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"Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” ~ Reinhold Niebuhr 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 [email protected]. 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 4/31/20 were $ 700 which includes $ 50 received in memory of Pat Liao. Costs for each week are $1,118 (derived by dividing the annual budget by 52 weeks). As usual Please continue with 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. Birthdays & Anniversaries June 10 Bob Watts June 12 Herb VanGuilder Prayer Concerns We pray for healing for our country and all the innocent victims of violence. Bless those who spread peace and love. The family of Brenda and Dick who live and work in Minneapolis, a city torn apart by violence. As white middle class citizens we really don’t have a clue about the experiences of people of color. We need to learn and listen and participate in the healing. What an amazing world we would live in if we could spread love as quickly as we spread hate and negativity. Martin Luther King said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that Prayers for Phyllis Bont who is a patient in hospice at Mt Ascutney Hospital. Prayers for Jim Peplau’s brother. We continue to keep the following in our prayers: James Almond, Terry DeYoung, Kathy Doyle, Pam Dundy, Judy Edwards, Carolyn Gauthier, Susan Kneebone, Ginny Kottkamp, Annie Oakes, Evelyn Tucker, Herb Van Guilder, and Evelyn Verro. We know the power of prayer. If you have others to add to our prayer concerns, please email [email protected] . “Right Spirit” The following poem was printed in this week’s edition of the Conference E-Kit. It was written by Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes. I thought it fitting during these times of turmoil and decided to share. When you send forth your spirit all beings are created; and you renew the face of the ground. His name was George Floyd. I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. He was God’s beloved, breathing God’s Spirit. In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. He was black, the Body of Christ. When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. He was slowly choked to death By a white cop. His life didn’t matter. We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. Please, I can’t breathe… Create in me a clean heart, O God and put a new and right spirit within me. Congregation-wide Survey – Reopening Our Church As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we are inviting all members of our church family to answer a few questions to help the church board develop a plan to reopen the church for services, which is safe and equitable to all members. This weekend, you will receive a separate email invitation to respond to the on-line survey. It also contains information about how you can respond to the survey on paper. Your response is particularly important, so please have every member of your family take a turn answering the questions. Zoom Church Services Continue IMPORTANT… PLEASE NOTE Below: Beginning May 30th, 2020, Zoom will be enabling GCM encryption across the entire Zoom platform, providing increased protection for meeting data. In order to join the church service this Sunday, you will need to have Zoom 5.0 on your computer or device. If you do not have Zoom 5.0 when you try to join our church meeting on Sunday, you will receive notice of a required forced update. It should be simple and you will be directed to download the new version to your computer or device. You will get a message to do this and be asked to simply click yes to download the 5.0 version. We have not seen the directions but believe it will be self-explanatory and should only take a few minutes. We wanted to let you know this before you suddenly found out on Sunday. This is supposed to make the platform safer to use and help to reduce the possibility of intruders! 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 31, 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 ____________________________________________________________ June 7, 2020 10:15 A.M. SERVICE OF WORSHIP TRINITY SUNDAY SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION PRELUDE: O God Almighty Father tune: Gott Vater sei Gepriesen 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 Come, let us worship Almighty God. Let us lift up our songs, our prayers, and our praises. Come, let us honor Christ Jesus. Let us love Christ with our hearts, our minds, and our spirits. Come, let us be filled with the Spirit of the Living God. Breathe in us, breath of God. Alleluia. HYMN 64 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty Stanzas 1 & 2 PRAYER OF CONFESSION Merciful God, whose care never ceases, we come to you as we are. We are tired from trying to do more than we can manage. We are anxious about problems that go unresolved. We are worried about events beyond our control. We do not easily let go. For mistakes we cannot redeem, for tasks left undone, for uncertain goals, we need your forgiveness and ask for your understanding. For recovery of strength and enthusiasm, we pray for your Spirit. For fullness of life, generous hearts, contented souls, we seek to be followers of Christ Jesus. In your mercy, restore us . . . ASSURANCE OF GOD’S LOVE AND FORGIVENESS There is no chasm that cannot be bridged, no loss that cannot be recovered, no mistake that cannot be forgiven, no life than cannot be redeemed – by the grace of God in Christ Jesus! All you who reject vain desires and put away unwarranted fears and who put your confidence in the mercies of God whose presence is always with us may assuredly know that you are forgiven and that the ability to begin again is yours. Glory be to the Holy One who can make all things new! Alleluia! READING OF SCRIPTURE THE EPISTLE LESSON Romans 8: 14-17 THE GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 28: 16-20 SERMON “The Gift of Sight” JOYS AND CONCERNS PRAYERS OF THE 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 618 Let Us Break Bread Together Stanzas 1-3 THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION INVITATION BLESSING OF THE ELEMENTS THE LORD’S PRAYER BREAKING THE BREAD AND LIFTING THE CUP THE COMMUNION PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING Let us give thanks. Bountiful God, we give you thanks that you have refreshed us at your table by granting us the presence of Christ. Strengthen our faith, increase our love for one another, and send us forth into the world in courage and peace, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. HYMN 634 Now Let Us from This Table Rise Stanzas 1 & 2 BENEDICTION BENEDICTION RESPONSE POSTLUDE: Intermezzo In B Flat Minor, Op. 117 No.2 Johannes Brahms "Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” ~ Reinhold Niebuhr Lyrics of the Hymns for the
Church Service on June 7, 2020 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty page 64 (Stanzas 1 & 2) Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee. Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blesses Trinity. Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore thee, casting down their golden crowns, around the glassy sea; cherubim an seraphim falling down before thee, Which wert, and art, and ever more shall be. Let Us Break Bread Together page 618 (Stanzas 1-3) Let us break bread together on our knees, Let us break bread together on our knees, When I fall down on my knees with my face to the rising sun, Oh Lord, have mercy on me. Let us drink wine together on our knees, Let us drink wine together on our knees, When I fall down on my knees with my face to the rising sun, Oh Lord, have mercy on me. Let us praise God together on our knees, Let us praise God together on our knees, When I fall down on my knees with my face to the rising sun, Oh Lord, have mercy on me. Now Let Us from This Table Rise page 634 (Stanzas 1 & 2) Now let us from this table rise renewed in body, mind and soul; With Christ we die and live again, his selfless love has made us whole. With minds alert, up held by grace to spread the word in speech and deed, We follow in the steps of Christ, at one with all in hope and need. To fill each human house with love, it is the sacrament of care, The work that Christ began to do we humbly pledge ourselves to share. Comments are closed.
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