Online Worship

Worship for Pentecost Sunday

May 30, 2020May 30, 2020
by Administrator

First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
Worship for Pentecost Sunday

May 31, 2020

“FUMC from the Air” by Peter Frisoni

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. You may also want to pay attention to lighting, the position of your body, and the availability of distractions.

Breath Prayer

“In You we live and move and have our being.”
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

Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire by Wilbur Held

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: In the midst of darkness there is light.
Many: In the midst of blindness, we will be given sight.
One: Our Savior, Jesus the Christ, brings healing love to us.
Many: Let the light of Jesus’ love break through our blindness and
fill our world with glory.
One: Remove the bonds that trap us in darkness, Lord.
Many: Wipe away all our fears so that we may live boldly in your Love.

Hymn #702: Sing With All the Saints in Glory

Connecting in Prayer

Shared Prayer – UMH 465:1-3

Holy Spirit, Truth divine, dawn upon this soul of mine;
Word of God and inward light, wake my spirit, clear my sight.
Holy Spirit, Love divine, glow within this heart of mine;
Kindle every high desire; perish self in thy pure fire.
Holy Spirit, Power divine, fill and nerve this will of mine;
Grant that I may strongly live, bravely bear, and nobly strive.

Silent Prayer

Pastoral Prayer – Rev. Brooke Newell, Pastor of Queensbury UMC

You are welcome to read this out-loud or silently.

Satisfy us with your love in the morning, and we will live this day in joy and praise. We praise you, O God our creator, for your handiwork in shaping and sustaining your wondrous creation. Especially we thank you for the ministry of the church and its members…Those who provide for public safety and wellbeing: paramedics, police, health workers, and fire fighters…Families and those who are like family for us… Opportunities to be a blessing to the world around us…Warm days. We dare to pray for others, God our Savior, claiming your love in Jesus Christ for the whole world, and committing ourselves to caring for others in his name. Especially we pray for: All who are sick with the corona virus …doctors, nurses, and those on the front lines of the health crisis… Teachers learning new technology and children learning from home…Those who feel isolated and alone…All who are struggling to make ends meet. As you cause the sun to rise, O God, bring the light of Christ to dawn in our souls and dispel the shadows of hatred and fear. Give us grace to reflect Christ’s glory; and let his love show in our deeds, his peace shine in our words, that all may give him praise, now and forever. 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

I Will Sing With the Spirit – John Rutter

I will sing with the spirit, alleluia.
And I will sing with the understanding also: alleluia.

Scripture – Isaiah 41:1,9-10

Mission Moment – Sue Learner

Face Mask Project
On March 20, Marcia Steiner, Vice President of the Foundation for Ellis Medicine reached out to Schenectady Clergy Against Hate to solicit assistance in making cloth face masks to protect workers at Ellis Hospital from COVID-19 exposure. Kathleen Morris, the President of a local quilter’s guild, QUILTSchenectady, was asked to coordinate this mask-making effort. Even though Ellis Hospital decided not to use the hand-made masks, other organizations were in need of such protection. Eventually, on April 2, the CDC guidelines changed, recommending that everyone wear a face mask in public.

Through QUILTSchenectady, a process was soon developed. Completed masks were to be dropped off at designated ‘hubs,’ which would then be picked up by a ‘hub manager,’ and distributed to requesting organizations. Proctor’s employee, Chelsea Moore, made calls to area organizations, assessing their face mask needs.

The Clergy Against Hate message was passed along to Rev. Eileen Deming, who sent out requests to all our fabric ministry folks at First United Methodist Church (FUMC), including Jan Huston. Jan is a member of QUILTSchenectady, and asked Kathleen Morris to contact Sue Learner to coordinate FUMC’s participation.

We let Kathleen know that FUMC was happy to serve as a face mask drop-off hub. We set up a covered plastic bin outside the Chapel Street entrance, and from 9:00am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday, people could leave their masks. We also had a box set up in the Gathering Room, so that church members with keys could drop off masks at any time. We would deliver the masks twice a week to the hub manager for distribution. Our hub manager, Felicia Campo, deployed drivers to pick up masks from other drop off sites through the area, and deliver them to the health care and related organizations that had requested them.

After a few weeks, most mask makers were running low on elastic. This was needed for attaching the masks to a person’s face. Several folks decided to make masks with ties instead of elastic ear loops, as elastic became very difficult to acquire. Early on, QUILTSchenectady had ordered a large quantity to help alleviate this shortage but delivery was coming from a manufacturer in China and was slow in arriving. It arrived on April 21, and we were able to deliver elastic to 5 FUMC mask makers. More was available in the drop-off bin for any who needed it.

On May 19th, we received notice that the mask-making project had ended. Since March 22, members of QUILTSchenectady and sewing friends have made over 10,000 face masks, serving over 64 local organizations (listed below). This included rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, senior living complexes, ambulance companies, social service organizations, physician offices, and others. In addition, approximately 2,000 masks were also given to friends, family, and individuals who needed them, including a Navajo reservation. As of May 21, there were more than 1250 masks dropped off at the FUMC site alone!

Albany Medical Center- Accounts Payable	Albany
Avila Retirement Community	Albany
Bethesda House	Schenectady
Better Health of NorthEast New York	Gloversville
Better Health of NorthEast NewYork	Gloversville
Capital District Food Pantry	Albany
Center for Nursing and Rehab	Hoosick Falls
Center for the disabled	Albany
Clifton Park Senior Center	Clifton Park
Coburg Village Independ Living Retirement Community	Rexford
Cocoa House	Schenectady
Community Care Physicians- troy branch	Troy
Community Hospice	Rensselaer
Conifer Park	Schenectady
Double H Ranch	Lake Luzern
Dr Rahman	Albany
Dutchess County Hospital	Dutchess County
Ellenville Community Hospital
Four Winds	Saratoga Springs
Hannaford Pharmacy Dept	Schenectady
Heritage Home for Women	Schenectady
Home Instead Senior Care	Schenectady
Home of The Good Shepherd	Saratoga Springs
HOPE House	Albany
HOPE House- Other Locations	Albany
Josephs House	Troy
Judson Meadows Assisted Living	Scotia
Kingsway Community	Schenectady
Ladies of Charity- Carol Sirincione
Lefebzre Chiropractors	Waterford
Lexington Community House	Albany
Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County
Loretta critical nurse	?
Midge Consler- Nursing Service / Home	Syracuse
Mohawk Ambulance	Schenectady
Nathan Litauer	Gloversville
Niskayuna Co-Op	Niskayuna
North East Parent and Child / Northern Rivers	Albany
Northern Rivers	Schenectady
Oakwood Community Center	Troy
Planned Parenthood	Albany
Podiatry Associates	?
Prestwick Chase	Saratoga Springs
Proctors	Schenectady
RASP (Ganesvoort)	Ganesvoort
Refugee Group	?
Schenectady ARC	Schenectady
Schenectady City Missions	Schenectady
Schenectady County Office for Child and Fam	Schenectady
Schenectady Foundation	Schenectady
Schenectady Inner City Ministry Food Pantry	Schenectady
ST Luke’s Food Pantry	Schenectady
St Peters Hospital (Nurse)	Albany
St. Peters Hospital	Albany
St. Vincent’s Food Pantry	Schenectady
Teresian House	Albany
The Charlton School	Burnt Hills
The Wesley Community	Saratoga Springs
Town of Greenburgh Paramedics	N. Greenbush
Transitional Services	Unknown
Wellspring Domestic Violence	Saratoga Springs
Westview Senior Center	Albany
Wildwood Programs	Schenectady
Glendale Nursing Home	Schenectady

Our efforts have not been isolated to just QUILTSchenectady and First UMC. Many sewers responded to the need for masks simultaneously. It is difficult to quantify all that has been done. However, QUILTSchenectady has
coordinated with the following groups to make and distribute well over 30,000 masks: Quilters of the Gloversville/Johnstown/Amsterdam area (coordinated by Diana Marshall of the Gloversville Sewing Center), and The Mooncatcher Project (coordinated by Elle Von Wellsheim).

These masks are washable and reusable. When wearing them is no longer necessary, the masks should be washed and saved for any future unfortunate outbreak. Please make sure you urge friends and family to do the same.

Thanks go out to all who created masks. Thanks go out to Eileen Deming and Jan Huston for proposing this opportunity to help our community, and also to Linda Smith for securing the drop-box each day.

If you feel moved to make a donation to help offset the $1,800 spent on the elastic that was ordered and given to all who needed it, please send it to the Guild’s Treasurer:

Maryann McDermott
177 Chepstow Road,
Schenectady, NY 12303

Children’s Time

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, it is OK to wait. Sharing might work well this way: think of a dearly beloved with whom to share the peace, then 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 know at all. In this way, God’s peace (wholistic well-being) is spread to all.
Please note you can also share the peace online through our Facebook page, or yours

Hymn #707: Hymn of Promise

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-3,42-43

Sermon – “Together… Really?” – Rev. Ray Stees

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.
The time of offering is not only about our financial gifts to the church, it is about offering our lives to God and the building of the kindom. This is a time for reflection: What is being asked of us? What is being given to us? What are we able to offer? What do we need?