Sunday, February 5, 2012
Jesus Begins His Public Ministry
Visitors: Welcome to our church. Please sign our guest book! If you do not have a church home, we pray that you will find one with us. We have large-print bulletins available, as well as hearing assistance devices. Please ask an usher if you require either of these. Restrooms are located in the church school building. Go through the door next to the choir loft, and straight ahead. We also have restrooms downstairs in Fellowship Hall. Again, exit through the door next to the choir loft, turn left down the hall, and go down the steps.
We Gather To Worship
Prelude
Announcements
Chime Interlude
*Call To Worship
Leader: The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. The glory of God echoes throughout the world. Let us praise the name of the Lord.
*Hymn: “Praise the Lord! O Heavens, Adore Him” …………………#17
*Invocation (We light the Christ Candle.)
Leader: Sometimes, God, we pray with others, for healing and wholeness, and joy in your presence. At other times, we need to be on our own, alone with our thoughts and concerns, the things that weigh heavily upon us. In this time of worship may we find times of togetherness and solitude. We pray in Christ’s name, Amen.
*Response: “O Gracious Light, Lord Jesus Christ”…………….#359, V 1
Prayer Of Confession
Leader: Patient God, there are times when we have been too busy to stop, and have hurt ourselves by becoming disconnected from you. There are times when we have hurried along and not seen those on our doorstep reaching out for help, for healing, for love. There are times when the noise of our activity drowned your call, the cries of the lonely, the forgotten, the ignored in our community. Receive our confession. Amen. (A time for silent prayers of confession; Music: “Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life.”)
Assurance Of God’s Forgiveness
Leader: Hear these words from Isaiah: Do you know? Have you heard? God is everlasting, the Creator of all that lives. God does not tire or wear out; God understands more than we can imagine. In God, those who faint, even the powerless, receive strength. Rely on God and renew your strength—fly on wings like eagles, run with endless energy, continue on and you will not grow tired. Do you know? Have you heard? God is everlasting—rely on God and renew your strength.
Affirmation: “O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright”…….……….#27, V 1 & 3
We Hear The Word
ReadingOf The Scripture: Isaiah 40: 21-31
A Time For Children
Anthem: “Awaken Me to Pray” …………………………Parker/Lantz
Reading Of The Gospel: Mark 1: 29-39
Message For This Day
We Respond To God
*Hymn: “Be Still, My Soul”……………………………#530
Pastoral Prayers And 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 sins as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.)
Our Offering
Offertory
*Doxology: “Praise God from Whom All Blessings” …………………….#809
*Prayer Of Dedication
Leader: Bless our gifts of money, time and ourselves, O God, as they support acts of healing in our world. Amen.
*Closing Hymn: “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” ……………….#609
*Blessing
Leader: May God who calls you into stillness sustain you. May Jesus who shows you a way of balance and peace, travel with you. May the Spirit give you rest, and refresh you for your journey until you return.
*Choral Benediction: “Lord, Now Let Your Servant”……………#343, V 1 & 3
*Chime Meditation
Postlude
*Where noted, please stand if able.
February’s Proverb:
When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous. But dismay to evildoers. Proverbs 21: 15
The Membership Committee will meet today following church.
A Five-Minute Fellowship Committee Meeting will be held after worship service today. Anyone who has agreed to serve in any capacity on the committee, please stay for the meeting if possible or see Pam Sanders for handout of upcoming events. Anyone who is interested in helping with the Fellowship Committee is more than welcome….if everyone pitches in a little, a lot can be gained!
The Food Pantry Item for February is canned meat.
Join Us After Church for our first session in our series “Speaking of Faith: Different Expressions of Religious Belief.” Dr. Lou Hammann is well known to many of you here atZion. Lou is the retired chair of the Religion Department atGettysburgCollege, and a UCC pastor who served this church as an interim some years ago. He is a member of Trinity UCC inGettysburg and lives near Cashtown on Hundredfold Farm. He will be speaking about the contemporary faith of theChurch ofLatter Day Saints-the Mormons. All are welcome to attend, downstairs in Fellowship Hall.
On February 12 We Continue Our Series on “Speaking of Faith: Different Expressions of Religious Belief” with a speaker, John Mulligan, on Buddhism. He has been a practicing Buddhist since 1992. He was trained and took ordination atBhikkhuTrainingCenter inColombo,Sri Lanka in 1998, and continued studies for two years at Mahabodhi Vihara in Bodhgaya,Bihar,India. He is founder of NOVIS[non-violence intervention service], where he was director and principal teacher for 10 years. NOVIS works with men who have issues of power and control in intimate relations – operating in Adams, Franklin, and Fulton Counties – with programs in both community and prison settings. He is Buddhist Chaplain with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and serves Buddhist inmates in PA and NJ state prisons. Since 2004 he has been resident director of Bodhi House inLittlestown,PA – a post-release residential facility for men who wish to continue study and practice in a lay spiritual community. He has led a community meditation group inGettysburg for the past 12 years; and teaches meditation atGettysburgCollege for the student Buddhist Sangha.
The Gettysburg Community Soup Kitchen is holding an Open House at their new location at the Peace House (formerly the old Saint Francis rectory) on February 26. The community is invited.
Greeters are needed for next Sunday, February 12. Please sign the credenza clipboard.
The 2012 Flower Calendar is posted in the vestibule. Please consider sponsoring the flowers that beautify our sanctuary. Available dates: Mar. 4, 25; Apr. 1, 22, 29; June 10, 17; July 15; Oct. 21, 28; and Dec. 2, 30.
The Book Group meetingwill be on Thursday, February 23, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy by Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher will be discussed. Synopsis: On October 2, 2006, a gunman entered a one-room Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. In front of twenty-five horrified pupils, Charles Roberts ordered the boys and the teacher to leave. He opened fire on the remaining females, killing five and leaving the others critically wounded. He then shot himself as police stormed the building. His motivation? “I’m angry at God for taking my little daughter,” he told the children before the massacre. Within a week of the murders, Amish forgiveness was a central theme in more than 2,400 news stories around the world. Amish Grace explores the many questions this story raises about the religious beliefs and habits that led the Amish to forgive so quickly. It looks at the ties between forgiveness and membership in a cloistered communal society and asks if Amish practices parallel or diverge from other religious and secular notions of forgiveness. It also addresses the matter of why forgiveness became news. “All the religions teach it,” mused an observer, “but no one does it like the Amish.” Regardless of the cultural seedbed that nourished this story, the surprising act of Amish forgiveness begs for a deeper exploration. How could the Amish do this? What did this act mean to them? And how might their witness prove useful to the rest of us?
A Lenten Supper And Study Series will be held with Trinity UCC Biglerville, Trinity UCC Gettysburg, andZion. The plan is to rotate the program with each church hosting twice. We begin at 6 p.m. with a light supper, then devotions and a study on the Lord’s Prayer. Biglerville will host the February 26 supper and study;Zion, the March 4 supper and study.
An Adult and Child CPR/AED Class will be held in the Main Sunday School Room on Sunday, February 26 from noon until 3 p.m. The purpose is to help participants recognize and respond appropriately to cardiac and breathing emergencies. The courses in this program teach skills that participants need to know to give immediate care to a person until more advanced medical personnel arrive to take over. See the newsletter for further details.
2012 Greeters Needed for Feb. 12, 19, 22; Mar. 4, 11, 25; Apr. 1, 6, 8, 15, 22, 29.
2012 Bulletin Sponsors Needed for Feb. 12, 19, 26; Mar. 4, 18, 25; Apr. 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29.
Coming Up Next Week:
Feb. 5, Dr. Lou Hammann session about the Mormons; Fellowship Hall, 10:15 am
Feb. 5, Membership Cmte, 10:15 am
Feb. 5, Fellowship Mtg, 10:15 am
Feb. 6, Something More, Oakside Park, 12 noon
Feb. 8, Choir Practice, Sanctuary, 7:30 pm
Feb. 9, Mission Cmte,ZionHse, 7:00 pm
Looking Forward:
Feb. 12, John Mulligan session regarding Buddhism, Fellowship Hall, 10:15 am
Feb. 15, Bible Discovery, Fellowship Hall, 6:30 pm
Feb. 19, Infant Baptisms, Sanctuary, 9:00 am
Feb. 22, Ash Wednesday Serv, 7:30 pm
Feb. 23, Book Club, Mustard Seed Rm, 7:00 pm
Feb. 26, Adult and Child CPR/AED class, Main Sunday School Rm, Noon – 3 pm
Feb. 26, Lenten supper and study series, Biglerville, 6:00 pm
Feb. 27, Consistory Mtg,ZionHse, 7:00 pm
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