First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
Worship for the Third Sunday of Lent

March 15, 2020

Getting Centered

It may help to center yourself into worship by lighting a candle, as a symbol of God’s presence with you during the time of worship.

Breath prayer

Holy God, bless all your people.

Breath prayers involve breathing in the first phrase, and breathing out the second.

You may wish to simply pray for a moment before starting,

or you may wish to pray while listening to the prelude.

Prelude O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

– Michael Burkhardt/Arr. Martha Lynn Thompson

Listen Here to O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

Call to Worship

If you are with another person, you may wish to read this out-loud. Otherwise, you can read it as a reminder that this is communal worship done in a large geographical area.

One: Welcome, thirsty people.

Many: We gather together, acknowledging our needs.

One: Welcome, frightened people.

Many: We gather together, bringing our emotions with us.

One: Welcome, advocating people.

Many: We gather together, remembering the need of the world.

One: Welcome, loving people.

Many: We gather together, to worship the God of Love.

Hymn

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Listen here to Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah

Sheet Music: Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah

If you wish to sing along, the words and music are attached.

A Time for Prayer

Morning Prayer

Great Jehovah,
Guide us,
show us the way.
Feed us,
help us grow strong.
Open our hearts,
to let more of your beloveds in.
Help us be
living expressions of your love.
Amen

We will share joys and concerns during the Second Hour Zoom conversation.
If you have joys or concerns to add, please send them to the office.

Silent Prayer

Photo credit to Sue Learner

Pastoral Prayer

You are welcome to read this out-loud or silently.
Normally the pastoral prayer is in response to the prayers of the body,
this one is written hoping to respond to the prayers of the body
without hearing them first.

Great Jehovah,
What a time we live in.
So much is happening, and we don’t know how we should be responding.
Some of us are terrified, and some of us are frustrated with what feels like excessive responses.
We want to ensure the safety of your people,
and we want to enjoy our lives without fear.
We have particular concerns about those who are extra vulnerable in our society, and in the response to this outbreak:
those who are ill
those who are grieving
those who are anxious
those who live in poverty
those who work in health care
those whose immune systems are compromised
immigrants still being targeted, and discouraged from getting medical care
those who will be forced to work
for those for whom staying home means having no income
those who are terribly lonely
those who are young, and those caring for the young
those already going stir crazy at home
those without a home to go to
those experiencing outbreaks of racism against them,
and those who are expressing racism rather than compassion.
May we find the ways to love all your people, in tangible and practical ways.
May we find ways to expand your love in the world,
even as we seek to do so in safe and responsible ways.
Help us, Holy One.
These balances aren’t easy for us,
and we never know for sure what we should be doing.
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, for ever. Amen.

Word and Reflection

Choir Anthem

This Gift Is Free – Fred Gramann
Listen here to This Gift is Free

Scripture Exodus 17:1-7

Scripture is meant to be read out-loud.
Below is the version from the New Revised Standard Version.
You are more than welcome to read it in other versions if you wish.

If you are worshiping with children, please take some time to “wonder” about this passage and what it means. (The pastor happily takes questions.) Adults may also enjoy this.

17:1 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
17:2 The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”
17:3 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”
17:4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
17:5 The LORD said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
17:6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
17:7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

Mission Moment UMCOR Jan Huston

Next Sunday is UMCOR Sunday. We are trying to let you know about United Methodist “Special Sundays” a week in advance so that you will be prepared to use the special offering envelopes that are in the bulletins. If we are still not worshiping together next week, I’m sure you can give another way. Or maybe we’ll save the envelopes for another time.

Most of you have heard that many of us think that UMCOR – the United Methodist Committee on Relief – is one of the best parts of the United Methodist Church. We are aware of the wonderful work they do all over the world to provide relief after disasters. At this church we have participated in making hygiene kits and cleaning buckets which are used by UMCOR. I have a friend who was helping to develop hospices in Africa for people with AIDS. UMCOR donated funds to help provide relief for those patients.

Last week I was in Tucson, Arizona, with a United Methodist Primetimers group. I learned about another activity supported by UMCOR! The week was called “Immigration immersion.” The week was packed with information, experiences, and opportunities to meet many volunteers in humanitarian groups. One of the groups is Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors (JFON). JFON is an organization with a national network with offices in many states. It started in a United Methodist church in Tucson. We were told that it was started by UMCOR! The national board has many United Methodists. One of the Tucson board members organized our activities for the week.

Arizona JFON (AZJFON) offers a hospitality ministry that welcomes immigrants by (1) providing affordable, high-quality immigration legal services to low-income immigrants, (2) engaging in advocacy for immigrant rights, and (3) offering education to communities of faith and to the public. Volunteers set appointments, welcome clients, conduct interviews with new clients, and much more. There is a bilingual staff attorney who then works with clients. She is a very capable young woman who gave us an excellent presentation.

I was pleased to learn that UMCOR helps to fund this organization!! Our FUMC budget includes a small amount for UMCOR. But we want to highlight this special time for giving to this organization that provides relief and justice to so many at times of crisis. You can either send in a check with UMCOR in the notation or you can wait until we are together again and have the special envelopes available. Whichever way we do it, contributing to UMCOR is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people in crisis!!

Passing the Peace

If you are worshiping with others, please pass the Peace of Christ.
Whether you are alone or with others,
please take a moment to find God’s peace within, and then to share it with the world.
This may take several breaths or moments.
Sometimes sharing works best this way: to think of a dearly beloved with whom to share the peace, then to think of other beloveds, then of friends, then acquaintances, then those who frustrate you, then those you don’t really know, then those you don’t known at all.
God’s peace is spread to all.

Hymn

Shall We Gather at the River
– First Plymouth Congregational, Nebraska
Listen and Watch Shall We Gather at the River here
If you wish to sing along, the words and music are attached.

Sheet Music: Shall We Gather at the River

Scripture Reading: Psalm 95

Scripture is meant to be read out-loud.
Below is the version from the New Revised Standard Version.
You are more than welcome to read it in other versions if you wish.

If you are worshiping with children, please take some time to “wonder” about this passage and what it means. (The pastor happily takes questions.) Adults may also enjoy this.

95:1 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
95:2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
95:4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
95:5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
95:7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!
95:8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
95:9 when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
95:10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.”
95:11 Therefore in my anger I swore, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Sermon “A Time to Praise and A Time to Complain”
At the advice of a well-trusted colleague, today’s sermon is shorter than usual, and more deeply based in this moment.
Your feedback on how this felt will be most welcome

Responding

Offering

If you wish, you are welcome to use this time to make a donation to the church online, or to put a check in the mail. This is also a particularly good time to reflect on how you are giving of yourself to God – using your time, your talents, and your treasure towards the building of the kindom. It may even be a good time to consider a deeper commitment.

Offertory Anthem

The Frozen Earth – James and Marilyn Biery
Listen here to The Frozen Earth

Prayer of Presentation

Great Jehovah,
We thank you for the ways you work in the world,
for the ways you work in our lives,
for the invitations you give us to work towards your kindom.
As we seek to give of ourselves: our time, our talents, and our treasures,
may the gifts we give be well received,
and used with wisdom.
Amen

Hymn

Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above First Plymouth Congregational, Nebraska

Sheet Music: Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above

The words in this version are different from the words in our hymnal, but the words are on the screen, for you to sing along.

Benediction

Beloveds of God, as you transition from soaking up the love of God in worship to sharing the love of God in the world, may you be freed to praise! Amen

Postlude

Grazioso – Arnold B. Sherman
Listen to and watch Grazioso here