United Church of Ludlow - Weekly Newsletter - Fifth Sunday of Easter - May 10, 2020

"Kind hearts are the garden,
kind thoughts are the roots,
kind words are the blossoms,
kind deeds are the fruits.”
~ John Ruski

​​Zoom Service
United Church of Ludlow

Although we will not be together in person for our Service, we will be having a Zoom service, complete with music, on May 10, 2020 at 10:00 am.  If you would like to participate in the service, please do not hesitate to call us at one of the numbers below before Sunday:
 
          Linda:  802-558-9055 
          George:  802-558-9057
          Home phone:  802-228-6275

The Bulletin for the service and the words to the hymns are at the end of the newsletter.   They are also available as .pdf documents which you can download when you receive an email invitation to the Zoom service.

Hopefully we will see you in church!  

George and Linda
​____________________________________________________________________

​Below is a letter I received to all from Rev Dr. Lynn Bujnak, the Conference Minister of the Vermont Conference, UCC:
 
George
 
 
Dear Beloved Community in the Vermont Conference,
 
I have been struggling to write protocols for when and how and if our churches can open for in person worship. I have received feedback from seven people who volunteered to be readers and commenters. I have paid close attention to my colleagues throughout the country. Out of this, here is what I believe to be most important.

• The Great Commandment calls us to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” Following this commandment, we must weigh each and every decision about re-opening in light of what is the most loving thing we can do given the information we have and the wisdom of the experts.
• Here in the Vermont Conference, more than two thirds of our members are over the age of 60 and many have existing and/or chronic medical conditions. There is growing evidence that those below the age of sixty and in good health can also become sick and die.
• The minimum criteria for considering opening (14 days of declining new infections, testing widely available, hospitals with enough space, staff, PPE and ventilators, the ability and infrastructure to track infections) is not even close to being met.
• Information about COVID-19 is still sparse and changing frequently.

 
Therefore,

• Our churches need to know and come to terms with the fact that closed buildings and online worship, community and structure are here for the foreseeable future. This is the most loving thing we can do both for our members and our neighbors.
• I suggest that decisions about changing this policy be made quarterly, relying on the facts at that time, to take the anxiety out of living week by week or month by month.
• Every effort should be made to assist those who are struggling with isolation, mental health issues, being safe in their own homes, and financial survival.
• Ministries to and with those who are the most vulnerable in our society need to continue or begin with the best safety measures we can put in place.

 
As I read recently, the Church is not closed; it is deployed.
 
Blessings to each of you, your families and congregations. Know that you are seen and deeply valued. Know that your work is seen and deeply valued. I believe that, relying on the grace of God and knowing our need for one another, we will not only survive but thrive in ways new and old.
 
Lynn
 
_______________________________________________________________________
​
A warm welcome to all visitors to our church email newsletter or web page.  If the Pastor or any member of the congregation may be of service to you, please contact the church office at 802-228-4211 or Rev. Harpster at  802-875-8895.
His email is harpsterd@vermontel.net. 
 
Regarding Individuals in the Hospital or Sick at Home:
It would be greatly appreciated if you know of individuals or family members in the hospital or sick at home, to kindly inform the pastor, Rev. Harpster.  
 
Weekly Offerings 

Offerings and other cash receipts for the week ending 5/3/20 were $2070 which includes $530 received in memory of Pat Liao.
 
The costs for each week are $1,118 (derived by dividing the annual budget by 52 weeks).

As always, please continue to send your weekly offering by writing a check to The United Church and sending it in to Anne Oakes at 145 Merrill Rd., Ludlow, VT 05149. 
Thank you so much.
 
Celebration
 
Dick Dansingburg's birthday is Sunday May 10th.
 
Prayer Concerns
 
This week we ask for prayers for the family of Cynthia Russell who died this past week
 
Marge Harlow, a long-time teacher at Ludlow Elementary, died last week.  Our sympathy is extended to her family which includes Brett Harlow and Ann Rose.
 
A Weston Playhouse favorite, Sam Lloyd, Jr, lost his fight to brain cancer.  Prayers for his wife and 1 year old son, Weston.
 
Pam Dundy is a patient at DHMC with pneumonia
 
Bob Cysyk, a former member of the United Church now living in Pennsylvania, will be having a knee replacement this month.
 
In our own community let us keep the following in our prayers:
James Almond, Terry DeYoung, Kathy Doyle,  Judy Edwards,  Carolyn Gauthier, Susan Kneebone,  Ginny Kottkamp, Annie Oakes, Evelyn Tucker,  Herb Van Guilder, and  Evelyn Verro.
 
​_______________________________________________________________________

May 10, 2020                                                                                                           10:15 A.M.
SERVICE OF WORSHIP
 
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
FESTIVAL OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME

 
PRELUDE              Howells Elevation III, Op. 32; Lamento                                   Dupré
 
GREETING
 
         Peace be to this house and to all for whom this is home. The grace of our LORD Jesus
        Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
            (2 Corinthians 13: 13)
 
CALL TO WORSHIP
       
         God has created us, called us from our mother’s wombs and formed of us a people.
 
         No longer are we lonely individuals, but part of the whole human family, living
         and sharing with others.
 
         We discover life to be so complex.  It is tears; it is smiles; it is joy; it is sorrow.
 
         It is a gift from God.  Laugh, cry, sing, be silent; in whatever way we live, be
         thankful unto God!  Amen!
 
HYMN 102                   Now Thank We All Our God
                                    Stanzas 1 & 2
 
PRAYER OF INVOCATION
 
       Parent God, we thank you for the homes in which we were nurtured, and for the love             that our mothers and fathers had for us.  We thank you also for the new birth that
      Christ offers us through you love, and for the larger family we find in the church
      and among the people of the world.  Through the power of your Spirit, make us alive
    to love and serve you in our families, our church, and our world, make us your
      true children in Jesus Christ.  Amen.
 
READING OF SCRIPTURE
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON                        Ruth 1:  15-18
 
THE GOSPEL LESSON                                       John 14:  1-14

SERMON                     “Your Room”

HYMN 92                     For the Beauty of the Earth
                                    Stanzas 1 & 2

JOYS AND CONCERNS

PRAYERS OTHE PEOPLE

PRAYER RESPONSE                              Hymnal, No. 473

            Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness;
            Make thy way plain before my face.
            For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only,
            That makest me dwell in safety.
 
OFFERTORY SENTENCE
 
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
 
HYMN  384                  Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
                                    Stanzas 1 & 2
 
BENEDICTION
 
BENEDICTION RESPONSE
 
POSTLUDE      Toccata from Fifth Organ Symphony                       Charles Marie Widor
 

"Kind hearts are the garden, 
kind thoughts are the roots, 
kind words are the blossoms, 
kind deeds are the fruits.” 
~ John Ruski

​________________________________________________________________________
​
Hymns for Church Service on May 10,2020
 
                Now Thank We All Our God - Page 102
                                                Verses 1 & 2

1. Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
   Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
   Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
   With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
2. Oh, may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
   With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
   And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
   And guard us through all ills in this world, till the next!

 
 
 
                For the Beauty of the Earth- Page 92
                                                Verses 1 & 2
1.     For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies,
        For the love which from our birth Over and around us lies
        (Chorus) Lord of all, to thee we raise - This our hymn of grateful praise.
 
2.     For the beauty of each hour Of the day and of the night,
        Hill and vale, and tree and flow’r, Sun and moon, and stars of light,
        (Chorus) Lord of all, to thee we raise, This our hymn of grateful praise.
 
 
                Love Divine, All Loves Excelling- Page 384
                                                Verses 1 & 2
1.     Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heav'n to earth come down:
        Fix in us thy humble dwelling, all thy faithful mercies crown
        Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art;
        Visit us with thy salvation, enter ev'ry trembling heart.
 
2.     Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit into ev'ry troubled breast;
        Let us all in thee inherit, let us find the promised rest:
        Take away the love of sinning; Alpha and Omega be;
        End of faith, as its Beginning, set our hearts at liberty.