St. Thomas Reformed Church Founded in 1660 All are Welcome In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ! Office Phone: (340) 776-8255 Address: 2105 Crystal Gade#5, St. Thomas, VI 00802-6661 Mailing Address: PO Box 301769, St. Thomas, VI 00803 Website: www.stthomasreformedchurch.org Email: mail@sthomasreformedchurch.org STRC APP free to download on itunes and Google Play Like us on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/stthomasreformedchurch.org Pastor: Rev. Jeffrey Neevel Minister of Music & Arts: Chanelle Schaffer Executive Office Administrator: Dawn Wheatley Comissiong Retreat Center Coordinator: Vicky Gomez Christian Maintenance Supervisor: Charles Edwards Website Manager and Graphic Designer: Phyllis Carrozza Docent: John Paul Sperlich
REFORMATION SUNDAY We Gather In God s Presence... Prelude Music (Please take time to prepare for worship and silence electronic devices) Greeting and Ministry Updates Call to Worship (from Psalm 146) Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth! Amen! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will sing praises to God all my life long. Happy are those whose help is in God, creator of heaven and earth, who is forever faithful; seeking justice for the oppressed and for the hungry; setting prisoners free and opening the eyes of the blind; lifting up those who are bowed down and loving the righteous. The Lord protects strangers and upholds the orphan and widow; but the way of the wicked is brought to ruin. The Lord our God will reign forever, for all generations. Praise the Lord! Introit: Venite, Exultemus Domino//Let Us Sing to God Taizè Prayer Hymn #637 For All the Saints v 1-3 SINE NOMINE Call to Confession Unison Prayer of Confession Hear our prayer O Lord. We hear what you are saying to us in the giving of the Law, Lord, but it is not easy in today s society. Worshipping position and status, power and wealth seem to be the first commandments of life these days, and when we are so busy achieving these it doesn t leave much time to care for, let alone love, our neighbor. Help us to re-order our priorities, Lord, so that they are more in tune with yours. We ask for forgiveness, loving Lord, for all the ways we have fallen short of your glory. Restore us by your grace, through Jesus, who suffered and died for the sins of all 2
Response: Our Father, We Have Wandered Bach See page 4 Words of Assurance and Hope Anthem: Hine Ma Tov Ginsberg Laura Strickling, soloist/camille McKayle-Stolz, dancer Children s Message *Hymn # 548 The Old Rugged Cross v 1,2,4 Bennard (Children under the age of 10 are excused to Activity TIme.)...To Hear God s Word... *Scripture: Isaiah 52:11-53:12 Page 669 Message: From Grief to Life! Sermonic Selection Via Dolorosa Borop/Sprague Andrea Lee, soloist...and Respond with Gratitude Offering Offertory Divine Exchange Moen *Doxology Pastoral Prayer & The Lord s Prayer *Hymn #99 O, How I Love Jesus Whitfield *Benediction *Postlude.Depart in peace 3
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Announcements St. Thomas Reformed Church A Warm Welcome to our visitors. You are invited to complete the visitor registration forms at the end of the pew or on the back table. SAVE THE DATE: Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service Thursday, November 15, 7pm in our sanctuary. The message this year will be given by Rabbi Michael Feshbach. A reception with light refreshments will follow the service in our Pavilion. XYG (examine Your God): If you are a high school student (grades 9-12) and want to be part of a life-changing Mission Trip experience next Spring, come find out what it s all about. TODAY after worship (11:30am) at the Parsonage! Do you or someone you know still need assistance with hurricane recovery? We have volunteers coming in late December and well into 2019 to help (cleaning, debris removal, light construction, etc.)! Please contact Pastor Jeff or Vicky, our Retreat Center volunteer coordinator, retreat@stthomasreformedchurch.org to inquire. Activity Time - Volunteers are needed for each Sunday to spend some quality, faith-filled fun time with the children of our church (under age 10) during worship. Lesson plans and activities are already planned and will be sent to you! Thank you to our Activity time leaders for today: Deb Merrill. Prison Ministry If you would like to be involved in our prison ministry, visiting and leading Bible studies every Monday night at 6 pm in the local jail, please contact Gabriel Villegas (gjvillegas@ yahoo.com) or Dave Haddow (davidjhaddow@yahoo.com) The Women s Bible Study will meet for the fourth session of the DVD series titled Fight Back with Joy by Margaret Feinberg. All women are welcome to attend this Monday, from 6:15 to 8 pm at the Hodges home. The Hurricane Preparedness Ministry has the distribution goods available for Thanksgiving. If you need food supplies, please see Robin Marsella, Linda Post or Beth Benta to let us know. 5
The nursery located in the Bakery Square annex is open to children 3 years and under. Please use the bathrooms in the Undercroft or through the gate in the Bakery Square annex. Next week s Lectionary Scripture Readings Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 146, Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Psalm 119:1-8, Hebrews 9:11-14, Mark 12:28-34 If you did not have the opportunity to fill in the contact card for Sharing During Thanksgiving or Breaking Bread, please take one from the back table. WORSHIP TEAM MEETS THIS TUESDAY! The Worship Planning Team will meet this Tuesday, October 30th, at6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Music Room--all are welcome! Join us as we work to enrich weekly worship services with creative & artistic elements including music, dance, drama, spoken word, and visual arts. For more info, contact Chanelle. With the coming holidays we would like to ask everyone to remember our troops who are serving away from us and their families. You d be surprised how much a simple postcard or note from home means. Even better is a small care package of homemade or local goodies. The Post Office offers reduced shipping charges to APO and FPO s. If you have or know of any service men or women who would appreciate a note from home, please contact the office with their information and we will keep a list at the back of the sanctuary. If you would like to write to any of our members who are serving abroad, here is their information: HM3 Denielle Arthur USS John C. Stennis (CVN74) Unit 100175 Box #67 FPO AP 96615 Luke Davis, Specialist CMR 415 Box 4526 96615 APO, AE 09114-0046 May God Bless them and keep them safe. 6 Zavin Tatem, SGT Bldg 2447 Bragg St Box 375 Columbia, SC 29209
TO HONOR DR. ALFRED O. HEATH This afternoon, Sunday, October 28th, at 5 pm at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, The Virgin Islands Stewards of Music Arts and Culture will present a tribute concert honoring Dr. Alfred O. Heath for 57 years of dedicated service to the Virgin Islands. Melita Etienne, Shikima Jones, Lorna Freeman, Gylchris Sprauve, Howard Jones, and the UVI Concert Choir will be accompanied by a 35-piece chamber orchestra, combining the finest musical forces of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Tickets are $30. We invite you to show your appreciation and support for Dr. Heath, our national treasure, by placing an ad in the commemorative booklet. For more information, please call Sara Connell at 340-514-0327 or email at VISMAC2018@gmail.com. CALENDAR TODAY Mon., Oct 29 9:00-9:45 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 10:20 a.m. 11:30 noon 11:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Café in the Pavilion Sunday Worship Activity Time (Undercroft Yellow Room) Children s Choir Rehearsal XYG Meeting (Parsonage) Dr. Heath Tribute Concert (St. P & P Cath) 6:15-7:45 p.m. Women s Bible Study (Hodges Home) Tues., Oct 30 Thurs., Nov 1 11:30-1:00 p.m. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Salvation Army Lunch Worship Planning Team (MR) 6:00-7:30 p.m. Adult Choir Rehearsal (MR) Sat., Nov 3 11:00-2:30 p.m. Bethlehem House Lunch Sun., Nov 4 9:00-9:45 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 10:20 a.m. 11:30 - noon Café in the Pavilion Communion and Sunday Worship Activity Time Children s Choir Rehearsal Salvation Army Helpers: Joe Tullis, Linda Gidley, Bert and Gail Prince Leading Worship Today: Ministers: All the people of the church Preaching: Pastor Jeff Greeters: Nick and Joyce Bailey Music: Chanelle Schaffer, Andrea Lee, Laura Strickling and the Adult Choir Dance Ministry: Camille McKayle-Stolz Ushers: Dr. Adam Flowers and Joel Comissiong Sound System: Steve Marsella and Henry Ong 7
Reformation Sunday ST. THOMAS REFORMED CHURCH St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands OCTOBER 28, 2018 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)