Wellesley Congregational Church United Church of Christ F I R S T W O R S H I P November 25, 2012
Welcome to First Worship! We extend a welcome as broad as the outstretched arms of God, who calls us to be here together to rejoice in God s glorious presence. Welcome to children of all ages to all the children of God, each one of us. If you are an old friend or here for the first time, we welcome you. Our worship is an intergenerational experience and we want children to feel fully included. Children are welcome to pick up an activity bag and to bring snacks to their seats. We remember that worship offers us all a special place to be with God. In this space we talk a little more softly and walk a little more quietly. We are listening for God.
ORDER OF WORSHIP November 25 2012 9:00 am PRELUDE RINGING THE HOUR WELCOME AND CALL TO WORSHIP Daniel Cooperrider
OPENNG SONG We Have Gathered Jesus Dear
PRAYER OF CONFESSION Let My Prayer Be Set Forth WORDS OF ASSURANCE AND CELEBRATING THE WATERS OF BAPTISM SUNG RESPONSE Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
*P *PASSING THE PEACE OF CHRIST *S *SUNG RESPONSE Song of Hope SCRIPTURE CRIPTURE Luke 19: 1-10 SERMON ERMON Coming for Dinner Kathy Musser
SERMON RESPONSE ESPONSE As We Gather At Your Table
OFFERING Invitation Offertory SETTING THE TABLE Gather Us In
INVITATION TO THE TABLE *C *COMMUNION PRAYER AND THE LORD ORD 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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen. *W *WORDS OF INSTITUTION *S *SHARING THE GIFTS OF BREAD AND CUP *P *PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING HANKSGIVING O Give Thanks O give thanks, O give thanks, O give thanks unto the Lord God is gracious, God s mercy endureth forever. *B *BENEDICTION
TODAY S NOTES Receiving the Sacrament of Baptism at 10 am worship service: Gwendolyn Elisabeth Oliver, born on June 20, 2012, in Newton, MA daughter of Charlene DeLoach Oliver and Craig Oliver and little sister to Liam (age 3). Baptismal Blanket We thank the Prayer Shawl knitters for the gift of the baptismal blanket that is given to the newly baptized child today. Pastoral Care If you have any pastoral needs or know of any in the Village Church family, please call Daniel Cooperrider 781-235-1988 x23. The Chancel flowers are given today by Liam Oliver in honor of his little sister Gwendolyn s baptism. Cherub Choir Rehearsal 11:15 am, 2 nd floor Cherub Choir Room Rehearsal today for all children in Kindergarten, First and Second grades.(there will also be rehearsals at 11:15 am on December 2 and December 9 in preparation for December 16 performance.) Fellowship Hour 11:15 am, Village Common Please join us for coffee and fellowship. Information for visitors is available at the Welcome Table. Providing hospitality today is the Church Council. Please take a moment to thank them. Stewardship Reminder Over the next several weeks we will be finalizing the 2013 Church budget and your pledge is very important to us. If you have made your pledge, thank you. If not, the TIME IS NOW. There are a few options to pledge: fill out one of the pledge cards found in the pews and put in the offering plate, pledge online at www.wellesleyvillagechurch.org/about-us/stewardship and clicking on the Make A Pledge button, mail your pledge card to the church, or you can call your pledge in to our Church Accountant, Barbara Kucich, at 781-235-1988 ext. 18. 7th & 8th Grade Youth Group No Meeting Tonight. High School Youth Group No Meeting Tonight For information about youth programs, contact Pam Emslie at 781.235.1988 x15 or pam@wellesleyvillagechurch.org. Early Morning Prayer Tuesdays, 8 am Weekly renewal in Burtt Chapel. All are welcome. BULLETIN NOTES
Village Church Youth & Junior Choirs Performances: December 9: Youth Choir, 10 am service Rehearsal Dates: Youth Choir: November 28, 6:15 pm; December 5, 6:15 pm; December 9, 9 am Junior Choir: December 2 & 9, 11:15 am 4 pm Family Christmas Eve Service Pageant Sign-Ups Pageant sign-up sheets are posted in the rotation and preschool hallways or you may feel free to sign up via email to Michaela@wellesleyvillagechurch.org. All children are invited to participate. There is one mandatory rehearsal on Saturday, December 15 from 10 am to Noon. The Church Needs Your Gifts and Talents This is the season of Thanksgiving. It is a time when we thank God for all the gifts and talents with which we have been blessed. What better way to use these gifts and talents than to share them with the church. This is the time of the year when we are seeking out members to fill the many open slots in all the Ministries, Boards and Committees. We have openings in the ministries of Worship, Community, Service, Sharing and Learning. There are opportunities in Finance, Properties, Human Resources and Nominating. If you would be interested in serving this coming year, please contact us for more information at wccnominating@gmail.com, or call Ken Chaulk, Chair of Nominating at 781-237-2594. Christmas Concert to Benefit Fumbelo Mark your calendar for Saturday, December 1st at 3:00 pm and plan on attending an amazing Christmas concert in the Village Church sanctuary. Kimberly Sizer, Jodi Hitzhusen, Ethan Rowe, Matt Rippere, Antoni Scarano, Alan Steere and others will perform an assortment of Christmas carols and fun Christmas and liturgical pieces. So take a break from your Christmas errands, grab a friend or members of your family and come settle in for a joyous concert that is guaranteed to uplift and remind you of the true meaning of the season. This concert will raise funds for the Village Church s ministry in Fumbelo, Zambia. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and children, and can be purchased at the door the day of the concert or at the donut table during coffee hour on Sundays. A reception and silent auction will immediately follow the concert. Questions: Liz King kingswells@comcast.net or Janet Rose rosegirls6@aol.com.
HOME Store needs your help Saturday, December 1, 10 am 4 pm Sunday, December 2, 11:15 We need your help in a variety of ways. Can you give an hour or so of your time to: place posters around town before the sale; unload and help set up the items in Village Hall on Friday afternoon, November 30; be a cashier and help straighten up at the sale either Saturday and Sunday, or help pack up on Sunday? If you can help, please contact Bev Lenci at 508.651.3996. Advent Labyrinth Walk Sunday, December 2, from 2-4 pm In this season of Advent, we remember Mary s own journey of waiting and pondering. We invite you to come and walk with her as your own entry into this nurturing season. How wonderful it will be to invoke her presence among us as we walk the replica of the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral in France. Our walk will be accompanied by music by the Voci Angelica trio (Jodi Hitzhusen, Meena Malik vocalists, and Aristides Rivas on cello). In this walk, we are also hosting friends in the wider community, as well as members of the Labyrinth Guild of New England, whose new canvas labyrinth we will be dedicating at the beginning of our time together. We will begin at 2 pm with a time of dedication and meditation, the labyrinth will be open until 4 pm. Come and join us! Wellesley Food Pantry Sunday, December 2 Just one box of cereal per Village Church family per month and we ll fill the pantry cereal shelves for a year! Food may be dropped off anytime in the designated box in the Cloister and in the basket at the Village Common entrance. Healing Prayer Sunday, December 2, 11:15 am Come for yourself or for the healing of others, and participate in whatever way feels most comfortable to you. One of the pastors will be in Burtt Chapel for laying on of hands and anointing with oil, if you like, or you may use this time of quiet and music to pray silently, or write your prayer to be prayed by the pastors when they meet together. Join us to experience the gift of healing prayer. Website Acknowledgements Our beautiful new church website would not have been created without the countless hours and personal skills shared by Terri Hupalo, Jocelyn Gardner-Spencer, Tricia Kibbe and Erin Donato. THANK YOU! Our website contains a wealth of information and is very user friendly. We hope that church members will spend some time exploring it at www.wellesleyvillagechurch.org.
Call to Congregational Meeting Sunday December 2, 2012, 11:30 On December 2, at 11:30 am in the Sanctuary there will be a Congregational Meeting. At this meeting, Church Council will present a motion to the congregation to a) call the members of the Search Committee for the position of Associate Pastor and b) charge them to find a replacement for Kathy Musser s position. Notice of Congregational Hearings Sunday December 2, 2012, 11:30 We have scheduled two Congregational Hearings on Sunday, December 2, to follow the Congregational Meeting at 11:30. The first Hearing will review the realignment of the church governance structure that has been in place over the past two years. A motion to formally adopt the new church governance structure will be presented at a Congregational Meeting on December 16, 2012. The second Hearing will review the proposed revisions to our Church Bylaws that bring the Bylaws up to date and incorporate the new church governance structure. A motion to accept the revisions to the Church Bylaws will be presented at a Congregational Meeting on December 16, 2012. You are cordially invited to attend the hearings to review the proposals, ask questions and offer your comments. A review of the new church governance structure and the proposed revised Bylaws will be available in the church lobby and also through a link in this week s enews. The Village Church Moms : Dinner with Martin Copenhaver We will have our next dinner on Monday, December 3rd at 7 pm at the home of Tracy Accardi and Martin will be joining us! This casual, 'come when you can group, welcomes moms of all ages for monthly gettogethers away from the family, usually for a dinner in someone's home or a restaurant, or perhaps for a service opportunity. It s a great way to meet new friends and other Moms at our church. If you are not already on our email distribution list or if you are interested in attending the dinner on the 3rd, please email Lyanne Cochi at m-lcochi@comcast.net. We hope you can join us! Blue Christmas Thursday, December 6, 7:30 pm, Chapel The season of Advent and Christmas is not always a joyous time. It can be a time when we are most aware of our sorrows, our hurts, our need for healing. We invite you to bring all your blues to a time of worship and healing as we wait together in the darkness for the Light that has promised to come. All are welcome.
Alternative Christmas Fair Sunday, December 9, 10 am to Noon Village Church will hold its annual Alternative Christmas Fair. Once again, the Fair accomplishes two wonderful goals simultaneously: it allows you to purchase meaningful gifts for the special people on your Christmas gift list AND it helps worthwhile organizations that are doing so much good in the world. Watch for the list of organizations participating this year, think about who on your list would be honored to receive a card saying that a donation had been made in his or her name for Christmas to that organization. Then attend the fair and visit the table displays of the organizations and make your incredibly personal and meaningful purchases. Everyone wins with the Alternative Christmas Fair! We'll see you there on December 9th. Our Renovated Parlor Many thanks to the Village Churchwomen, the Mom's Group, the Churchyard Committee, the Board of Finance and all church members who so generously donated to the Parlor Renovation Project and made it a reality! It not only looks beautiful but is so functional that it is now being used on a daily basis for meetings, meals and other gatherings. All of the vendors involved in the project provided significant discounts to our church and we would like to acknowledge them here: **McGeough Furniture Boston;**Steven King Decorative Carpets;**Brad Watts Carpet Installation;**MWI Fiber Shield fabric treatment. And finally, gratitude to church members Jim Thistlethwaite and Christina Oliver, who shared their decorating expertise and skills and hours of their time At this point, we have almost completed Phase I of the project and feel that we have accomplished the major goals of the renovation. We are still welcoming donations. We have a wish list for Table Lamps ranging from $150 - $300. Snow Days It is our practice to proceed with Sunday worship, regardless of the weather. Cancellation of other programs and ministries, such as youth groups, educational classes and church meetings, will be decided by the leaders of those programs and communicated through email, telephone trees or other means. Above all, safety and common sense drive our routine, and we want those same guidelines to drive your own decisions about coming to church during bad weather!
Poinsettia Plant Donation Return this form with your payment to the drop box on the table in the Central Street Lobby by Monday, December 3, 9 am. Given In (check only one) Loving memory of Celebration of PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY By By (your name) Cash Check $ $ Plants are $15 each, payable to Wellesley Congregational Church. Please note Poinsettia on your check. Following services on December 23, the plants will be taken to those in need of encouragement or support.
Childcare During First Worship Childcare is available during First Worship for Infants through Age 5 in the Infant Room located upstairs just outside the sanctuary on the main floor. What s happening at 10 am in Church School today? Kindergarten students and younger will be welcomed in their classrooms before 10 am worship begins. The Infant/ Toddler Room is located on the main floor just outside the Sanctuary to the left of the Chancel. 2 year olds through Kindergarten classrooms are located on the upper floor. Children should be picked up promptly at the conclusion of worship. Grades 1-8 will worship with their parents until it is time for class, as indicated in the bulletin. At that time, Grades 1 8 will meet together in Village Hall for a combined activity. The activity for Grades 1-8 will conclude at 11:15 or the end of worship whichever is later. Students in Grades 3 and below should be met by their parents in Village Hall. The Family Room is available for parents who aren t quite ready to leave their infants and toddlers in childcare. In this room, parents will be able to listen to the worship service while their child naps or plays. This room is located upstairs beyond the library. WELLESLEY CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH STAFF The Rev. Martin B. Copenhaver Senior Pastor The Rev. Kathleen E. Musser Associate Pastor The Rev. Pamela H. Emslie Associate Pastor The Rev. Christina L. Braudaway-Bauman Associate Pastor The Rev. Daniel P. Cooperrider Pastoral Resident The Rev. Jocelyn B. Gardner Spencer Pastoral Resident Linda C. Smith Pastoral Residency Coordinator Michaela F. McDonald Director of Children s Ministries David R. Carrier Director of Music Dr. Kevin J. McDonald Director of Youth Music Jodi M. Hitzhusen Music Director of First Worship Erin I. Donato Church Administrator Leslie W. Petzing Controller Barbara P. Kucich Church Accountant Tricia T. Kibbe IT and Administrative Coordinator Felicia R. Nadel Administrative Assistant Donald S. Banks Sexton Dolphe Richard Assistant to the Sexton Gerardo Ortiz Assistant to the Sexton 2 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02482 781.235.1988 wellesleyvillagechurch.org