First Parish Church, Congregational On the Village Green

Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts

Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt, Interim Pastor

Donald R. Dunn, Director of Music-Organist

Jessica Skidmore, Christian Ministry Coordinator

Tori Potter, Sexton

Nancy Klebart, Office Manager

978-526-7661

office.fpchurch@verizon.net

www.firstparishchurch.org

MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE

Sunday, September 10, 2017, 10:00 a.m.

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among

them.” (Matthew 18:20)

ORGAN PRELUDE: “Hymn to Joy”

Tune by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Setting by Donald Busarow (1934-2011)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

*[Please stand for the lighting of the candles]

CALL TO WORSHIP (from Touch Holiness)

What does this worship service need?

Quiet where faith can grow, song that blossoms hope, Scripture

that remembers love, honest words to untangle a small length

of knotty existence.

Who shall come to this worship service?

All who are longing for the touch of God.

*HYMN: “Enter, Rejoice, and Come in” NCH #73 black (A new hymn; the choir will sing first verse. Congregation is invited to join in

singing whenever they are comfortable.)

PRAYER OF APPROACH AND CONFESSION

(from Touch Holiness)

Gracious God, we ask for your blessing presence among us. We

gather today after we have been scattered to many places, and we

begin a new church year with excitement, even if wistful for summer

relaxation. O God, we confess there are some things we can’t wait

to jump into, and others where we would prefer to drag our feet.

Forgive our inconsistency, and empower us for ministry. Bless this

church family—bless singers and pray-ers and workers and

teachers and servers of so many kinds that all worship and ministry

might be to your greater glory and that our gifts of the Spirit might

build up the body of Christ, in whose name we pray…

*THE LORD'S PRAYER 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, the power and the glory forever. Amen.

*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

SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 13:8-10

ANTHEM: “Welcome to the House of the Lord”

from “A Sacred Place”Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947)

Welcome to the House of the Lord.

Welcome light, welcome beauty, welcome wonder.

Here there is glory. Here is wisdom.

Here there is mystery, here is splendor.

Welcome to the House of the Lord.

Here there is comfort. Here there is healing.

Here there is kindness, here is mercy and forgiveness.

Here is Life Eternal!

Come to the House of the Lord!

Welcome God!

MORNING PRAYER

Congregation’s Joys and Concerns

Pastoral Prayer Silent Prayer Choral Response

SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 18:15-20

SERMON: “Being a Christian Community”

MOMENT OF MEDITATION

OFFERTORY SENTENCE

OFFERTORY ANTHEM: “Teach me, O Lord”

Thomas Attwood (1765-1838)

Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes;

And I shall keep it unto the end.

*DOXOLOGY Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise God all creatures here below,

Praise God above ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

(Children will come in during doxology and join us on the chancel steps for the

last part of worship)

CHILDREN’S SERMON

CLOSING SONG “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”

Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

Duet by Lizzy Klebart and Tori Potter (Lizzy and Tori will sing two verses of the song; Congregation is invited to join

them in singing the refrain at the end. See insert.

BENEDICTION

CHORAL RESPONSE

ORGAN POSTLUDE: “Paean” Gordon Young (1919-1998)

* * * * *

After the service all are invited to join us outside for refreshments.

The greeter and lay reader is Jane Pearson.

The Deacon is Lynda Griffiths. Readers and Greeters are always needed,

to volunteer speak to the Deacons.

Listening devices are available; they are at the back of the Sanctuary.

Feel free to address a Deacon should you need help using them.

Welcome to all who are new to our worship. To join our mailing list fill

out a “Welcome Card” to place in the collection plate or contact

office.fpchurch@verizon.net , 978-526-7661 ext 1.

THE CARE TEAM MINISTRY, Have you shared the experience?

We support FPC families with meals, rides, & visits through times of

illness and loss. If you would like to become involved with this

wonderful team contact;

Sheila Kafer 978-525-3253, smkafer@comcast.net

Janet Groth at 978-526-8408, janbythesea244@gmail.com

FLOWERS FOR THE ALTAR Please call Penny Lapham at 978-526-

7128, by Monday to be included in the following Sunday’s bulletin.

We will meet tomorrow, Monday, September 11 at 9

Hickory Hill Road, Manchester, at 7 PM to discuss “Last

Hope Island” by Lynne Olson. Join us!

First Parish Church Congregational uses candid photos of church

activities on its website and in its publicity from time to time. Any photos

of children used will not contain personally identifiable information.

Members of the community not wanting their photos depicted (or those

of their children) should inform the church office.

“For where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my name, there

am I in the midst of them”. Matthew 18:20

Would you like to request prayers? Email

prayer.fpchurch@verizon.net We will resume Prayer Team meetings on Thursday 9/21 from 6-7 and

then meet the first and third Thursdays of each month. All are welcome

to gather in the parlor of First Parish. We will start promptly at 6:00 PM

and end at 7:00 PM. We will be praying in one accord, a form of

conversational prayer. Bring your concerns to the Lord whether they are

for Yourself, Family, Friends, our Country, and the World! You may

pray along silently or pray aloud.

Looking for Sunday School Teachers! Please keep in mind

due to school vacations and special holidays usually one

month = 2 weeks of actual Sunday school. So the first

section of time will be Sept.-November, the second will be

Dec.-February, and the third March-May. The hope is to

get more of the congregation involved in the Sunday

school but also give people a break where they can spend their Sundays

in church or just relaxing. With two people in each classroom you will

switch off teaching and helping. The second adult is responsible for

helping with crowd control, walking children to the bathroom, serving

snack, and lending help to the person teaching when needed.

You do not have to be a member of the church to teach or trained in

Godly play. We are going to host a training night so you can see how the

lessons are taught. I always give out the lessons a week in advance and

am always for help. Contact Jessica 978-526-7661 ext. 3

CONFIRMATION 2017/2018 Parents, please contact Jessica 978-526-

7661 ext. 3 to sign up for or with questions about the Confirmation

Retreat to NYC this Fall.

October 1 - Is Membership for Me? An informational

gathering for those who wish to explore what it means to be

a member of First Parish Church Congregational. We will

talk a little bit about the church and have the opportunity to

share with each other our own life and faith experiences.

This gathering will be held in front of the church after the service----

about 11:15ish.

Ongoing - My Story Vitality would like to bring back the “My Story

segment” during our church service. If you have a short 3-5 minute story

about your faith journey, please see Mary Ellen or call at 978-526-7178

and we will talk. This is a really great event when added to our Sunday

worship. Thank you in advance for considering doing this. If you have

already shared a story and have another, this would be a great time.

We will hold a Church Cleanup Day on Saturday,

September 16 beginning at 9 AM. Volunteers are

welcome to join whenever they can spare an hour or

more to make our church shine. Volunteers will be received with coffee,

donuts and grateful smiles.

Be aware of all that we do to make a difference and -

when you can - help make a difference yourself!

Weekly Food Donations When you go to church Sunday

mornings remember to take one item that can be donated

to Open Door through the food basket placed in the Narthex. It is easy to

forget, but you can think ahead and bring one food item that will be

much appreciated by folks who really need our help.

Open Door Dinner

First Parish serves dinner at The Open Door Wednesday, September

20th. Prep & Servers needed: please contact Jim Brennan

after worship or at 978-879-4595 HARVEY RELIEF FUND

We all feel the catastrophe of the floods in Texas. How can we respond?

Through our connections with sister churches in the area we can begin to

make a difference and express our faithful compassion.

Checks can be made out to First Parish Church with the

designation: For Harvey Relief. We will arrange for that money to be

sent on to the UCC specifically designated for Harvey relief.

Or, if you prefer to give on line through the UCC, go to ucc.org and

follow the prompts. You can even let them know that you belong to

First Parish Church in Manchester-By-The-Sea, so that your on-line

donation will be counted as part of the overall donation that comes from

our church.

UPDATE ON TRANSITION TEAM (TT) At the Aug 29th meeting,

our Church Council appointed a Transition Team, whose “job” will be to

work with the Interim Pastor to carry out the Vision Process. The Team

represents what Council feels is a “good mix/balance” of the

congregation in terms of current/recent church involvement, as well as

gender and age and outlook. The group includes people who

volunteered to serve—who put their names in to be considered by

Council, as well as people whom we approached and asked if they were

willing to be considered. The Team has begun meeting, and they have

set the dates for the 4 “Whole Church” Congregational meetings

(October 22, December 10, January 21, and March 4) where people will

be asked for their input. The input given—combined with prayerful

reflection on Scripture and demographic material--will lead to: a Vision

for Ministry, Goals for carrying out that Vision, and a Profile to help the

church search for a Settled Pastor, whose gifts and skills match the

Vision.

The Team members are as follows:

1. Paul Driscoll 2. Lauren Gudonis 3. Mary Lumsden

4. Jeff Parker 5. Jason Smith 6. Lelly Smith

Please feel free to talk with any TT members if you have questions.

Upcoming events can be found on our website or Facebook page

Monday

7:00 PM BOT

7:30 PM Manchester Singers

7:00 PM Book Group

Wednesday

10:00 AM COA Yoga

6:30 PM Missions Committee

7:30 PM Choir Rehearsal

Thursday

4:00 PM Bible Study

Sunday

10:00 AM Worship, Nursery, Sunday School, Youth Group