April 19 2015 - Presbyterian - New England Congregational Church

The Presbyterian Church
New England Congregational Church
Lord show us your love. Open our ears that
we might hear; open our minds that we might
understand; strengthen our dedication that
we might show love to You and to each other.
Help us to use this worship service for Your
glory and our
ORDER OF WORSHIP
April 19, 2015 10:45am
benefit. Amen
24 CIRCULAR STREET
•
P.O. BOX 582
Rev. Coqui Conkey .......................................................
Emily Otto, Director of Christian Education
Chuck Kochheiser, Coordinator of Senior Ministries
Robin Leary, Music Director
Pamela Lipkin, Organist
Julie Campbell, Office Manager
Kathy Sephas, Custodian
Church Office (Mon-Fri 9am-2pm) ........... 584-6091
E-Mail..........…..................…[email protected]
Website............................……...www.pnecchurch.org
•
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK 12866-0582
╬ A MORE LIGHT / OPEN AND AFFIRMING FAMILY OF GOD ╬
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader:
CONG:
Leader:
CONG:
Leader:
CONG:
“Holy, Holy Holy (Nicaea)”
+
Bruce Conroe
Come all who are overwhelmed, over stressed, overworked.
Here, in God’s presence, you can find rest and release.
Come all who have felt left out, pushed aside, unfriended.
Here you can feel Christ’s inclusive welcome.
Come all whose feet are dancing, voices laughing, hearts overflowing with joy.
Here you will share the expansive life of the Spirit.
*OPENING HYMN
“Praise with Joy the World’s Creator”
attached
GATHERING PRAYER+ (in unison)
Embracing God, gather us into the circle of your love. Fill us with the knowledge that you accept
us and want only our best. Move us to expand our circle making room for those we have ignored
or overlooked. Bless our worship with movement of your Spirit who guides us in the Way of
Christ.
TIME OF SILENCE
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 glory forever. Amen.
ANTHEM
“Jesus Christ is Waiting”
French tune/ arr. Iona Community
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
Sue Stasch
Children leave for Sunday School.
TIME OF PRAYER
Gathering Joys and Concerns
Pastoral Prayer
Choral Response
PASTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE
OFFERING
Offertory
*Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God all creatures here below.
Praise God above ye heavenly host; Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost.
*Prayer of Dedication
# 592
*HYMN
“In Christ There Is No East or West”
SCRIPTURE READING
SERMON
*CLOSING HYMN
# 440
Acts 10:1-17, 34-35
Bruce Conroe
“Help Us Accept Each Other”
Emily McNeill
# 358
*SENT IN TO THE WORLD
*RESPONSE
POSTLUDE
+
“Halle, Halle”
Hal-le, hal-le, hal-le—lu—ja. Hal-le, hal-le, hal-le—lu—ja.
Hal-le, hal-le, hal-le—lu—ja. Hal-le-lu-ja, hal-le-lu-ja.
“All Glory Be God on High”
F. W. Zachau
*. Congregation standing.
Large print bulletins and hearing devices are available at the rear of the sanctuary
Gifts in Open Hands, Maren Tirabassi and Kathy Wonson Eddy, eds., The Pilgrim Press, ©2011.
╬ All are welcome in this church! As part of our commitment to diversity, we are allied with More Light churches in the
Presbyterian Church (USA) and Open and Affirming churches in the United Church of Christ in advocating for justice and
affirming God’s love for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. ╬ We welcome all visitors to our church.
Please sign our guest book in the foyer and fill out one of the cards in the pews and place it in the offering plate. We hope
you’ll be able to join us again next week! We invite you to a coffee/tea time in the Fellowship Hall immediately following
the worship service. Please come and join our hosts in welcoming new and old friends. Child Care for infants to 3-yearolds is available during the worship service in the Nolan House next door.
We, THE PRESBYTERIAN-NEW ENGLAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Rooted in worship, prayer and action
WELCOME people of diverse backgrounds and experiences
CARE for one another in community
NURTURE the gifts and faith of children and youth
WORK to make God’s love and justice real in our world
Meet the Family . . .
Greeter is Steve LeFevre.
Sunday School Teachers and Helpers are Jill McPherson, Sandee Shoemaker, Khai Martin-Hays, Ben
Doern, Sean Nolan, Hannah LeFevre, Eileen Nolan, Marny Skinner, Audrey Letts, Debbie
Graves and Emily Otto.
Deacons of the Month are Jane French and Martha Van Patten.
Welcome Emily McNeill of the Labor-Religion Coalition for joining us in worship today
and for delivering the sermon. The Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State unites
faith, labor and community in a powerful movement for economic justice. The Moral
Monday movement in New York State is organized by the Coalition. Pastor Coqui is
attending Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C.
Peace Needs You! Plans are underway for Saratoga Peace Week 2015. (September 20th – September 26th) We
are looking for folks would like to get involved. Please join us 7pm on Tuesday, April 28th at the Nolan House,
Hear how you can help bring peace to Saratoga Springs and beyond! Contact Elizabeth Meehan@ 526-9977 with
questions.
Attention all Women and Girls: Come to our annual Banquet on Sunday, May 3rd at 6pm to celebrate all the
women and girls of PNEC church. The men of the church will prepare a delicious
banquet meal. We will also have a community project. Join us for a wonderful time of
celebration, fellowship and food for all ages. Costs are $7 for adults, $5 for Sr. citizens
and teens, $3 for girls 6-12 years, ages 5 and under are free. Tickets will be available in
the foyer before and after church for the month of April.
Attention all Men and Boys: Harry Meehan and Don McPherson are looking for men of all ages to help out in
the kitchen and dining room for the banquet. Sign up at the table in the foyer today after church.
The Church Talent Show is Saturday, May 2nd from 6-8pm. We come together each year as a church family,
to celebrate each other's talents and enjoy a great night of music, laughter, art and delicious baked goods. There
will be a sign-up table today, after church, in the foyer so please stop by and sign-up to
perform, contribute a piece of original art to the art exhibit (all artwork will be returned after
the show) or bring a baked good for intermission. Let's make this year's talent show one to
remember!!! A special thanks to: Peter Nelson, music director, Judith Nelson, bake sale
coordinator, Al Green, art exhibit coordinator and the Sr. High Youth who will be your
Master of Ceremonies for the evening.
Got Tuba? See Chuck Kochheiser if you have a tuba you can loan to the talent show. No,
seriously. We need a tuba for the talent show.
Share your Photos! Next time you are enjoying yourself at a church event, grab your phone or camera and take
a few shots. We’d love to share your photos -- online, in the foyer, in the newsletter. Take a few moments to
email them to the church office and we will do the rest. We know how awesome our church is --let’s share it!
YAHA Luncheon: Our next Young At Heart Adults gathering will be on Tuesday, April 21st at
1pm at Longfellow's Restaurant. We've invited Dr. Daniel Nathan from Skidmore College to
share with us the whole concept of national pastimes and what sporting activities have been
considered to be an intrinsic part of our national culture. Dr. Nathan is presently serving as
chairperson for the American Studies program at Skidmore and also serves as the President of the North
American Society for Sports History. That doesn't mean we'll be serving ballpark hot dogs, but we will feature
baked ham! . If you are not on our call list and would like to attend, please contact Jane Lindberg at 583-1610.
Movies That Make Us Think: 6pm, Saturday, April 25th Jon Hamm portrays a sports
agent in “Million Dollar Arm” who stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get
talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball. Hotdogs, root beer, popcorn
and perhaps a little whiffle ball competition!! Come for dinner or for the movie or for both.
This event is free and open to the public.
Pastor Coqui’s office hours this week are Wednesday, 10am-noon at Spot Café, 55 Railroad Place and by appointment. When can we get together?
Next week we begin a series of worship services focusing on the spiritual practice of hospitality. Welcome and
Care contribute to a culture of hospitality. Hospitality includes both the ways we make room for the stranger and
the ways we build relationships with those we know. In a culture of hospitality, we both give and receive God’s
gift of incarnate love.
THINKING TOWARDS NEXT WEEK:
Scripture reading is Acts 13:1-3; 14:8-18
The church at Antioch included prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (nicknamed Niger),
Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen (a childhood friend of Herod the ruler), and Saul. 2 As they were
worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul to the work I
have called them to undertake.” 3 After they fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on these two and
sent them off.
8
In Lystra there was a certain man who lacked strength in his legs. He had been crippled since birth
and had never walked. Sitting there, he 9 heard Paul speaking. Paul stared at him and saw that he
believed he could be healed.
10
Raising his voice, Paul said, “Stand up straight on your feet!” He jumped up and began to walk.
11
Seeing what Paul had done, the crowd shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have taken
human form and come down to visit us!” 12 They referred to Barnabas as Zeus and to Paul as
Hermes, since Paul was the main speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was located just
outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates. Along with the crowds, he wanted to
offer sacrifices to them.
14
When the Lord’s messengers Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes in
protest and rushed out into the crowd. They shouted, 15 “People, what are you doing? We are humans
too, just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you: turn to the living God and away from
such worthless things. He made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.[a] 16 In the
past, he permitted every nation to go its own way. 17 Nevertheless, he hasn’t left himself without a
witness. He has blessed you by giving you rain from above as well as seasonal harvests, and
satisfying you with food and happiness.” 18 Even with these words, they barely kept the crowds from
sacrificing to them.
CONSIDER: How did Paul view the acts of the people of Lystra? Have you ever gone overboard to
make someone welcome? What did you do? When have acts of hospitality in another culture
confused you?
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Sunday, April 19
10:45am
4:00pm
6:45pm
6:45pm
Worship – Sanctuary
Crime Victims’ Vigil – Sanctuary
Sr. High Youth Group – Fellowship Hall
Step Up – Nolan House Parlor
Tuesday, April 21
1:00pm
6:30pm
7:00pm
YAHA – Longfellows Restaurant
Personnel Committee – Nolan House Dining Room
Theology Book Study – Nolan House Parlor
Saturday, April 25
9:00am
6:00pm
Walking Group – Meet at Spa State Park
Movies That Make Us Think – Fellowship Hall / Sanctuary
Sunday, April 26
9:30am
9:30am
10:45am
6:45pm
Middle School Youth Group – Nolan House Chapel
Choir Rehearsal – Sanctuary
Worship – Sanctuary
Sr. High Youth Group – Fellowship Hall
SCRIPTURE: Acts 10:1-17, 34-35
Common English Bible
There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion in the Italian Company. 2 He and his whole household
were pious, Gentile God-worshippers. He gave generously to those in need among the Jewish people and prayed
to God constantly. 3 One day at nearly three o’clock in the afternoon, he clearly saw an angel from God in a
vision. The angel came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4
Startled, he stared at the angel and replied, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel said, “Your prayers and your compassionate acts are like a memorial offering to God. 5 Send
messengers to Joppa at once and summon a certain Simon, the one known as Peter. 6 He is a guest of Simon the
tanner, whose house is near the seacoast.” 7 When the angel who was speaking to him had gone, Cornelius
summoned two of his household servants along with a pious soldier from his personal staff. 8 He explained
everything to them, then sent them to Joppa.
9
At noon on the following day, as their journey brought them close to the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
He became hungry and wanted to eat. While others were preparing the meal, he had a visionary experience.
11
He saw heaven opened up and something like a large linen sheet being lowered to the earth by its four corners.
12
Inside the sheet were all kinds of four-legged animals, reptiles, and wild birds. 13 A voice told him, “Get up,
Peter! Kill and eat!”
10
14
Peter exclaimed, “Absolutely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15
The voice spoke a second time, “Never consider unclean what God has made pure.” 16 This happened three
times, then the object was suddenly pulled back into heaven.
17
Peter was bewildered about the meaning of the vision. Just then, the messengers sent by Cornelius discovered
the whereabouts of Simon’s house and arrived at the gate.
Peter said, “I really am learning that God doesn’t show partiality to one group of people over another. 35 Rather,
in every nation, whoever worships him and does what is right is acceptable to him.