Sunday Bulletin
Celebration Service March 19 , 2023 – 9:30 am
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Lyrics and music for the hymns, when legally sharable,
are available by clicking on the title of each hymn.
Prelude “Variations on a Hymn for Lent” Dale Wood
Introit “In This Time”
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship
Children of God: welcome!
Welcome to this place of love and grace,
Welcome to this place of hope and perseverance.
God invites all of us to be a part of the beloved community,
God invites all of us to share in the good news:
We are welcome, just as we are. We are loved, just as we are.
In gratitude for all of this, let us worship God.
Hymn “The Church of Christ in Every Age” v.1, 3, 5 #475
Unison Prayer
Creator, Sustainer and Savior,
You lead us through the late winter wilderness of Lent.
As we trudge through the stuff of our lives,
show us, guide us, and remind us of your presence.
Help us to see and praise you in, around and through our days.
Connect us to you in our experience as we walk toward the veiled cross.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Children’s Message
Psalm 37:1-9 Lay Reader: Amy Cobaugh page 510
Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,
For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret – it leads only to evil.
For the wicket shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
The Gloria Patri*
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
Anthem “The God of Love My Shepherd Is” Herbert Peck
Prayers of the People
Hymn “Bless Now, O God, the Journey” #489
Reading Matthew 7:1-12
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For the judgment you give will be the judgment you get, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for bread, would give a stone? 10 Or if the child asked for a fish, would give a snake? 11 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
12 “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Message “In Everything….” Rev. Dan Haugh
Offering
Offertory “Let thy Blood in Mercy Poured” Cruegar/Clokey
Click here to make an online donation
Doxology*
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise him all creatures here below.
Praise him above you heavenly hosts,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Offertory Prayer*
Hymn* “God of Grace and God of Glory” #464
Benediction*
Closing “Peace Be Unto You”
Postlude “Fidelis Servus” Dom Paul Benoit
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Calendar
Monday, 3/20 Noon AA weekly meeting in Fellowship Hall
3:00 Sparks in Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, 3/21 8:00 AA weekly meeting in Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, 3/22 Noon AA weekly meeting in Fellowship Hall
5:30 choir rehearsal in Organ Loft
Friday, 3/24 6:00 MMWA graduation in Sanctuary
Happy Birthday this week to:
Deb Martin today, 3/19
Cassandra Damon on 3/20
Christina Glowac on 3/21
Lauren Jennings on 3/22
Anne Southam on 3/24
Clea James on 3/25
Happy Anniversary this week to:
Dave and Nan Myers on 3/25
Announcements
The flowers this morning are given in memory of Virginia Lee Burnham 1920-2013 by Charlie Burnham.
The ushers today are Karen Monsen and Marcia Johannesen . Thank you for helping today.
SCC Ski and Ride Day March 20th!
We're planning a second SCC Ski and Ride Day at Stowe Mountain Resort on Monday March 20th! Join Dan and others for some skiing, a brief service at the Mountain Chapel, more skiing, and then Apres Ski at the Round Hearth!
We'll meet at 9:00 by the new Sunrise lift, the service will be at 11:00.
If you have any questions, contact Greg Morrill at gmorrill@pshift.com.
Mission Moment today is about the Kenyan Orphanage that we sponsor. A donation can be made to this great need by issuing a check and putting Kenyan Orphans on the memo line.
"There's still time to sponsor a child living in poverty through a wonderful organization called Compassion International! Our church goal is to sponsor 19 children by March 19th! The Missions Committee will have a table with the remaining children profile packets to share after church for the next few weeks and can also meet individually to share the profiles with anyone interested or answer questions. You can also email Amy Cobaugh at amycobaugh@yahoo.com or text/call 860-681-4488. Your generosity can change the lives of children living in difficult conditions who could use extra hope and help."
Monthly Prayer Focus:
With the need for prayer in mind, the deacons (Theresa Tedstone, Jean Mudgett, Tracy Wall, and Brad Osborne) ask for your prayers during the month of March. Pray that God will guide our service, strengthen us, and present us with opportunities within the church and our community to serve in new ways that we could not previously have imagined. Pray also that God will equip us with the tools to faithfully carry out our calling as those opportunities present themselves. Whether it be the right words to say to someone who is struggling, a strengthened spirit to discern the needs of those who may not feel comfortable sharing, or the time and resources to meet unforeseen needs as our church grows…we ask that you include us in your prayers.
Missions and Outreach focus this month:
The focus this month is on our support of the Nyalwodep Project in Kenya. Our church through the Mission Committee has been sponsoring this project since connecting with this organization through Dr. Jack Bryant and his wife Nancy, Stowe residents and church members in 2005. They were also doing missionary work in Nairobi, Kenya where they met Pastor James Ouma and saw the urgent and pressing needs of his group of widows and orphans from the AIDS epidemic in Africa. The Bryants introduced our congregation to this needy organization and since then we have been sending funds to help with the food, clothing and education of these students. There are currently 75 children and 40 widows cared for at Nyalgunga which is about 60 miles from Nairobi. Pastor Ouma has visited Stowe Community Church twice, once with his wife Alice who co-founded the Project. We hope to continue to support these vulnerable children and help them out of the throes of poverty by getting an education so they will have a better future.
If you are interested in donating, helping with a student’s education or being part of a mission group to visit Nyalgunga and Pastor Ouma please contact Karen at karen@pma1.net or 802-253-9437.
Sip and Stuff
Did you know that 1,000 Eggs need to be stuffed for the 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Parsonage Park?
Please join us if you can on Thursday, March 30th at 5:00 pm at the Parsonage for some light appetizers and wine. An official E-vite is on its way.
Please plan to bring plastic eggs as well as a bag of candy. Please contact Lauretta Haugh at laurettahaugh@gmail.com.
If you, or someone you know, would like prayers for comfort or healing, the members of the Prayer Team are ready to support you. Please fill out the prayer request form in the bulletin and put it in the offering plate or hand it to an usher to deliver to the office.
Please do not forget our neighbors in need by donating food for the Lamoille Community Food Share. Non-perishable items can be put in our two bins, one in the Narthex and one in the hall downstairs. Thank you.
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Music Notes by Karen Miller
Prelude: The tune for Dale Wood’s “Variations on a Hymn for Lent” was taken from The Sacred Harp of 1859. A quiet, moody piece, it captures the essence of Lent and the road to the Cross. The piece is in three parts. In the first, the melody appears in the soprano line. In the second, a low A note starts and sounds through the whole section while the melody is in the tenor line on a solo stop. In the third, an introduction leads to the melody on a solo stop in the soprano line which leads to a bolder, broader final statement of the tune in chordal style. Dale Wood (1934-2003) was an organist, composer, editor, author, musical clinician, and lecturer. In his organ capacity he served Lutheran and Episcopal churches in Los Angeles, Riverside and latterly at the Episcopal Church of St. Mary in San Francisco.
Anthem: George Herbert (1593-1632) in his youth was a favorite at the court of James I. After studies at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, he took Holy orders to serve as rector at Bemerton, near Salisbury. His collection of poems, The Temple, was posthumously published in 1633. Richard Peek (1927-2005) was minister of music at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte for 47 years. He wrote 300 pieces for organ, choir, and instruments including his “The
God of Love My shepherd Is” based on Herbert’s poem that is a loose adaptation of Psalm 23. The text reads:
The God of Love my Shepherd is, and He that does me feed;
While He is mine and I am His what can I want or need.
He leads me to the tender grass, where I both feed and rest;
Then the streams that gently pass: in both I have the best.
Or if I doth convert, and bring my mind in frame,
And all this not for my desert, but for His holy Name.
Surely Thy sweet and wond’rous love shall measure all my days,
And as it never shall remove, so neither shall my praise.
Offertory: German composer and cantor Johannes Cruger (1598-1662), beginning in 1644, edited the first editions of Praxis Pietatis Melica (“the practice of piety through melody”). The tune “Jesu, My Trust” (Let thy Blood in mercy poured) appeared in the 1653 edition of this work. This publication is considered the most important source that contributed to 17th century hymnody. Joseph Clokey (1890-1960), in his Thirty-five Interludes on Hymn Tunes of 1958, wrote a short, two part piece based on this melody. Part One features the theme with light support from two lower voices. Part Two is antiphonal; one manual carries the principal theme phrase by phrase with interludes on a softer manual that is more ethereal.
Postlude: Luxembourg monk Dom Paul Benoit (1893-1979) in his collection Pieces d’Orgue of 1963 included a quiet piece titled “Fidelis Servus” (faithful servant), a fitting role to ponder during Lent. The melody remains in the soprano line as two manuals converse in dialogue.
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