A Creation Justice Church
March 12, 2023
10:30 a.m.
Lent
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE — Colleen Coughenour, Liturgist
. . . we must not be deceived by the giants, and by their thunderous denunciations of one another, their preparations for mutual destruction. The fact that they are powerful does not mean that they are sane, and the fact that they speak with intense conviction does not mean that they speak the truth. — Thomas Merton 1915-1968
PRELUDE
Precious Lord, Take My Hand Dorsey/Schrader
*OPENING SENTENCES from Isaiah 55:1 & Rev. 21:6b
Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy, and eat!
To the thirsty I will give water
as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
*HYMN
Christ Is the Mountain of Horeb 45
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are open.
Exodus 17:1-7 and John 4:5-42
For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God among us, for the word of God within us. Thanks be to God!
MODERN READING – The Fountain Denise Levertov
* SONG
God, fill our lives John L. Bell
SERMON
Dried Up? Rev. Kim P. Wells
UNISON READING Rainer Maria Rilke
May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing and no holding back,
the way it is with children.
Then in these swelling and ebbing currents,
these deepening tides moving out, returning,
I will sing you as no one ever has, streaming through
widening channels
into the open sea.
ANTHEM
Seek First God’s Kingdom Pavlechko
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:
● Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
● Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
● Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.
MORNING OFFERING
Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar. You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar. If you would like assistance, please turn to someone seated near you.
Offertory Meditation from Thaïs Massenet
* Time of Dedication Janet Morley, contemporary
Come to the waters,
all you who are thirsty:
children who need water
free from diseases,
women who need respite
from labour and searching,
plants that need moisture
rooted near the bedrock,
find here a living spring.
O God, may we thirst
for your waters of justice,
and learn to deny no one
the water of life.
* PREPARATION FOR PRAYER
The Lord will listen John L. Bell
MORNING PRAYER – SAVIOR’S PRAYER
Fathering and Mothering God, lover of us all, most holy one.
Help us to respond to you
To create what you want for us here on earth.
Give us today enough for our needs.
Forgive our weak and deliberate offenses,
Just as we must forgive others when they hurt us.
Help us to resist evil and to do what is good.
For we are yours, endowed with your power to make the world whole. Amen.
* HYMN
Come, O Fount of Every Blessing 459
* BENEDICTION Mahatma Gandhi
For true love is inexhaustible:
The more you give,
the more you have.
And if you go to draw at the true fountainhead,
the more water you draw,
the more abundant is its flow.
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE (please form a circle) Rosemary Crow
Weave, weave, weave us together; Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together in unity and love. Weave us together, together in love.
*POSTLUDE
Prelude III Gershwin
ANNOUNCEMENTS
UCC General Minister and President a former member of LUCC
The search committee for the next General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ announced the candidate to be elected at the General Synod this summer. It is the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson. Many years ago, Karen lived in St. Pete and was a member of LUCC. Congratulations to Karen and to the UCC!
Book Talk
The monthly Book Talk will be held on Thursday March 16 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. This is a Zoom gathering. All are welcome to participate. Share what you have been reading lately if you would like to. Hear about what others have been reading.
Meeting ID: 270 068 3648
Advisors Meeting
The Advisors will be meeting after church this morning. All are welcome!
Stewardship
A stewardship packet has been prepared. Please return your pledge form to the church by next Sunday. Many thanks!
Operation Attack
Operation Attack is a food pantry for families with children. At the moment, canned fruit is needed. Bring your donations to LUCC and place them on the shelves in the hallway.
Circle of Concern
Samantha Wassmer and Family – Tony and Jim Larson – Erik Johnson – Ann Quinn is under Hospice care – Maggie Brizendine – Janet Hall – Emily Bell
Schools: Students, families, teachers, and staff
Lakewood United Church of Christ 2601 54th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33712
727-867-7961 lakewooducc@gmail.com lakewooducc.org
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
Category: Bulletins
BULLETIN 3.5.23
March 5, 2023
10:30 a.m.
Lent
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE Sally Purvis, Liturgist
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
Rumi 1207-1273
PRELUDE
The Meadow Ireland
*OPENING READING Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1941
The winds of grace are blowing, but it is you who must raise your sails.
*HYMN
Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness 286
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are open.
Genesis 12:1-5a and John 3:1-17
For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God among us, for the word of God within us. Thanks be to God!
* SONG
In love you summon John L. Bell
SERMON
Short Cuts? Rev. Kim P. Wells
UNISON READING
Anselm c.1033-1109
Jesus, like a mother, you gather us to you. With a mother’s gentleness, you weep for our sins, cry for our arrogance, lead us out of hatred, deliver us from judging, comfort our sorrow, heal our wounds, and feed us pure milk. You are our mother, Lord. You gather us under your wings. You died for us and give us life. Restore our souls. Remake us in your peace.
ANTHEM
JLM (Jesus Loves Me) Phillips
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:
- Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
- Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
- Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.
MORNING OFFERING – COMMUNION OFFERING
Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar. You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar. If you would like assistance, please turn to someone seated near you.
Offertory
Andante Cantabile Mozart
* Time of Dedication
Eric James
There is never an act of faith without risk.
* PREPARATION FOR COMMUNION Take, O take me as I am Iona Community
CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION
Invitation
Communion Prayer – Savior’s Prayer
Our Creator, 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. 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.
Blessing the Bread and Cup
Sharing the Meal
Unison Prayer of Thanksgiving John Hammon
Child of Bethlehem —
house of bread;
Man of Jerusalem —
city of peace;
you have loved us
without condition;
in our greatness and in our misery,
in our folly and in our virtue;
may your hand be always upon us
and may your heart be within us
so that we too
may become bread and peace
for one another. Amen.
* HYMN
I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry 351
* BENEDICTION
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE (please form a circle) Rosemary Crow
Weave, weave, weave us together;
Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together in unity and love.
Weave us together, together in love.
*POSTLUDE
Agincourt Hymn Dunstable
ANNOUNCEMENTS
This is a Communion Sunday. Please know that everyone is welcome to participate in communion. Young people are invited to participate at the discretion of the adult(s) who have brought them. The Communion Offering will be received. This offering is used to help people in the church and the community with basic needs such as rent and utility assistance, bus passes, prescriptions, etc. There has been heavy need for these funds. Please consider how you can help the community through this offering.
This morning communion will be offered by intinction. This involves coming forward, taking a piece of bread and dipping it in the cup and eating it. There are also individual cups available, and the prepackaged communion servings. Please do what feels most comfortable for you.
UCC General Minister and President a former member of LUCC
This past week, the search committee for the next General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ announced the candidate to be elected at the General Synod this summer. It is the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson. Many years ago, Karen lived in St. Pete and was a member of LUCC. Congratulations to Karen and to the UCC!
New College Demonstration Many thanks to Bill Parsons, Dyanne Edds, Emily Bell, and Kim Wells for being part of the demonstration at New College on Tuesday. New College was founded in 1960 by the United Church of Christ.
Circle of Concern
Samantha Wassmer and Family – The Family and Loved Ones of Beulah Coughenour – Tony and Jim Larson – Erik Johnson – George and Jane Diven and Family – Katherine Conover – Sherry Santana – Ann Quinn is under Hospice care – Maggie Brizendine – Janet Hall
Schools: Students, families, teachers, and staff
Lakewood United Church of Christ 2601 54th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33712
727-867-7961 lakewooducc@gmail.com lakewooducc.org
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
Bulletin2.24.23
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
February 19, 2023
10:30 a.m.
Lent
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE Colleen Coughenour, Liturgist
Few find inner peace but this is not because they try and fail, it is because they do not try. Peace Pilgrim, 1908-1981
PRELUDE Prayer from Hansel and Gretel Humperdinck
*OPENING SENTENCES Ruth Burgess, contemporary
The desert waits,
ready for those who come
who come obedient to the Spirit’s leading;
or who are driven,
because they will not come any other way.
The desert always waits,
ready to let us know who we are —
the place of self-discovery.
And whilst we fear, and rightly,
the loneliness and emptiness and harshness,
we forget the angels,
who we cannot see for our blindness,
but who come when God decides
that we need their help;
when we are ready
for what they can give us.
*HYMN Great Is Your Faithfulness 423
SCRIPTURE LESSON
Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are open.
Matthew 4:1-11
For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God among us, for the word of God within us. Thanks be to God!
MODERN READING Belden Lane, contemporary
* SONG Don’t Be Afraid John Bell
SERMON Give Me Lent Rev. Kim P. Wells
UNISON READING Ann Lewin, 1940-2023
Lent is a time to learn to travel
Light, to clear the clutter
From our crowded lives, and
Find a space, a desert.
Deserts are bleak: no creature
Comforts, only a vast expanse of
Stillness, sharpening awareness of
Ourselves and God.
Uncomfortable places, deserts.
Most of the time we’re tempted to
Avoid them, finding good reason to
Live lives of ease; cushioned by
Noise from self-discovery,
To stave off fear.
But if we dare to trust the silence
To strip away our false security,
God can begin to grow his wholeness in us,
Fill up our emptiness, destroy our fears.
Give us new vision, courage for the journey,
And make our desert blossom like a rose.
* SONG Take, O take me as I am Iona Community
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:
- ● Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
- ● Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
- ● Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.
MORNING OFFERING
Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar. You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar. If you would like assistance, please turn to someone seated near you.
Offertory Viennese Ladies’ Ländler Schubert
* Time of Dedication from Worship in an Indian Context
Servant Christ,
help us to follow you into the desert,
with you to fast, denying false luxury,
refusing the tempting ways of self-indulgence,
the way of success at all costs,
the way of coercive persuasion.
Servant Christ, help us to follow you.
* PREPARATION FOR PRAYER Through our lives and by our prayers
Iona Community
MORNING PRAYERS – SAVIOR’S PRAYER
Holy One, our only Home, hallowed be Your name.
May your day dawn, your will be done,
Here, as in heaven. Feed us today, and forgive us
As we forgive each other. Do not forsake us at the test,
But deliver us from evil. For the glory, the power,
And the mercy are yours, now and forever. Amen.
* HYMN Teach Me, O Lord, Your Holy Way 465
* BENEDICTION
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE (please form a circle) Rosemary Crow
Weave, weave, weave us together; Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together in unity and love. Weave us together, together in love.
*POSTLUDE Mazurka in A Minor Chopin
Circle of Concern
Samantha Wassmer and Family – The Family and Loved Ones of Beulah Coughenour – Tony and Jim Larson
Erik Johnson – George and Jane Diven and Family – Katherine Conover
Sherry Santana – Ann Quinn is under Hospice care – Maggie Brizendine
Janet Hall
Schools: Students, families, teachers, and staff
Lakewood United Church of Christ 2601 54th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33712
727-867-7961 lakewooducc@gmail.com lakewooducc.org
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
A Just Peace Church
Bulletin 02.19.23
A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
February 19, 2023
10:30 am
TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE Sally Purvis, Liturgist
Deep peace, pure white of the moon to you.
Deep peace, pure black of the night to you.
Deep peace, pure green of the grass to you.
Deep peace, pure brown of the earth to you.
Deep peace, pure grey of the dew to you.
Deep peace, pure blue of the sky to you.
Deep peace, of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace, of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace, of the Son of Peace to you.
Fiona Macleod, 1855-1905, adapted
PRELUDE Fairest Lord Jesus arr. by Wilda Jackson Auld
*OPENING SENTENCES A Carthusian
Mysteries are not dark shadows, before which we must shut our eyes and be silent. On the contrary, they are dazzling splendours, with which we ought to sate our gaze.
* HYMN Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise 1
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are open.
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
Matthew 5: 38-48
“You’ve heard the commandment, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, don’t resist an evil person.
When someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn and offer the other.
If anyone wants to sue you for your shirt, hand over your coat as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go two miles.
Give to those who beg from you.
And don’t turn your back on those who want to borrow from you.
“You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor — but hate your enemy.’
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for your persecutors. This will prove that you are children of God.
For God makes the sun rise on bad and good alike; God’s rain falls on the just and the unjust.
If you love those who love you, what merit is there in that? Don’t tax collectors do as much?
And if you greet only your sisters and brothers, what is so praiseworthy about that? Don’t Gentiles do as much?
Therefore, just as Abba God is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete.
Matthew 17:1-9
For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God among us, for the word of God within us. Thanks be to God!
*HYMN Hark! the Herald Angels Sing 160
SERMON Glory! Rev. Kim P. Wells
UNISON READING Martin Luther 1483-1546 Who then can comprehend the riches and the glory of the Christian life? It can do all things and has all things and lacks nothing. . . Surely we are named after Christ, not because he is absent from us, but because he dwells in us, that is, because we believe in him and are Christs to one another and do to our neighbors as Christ does to us.
RECEPTION OF NEW MEMBER
Introduction
* Affirmation of Faith United Church of Christ Statement of Faith 885
Vows for New Member and Sponsor
Signing the Church Registry
Prayer
Extending the Right Hand of Fellowship
* Congregational Response
We welcome you with joy as a partner in the common life of this church. We promise you our continuing friendship and prayers as we share the hopes and labors of the church of Jesus Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, together may we continue to grow in the knowledge of God and of God’s love, and be witnesses of Jesus Christ.
* Hymn Blessed Be the Tie That Binds (vs. 1 & 3) 393
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:
- Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
- Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
- Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.
MORNING OFFERING
Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar. You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar. If you would like assistance, please turn to someone seated near you.
Offertory The Beautiful Garden of Prayer arr. by Wilda Jackson Auld
* Time of Dedication Ruth Burrows
If I let God take hold of me more and more; possess me, as fire possesses the burning log, then I give off light and heat to the whole world even though the influence be completely hidden.
* PREPARATION FOR PRAYER O Savior, Let Me Walk with You 503
MORNING PRAYERS – SAVIOR’S PRAYER
Our Father-Mother, who is in the heavens, may your name be made holy. May your dominion come, may your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us today, the bread we need; and forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors; and do not put us to the test, but rescue us from evil. For yours is the dominion, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
* HYMN This Little Light of Mine 524
* BENEDICTION
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE (please form a circle)
Lead Us From Death to Life 581
Lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth,
from despair to hope, from fear to trust.
Lead us from hate to love, from war to peace;
let peace fill our hearts, let peace fill our world, let peace fill our universe.
*POSTLUDE The Heavens Declare His Glory L. van Beethoven
Lakewood United Church of Christ 2601 54th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33712
727-867-7961 lakewooducc@gmail.com lakewooducc.org
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Bulletin 02.12.23
A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
February 12, 2023
10:30 am
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE
Kay Rencken, Liturgist
For people with darker skins, or of a different religion, or a minority sexual orientation, there is always the threat of violence that is bred by hate.
We must stand up to that and say, “no more!” We Americans must develop better hearts and minds in our common civil life. If not, the axe of hate will be laid to the tree of liberty.
A Meditation on Martin Luther King Day 2020, Old Verger
PRELUDE
As Time Goes By Hupfeld
*OPENING READING based on Psalm 119
We are blessed when we stay on course, walking steadily in the way of Love;
When we do not go off on our own, but walk along the road Divine Love has set before us.
May our steps be steady;
Keeping to the course.
May we ponder every morsel of wisdom Love offers,
and not forget a word of it.
May we delight far more in Love than in gathering a pile of riches.
* HYMN Guide My Feet 497
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are open.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and Matthew 6:24-34
For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God among us, for the word of God within us. Thanks be to God!
MYSTIC READING Mechtild of Magdeburg, 1207-1282
*HYMN
God’s Eye Is on the Sparrow 475
SERMON Say Yes! Rev. Kim P. Wells
UNISON READING
Cathy Hutcheon
Your love comes to me
in the silence,
ordinary.
Like a child’s treasure
I turn it over
in the nook of my hand,
warming its smooth
heaviness.
A thought of You,
stony,
clearly defined,
drops as though
down a deep
well,
is lost
momentarily,
then turns up
a certainty in the heart.
ANTHEM
All Bless the One HKJ
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:
- Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
- Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
- Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.
MORNING OFFERING
Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar. You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar. If you would like assistance, please turn to someone seated near you.
Offertory Sunflower Slow Drag Joplin
*Dedicating Our Gifts Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917-1977
Christianity is being concerned about your fellow man, not building a million-dollar church while people are starving right around the corner. Christ was a revolutionary person, out there where it was happening. That’s what God is all about, and that’s where I get my strength.
* PREPARATION FOR PRAYER
Seek Ye First Lafferty
Seek ye first the kin-dom of God
and God’s righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you,
allelu, alleluia.
One shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of God,
allelu, alleluia.
Ask, and it shall be given unto you.
Seek, and you shall find.
Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you,
allelu, alleluia.
MORNING PRAYERS – SAVIOR’S PRAYER
Fathering and Mothering God, lover of us all, most holy one.
Help us to respond to you
To create what you want for us here on earth.
Give us today enough for our needs.
Forgive our weak and deliberate offenses,
Just as we must forgive others when they hurt us.
Help us to resist evil and to do what is good.
For we are yours, endowed with your power to make the world whole. Amen.
* HYMN
What a Covenant 471
* BENEDICTION
Celtic, adapted
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE (please form a circle)
Lead Us From Death to Life 581
Lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth,
from despair to hope, from fear to trust.
Lead us from hate to love, from war to peace;
let peace fill our hearts, let peace fill our world,
let peace fill our universe.
*POSTLUDE
Easy Winners Joplin
Lakewood United Church of Christ 2601 54th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33712
727-867-7961/ lakewooducc@gmail.com/ Lakewooducc.org On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Lakewood United Church of Christ 