Round Hill Community Church

ORDER OF SERVICEJanuary 31, 2016

Third Sunday after Epiphany

PRELUDE Ballade in G Minor Op. 23 Chopin Teddy Whitehead Rockas, Pianist

WORDS OF WELCOME

INTROIT

CALL TO WORSHIPLeader: God who waits on the mountain of holiness –All: Our God calls us.Leader: Our God who shines in cloud and fire – All: Our God stirs us.Leader: Our God who is honored for honesty, love, justice – All: Our God offers us guidance.Leader: Our God who abides in compassion and forgiveness – All: Our God receives us into the heights of worship, so that we

may return to our covenant with life.

*The congregation is invited to stand

*HYMN Rejoice, The Lord is King

*OPENING PRAYER O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning andrest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall beour strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray you,to your presence, where we may be still and know that youare God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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 PATRIGlory be to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning,is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE The Rev. Dan HaughChildren may now leave for Church School.

ANTHEM English Suite in A Minor J.S. Bach

Sarabande

SCRIPTURE LESSON Luke 4: 42-44At daybreak, Jesus departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.

SERMON Off to a Solitary Place: An Invitation to Rest with Jesus The Rev. Molly F. James

*HYMN No. 485 Diverse in Culture, Nation, Race

OFFERINGInvitationAnthem Tantum Ergo Widor

Down in adoration falling,Lo! the sacred Host we hail,Lo! oe'r ancient forms departingNewer rites of grace prevail;Faith for all defects supplying,Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,And the Son Who reigns on highWith the Holy Spirit proceedingForth from each eternally,Be salvation, honor, blessing,Might and endless majesty.Amen.

*Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

*Hymn My Country, ‘Tis of Thee (verse 4)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

*HYMN No. 715 Now Thank We All Our God

CHURCH PRAYEROur 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.

BENEDICTION AND CHORAL RESPONSE

POSTLUDE Nocturne Rockas

ROUND HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH MISSION STATEMENTWe, the members of the Round Hill Community Church, a self-governing, non-denominational body, seek to foster a community of faith where people of all ages and backgrounds pursue spiritual growth; where God is worshipped in Word and praised in music; where friends are made and hurts are healed. We seek to be a community where individuals commit their time and resources to education, fellowship, and to helping those in need among our Church family and in the broader world. We are a church where faith, hope, justice and love are valued, and above all, Jesus is Lord.

ROUND HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH CREEDI believe in God, the one universal Father of all mankind, revealed supremely in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and present with us to guide, comfort and inspire in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the Kingdom of God; and in the mission of the Christian Church to proclaim the Gospel to all the world, exalting the worship of the Lord our God, and laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of righteousness, the reign of peace, and the realization of human brotherhood. United in Christian love, we pray and labor for the coming of the Kingdom, the triumph of righteousness and the life everlasting. Amen.

CHURCH NEWS

Thank you to Mary Ann Debnar and Amy Minella for ushering during this morning’s service.

Thank you to the Breckenridge family for hosting today’s Coffee Hour. Please join them in the parlor following the service.

Thank you to The Rev. Molly F. James for leading us in our worship today. Molly holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Exeter (UK), a Master’s of Divinity from Yale Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Tufts University. She was ordained in 2005. She has served as a hospital chaplain and parish priest, and currently serves on the Bishops’ Staff for The Episcopal Church in Connecticut as the Dean of Formation. Molly is co-chair of The Young Clergy Women Project (an ecumenical organization of clergy women under 40), and serves as a board member for the Society of Scholar Priests. Molly and her husband Reade (a mechanical engineer) live in West Hartford, CT with their two children, Katherine and Halste.

RHCC initiates the 2016 Youth Music Series today with our guest performer, Teddy Rockas. Teddy is a pianist and composer in his fifth year of study at the pre-college division at Mannes.  He studies piano with Marcia Eckert and composition with Dr. Steven Sacco as well as studying music theory, ear training, music history, chamber music, and is a member of the Senior Chorus.  He is a member of the competitive composition honors program at the conservatory.  He has participated in master classes with pianist Seymour Bernstein, star of the recent movie Seymour: An Introduction, directed by Ethan Hawke.  He was the Grand Winner (first place) of the 2014 National Chamber Music and Ensemble Competition and performed in the Winner’s Recital at Merkin Hall in New York City playing “Thick and Thin” which was written especially for him and J.P. Redmond by Matt van Brink. We welcome Teddy!

The next meeting of the Greenwich Men’s Club is scheduled for this Tuesday, February 4th from 6 to 8pm at the Tengda Asian Bistro in Greenwich. We’ll be concluding our 3-part series on the topic of happiness with a focus on “Managing Expectations.” Please RSVP thru the church office.

Simply Smiles Sunday! Join us next Sunday, February 7th as we welcome Bryan Nurnberger, founder and CEO of Simply Smiles. But Bryan isn’t coming alone....we will also have the pleasure of welcoming back singer/songwriter, humanitarian and Bryan’s wife – the talented Kristin Graves! During the morning service, Kristen will offer some selected pieces of music and Bryan will offer a discussion updating our congregation on the work of Simply Smiles in both Mexico and South Dakota.  Following the service, there will be time for an extended Q&A with Bryan and Kirsten as well as, additional information about our upcoming service trips to the South Dakota Cheyenne River Sioux tribe reservation in August 2016 and to Oaxaca, Mexico in February 2017.

We invite the entire congregation to come back at 4pm for our "First Sundays at Round Hill" Super Sunday.  Bryan will offer a unique message and music will be led by Kristen Graves.  Wear your favorite team colors or jerseys and join us following the service for a Super Bowl supper or a “grab and go” bag with sandwich and chips to enjoy while watching the big game!

On Saturday February 13th from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. in the church Parlor, we invite all single women of the Round Hill Community Church and their friends to participate in an examination of the religious understandings regarding forgiveness. In preparation for this discussion, attendees will need to have read a specific selection that will soon appear in the new book by author, Anita Keire, Who is Jesus and Why Does He Matter? If you plan to attend, please RSVP to the church office so that you can receive the advance reading materials that will be the basis for the discussion. Bring your own brown bag lunch.

Youth are invited to participate in the second of two Service Saturdays this winter in partnership with Neighbor to Neighbor of Greenwich. Students will help collect, sort and organize donated clothes and food items. Please note the new date of Saturday, February 20 from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. Community service hours will be awarded and students are encouraged to sign up quickly, as capacity is limited. For more info, contact Rev. Dan Haugh.

Save the date! On Wednesday, February 24th at 7pm RHCC will host a presentation on “Choosing Hope: The Power of Choice”, featuring former Newtown teacher, critically-acclaimed author of Choosing Hope: Moving Forward from Life’s Darkest Hours and Founder of Classes-4-Classes, Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis. A wine and cheese reception with Ms. Roig-DeBellis will follow.

Join us in our exciting #RHCCHope campaign on Facebook….grab an event flyer on your way out this morning and snap a shot of yourself hanging it in a public space anywhere in town. Be sure to post it to your own FB page with the hashtag #RHCCHope as well as, the location where you’ve posted it. Participate, and be entered to win a signed copy of Kaitlin’s book!

FEBRUARY IS NATIONAL HEART MONTH

 Do you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure? Have members of your family suffered from these ailments? Do you have a poor diet? If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may want to consider being screened for your risk of stroke through the services of Life Line Screening. Life Line Screening uses ultrasound technology to view the plaque build-up in your carotid arteries, the main arteries that carry blood to the brain. Blockages in these arteries are a leading cause of stroke. Life Line Screening will be offering screenings on February 19th in the Community House.

We are happy to announce that Life Line Screening is working with us to provide our members $10 discounts off any screening package (priced at $149 and higher) in addition to a $10 donation to Round Hill Community House. If you would like to take the next step in possibly saving your life or the life of someone you know, and if you would like to help the church as well, please call 1-800-324-9458 or by visiting www.helpinghandsforhealth.com today. Please note that you must sign up via either of these methods in order for us to receive our $10 donation as well.

REFLECTION

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

-Book of Common Prayer

Senior Pastor: The Rev. Dr. Edward G. HorstmannAssociate Pastor: The Rev. Dan Haugh

Minister Emeritus: The Rev. Dr. Ralph AhlbergMinister of Music: Christopher Kabala

Church School Coordinator: Connie BlundenRound Hill Community Church

395 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, CT 06831203.869.1091 roundhillcommunitychurch.org