Order of Service
ORDER OF SERVICE
May 5th, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
Sixth Sunday of Easter
A Time for Centering: We use this time to make the transition between “getting here” and “being here.” Take these few minutes of quiet time to get in touch with the calm places, the still, deep places in you; the spirit. Relax your body, quiet the inner dialogue of your mind. Focus on feeling, on being. Be receptive to your center—your reservoir of inner peace, strength, love. Be aware of being with others. Feel the spirit of community.
PRELUDE Together W. Wold
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
INTROIT Bless Now, O God, the Journey S. Dunstan
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: We are gathered to give witness to the enduring realities of life.
All: We have come to affirm that life is a gift, that the gift is good, and that it comes from God.
Leader: We are gathered to renew our hope in Jesus Christ, as we travel life’s long journey.
All: We find God in the paths of our present and our past, but we also trust in God’s love in our future.
Leader: The same God guides us all the way, every day of our lives, and beyond life.
ALL: Let us praise God with our whole hearts, and entrust our lives to God’s hands. Amen.
*HYMN God is here
*OPENING PRAYER
O God of love, you have called us into the church. We thank you for opportunities to grow in understanding and concern for one another. May our congregation be an incarnation of your love within and beyond these church doors, wherever there is loneliness, injustice, or misunderstanding, through Christ our Head, and the Holy Spirit our Strength. Amen.
*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, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
*GLORIA PATRI
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
Children may now leave for Church School
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Exodus 18:8-26
Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had found them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in delivering them from the Egyptians.
Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from the Egyptians, when they dealt arrogantly with them.” And Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’s father-in-law in the presence of God.
The next day Moses sat as judge for the people, while the people stood around him from morning until evening. When Moses’s father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?” Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God.” Moses’s father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You should represent the people before God and bring their cases to God. Teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do.
You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their homes in peace.”
So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men from all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. And they judged the people at all times; hard cases they brought to Moses, but any minor case they decided themselves.
Matthew 18:20
[Jesus said] “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
All scripture lessons from the New Revised Standard Version
SERMON A Team of Teams The Rev. Dr. E. Horstmann
*HYMN OF THE MONTH
The soloist will sing it through once, and then the congregation is invited to sing it twice more:
INVITATION TO OFFERING There are three ways to give an offering:
In-person: Offering plates will be passed throughout the congregation at this time.
Website: Click on the Donate button at the top right corner of the homepage.
Mail: write a check to RHCC, mail to 395 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, 06831
OFFERTORY ANTHEM Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether H. Friedell
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
*DOXOLOGY
*HYMN My Country ‘Tis of Thee
Our fathers’ God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light;
protect us by thy might, Great God, our King.
PASTORAL PRAYER
CHURCH PRAYER
Our Heavenly Father, shed forth thy blessed spirit upon all our lives. Make each one of us an instrument in thy hands for good. Purify our hearts, strengthen our minds and bodies, fill us with Christian love. Let no pride, no self-conceit, no rivalry, no ill will ever spring up among us. Make us earnest and true, wise and prudent, giving no just cause for offense; and may thy holy peace rest upon us this day and every day throughout the coming week, sweetening our trials, cheering us in our work, and keeping us faithful to the end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
*HYMN 485 Diverse in Culture, Nation, Race
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE Even Song Kate Boundy
§
THANK YOU
to Jeff McKibben for hosting Coffee Hour this morning. Please join us in the parlor following worship. If you want to host a coffee hour, please sign up in the parlor.
to Nancy Mazzoli and Gail Parker for arranging the flowers.
§
NEW AND UPCOMING EVENTS
TODAY: BIBLE STUDY Please join us after the service in the meeting room for Bible Study. The Book of Esther is one of the shortest books of the Bible and yet one of the most intriguing. It tells the story of a remarkable Jewish woman who lived in the court of a foreign king, and whose courage saved the lives of her people. It is also the only book of the Bible that does not mention the name of God. Let’s discover this strange and inspiring story together!
5/19 AFGHAN FAMILY joining during church service.
5/8 LET’S TALK ABOUT TEAMWORK On the second Wednesday of every month, friends and members of RHCC are invited to gather at noon in the parlor for conversations about topics that are important for our spiritual formation. The theme for May is TEAMWORK. Coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be available.
5/26 The Sacrament of Holy Communion - in the Parlor.
LES BEAUX ARTS GALLERY is privileged to showcase Hazel Jarvis’ artworks in a new exhibition opening on Sunday, May 5, 2024. The exhibition, Seaside Garden, will run through July 5th, 2024.
WHAT MATTERS MOST:
A YEAR-LONG OPPORTUNITY FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH
The first words that Jesus used to describe his purpose made it clear what mattered most to him. “Seek first the kingdom of God.”
Throughout the year, we will continue to focus our attention at Round Hill Community Church on “what matters most” for love, compassion, and justice to thrive and flourish in our own lives and beyond. We will demonstrate our commitment to that kind of faith by delving deeply into twelve values that we cherish and plan to teach to the generations that will follow us. Values like imagination, love, justice, and humility. We will take one month to explore each value and will use our preaching, teaching, podcast, music, and online resources to help us make this exploration come alive. Please visit roundhillcommunitychurch.org for more information on the theme.
—The Rev. Dr. Ed Horstmann
During the month of May, we will explore the theme of Teamwork.
It is odd that after thousands of years of great spiritual example and literature we have to remind ourselves that spirituality is to be found in the everyday life.
—Forward by Thomas Moore
to the book Spiritual Literacy by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
I have been a lucky man. To feel the intimacy of brothers is a marvelous thing in life. To feel the love of people whom we love is that fire that feeds our life. But to feel the affection that comes from those whom we do not know, from those unknown to us, who are watching over our sleep and solitude, over our dangers and our weaknesses—that is something still greater and more beautiful because it widens out the boundaries of our being, and unites all living things.
—Spiritual Literacy by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Please support our efforts to care for the planet by recycling.