Sunday Bulletin
Celebration Service April 21, 2024 9:30am
Prelude “Antiphon” Karg-Elert
Introit “Jesus, Stand Among Us”
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship
LEADER: Our long journey is over!
PEOPLE: We have danced into the light of Jesus’ resurrection!
LEADER: No more do we need to fear!
PEOPLE: No more will we feel that we are alone and lost!
LEADER: Jesus lives in our hearts and spirits!
PEOPLE: Jesus calls us to be a source of hope and joy for others!
Hymn* “Let the Whole Creation Cry” #21
Unison Prayer
Loving God, it is with joyful hearts that we come into your presence together today! We pray that your Holy Spirit would be at work in our service, opening our eyes to what we can learn from each other and from You. May today be a new beginning in our walk with You, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Children's Message
Psalm 23 Lay Reader: Brad Osborne
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
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 “Jesus, Word of God Incarnate” Williams
Prayers of the People
Hymn “In the Bulb There Is a Flower” #638
Readings
Exodus 3:1-5
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
John 15:1-8
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Message “Endings-and Beginnings” Rev. Paul Sangree
Offering
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Offertory “Andante” Benjamin Carr
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* “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” #86
Benediction
Closing: “May Our God Watch Between Me and Thee”
Postlude “Sortie in F Major” Franck
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Calendar of Events
Monday, 4/29 Noon AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, 4/30 2 – 6 QYD in Fellowship Hall
7:30 AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, 5/1 Noon Music in May in Sanctuary
Noon AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
5:30 Choir Rehearsal in Organ Loft
Saturday, 5/4 Green Up Day!
Happy Birthday this week to:
Andrew Bennett, Sara Espey, Lee Helmken, and Sean Lacey on 4/28
Sara Percy on 4/30
AnnaMay Brown, Dillan Cobaugh, Hamish Fucile, Robert Johnson and Louisa Percy on 5/1
Derek Wentz on 5/3
Kathleen Garret, Gilbert Helmken, and Chuck Perkins on 5/4
Announcements
The ushers today are Jean Mudgett and Jerrine Gangas. Thank you for helping today.
We are so happy to have Rev. Paul Sangree leading us in worship today. Thank you for being here. Rev. Paul Sangree is the Associate Conference Minister of the Vermont Conference of the United Church of Christ, which is made up of over 100 churches throughout the state who seek to encourage and support one another in our common ministries. He has served in this role since 2018. Previously, he was a pastor in Massachusetts at 3 churches for 30 years.
This Wednesday the Noon Music In May features The Champlain Trio with violinist Letitia Quante, cellist Emily Taubl and pianist Hiromi Fukuda.
You are invited to join our new “Green Team” at Stowe Community Church.
This team will help discern where our congregation currently stands in our lived commitment to care for creation and where we are called to act in the future. Seeking your participation and input, we invite you to learn more and get involved in one of the following ways:
1. Composting program
2. Recycling program
3. Community gardens
4. Eco-friendly lifestyle
5. Nature activities
6. Climate change activism
If you are interested in these areas, please contact Pastor Dan Haugh.
Monthly Green Tip for April 2024
Reduce is about reducing wasteful practices, such as eliminating single-use items (e.g., use reusable produce bags made from netting in place of plastic bags or coffee thermos in place of Black Cap/Starbucks cup).
Reuse is about repurposing old items, such as tearing old towels into strips for house cleaning or purchasing second-hand clothing.
Recycle is about reducing landfill waste. While helpful it should be used as a last resort. First ask yourself if the item can be reused or whether there is an alternative you can use next time, ideally made from recycled material or with less plastic.
April Mission Focus is The Lamoille Community Food Share is a nonprofit group of volunteers dedicated to providing food security for friends and neighbors in and around Lamoille County, Vermont. Their pantry is located at 197 Harrel Street in Morrisville, next door to the Community College of Vermont; it is open Monday- 9-11:30, and Saturdays 9:30-11. Families can come and receive basic food and other grocery items to help stretch their food dollar.
All food donations are accepted but they try to provide the best and most nutritious food possible. Most of the offerings are non-perishable food. Here is their “wish list”:
peanut butter, tuna, canned vegetables, low salt soup, cereal, canned chicken, raisins, applesauce, spaghetti sauce, pasta, personal items, canned fruit, beans, coffee, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and detergent
“The Green Bag Project”: After the service April 21 there will be shopping bags available for you to fill and return to SCC or directly to the Lamoille Community Food Share Pantry (if you are in Morrisville you should stop by to see what is happening at the pantry!). Your generosity will be much appreciated; there has been increased demand for food lately. Also, volunteers are needed to help with these tasks:
Setting up and closing, Stocking shelves, Breaking down boxes, Helping to keep the pantry clean, Checking in visitors
The mission of Lamoille Community Food Share is to help support and improve the physical well-being of individuals who might otherwise go hungry. We help all those who ask, but our main service area consists of the towns of Eden, Elmore, Hyde Park, Morristown, Stowe and Wolcott in Lamoille County, Vermont.
Save the Dates:
New Member Orientation on 5/5/24 following the morning worship service in Fellowship Hall in person or Zoom meeting on Monday 5/6/24 at 6pm. These are for anyone interested in learning more about our church or signing up to become members. We will welcome new members on Sunday, 6/2/24 at our 9:30 worship service.
Scuba Bible Camp in August, 19th – 23rd, 9:00 am – 12 noon
Bible Camp is available for all students from K-5th grade, and for Middle School Students, 6th-8th to do Outreach/Missions Volunteering! High School Students are welcome and encouraged to join us as High School Camp Counselors, and those students can get Community Service hours for their time! For more information and to register please contact Taryn Noelle.
We will not have our May 5th evening service and encourage the congregation to attend the special Yom Hashoah-Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration "And Then They Came for Me," a Vermont Stage community performance at JCOGS. For more information and to register, please visit: jcogs.org/calendar.
We look forward to resuming our monthly evening service on June 2nd at 6 pm.
Green Up Day
The SCC Green Team encourages all members and friends to sign up for the annual Green Up Day on Saturday, May 4th. Check your local towns to determine where to register in the morning. For Stowe residents, head to the Alchemist to choose the streets to clean and green up and receive your bags. Members of the Green Team will meet at church at 10 am to clean up the Stowe parking lot and rec paths located behind our building.
You can be a part of something big and help Green Up Vermont achieve a Guinness World Record for “most pledges received for trash clean up in 24 hours.” A signup sheet is available in the Narthex.
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 pew 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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Musical Notes by Karen Miller
Prelude: An antiphon is a psalm, anthem, or verse sung responsibly between two groups of singers. It is an integral part of portions of the Roman Catholic Mass. Later composers have used the term for their compositions that include a sort of “echo” effect. In Karg-Elert’s “Antiphon” one manual is louder than the other, and the softer one uses the Swell pedal to create an echo. A phrase is heard on the softer manual with the Swell pedal open, and the same phrase is repeated with the Swell pedal closed. Karg-Elert’s music shows the influence of Debussy and Satie as he embraced the developing musical styles of the 20th century.
Anthem: “Jesus, Word of God Incarnate” is an old Italian chorale arranged for choirs by Walter William. It is the “Ave verum corpus” plainsong of the Roman office of Benediction. Composers like Despres, Byrd, Mozart, Cherubini, Samuel Wesley, Gounod, and Elgar created motet settings of this melody. The text reads:
Jesu, Word of God Incarnate of the Virgin Mary born.
On the cross Thy Sacred body for us men with nails was torn.
Cleanse us by the blood and water streaming from Thy pierced Side.
Feed us with Thy body broken, now, and in death’s agony.
O Jesu hear us, O Jesu hear us, O Jesu Son of Mary hear.
Offertory: “Andante” is a short work by Benjamin Carr (1769-1831) who, as a young man, emigrated from London to Philadelphia with his father and brother around 1793. They established a successful music publishing business, and Carr became active as a singer, pianist, and organist. A prolific composer of popular and patriotic songs, he wrote the well-known “Hail! Columbia!” that, arranged as a march, became popular during the Revolutionary period.
Postlude: Cesar Franck’s L’Organiste was a project proposed by Franck’s publisher Enoch, a collection of accessible manual (no pedals) pieces for harmonium or organ. Originally ninety-one pieces were planned, seven in each key (fairly evenly divided between major and minor modes). Each key group included six short pieces followed by a longer one (usually titled Offertoire, Communion, or Sortie). Franck actually completed only sixty-three of the set before he died. Heard today is his “Sortie” from his pieces in F Major.
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