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 these 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 thank Diane Holme for presenting our service this week. 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 Gill Home Board Meeting – Saturday, Feb. 6, 9:00 am Executive Board Meeting - Wednesday, Feb. 24, 7:00 pm Weekly Offerings Offerings and other cash receipts for the week ending January 24, 2021, were $1640. The costs for each week are $1,320 (derived by dividing the annual budget by 52 weeks). Please 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 We ask that you keep David and Beth Almond's son, James Almond, in your prayers as he recovers at Dartmouth Hospital. 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 Don Harpster celebrates a birthday on January 31st. David Almond celebrates a birthday on February 1st. Ann Matulonis celebrates a birthday on February 7th. _________________________________________________________________________ January 31st, 2021 10:00 A.M. Service of Worship FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE SUNDAY 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) One: Breath of God, you are the one in whom we live and move and have our being. All: And we are the ones in whom you live and move and have your being, for you made us in your image and likeness. One: May your unifying energy be felt here among us, All: And rekindle the fire within, that makes us feel alive when we care for others. One: Let us draw from the well of living water, All: And be attentive to that which needs nourishing in ourselves and in our world. One: Come, let us worship where all are welcome in the house of God, All: And find safe haven in the heart of the Divine HYMN 265* O Christ the Healer, We Have Come OPENING PRAYER * God of our ancestors, of prophets from long ago and today, you have spoken your word deep within us. Help us to feel your love as it touches our skin, breaking down all barriers to belonging. You have called us to a life of abundance through interdependence, and so on this Health and Human Service Sunday, may we call upon the strength we have together to create a way when there is no way. As people who have journeyed through isolation and distance, may we claim ourselves united in the Body of Christ. Spirit of the Living God immerse us in the boundlessness of your presence and in a hope that comes like the dawn. Amen. CONFESSION OF SIN O Divine Healer, we confess that sometimes we yearn for you to wave a magic wand on our wounded lives to remove our pain, illness, and suffering. We hear the gospel story of the one seeking healing from Jesus and assume you will perform a similar miracle for all of us –if we just pray hard enough! And we do pray! Open our eyes to recognize the teachings and tools you have given us with which to seek healing in the midst of our afflictions and diseases. You whisper to us that wholeness requires self-care and rest; You nudge us toward caregivers who can support and advise us; You breathe into us energy to move and stretch and reach toward health; You place in us an urgency to seek justice so that all may enjoy adequate health care; Renew our spirits in the midst of our diseases and afflicting spirits. Transform us, O Holy One, for the health of your creation. Amen. SILENCE (Silence may be observed for reflection and prayer.) ASSURANCE OF GOD’S LOVE AND FORGIVENESS In the midst of struggle, disease and affliction, know that you are made in God’s image and God sees you as whole and good. So may you celebrate God in your midst through opportunities of wholeness and justice. READING OF SCRIPTURE Mark 1: 21-28 PSALM 111 Hymnal, page 832, 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 1 Corinthians 8: 1-13 SERMON “Knowledge and Love” HYMN * Let There Be Light, O God of Hosts Sung to tune of Hymn 95 PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. LORD’S PRAYER (“trespasses”) 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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. 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 When we give of ourselves to meet the needs of others, we are co-creators in the health of God’s creation. As we have been given much, let us give in return. OFFERTORY At the Presentation, Hymn 95* Old 100th Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. PRAYER OF DEDICATION* Transforming God, we dedicate our gifts for the health of your creation. May those who receive these gifts be blessed by your love and inspired to give to others so that your creation will continue to be transformed by your love. HYMN 152 * I Sing the Mighty Power of God BENEDICTION AND BLESSING* And now in the wholeness and the goodness of God, go forth. Go and laugh with your friends, reconcile with those who have hurt you, be kind to strangers, and feel the Divine smile upon us. Now and forevermore. Amen. 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 Readings for the January 31 Service HYMN 265 O Christ the Healer, We Have Come O Christ, the healer, we have come to pray for health, to plead for friends. How can we fail to be restored when reached by love that never ends? From every ailment flesh endures our bodies clamor to be freed; yet in our hearts we would confess that wholeness is our deepest need. How strong, O Lord, are our desires, how weak our knowledge of ourselves! Release in us those healing truths unconscious pride resists or shelves. In conflicts that destroy our health we recognize the world's disease; our common life declares our ills. Is there no cure, O Christ, for these? Grant that we all, made one in faith, in your community may find the wholeness that, enriching us, shall reach the whole of humankind. HYMN 95 (tune) Let There Be Light, O God of Hosts Let there be light, O God of hosts! Let there be wisdom on the earth! Let broad humanity have birth! Let there be deeds instead of boasts. Within our passioned hearts instill the calm that endeth strain and strife. Make us your ministers of life. Drive out the urge to curse and kill. Give us the peace of vision clear to see each other’s good, our own, to joy and suffer not alone: the love that casts aside all fear. Let woe and waste of warfare cease, that useful labor yet may build its homes with love and laughter filled! God, give your wayward children peace! HYMN 152 I Sing the Mighty Power of God I sing the almighty power of God, that made the mountains rise, that spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day; the moon shines full at God's command, and all the stars obey. I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food, who formed the creatures thru the Word, and then pronounced them good. Lord, how thy wonders are displayed, where'er I turn my eye, if I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky. There's not a plant or flower below, but makes thy glories known, and clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from thy throne; while all that borrows life from thee is ever in thy care; and everywhere that we can be, thou, God, art present there. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________
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