Sunday Bulletin
Celebration Service February 11 , 2024 9:30am
Prelude “Wade in the Water” Jake Whitesell, soloist
Introit “Woke Up This Morning”
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship "Lord, Lord Open Unto Me"- Howard Thurman
Open unto me, light for my darkness
Open unto me, courage for my fear
Open unto me, hope for my despair
Open unto me, peace for my turmoil
Open unto me, joy for my sorrow
Open unto me, strength for my weakness
Open unto me, wisdom for my confusion
Open unto me, forgiveness for my sins
Open unto me, tenderness for my toughness
Open unto me, love for my hates
Open unto me, Thy Self for myself
Lord, Lord, open unto me!
Hymn*
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” #2
Unison Prayer
All-powerful God, we know that all we have and all we are comes from you. Amidst our human imperfections, in our insecurity and self-delusion, we attempt self-reliance when we’re at our lowest. Forgive our arrogance, O God. We know that only you are God, and the only healing we will ever need is the healing that comes from you. Help us to let you into the most vulnerable chambers of our hearts. Heal us, God, in whatever way will reconnect us with you and your purpose for our lives. It’s Jesus, through whose hands you healed people inside and out, in whose name we pray. Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Children's Message
Isaiah 40:21-31 Lay Reader: Dave Myers page 668
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in;
Who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? Says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not fain or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;
But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
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 “Cantate Domino” Sleeth
Prayers of the People
Hymn “Let Us Break Bread Together” #435
Reading Mark 1:29-39
29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Message “Everyone is searching for healing” Rev. Dr. Sarah Drummond
Offering
Click here to make an online donation
Offertory “Basse de Tierce” Chaumont
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
Communion
Hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” #561
Benediction*
Closing* “Here I Am, Lord” (refrain)
Postlude “Jubilate Des Omnes Terra” Benoit
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Calendar of Events
Monday, 2/5 Noon AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
6:45 The Circle in Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, 2/6 10:30 The Circle in Fellowship Hall
3 – 4:30 Sparks in Fellowship Hall
7:30 AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, 2/7 Noon AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
5:30 Choir Rehearsal in Organ Loft
Thursday, 2/8 1:00 wedding rehearsal
6:45 Zoom Bible Study with Kathe Rhinesmith
Friday, 2/9 1:00 Cristina & Michael Sherman wedding
Happy Birthday this week to:
Casey O’Toole today, 2/4
Karsten Glazier on 2/5
Martin Darrow and Courtney Smith on 2/6
Guy Cote and Kathleen Jones on 2/7
Parker Hailey on 2/8
Wynter Bennett on 2/9
Emmett Knittle on 2/10
Happy Anniversary this week to:
Roger Keller and Nancy Small on 2/5
Announcements
The ushers today are The Deacons Brad Osborne, Amy Marshall, David Roy and Theresa Tedstone. Thank you for helping today.
A very special welcome today to Rev. Dr. Sarah Drummond. Thank you for your messages. Sarah B. Drummond is the Founding Dean of the Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School. She graduated from Yale College with a major in Ethics, Politics, and Economics; Harvard Divinity School with a Master of Divinity; and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee with a PhD in Urban Education, specializing in administrative leadership. She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.
After today’s service, all are welcome downstairs for a reception for Sarah Drummond. Thank you to the Women’s Fellowship for hosting this special occasion and the opportunity to meet our guest.
Please join us tonight at 6:00 pm for our evening service which will include some wonderful music with Jake Whitesell, saxophonist.
The Mission Committee is planning a small mission trip to visit the orphan school that Stowe Community Church sponsors in Kenya. Pastor Ouma is very excited to welcome us to the school and suggests that beginning of July would the best time. Accommodations would be provided. The committee is reaching out to see if anyone in the congregation is interested in joining us on this trip? There will be an optional safari trip to Kenya and Tanzania tentatively planned afterward. For more information, please contact Karen at karenmonsenvt@gmail.com.
Stowe Community Church Winter Hats and Socks Drive
The winter is cold and for those that are without a home, Hats and Socks can be a gift of life for them. Please share the joy of donating only New Hats and Socks (Men, Women and Children) to the Collection at the Stowe Community Church. From January 19th through February 19th we will collect new hats and socks for men, women and children to donate to the Lamoille Community House.
Drop-off is at the Stowe Community Church on Monday – Friday from 9:00am-2:30pm. All items must be new and will be distributed to the Lamoille Community House. All donations will help families experiencing homelessness this winter..
Christian Ed
Join our Christian Education Committee and play a vital role in the growth of our children's programs. We welcome individuals with diverse gifts and offer opportunities that fit various time commitments. Embark on this rewarding journey with us, making a lasting impact on the lives of our children.
Music Sunday
Our next Music Sunday will be on February 11th as a celebration of spirituals that we enjoy singing and are in our Chalice Hymnal.
Lenten Bible Study
Pastor Dan and Rev. Barbara will be leading an online Lenten study at 10:00am on Tuesdays from February 13-March 26. More information will follow. If you are interested in signing up for this, please contact Marylou in the office.
Lenten Journey- “The Way"
Our Lent Journey begins with a festive Shrove Tuesday service at St. John’s in the Mountains on February 13.
On February 14, Pastor Dan will be available on Main Street for ashes and we will host an Ash Wednesday service at 7pm.
Please save the date, February 17, 2024 for a potluck supper and movie “The Way” in Fellowship Hall. More information later.
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: (James) Healey Willan (1880-1968) was born in London and began his organ career at several churches in England. He emigrated to Canada in 1914 when he was hired to be the head of the theory department of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He later joined the faculty of the University of Toronto. But he explored other musical enterprises as well. He was organist and musical director at St. Mary Magdalene in Toronto. He composed for organ, choir, instruments, orchestras, and piano. He was musical director at the Hart House
Theater and wrote 14 plays. He was a renowned and popular lecturer and edited music for the Concordia Publishing House in Missouri, which published several of his musical scores. His Two Pieces (Matins and Evensong) were written in 1961. “Matins” is a quiet piece with a solo melody in the tenor voice in the middle of the work.
Anthem: Natalie Sleeth (1931-1992) was a pianist and organist for many years before auditing a course in choral music at Southern Methodist University where her future husband was a professor of preaching. She was required for the class to arrange and compose music thus pointing her musical talents in another direction. She enjoyed composing reachable anthems for small church choirs and published a goodly number of them. She suffered with multiple sclerosis for many years, but ultimately died of cancer at her home in Denver, Colorado in 1992. Her three-part “Cantate Domino” (O Sing to the Lord) is a lively, praise piece.
Offertory: Little is known about the life or musical career of Lambert Chaumont. He was born in the Netherlands between 1620 and 1640, probably in Liege, and became a monk in the Carmelite monastery at Liege in 1659. He later became a priest in Huy. Probably self-taught as a musician, he composed a set of 111 short pieces on the eight ecclesiastical tones in the French Classical style. This region was subject to musical influences from France, Italy, and Spain, but Chaumont’s organ and his compositions were decidedly French. His “Duo” from his Pieces d’orgue sur les huit tons, Opus 2 of 1695, is a short, essentially three voice piece with the principle melody on a tierce stop in the tenor line.
Postlude: Dom Paul Marie Joseph Benoit (1893-1979) became a member of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Maurice et Saint-Maur in Clervaux, Luxembourg after World War I, being ordained there in 1925. He studied organ briefly in Versailles then returned to the abbey where he was organist all his life. He wrote a great profusion of organ music, only half of which has been published. His music exhibits a lovely, joyous serenity sprung from a deep abiding faith, such that even his somber works seem to contain hope. His “Jubilate Deo Omnis Terra” is an exuberant, praise piece.
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