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CHURCH SERVICES at the UNITED CHURCH of LUDLOW are shared ELECTRONICALLY Contact [email protected] or call 802-228-4211 for more information. _________________________________________________________________________ If you are comfortable attending in person, please join us. The doors open at 9:45 am, and worship begins at 10:00 am. We follow procedures to minimize the risk of exposure. Please read and follow those procedures for the safety of all. If you are not able to attend in person, a simultaneous Zoom stream is available. Send an email to [email protected] to get Zoom access. _________________________________________________________________________ ANNOUNCEMENTS We wish to thank Christine Boardman for leading our worship service, this morning and throughout Lent and Easter Sunday. _________________________________________________________________________ A Warm Welcome to All Visitors If any member of the congregation may be of service to you, please contact the church office at 802-228-4211 or [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 church office at 802-228-4211 or [email protected]. Upcoming Meetings/Events Executive Board Meeting - Wednesday, March 24, 7:00 pm Weekly Offerings Offerings and other cash receipts for the week ending February 21, 2021, were $1550. The costs for each week are $1,320 (derived by dividing the annual budget by 52 weeks). Please continue to mail your offerings to our Receiver of Offerings, Anne Oakes, at 145 Merrill Road, Ludlow, Vermont 05149. Altar Guild Linda Alexander and Carol Wu provide our Altar Guild services. Prayer Concerns Please keep Bob Kottkamp in your prayers as he recovers at home from surgery. We continue to keep the following in our prayers: James Almond, Terry DeYoung, Arthur Marin, Kathy Doyle, Judy Edwards, Jean Eggleston, Carolyn Gauthier, Sheila Kafer, Susan Kneebone, Ginny Kottkamp, Anne Oakes, Evelyn Tucker, Herb Van Guilder, and Evelyn Verro. Celebrations Marge Macintyre celebrates a birthday on February 28th Susan Kneebone celebrates a birthday on March 5th Jean Eggleston celebrates a birthday on March 11th In honor of Susan Kneebone’s birthday, we want to ensure she has lots and lots of Birthday Cards to mark the day. There's still time to get a card and put it in the mail - all you need is her mailing address, which is: Attention Susan Kneebone Cedar Hill Continuing Care Community 49 Cedar Hill Drive Windsor, VT 05089 The rest is up to you. _________________________________________________________________________ February 28, 2021 10:00 AM Service of Worship Second Sunday of Lent PRELUDE (All are encouraged to use the prelude as a quiet time of meditation in preparation for the worship service which follows.) ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GREETING 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) And also with you. CALL TO WORSHIP* (Please stand) “Walk before me, and be blameless,” said God to Abram, “And I shall make my covenant between me and you.” Quite openly, we’ve measured that distance. Quite openly, we’ve stayed away. Quite openly, we’ve distanced ourselves. Quite openly, we didn’t want to be closer. Quite openly, we are not blameless. Quite openly, we are here. We are here to open ourselves to our In-between God. HYMN 560* Help Us Accept Each Other INVOCATION (Unison) We gather to worship, O God, under the shadow of the cross, sign of human shame and divine wisdom. Like Jesus, we would follow faithfully in your covenant way; like Jesus we would live to you and die to you. We are your people; we belong to you. We offer you our worship and our lives. Amen. PRAYER OF CONFESSION We are quite open about our successes. We feel free to boast when we have done well, but we are not quite so open when things have gone wrong. We do not praise God anyway. Instead, we recognize the distance between me and you, between you and God, between God and me. Let’s be quite open about it as we open ourselves to our Living God in silence. This is the time for our prayerful silence. WORDS OF ASSURANCE READING OF SCRIPTURE OLD TESTAMENT Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 PSALM 22:25–31 pp. 752-753 Response 2 GLORIA 70 Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen. THE GOSPEL LESSON Mark 8:31-38 SERMON “Covenant: From Generation to Generation” HYMN 266* Heal Us, Emmanuel, Hear Our Prayer SHARING OUR JOYS AND CONCERNS PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. THE LORD’S PRAYER (trespasses…) 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 OFFERTORY DOXOLOGY At the Presentation, Hymn 95* Old 100th Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, you heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. PRAYER OF DEDICATION* In-between God, Bless these gifts with your love So that we might share them quite openly With all who need your change. Amen. HYMN 133* Leaning on the Everlasting Arms BENEDICTION AND BLESSING* BENEDICTION RESPONSE DISMISSAL Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God POSTLUDE * All who are able may stand. _________________________________________________________________________ Lyrics to the Hymns and Responsive Reading for the February 28 Service HYMN 560 Help Us Accept Each Other Help us accept each other as Christ accepted us; teach us as sister, brother, each person to embrace. Be present, Lord, among us, and bring us to believe we are ourselves accepted and meant to love and live. Teach us, O Lord, your lessons, as in our daily life we struggle to be human and search for hope and faith. Teach us to care for people, for all, not just for some, to love them as we find them, or as they may become. Let your acceptance change us, so that we may be moved in living situations to do the truth in love; to practice your acceptance, until we know by heart Lord, for today's encounters with all who are in need, who hunger for acceptance, for righteousness and bread, we need new eyes for seeing, new hands for holding on; renew us with your Spirit; Lord, free us, make us one! HYMN 266 Heal Us, Emmanuel, Hear Our Prayer Heal us, Emmanuel, hear our prayer; we wait to feel thy touch; deep-wounded souls to thee repair, and Savior, we are such. Our faith is feeble, we confess we faintly trust thy word; but wilt thou pity us the less? Be that far from thee, Lord! Remember him who once applied with trembling for relief; "Lord, I believe," with tears he cried; "O help my unbelief!" She, too, who touched thee in the press and healing virtue stole, was answered, "Daughter, go in peace: thy faith hath made thee whole." Like her, with hopes and fears we come to touch thee if we may; O send us not despairing home; send none unhealed away. HYMN 133 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms. Refrain: Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain) What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain) PSALM 22:25–31 pp. 752-753 Response 2  R
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who worship the Lord. 26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before the Lord. 28 For dominion belongs to the Lord who rules over the nations. 29 All who sleep in the earth shall bow down to the Lord. All who go down to the dust shall bow before the Lord, and I shall live for God. 30 Posterity shall serve the Lord; each generation shall tell of the Lord, 31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn. _________________________________________________________________________ Comments are closed.
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