Skaneateles United Methodist Church
26 Jordan Street, Skaneateles, New York 13152
(315) 685-5963 skanumc@aol.com
March 14, 2004 10:00 a.m.
Third Sunday in the Season of Lent
Congregation please read the words in bold print.
*Please stand, if comfortable.
FWS refers to the Faith We Sing Supplement; UMH refers to the hard cover hymnal.
Hearing assistance receivers and large print hymnals are available from the ushers.
MUSIC FOR GATHERING
WELCOME Lea Whaley
Please take a moment to sign the blue Friendship Pad and pass it along,
returning it to the center aisle when everyone in your pew has signed it.
*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: O God, we seek your presence as we worship together.
All: You created and have given form and beauty to the world.
One: You have loved and forgiven us.
All: You have spoken and given purpose to our lives.
One: You have called us together to be the Body of Christ,
and we are Family!
All: We rejoice in all your gifts. Speak to us now
and let us respond in praise and service to the glory of your name.
*HYMN #660 “God Is Here”
INVOCATION
O God, there are many things that stand between us and the life you intend us to lead. Like frozen ground stifling back a bulb’s expression of life, these things subdue spirits struggling to bloom. A lack of courage chills the ground of our being and prevents our challenging the cold grip of injustice. A snow-covering of indifference keeps problems out of sight and makes us believe there is no life below the surface. A sense of self-importance allows the dormancy of faith and permits us to be content without growing into the world. As we worship, God, thaw us out. Through all the chill of self-importance, indifference, lack of courage, we feel the life-giving warmth of your love. Help us to bloom as persons nourished by that love. Amen
ANTHEM “Gloria in Excelsis Deo The Choir
TIME FOR THE YOUNG AND YOUNG AT HEART
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Let us take a few moments to recall in silence the events of the past week …
Let us remember the things we did well … and the things we did not do so well…
Let us remember the things that happened to us … the things that brought us pain … the events that brought us joy.
In our reflection, let us mark an end to this week gone by. Let us offer it upon the altar, knowing that even with its imperfections and incompleteness it is accepted, just as each of us is accepted.
THE ASSURANCE OF PARDON AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
One: Friends, hear the Good News! God’s love lasts forever!
All: There is no place it cannot reach. There is no age it cannot touch.
There is no sin it cannot heal.
One: Friends, believe in the Good News!
All: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. So be it!
One: Now, with the confidence of those who know themselves to be the children of a Loving God, let us pray the prayer Jesus taught his disciples saying…
Our Father, who art in heaven… UMH Page 895
*HYMN OF PREPARATION #347 “Spirit Song”
A READING FROM THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Page 174
A STORY FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT John 2:1-12 Page 923
SERMON God – the giant nudge Kathy Barden
THE INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
God has shown us the meaning of generosity in the beautiful diversity of creation, in the overflowing love of Jesus Christ, and in the never ending gift of the Holy Spirit. God has abundantly blessed us and called us to be a community that blesses other through the sharing of our love, and our material possessions. Let us rejoice now in what we have been given and in what is ours to share as we receive our morning offering.
Offertory Cherie Allred
*Doxology UMH Page #94
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below: Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God, the source of all our gifts!
Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts!
Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
*The Offertory Prayer
O God, through the offering of these gifts may we become a more open people … open-minded in hearing your Word and wisdom, … open-hearted in healing a broken world, … open-handed in heeding your call for charity and enacted love. With thanks for all good gifts, we present a portion of our wealth and the whole of ourselves. Amen
*HYMN FWS #2222 “The Servant Song”
*BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
And now the service begins. Go forth into the world in the knowledge that we are God’s body, that hope for a new world is in the blood of our veins, that the struggle for justice is the beat to which our hearts respond, and that God’s promise is the very stuff of which our bones are wrought. Go forth to praise the God from whom all blessings flow. AMEN
*POSTLUDE Cherie Allred
* * * * * *
The flowers on the altar this morning are in celebration of
Jim DeWitt’s birthday with love from Chris, Austin, Jake, Griffin, and Betsy.
Special thanks to the Rev. Kathy Barden for leading us in worship today. Kathy is the Urban Ministry Advocate at Syracuse: Brown Memorial United Methodist Church.
The Skaneateles area clergy group has covenanted together to hold our local congregations in prayer on a rotating schedule. This week prayers will be for the Borodino United Methodist Church, the Rev. Timothy O’Connor-Slater, and all leaders and staff.
Serving you today:
Liturgist – Lea Whaley
Acolytes – Tyler Nichols, Eric Tanguay
Greeter – Diane Mitchell
Ushers -- John Hattersley, Andy Tanguay, Mark Tucker, Ed Johnson
Fellowship Time – Ronnie Ryan and Ed Johnson
Sound Technician – Steve Bryant
Announcements for week of March 14:
Today – After worship, Fellowship Time
6:00 p.m., Community Bible Study Open Class
Tuesday – 7:00 p.m., Church Council Meeting
Wednesday – Church Women United Lenten Program at Stella Maris
Speaker: Bourke Kennedy, member of the
Christian Peacemaker Team
7:00 p.m., Spirit Windows Lenten Series
Articles for the April newsletter are due
Thursday – 6:00 p.m., Thursday Night Live
6:30 p.m., Covenant Group
7:45 p.m., Choir Practice
Next Sunday – 9:00 a.m., Open for Discussion
9:45 a.m., Nursery Open
10:00 a.m., Worship/Fellowship Time following worship
Loretta Marx from the Skaneateles Equmenical
Food Pantry will be our guest.
6:00 p.m., Community Bible Study
Sharing our gifts with others this Lenten season
During the week of March 15, the Skaneateles Ecumenical Food Pantry will be collecting laundry and dish detergents, and household cleaners. In addition, the Food Pantry will be distributing over a hundred baskets for Easter. Our church family is being asked to supply the canned corn. On Sundays, please bring items up to the back of the sanctuary so that the children can present them. At other times, there is a box in the kitchen where these items can be left. The SEFP, which is currently located at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church, is a confidential service open on Tuesdays from 10 to 11 a.m. and Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Mission Team is collection items for the Church World Service Health and Baby Kits. These kits are distributed at the time of national and international disasters by the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Please consider supplying a full kit, part of a kit, or contributing money for a kit. The items needed are:
Health Kit: One hand towel, one washcloth, one comb, one metal nail file or nail clippers, one bar of soap (bath size), one toothbrush, one tube of toothpaste (4-7 oz.), and six Band-aids. Seal all items in a one-gallon plastic bag with a zipper closure.
Baby Kit: Six cloth diapers, two shirts, two washcloths, two diaper pins, two gowns or sleepers, one sweater or sweatshirt, and two receiving blankets. Wrap items inside one of the receiving blankets and secure with diaper pins.
The One Great Hour of Sharing Special Offering will be accepted next Sunday. Your gifts do remarkable things: feed people with food and hope, wrap babies in warmth and love, empower communities with skills and support. Gifts renew the giver, too, in spirit and strength. Your gift will make a world of difference.
Claim the Name! Please remember to take a moment on your way into church to pick up your nametag. Newcomers and long-timers alike have expressed appreciation for this special gesture of friendship. They are especially helpful during fellowship time and you will find a basket near the back door to catch your tag as you leave. If you happen to need a new nametag or a replacement, please leave a note on the friendship pad. Thanks!
When the well seems to be running dry, where do we turn? We seem to be bombarded daily by stimuli that demand responses in a world with an ever-increasing emphasis on speed, performance, multiple-tasking and productivity. No wonder it’s hard to maintain that center of gravity that keeps us in constant relationship with God. Leading the simple life is not so simple.
One of the insights of my leave time was a desire to explore some new resources for spiritual enrichment and share them as a Lenten series. I invite you to join me during Lent for a time of prayer and reflection on Wednesday evenings from 7-8:30 pm. – March 17th, 24th, and 31st. Although you need not commit to attend all of the sessions, a sign of your interest would be welcome for planning purposes. Natalie
Skaneateles United Methodist Church
26 Jordan Street, Skaneateles NY 13152 315-685-5963
skanumc@aol.com http://www.gbgm-umc.org/skaneateles/
Welcome to our community of faith. If you are a visitor, we hope that you feel
at home and invite you to join us again. We are always open to questions or friendly conversation, so please speak to us in person or contact us by phone.
Ministers....................................................... All of the People
Pastor.............................................................. Natalie Scholl
Lay Leader.......................................................... Joan Brown
Music Director.............................................. Phillip McMullen
Organist............................................................ Cherie Allred
Secretary.......................................................... Barb Russell
Nursery Caregiver....................................... Cheryl Seymour
Custodian..................................................... Glenn Johnston