Old Greenwich, THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL United Church Connecticut CHURCH OF GREENWICH of Christ Founded in 1665 First Sunday in Lent 14 February 2016 10 o clock in the morning Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness by James Tissot
The First Congregational Church of Greenwich declares itself to be open and affirming; open to all for participation, membership, leadership and employment, and affirming of all who wish to join us as children of God. We continue to give thanks for God s guidance in our journey of faith. W elcome to this service of worship at The First Congregational Church of Greenwich on this first Sunday of Lent. May this pilgrimage of 40 days have special meaning for you and us that we may grow in grace and wisdom as a worshiping and witnessing community of faith. Thank you for joining us this morning. PREPARING FOR WORSHIP Please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. *All who are able please stand. PRELUDE Pastorale Jon Hunt, guest organist/director Flor Peeters CALL TO COMMUNITY Rev. Avery C. Manchester Please sign and pass the red Fellowship Pad found at the end of your pew. FIRST CHURCH FLASHBACK Phil Bradford PRAISING GOD INVOCATION Rev. Meghan D. Young 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. Arnold Kenseth
CHORAL INTROIT *HYMN O God, How We Have Wandered New Century (black) Hymnal 202 OPENING PRAYER Holy God, we come before you with awe, for you are great in love and power. Some of us come with reluctance and some with joy; some with sadness and others full of fear, yet we know you receive us as we are. Mighty God, stay with us always, as we worship and as we share the risk and challenge of living our faith. By your powerful Spirit, turn our fear to courage and our confusion to confidence. Touch us, God, with your healing fire. Speak to us through your Word. Send us back into the world renewed and eager to do your will. We pray the prayer he taught us in the name of Jesus the Christ Ronald S. Beebe 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 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. CHILDREN S MESSAGE Rev. Meghan D. Young (As we begin singing Jesus Loves Me, all children will leave for the Preschool Green Door classroom with Rosemary.) CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE Jesus Loves Me Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong. Refrain: Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me still today, walking with me on my way, Wanting as a friend to give light and love to all who live. (Refrain) FIRST LESSON O HEARING GOD'S WORD Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Pat Larrabee nce you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance and take it over and settle down, you are to take some of all the firstfruits of what you grow in the land that God, your God, is giving you, put them in a basket and go to the place God, your God, sets apart for you to worship him. At that time, go to the priest who is there and say, I announce to God, your God, today that I have entered the land that God promised our ancestors that he d give to us. The priest will take the basket from you and place it on the Altar of God, your God. And there in the Presence of God, your God, you will recite: A wandering Aramean was my father, he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, he and just a handful of his brothers at first, but soon they became a great nation, mighty and many. The Egyptians abused and battered us, in a cruel and savage slavery. We cried out to God, the God-of-Our-Fathers: He listened to our voice, he saw our destitution, our trouble, our cruel plight. And God took us out of Egypt with his strong hand and long arm, terrible and great, with signs and miracle-wonders. And he brought us to this place, gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. So here I am. I ve brought the firstfruits of what I ve grown on this ground you gave me, O God. Then place it in the Presence of God, your God. Prostrate yourselves in the Presence of God, your God. And rejoice! Celebrate all the
good things that God, your God, has given you and your family; you and the Levite and the foreigner who lives with you. From The Message ANTHEM The Chancel Choir Give Ear, O Ye Heavens Philip Armes (1836-1908) Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and showers upon the grass. Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye the greatness unto our God, Amen. SECOND LESSON N Luke 4:1-13 Rev. Avery C. Manchester ow Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry. The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: Since you re God s Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread. Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: It takes more than bread to really live. For the second test he led him up and spread out all the kingdoms of the earth on display at once. Then the Devil said, They re yours in all their splendor to serve your pleasure. I m in charge of them all and can turn them over to whomever I wish. Worship me and they re yours, the whole works. Jesus refused, again backing his refusal with Deuteronomy: Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.
For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, If you are God s Son, jump. It s written, isn t it, that he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won t so much as stub your toe on a stone? Yes, said Jesus, and it s also written, Don t you dare tempt the Lord your God. That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity. From The Message * HYMN Dust and Ashes Touch Our Face New Century (black) Hymnal 186 SERMON What Are Your Temptations? PASTORAL PRAYER Rev. Avery C. Manchester Rev. Richard S. DenUyl, Jr. RESPONDING TO GOD CALL TO OFFERING Prill Meyer OFFERTORY SOLO Thomas Woodman, bass A Simple Song Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) Sing God a simple song, lauda laude. Make it up as you go along, lauda laude. Sing like you like to sing, God loves all simple things. For God is the simplest of all, For God is the simplest of all. I will sing the Lord a new song, to praise him, to bless him, to bless the Lord. I will sing his praises while I live, all of my days. Blessed is the man who loves the Lord, Blessed is the man who praises him. Lauda, lauda, laude, and walks in his ways.
I will lift up my eyes, to the hills from which comes my help. I will lift up my voice to the Lord, singing lauda, laude. For the Lord is my shade, is the shade upon my right hand. And the sun shall not smite me by day, or the moon by night. Blessed is the man who loves the Lord lauda, lauda, laude, and walks in his ways. Lauda, lauda, laude, lauda, lauda di da di day. All of my days. *DOXOLOGY New Century (black) Hymnal 776 Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Christ, all creatures Here below; Praise Holy Spirit, Comforter; One God, Triune, whom we adore. Amen. Amen. *PRAYER OF DEDICATION GOING FORTH TO SERVE GOD * HYMN O Love, How Vast, How Flowing Free New Century (black) Hymnal 209 *BENEDICTION *CHORAL RESPONSE POSTLUDE Postlude in D Healey Willan * * * Directly following the service, one of our pastors will remain in the Chapel to be available to anyone who has a pastoral care concern. Please join us for Fellowship Hour in the Auditorium following the worship service.
The flowers in the Meetinghouse this morning are given in loving memory of Catherine G. Weigner and Arthur C. Weigner by their sons, Stephen A. and Ronald C. Weigner. We have child care for babies and toddlers every Sunday in the Preschool classrooms. Your children are always welcome in child care for the entire worship service or for a respite time if needed. We also now have two rows in the back of the chapel reserved for parents with infants or little ones who are not ready for the Nursery where the parents can be comfortable and still be part of worship. Please see an usher if you need help finding either of these locations. The 10:00 am Service is broadcast live each week on WGCH 1490 AM Radio. In addition, the service is available through the church s website: www.fccog.org. A bulletin can be found there as well as a link to the live broadcast. Previous sermons may also be found there. Calendar TODAY Church School This Sunday is a Service Sunday for all children 5 years old and older. We will meet in the Preschool Green Door classroom where we will work on a project to help the children who are victims of the water crisis in Flint, MI. Members of the 678 class will continue their work on the Labyrinth in the Daniels Center. Next Sunday we will return to our regular Church School program. Parents are invited to a Parenting Program this Thursday evening from 6-8 pm here at the church. See the details below under This Week. Importantly, please email RosemaryL@fccog.org if you need child care. Bible Study Bible Study will meet today at 11:15 am in the Daniels Center. Please join us. All are welcome. Choir Rehearsals There are no choir rehearsals today.
Sunday Afternoons Live Concert Series Continues Today The popular Sunday Afternoons Live concert series continues TODAY at 4:00 pm and continues each Sunday afternoon in February in the acoustical splendor of our Auditorium. Admission is $20 per person and light refreshments will be served. Tickets are available at the door and all school-aged youth are free. The concerts are: Today, February 14: Evelina Puzaite, piano. Lithuanian-born pianist, Evelina Puzaite, is an internationally-recognized performer of natural sensitivity and strong charisma. She has performed extensively throughout Europe, including Italy, France, Greece, Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, as well as in Russia, Israel, and the USA. NEW PROGRAM - February 21: A Concert of Vocal Music with Drew Seigla, tenor and Gianna Barone, soprano. Join us for an afternoon of vocal solos and duets with two of the most beautiful people in town. Drew is the tenor section leader here at First Church and stars in the longest-running Broadway musical, The Fantasticks, and will be joined by his lovely girlfriend, Gianna, who is a recent graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music. They will be accompanied by pianist, Ben Houghton. February 28: Scape Trio. Joseph Dermody, Adriana Maria Pera, and Nicole Sharlow had been performing in and out of New York City for over a decade when they established Scape Trio in 2007. This trio will perform some of the great masterworks for strings. THIS WEEK Evelina Puzaite Nights Off Women s Group Valentine s Day Party Our Nights Off Women s Group will be meeting tomorrow, Monday, February 15 for a Valentine s Day Party at the home of Kathy Riley. We will meet at 6:30 pm for a light dinner. Please bring a dish to share and whatever you would like to drink. Also, please bring something sweet to be donated to the food pantry (cookies, box of brownies or cake mix, etc.). We will also
be playing Valentine s Day Jeopardy. All are welcome! Please join us and bring a friend along. If you have any questions, please contact Shirley Flierl at fbtworld@aol.com. See you there! Special Program Sponsored by First Church Preschool Pasta, Pajamas & Parenting - Discipline and Setting Limits All parents, educators and caregivers of preschool and elementary age children are welcome to join us on Thursday, February 18, 6-8 pm at First Church (snow date: Thursday, March 3) for this special parenting program. We will be serving pasta, so come and eat! Bring the kids in their pajamas (so they are ready for bed when we're done) and we will watch them while you partake of some good humored parenting guidance provided by First Church Preschool's Educational Consultant, Developmental Psychologist, Educator and Professional Speaker, Cindy Rzasa-Bess. Dinner starts at 6:00 pm. Presentation and childcare begin at 6:30 pm. RSVP to Darla Kohler at darlak@fccog.org or call 203-637-5430 by Tuesday, February 16. Please let us know how many children will attend with you. NEXT WEEK Coffee and Conversation Next Sunday Next Sunday, February 21, the Associate Pastor Search Committee will host an informal Coffee and Conversation from 9:15 to 9:45 am in the Auditorium prior to worship. No agenda, just friendship and fellowship, and the opportunity to meet members of the committee. NEWS AND NOTICES JPF & SPF Need YOUR Help to Fight Homelessness! Our youth groups are supporting Inspirica to fight homelessness. To raise awareness, we will be camping out on the church lawn on the evening of February 27 until church the next morning. We will be constructing our own shelter and using methods to stay warm that homeless citizens use every winter. To truly understand the people we are called to help, we're walking a mile in their shoes and showing everyone what it looks like to live as an otherwise invisible demographic. If you have any cardboard boxes (all sizes needed),
please drop them off at the front desk and Donald Haviland will stockpile them for our youth to construct shelter. Additionally, if you have any food, clothing, or hygiene products to donate, please place them in our donation bin during Fellowship Hour, or drop them off at the Church Office during the week. Thank you! Happy Valentine s Day from The Rummage Room 191 Sound Beach Avenue, Old Greenwich Sunday, February 14: What gift is greater than Love? Monday, February 15: President s Day - The Rummage Room is open. Visit www.fccog.org/the-rummage-room/ for weekly sale items. Monday, February 22 -Wednesday, February 24: Winter Clearance Sale 50% off everything in the shop! ANNUAL BAG SALES BEGIN: Thursday, Feb 25: 1 st day of Bag Sale - each filled bag $12 Friday, Feb 26: 2 nd day of Bag Sale each filled bag $8 Saturday, Feb 27: 3 rd day of Bag Sale each filled bag $1. Everything must go on Saturday to make way for Spring! NOTE: Monday, February 29: The Rummage Room reopens at 1:00 pm with everything for Spring! Leanne s Wish List: St. Patrick s Day clothing and decorations; spring clothing for men, women and children; shoes; and handbags. Shop Hours: 10 am-5 pm Monday-Friday & 10 am-1pm Saturday. Donation Hours: 9:30 am-4:30 pm Monday-Thursday & 9:30 am- 12:30 pm Friday and Saturday. Thought for Valentine s Day: It comes bearing gifts, but also, remember, every day bears gifts and all we have to do is untie the ribbon because it is the key that fits the lock on everyone s heart. Tai Chi Classes Come and experience the many wonderful benefits of Tai Chi and Qi Gong exercises. Classes are held on Wednesdays at 8:00 am and Thursdays at 9:00 am. Only $10 per class. Drop-ins are welcome. Neighbor to Neighbor Collection Barrel at Entrance to Church Please don t forget those in need this winter. Items especially needed are dry beans (kidney, garbanzo, etc.) Also, cereal, canned fruit, pasta, peanut butter, jelly, sheets & towels. Tuna is not needed at this time.
Where to find us: www.fccog.org Facebook, Twitter YouTube Instagram The First Congregational Church of Greenwich 108 Sound Beach Avenue, Old Greenwich, Connecticut, 06870 203-637-1791; www.fccog.org Ministers: The Members of The First Congregational Church of Greenwich Senior Pastor: Rev. Richard S. DenUyl, Jr. Transitional Associate Pastor: Rev. Meghan D. Young Associate Pastor for Pastoral Care: Rev. Avery C. Manchester Director of Music: Dr. Craig Scott Symons Director of Family Ministries: Rosemary Lamie Youth Coordinator: Donald Haviland Director of Church Administration & Finance: Steve Summerton Office Manager/Sr. Administrative Assistant: Donna White Director of Membership: Ginny Breismeister Director of Communications: Barbara Wilkov Parish Nurse: Susan Asselin, RN Director of Preschool: Darla Kohler Steiner