building on our four congregational meetings in the Vision Process, we (the Transition Team) have drafted a Vision Statement, which is available in the narthex and on the church s website. The congregation will have the opportunity to discuss the Vision Statement at our church s Annual Meeting on June 24 th, and, with the congregation s blessing, the Vision Statement will then be used to form the basis of a strategic plan, which the Executive Committee and Council will put together in the fall of 2018. Once a strategic plan (with goals and objectives) has taken shape, it will be presented to a special meeting of the congregation for approval. We (the Transition Team) are also using the information we have gathered from the Vision Process to help form our Church Profile, which is the document used in the search for a new settled pastor. We plan to have the Church Profile done by mid June. Please continue to keep our church s Vision Process in your prayers! Your Transition Team (Paul Driscoll, Lauren Gudonis, Mary Lumsden, Jeff Parker, Jason Smith, Lelly Smith) Church Council minutes, Congregational Meeting minutes and documents can be found online. BOOK GROUP We continue with a new selection; for the month of May Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion and doesn't offer easy answers. Goodreads Wendy Clark will be hosting the next book group, Tuesday, May 29, 7 PM at 99 Pine St. Manchester. Please RSVP to Wendy 978-526-4146 or hillerclark@gmail.com, so she can plan accordingly.
HYMN SING Sun. May 27 th 10 AM In our sermon-time -INSTEAD OF THE SERMON -you will be invited to call out the name and number of your favorite hymn -and which hymnal it is in- and let us know which verse (or two) you would like the congregation to sing. Confirmation Sunday June 3 rd 10 AM Come welcome and celebrate our confirmands as they become members of First Parish! TUCK S POINT WORSHIP Join us Sun. June 10, at the Tuck s Point Chowder House for the 10 AM worship. BYOB picnic lunch to follow, dessert and beverages will be provided. BIBLE STUDY will NOT meet on May 24th. It will resume on May 31st and continue through June 14th. Rev. Marlayna is away at a preaching conference May 21 through May 29th. If you need emergency pastoral care while she is away, please call the church office, and you will be directed to someone who can help.
First Parish Church Vacation Bible School June 25-29, 1-3 PM Children K-6 th grade are invited to join us for a fun filled week of stories, games, crafts, and learning about Jesus love. First Parish Chapel VOLUNTEERS NEEDED This is our biggest outreach to the greater Manchester community, providing a free fun event to local families, and we need volunteers to help run the program and donate snacks. Please sign up to help today! High School students can earn community service hours. To sign up speak to Jessica 978-526-7661 x 3 or email cedirector.fpchurch@gmail.com. You can also look at volunteer slots and sign up online. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c4caba822a1f49-canyou1 CHILDREN K-6 GRADE WELCOME Sign up your children and invite friends! Contact Jessica with questions 978-526-7661 x 3 or cedirector.fpchurch@gmail.com. You can also register online https://goo.gl/forms/grlpesnqryzglfkb2
Upcoming events can be found on our website (www.firstparishchurch.org ) under News and Calendar and on our Facebook page (First Parish Manchester-by-the-Sea) under Events Tuesday 10:00 AM COA Zumba 11:30 AM COA Lunch of the Month Wednesday 10:00 AM COA Yoga 7:30 PM Choir Rehearsal Friday 8:00 AM Yoga 10:00 AM Brown Bag Lunches Sunday 10:00 AM Worship