Round Hill Community Church

ORDER OF SERVICEJanuary 17, 2016

First Sunday after Epiphany

PRELUDE Fantasie Negre Florence Price Dr. Casey Robards, Piano

WORDS OF WELCOME

INTROIT

CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: This is God’s world! To us is given a vision of nations and races,

of lands and people, joined together in love.All: Praise be to God, the Creator, in whose image we are created.Leader: We come to celebrate and renew that vision, opening ourselves to the One who is its source and living fire.All: We affirm in Christ that we can be, and are, one world and

one family, working together to manifest God’s rule in the lives of all people!

*The congregation is invited to stand

*HYMN Praise with Joy the World’s Creator

*OPENING PRAYER

Righteous God, you plead the cause of the poor and unprotected. Fill us with holy rage when justice is delayed, and give us the persistence to require those rights that are denied; for your name’s sake, 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 There is a Way to Glory Walker

(The texts for these four songs are taken from a series of “Freedom Songs” which Thomas Merton wrote in 1966. These poems were created in response to a special request in connection with the Christian non-violent movement for Civil Rights. Thus, faith, equality and peace are the unifying themes in the songs.)

There is a way to glory,but not for men of blood.

They shall not stray upon my roadwhose hands had taken life.

They shall not find this holy waywhere the Lord of Peace rules in glory.

Love is this way to glory.No beast of prey shall be there,

no angry wolf or bear by my highway.Murder shall not stain that way with blood,

but forgiveness everywhere shall teach my peoplehow to go to glory.

Songs of love and joy echo everywhereand the holy people travel there.

Glad and free, forgiving and forgiven,riding on to Sion where the Lord of Peace,

their Defender, their Redeemer rules in glory.There is a way to glory.

SCRIPTURE LESSON Luke 4: 14-21

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim release to the captivesand recovery of sight to the blind,to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

SERMON The Church in the Power of the Spirit The Rev. Dr. Ed Horstmann

*HYMN No. 530 I’ve Got Peace Like a River

OFFERINGInvitationAnthem Give Me Jesus Moses Hogan

Risa Renae Harman, Soprano Dr. Casey Robards, Piano

*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. 700 O Day of God, Draw Nigh

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 Gigue Fugue Buxtehude

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 Paige Greytok and Doug Conn for ushering during this morning’s service.

Thank you to Carolyn Gilbert for hosting today’s Coffee Hour. Please join her in the parlor following the service.

The next installment in the Bible Study Series: People of the Book will take place today following the service. In today’s series, we will explore the lives of Simeon and Anna. Please join us!

The CPR certification class on Sunday, January 24 at 11:30AM has now reached maximum capacity and we will only be accepting names for our waitlist. Thank you to all who registered. If you require childcare and have not yet informed the church office, you must do so by Tuesday, January 19th. If you have any questions about the class, please contact GEMS directly by writing to Art Romano, Deputy Director at ARomano@greenwichems.org. In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the church office will be closed on Monday, January 18th.

As our youth ministry develops and grows, we want to be able to offer safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from Church-organized group outings.  If you have a 7-10 person vehicle in good working condition that you would be willing to lend or donate for Church Youth Ministry excursions, please reach out to Rev. Dan Haugh – dan@roundhillcommunitychurch.org.

Volunteer Opportunity!!! Our friends at Inspirica have asked for helping hands for their “Point in Time” initiative which aims to paint an accurate picture of homelessness in the state of Connecticut. There are thousands of individuals and families in shelters at any time, and hundreds more living without shelter in Connecticut.

Only by knowing who, where, and how many people are experiencing homelessness in Connecticut can we plan and identify the resources needed to best serve the most vulnerable. The count will take place on Tuesday, January 26th, with a short training session at 6pm followed by the count at 7pm. For more info or to sign up, contact Rev. Dan Haugh.

The call of the wild has come to RHCC! A collection of Tanzanian safari photographs, Wild Serengeti, by Greenwich photographer Arto Szabo, are on display in Les Beaux Arts Gallery beginning today through February 4th.

REFLECTION

“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

“The ultimate measure of a human being is not where he or she stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but what we stand for at times of challenge and controversy.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

“I’m just an amateur historian, but one thing I’ve learned from my own experience and from my study of history is that every good movement calls people to commitment. Every good movement inspires each individual to make sacrifices for the greater good. Every good movement invites people into something greater than themselves – something they would not be foolish to sacrifice everything for.”

-Welcoming Justice, John Perkins

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 Blunden

Round Hill Community Church395 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, CT 06831

203.869.1091 roundhillcommunitychurch.org