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Celebrating Our Gifts Stewardship 2021 Letter

Celebrating Our Gifts Stewardship 2021
Lakewood United Church of Christ

…I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you….

             2 Timothy 1:6   

Dear Friends,

Many of us have memories of a fireplace, a campfire, or even sitting around a backyard firepit, waiting to toast a marshmallow on a stick.  The big flames fade, leaving glowing embers.  But we want to see the flames again.  Maybe Paul saw that happening to Timothy, who had been given the gift of faith and community in the earliest days of the church. 

We may be able to identify with Timothy at times, especially during the last twenty months of our church life. We’ve had to reconfigure our ways of coming together, of being a real church family as we masked up, washed our hands, gathered under the trees or opened all the doors and windows in good weather, and sat six feet apart..  But we adapted, survived, even thrived into new ways of being the church.  We’ve shown up, embraced one another, listened to the words and melodies that warm and light our hearts, stir our thoughts.   Like Timothy, we are given the gift of faith that we have called on in order to adapt and to care for one another and the world. 

As we move into the season of gratefulness for our healthy little community here at Lakewood, we remember to nurture and care for it as we would a warming fire on a cold night.  On Stewardship Sunday November 14, we have the opportunity to add our own kindling to the warming fire that is Lakewood United Church of Christ as we make our financial commitments to the church for the coming year. And like the ones who bring the kindling to the campfire, we are able to go into the world to share the gift.   

Blessings,

Lucille Ruga, representing the Advisors, Patti Cooksey, Jane Diven, Malcolm Wells and Bill Parsons

2601 54th Ave S St. Petersburg, FL  33712  (727) 867-7961 lakewooducc.org   lakewooducc@gmail.com

On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga

Bulletin 11/14/2021

GATHERING MUSIC                    

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE                         Kay Rencken, liturgist

One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968

PRELUDE                                  ‘Tis a gift                             Shaker tune

CALL TO WORSHIP               Hildegard von Bingen 1098-1179, adapted

God, the blazing life of divine wisdom,
God sets alight the beauty of the plains,
God radiates the waters,
God glows in the Sun and the Moon and the stars.
With wisdom God orders all things right.
God beautifies the Earth.
God is the breeze that nurtures all things green.
God is the rain coming from the dew
that makes the fields laugh with the pleasure of life.
God calls up tears, the perfume of holy work.
God is the yearning for good.

MUSICAL REFLECTION   All Things Bright and Beautiful     Shaw & Monk

SCRIPTURE READING

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.

2 Timothy 1:5-7, 14

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-Don’t Hesitate                    Mary Oliver, 1935-2019

SERMON                                  Receive the Gift            Rev. Kim P. Wells

UNISON READING-Mashing the Berries                                         Kiowa translated by James Mooney 

I am mashing the berries,
I am mashing the berries.
They say travelers are coming on the march.

I stir the berries around,
I stir them around.
I take them up with a spoon of buffalo horn.

And I carry them,
I carry them to the strangers.
And I carry them,
I carry them to the strangers.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE                 Intermezzo                            Brahms

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.

A TIME OF GIVING-Morning Offering and Pledges

Morning offerings and pledges may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar. If you would like assistance, please turn to someone seated near you.

Offertory                   As Time Goes By                         Hupfeld

Prayer of Dedication             based on a prayer by Mary Taylor

God, grant me the awareness of all I have been given, the courage to give back in full measure, and the wisdom to be grateful for these blessings. Amen.

PREPARATION FOR PRAYER  Prayer from Hansel and Gretel    Humperdink

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.  Please observe physical distancing.

MORNING PRAYER-SAVIOR’S PRAYER                 Aramaic Translation

Our Father who is throughout the universe,
Let your name be set apart.
Come your counsel.
Let your desire be, as in the universe, also on earth.
Give us bread for our necessities this day
And free us from our offenses,
As also we have freed our offenders.
And do not let us enter our worldliness,
But set us free from error.
For belongs to you the kingdom, power,
And song, from ages to ages.
Sealed in faithfulness.

BENEDICTION                                            

Let us go forth
to fan the flame of Love
within us, within others,
and in the world around us!

*POSTLUDE           Penny Lane & Yellow Submarine                Beatles

Circle of Concern: Deanna Moore, Ann Quinn who is under Hospice Care, Dave Radens, William Owen-Cowan, Jen Degroot, Carolyn Moore, Maggie Brizendine, Janet Hall, All those suffering from COVID-19 and all healthcare workers, Schools: Students, families, teachers, and staff

Announcements

Facebook Live The 10:30 a.m. service is being streamed on Facebook Live.

Thanksgiving Sunday Ahead! Sunday, Nov. 21 will be the annual Thanksgiving service. Please bringsomething to represent what you are thankful for; something thatrepresents a gift in your life, as we build an altar of gratitude together! Theservice will be outside under the tree. Please bring a chair if you can.  

Harvest Forms Please turn in your harvest form by Wednesday, Nov. 17 so that the wonderful list of the many ministries of the congregation can be celebrated!  The Harvest form is available at church or on the church website.

Operation Attack Please bring a Thanksgiving donation next Sunday.OA needs donations of cereal, peanut butter, canned meat, fruit, vegetables and soup, dried beans, and mac/cheese. Donations may be placed on the shelf in the hallway at church.

Wednesday Workshops Ahead! The Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ is offering a series of Wednesday Workshops on Zoom at 7 p.m.  These events are intended for people from all churches of the Florida Conference.  Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate.  Here are the topics for the weeks ahead and information about how to tune in.  

Wednesday, Nov 17 Workshop Wednesdays: Small Church is not Less Church. The Zoom Meeting ID is 361-687-8295, and here’s the link to connect: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3616878295.

Anti Racism Demonstrations – New Time The church will resume its witness against racism with weekly demonstrations along the sidewalk of 54th Ave. S.  Make your own sign or use one of the signs at the church. Demonstrations will be held Sundays from 4:30-5 beginning this Sunday, Nov. 14th. In case of rain, the demonstration will not be held that week. 

For the safety and comfort of all, please wear a mask. Thank you!

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