WELCOME!
Whoever you are, and wherever you may be on your journey, you are welcome here.
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We're glad you landed here and we hope that it will be the start of a colorful relationship.
We hope that it will be a relationship that will begin with you getting to know us, and lead toward us getting to know you. At the Belchertown United Church of Christ (BUCC) we believe that the stuff of faith is found in community; folks working and laughing and crying and singing and worshiping together, making a difference in the world. If that's a good place to start, click the TICKET below and let the ride begin! |
Welcome!!!!
Please join us for Sunday Service (9:30am) in the Sanctuary and via Zoom details below.
Hope to see you there!
------------------------------------------------------------
Belchertown UCC, July 3, 2022 Order of Worship
Preparation
These moments are seeds, waiting to be sown. What will you grow?
It’s impossible for God to love you any more than you are loved by God
right now, in this very moment.
Prelude Sally Shattuck
Announcements
Welcome
No matter who you are, whatever your life circumstance, and wherever you are in the journey of faith, we welcome you, Jesus welcomes you. We especially welcome our baptism family and any first time guests today. After worship, there is lemonade and a munchie to share.
Call to Worship The Reverend Jan Powers
One: We come longing for God’s green pastures, for God’s still waters.
All: Send your Spirit, O God, to lead and guide us!
One: We come together because Jesus said,
“Where two or more of you gather in my name, I will be there, in the midst of you.”
All: The risen Christ is here, and we proclaim his promise!
Opening Song 244 Loving Spirit
Invitation to Prayer One: Let us pray to God saying,
Opening Prayer
All: We confess that we’re still a work in progress, Lord. You know the ways we show selfishness, or are silent in the face of injustice, or are sour because we didn’t get our way. We know it, too. Forgive us. Help us experience the fresh winds of your Spirit, cleaning out the old and stuffy choices we’ve made, and breezily setting us free for more faith, hope, and love. Thank you for your kindness, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Words of Pardon
One: We are one in Christ, free from the law of sin and death.
Rid of guilt, we are liberated to live in love and joy. Thanks be to God.
ALL: AMEN!
The Sacrament of Baptism for Salina Donna Rodriguez
Deacon: Members and friends in Christ, we gather to celebrate the gift of grace in the Sacrament of Baptism. Tom Shattuck
All: There is one body and one Spirit. There is one hope in God’s call to us.
Deacon: There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Creator of us all.
Pastor: The sacrament of baptism is an outward and visible sign of the grace of God. Inasmuch as the promise of the gospel is not only to us but also to our children baptism with water and the Holy Spirit is the mark of acceptance and care into Christ’s church, the sign and seal of participation in God’s forgiveness, and the beginning of growth into full Christian faith and discipleship.
A Word about Creeds
Pastor: Let us affirm our faith together, saying:
The Apostles’ Creed (Unison)
I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Parents: Tiffany Besse and Isaias Rodriguez; Sponsors: Monique Frigon and David Arias
Covenant Promises
Pastor to parents: Do you desire to have your child, Salina, baptized into the faith and family of Jesus Christ? Parents: We do
Deacon To Parents and Sponsors: Will you encourage her to renounce the powers of evil
and to receive the freedom of new life in Christ? We will, with the help of God.
Pastor: Do you promise, by the grace of God, to be Christ’s disciples,
to follow in the way of the Savior, to resist oppression and evil,
to show love and justice, and to witness to the work and word
of Jesus Christ as best you are able? We do, with the help of God.
Deacon: How will you help your child to grow in the Christian faith,
and come to know God as her Creator, Jesus as her Savior,
and the Holy Spirit as her strength?
Tiffany, Isaias, Monique, and David say:
We will bring Salina to church for worship, Church School,
and the Christian nurture of this family of faith.
We will show her by our example
what it means to have a living faith that guides our lives.
We will teach her Christian values, model gratitude and service,
help her apprentice herself to Jesus,
and show her the connection between these things and our faith in God,
so that she may come to affirm her baptism.
Pastor to ALL: Jesus calls us to make disciples of all nations, and to offer them the gift of grace in baptism. Do you, who witness and celebrate this sacrament, promise your love, support, and care to this child, as she lives and grows in Christ?
ALL: We promise our love, support, and care to Salina, and we promise to encourage her parents, Tiffany & Isaias, in the Way of Christ. We also will welcome Salina’s siblings, Angelise, Isaias, and Roman.
Blessing Over the Water
Tom, Deacon: We thank you, God, for the gift of creation called forth by your saving Word.
Before the world had shape and form, your Spirit moved over the waters.
Pastor: Out of the waters of the deep you formed the firmament
and brought forth the earth to sustain all life.
In the time of Noah, you washed the earth with the waters of the flood,
and Noah’s ark of your salvation bore a new beginning.
Deacon: In the time of Moses, your people passed through the Red Sea waters from slavery into freedom, and crossed the flowing Jordan River to enter the promised land.
Pastor: In the fullness of time, you sent Jesus, who was nurtured in the water of Mary’s womb. Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan, became living water to a woman at the Samaritan well, washed the feet of the disciples, and sent them forth to baptize all the nations by water and the Holy Spirit. (POUR WATER) Bless by your Spirit, gracious God, this water.
Deacon: By your Spirit save those who confess the name of Christ.
Create new life in this child, baptized this day, that she may rise in Christ.
Pastor: Glory to you, eternal God,
the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, world without end. Amen.
What name do you give this child? (parents respond)
Pastor: Salina Donna Rodriguez,
I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen!
Pastor: The Holy Spirit be upon you, child of God, disciple of Christ, member of the church universal.
O great God, bless, too, the parents and family of this child. May their gratitude for her life, entrusted to them, be reflected in loving and caring for their child. Amen.
The Congregation meets Salina
Song 658 Restless Weaver
Scripture Readings
Galatians 6:7-10
7 You cannot fool God, so don't make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. 8 If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. 9 Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up. 10 We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.
Acts 16:13-15
(Paul and Barnabus have been travelling all over the known world to tell people about Jesus, who he was and what he taught. Timothy joins them in their mission. Then Paul has a vision that tells him to go to Macedonia, because someone needs him there. So, the three of them take a boat and also journey overland to reach Macedonia.)
13 Then on the Sabbath we went outside the city gate of Philippi to a place by the river, where we thought there would be a Jewish meeting place for prayer. We sat down and talked with the women who came. 14 One of them was Lydia, who was from the city of Thyatira and sold expensive purple cloth. She was a worshiper of the Lord God, and God coaxed her to be willing to accept what Paul was saying. 15 Then after she and her family were baptized, she kept on begging us, “If you think I really do have faith in the Lord, come stay in my home.” Finally, we accepted her invitation.
Response to the Reading of Scripture
Pastor: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
All: Thanks be to God.
+Sung Response 106 Alleluia
Homily
Tithes & Offerings
Prayers of the People
One: For the burdens and the joys that are on our hearts this day:
(R) Lord, hear our prayer!
One: Thank you Awesome Giver of Life, for the fetid earth and the swarming seas,
and for babies and children in our midst. (R)
One: For the blessings of friendship and the kindnesses of strangers, thank you (R)
One: Open wide our hearts and hands to share your grace to everyone we meet (R)
One: For the poor among us, especially the hungry and the homeless; and for those suffering from warring madness. (R)
One: For those who are so broken that they cannot reach out, cannot speak their need, (R)
One: Free us by your Spirit to make visible our oneness in Christ, and
to weep with those who weep and to celebrate with the joyful. (R)
One: Make us a people who pray, often and fiercely, and who align our actions with our prayer. (R)
One: We quiet our hearts before you in silent prayer, naming in our hearts those people and those issues that are cause for concern or celebration ( . . . )
And now we pray as Jesus taught us, saying:
Lord’s Prayer (unison)
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, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Communion
Invitation
The Great Thanksgiving
One: The peace of the Lord be with you. All: And also with you.
One: Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them to the Lord.
One: Let us give thanks to God. All: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Pastor: Carrying a vision of creation healed and restored, we welcome all in the name of Christ.
Invited to the table where none shall go hungry, we gather as Christ’s guests and friends.
In holy communion we are commissioned to feed as we have been fed,
forgive as we have been forgiven, love as we have been loved.
The open table speaks of the shining promise of barriers broken and creation healed.
In the communion meal, wine poured out and bread broken, we remember Jesus.
The price that he paid for who he was, for what he did and said, and for the world’s brokenness.
We taste the mystery of God’s great love for us, and are renewed in faith and hope.
We place our hope in God. We sing of a life beyond life and a future good beyond imagining:
a new heaven and a new earth, the end of sorrow, pain, and tears, Christ’s return and life with God.
We yearn for the coming of that future, even while participating in eternal life now.
In the meantime, we embrace the present, embodying hope, loving our enemies, caring for the earth, choosing life.
We witness to Holy Mystery who is Wholly Love. From United Church of Canada
Sanctus (unison)
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Words of Institution
All Respond: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Epiclesis (pour out)
Sharing the Bread & Cup
Prayer after Communion
Closing Song 495 Weave (Play on keyboard, lower by 3 half steps, key of C)
Benediction
Passing the Peace
One: The peace of the Lord be with you. Another: And also with you.
Postlude
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE – A list of organizations accepting donations is available in the sanctuary or emailed upon request from the church office. We have also contacted Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ludlow to identify material donations being gathered to be shipped to Europe. Their wish list with Amazon is available through the link I Stand with Ukraine. Please donate as you are able.
CIRCLES of CARE - Catholic Charities has established Circles of Care (comprised of 6-10 people) for specific Afghan refugee families, providing support to help people transition in their first year, including providing transportation to doctor's appointments, helping navigate local community resources, etc. For additional information see http://welcomehomenorthampton.org. Marla Lindsay is currently helping a resettled woman to use the bus, practice English, go food shopping, etc. If you would like to help her in some way, contact marla0680ml@gmail.com.
PRAYER REQUESTS – You are invited to Personal Message your requests for prayers of joy or concern on the church FaceBook page - www.facebook.com/BelchertownUnitedChurchOfChrist and note desire whether or not to mention during Sunday worship. Peace and wellness to all.
SUPPORT BUCC WHILE YOU SHOP!
By starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com
AMAZON DONATES 0.5% of the price of your
eligible AmazonSmile purchases
To Belchertown United Church of Christ (BUCC)
AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know.
Register TODAY!!!!!
You shop. Amazon gives.
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS: 9am-2pm, Tues through Fri
Belchertown United Church of Christ
18 Park Street, P. O. Box 603
Belchertown, MA 01007
Church Office Phone: (413) 323-7442
Church Office email: belchertownucc@gmail.com
Please join us for Sunday Service (9:30am) in the Sanctuary and via Zoom details below.
Hope to see you there!
------------------------------------------------------------
Belchertown UCC, July 3, 2022 Order of Worship
Preparation
These moments are seeds, waiting to be sown. What will you grow?
It’s impossible for God to love you any more than you are loved by God
right now, in this very moment.
Prelude Sally Shattuck
Announcements
Welcome
No matter who you are, whatever your life circumstance, and wherever you are in the journey of faith, we welcome you, Jesus welcomes you. We especially welcome our baptism family and any first time guests today. After worship, there is lemonade and a munchie to share.
Call to Worship The Reverend Jan Powers
One: We come longing for God’s green pastures, for God’s still waters.
All: Send your Spirit, O God, to lead and guide us!
One: We come together because Jesus said,
“Where two or more of you gather in my name, I will be there, in the midst of you.”
All: The risen Christ is here, and we proclaim his promise!
Opening Song 244 Loving Spirit
Invitation to Prayer One: Let us pray to God saying,
Opening Prayer
All: We confess that we’re still a work in progress, Lord. You know the ways we show selfishness, or are silent in the face of injustice, or are sour because we didn’t get our way. We know it, too. Forgive us. Help us experience the fresh winds of your Spirit, cleaning out the old and stuffy choices we’ve made, and breezily setting us free for more faith, hope, and love. Thank you for your kindness, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Words of Pardon
One: We are one in Christ, free from the law of sin and death.
Rid of guilt, we are liberated to live in love and joy. Thanks be to God.
ALL: AMEN!
The Sacrament of Baptism for Salina Donna Rodriguez
Deacon: Members and friends in Christ, we gather to celebrate the gift of grace in the Sacrament of Baptism. Tom Shattuck
All: There is one body and one Spirit. There is one hope in God’s call to us.
Deacon: There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Creator of us all.
Pastor: The sacrament of baptism is an outward and visible sign of the grace of God. Inasmuch as the promise of the gospel is not only to us but also to our children baptism with water and the Holy Spirit is the mark of acceptance and care into Christ’s church, the sign and seal of participation in God’s forgiveness, and the beginning of growth into full Christian faith and discipleship.
A Word about Creeds
Pastor: Let us affirm our faith together, saying:
The Apostles’ Creed (Unison)
I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Parents: Tiffany Besse and Isaias Rodriguez; Sponsors: Monique Frigon and David Arias
Covenant Promises
Pastor to parents: Do you desire to have your child, Salina, baptized into the faith and family of Jesus Christ? Parents: We do
Deacon To Parents and Sponsors: Will you encourage her to renounce the powers of evil
and to receive the freedom of new life in Christ? We will, with the help of God.
Pastor: Do you promise, by the grace of God, to be Christ’s disciples,
to follow in the way of the Savior, to resist oppression and evil,
to show love and justice, and to witness to the work and word
of Jesus Christ as best you are able? We do, with the help of God.
Deacon: How will you help your child to grow in the Christian faith,
and come to know God as her Creator, Jesus as her Savior,
and the Holy Spirit as her strength?
Tiffany, Isaias, Monique, and David say:
We will bring Salina to church for worship, Church School,
and the Christian nurture of this family of faith.
We will show her by our example
what it means to have a living faith that guides our lives.
We will teach her Christian values, model gratitude and service,
help her apprentice herself to Jesus,
and show her the connection between these things and our faith in God,
so that she may come to affirm her baptism.
Pastor to ALL: Jesus calls us to make disciples of all nations, and to offer them the gift of grace in baptism. Do you, who witness and celebrate this sacrament, promise your love, support, and care to this child, as she lives and grows in Christ?
ALL: We promise our love, support, and care to Salina, and we promise to encourage her parents, Tiffany & Isaias, in the Way of Christ. We also will welcome Salina’s siblings, Angelise, Isaias, and Roman.
Blessing Over the Water
Tom, Deacon: We thank you, God, for the gift of creation called forth by your saving Word.
Before the world had shape and form, your Spirit moved over the waters.
Pastor: Out of the waters of the deep you formed the firmament
and brought forth the earth to sustain all life.
In the time of Noah, you washed the earth with the waters of the flood,
and Noah’s ark of your salvation bore a new beginning.
Deacon: In the time of Moses, your people passed through the Red Sea waters from slavery into freedom, and crossed the flowing Jordan River to enter the promised land.
Pastor: In the fullness of time, you sent Jesus, who was nurtured in the water of Mary’s womb. Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan, became living water to a woman at the Samaritan well, washed the feet of the disciples, and sent them forth to baptize all the nations by water and the Holy Spirit. (POUR WATER) Bless by your Spirit, gracious God, this water.
Deacon: By your Spirit save those who confess the name of Christ.
Create new life in this child, baptized this day, that she may rise in Christ.
Pastor: Glory to you, eternal God,
the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, world without end. Amen.
What name do you give this child? (parents respond)
Pastor: Salina Donna Rodriguez,
I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen!
Pastor: The Holy Spirit be upon you, child of God, disciple of Christ, member of the church universal.
O great God, bless, too, the parents and family of this child. May their gratitude for her life, entrusted to them, be reflected in loving and caring for their child. Amen.
The Congregation meets Salina
Song 658 Restless Weaver
Scripture Readings
Galatians 6:7-10
7 You cannot fool God, so don't make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. 8 If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. 9 Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up. 10 We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.
Acts 16:13-15
(Paul and Barnabus have been travelling all over the known world to tell people about Jesus, who he was and what he taught. Timothy joins them in their mission. Then Paul has a vision that tells him to go to Macedonia, because someone needs him there. So, the three of them take a boat and also journey overland to reach Macedonia.)
13 Then on the Sabbath we went outside the city gate of Philippi to a place by the river, where we thought there would be a Jewish meeting place for prayer. We sat down and talked with the women who came. 14 One of them was Lydia, who was from the city of Thyatira and sold expensive purple cloth. She was a worshiper of the Lord God, and God coaxed her to be willing to accept what Paul was saying. 15 Then after she and her family were baptized, she kept on begging us, “If you think I really do have faith in the Lord, come stay in my home.” Finally, we accepted her invitation.
Response to the Reading of Scripture
Pastor: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
All: Thanks be to God.
+Sung Response 106 Alleluia
Homily
Tithes & Offerings
Prayers of the People
One: For the burdens and the joys that are on our hearts this day:
(R) Lord, hear our prayer!
One: Thank you Awesome Giver of Life, for the fetid earth and the swarming seas,
and for babies and children in our midst. (R)
One: For the blessings of friendship and the kindnesses of strangers, thank you (R)
One: Open wide our hearts and hands to share your grace to everyone we meet (R)
One: For the poor among us, especially the hungry and the homeless; and for those suffering from warring madness. (R)
One: For those who are so broken that they cannot reach out, cannot speak their need, (R)
One: Free us by your Spirit to make visible our oneness in Christ, and
to weep with those who weep and to celebrate with the joyful. (R)
One: Make us a people who pray, often and fiercely, and who align our actions with our prayer. (R)
One: We quiet our hearts before you in silent prayer, naming in our hearts those people and those issues that are cause for concern or celebration ( . . . )
And now we pray as Jesus taught us, saying:
Lord’s Prayer (unison)
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, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Communion
Invitation
The Great Thanksgiving
One: The peace of the Lord be with you. All: And also with you.
One: Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them to the Lord.
One: Let us give thanks to God. All: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Pastor: Carrying a vision of creation healed and restored, we welcome all in the name of Christ.
Invited to the table where none shall go hungry, we gather as Christ’s guests and friends.
In holy communion we are commissioned to feed as we have been fed,
forgive as we have been forgiven, love as we have been loved.
The open table speaks of the shining promise of barriers broken and creation healed.
In the communion meal, wine poured out and bread broken, we remember Jesus.
The price that he paid for who he was, for what he did and said, and for the world’s brokenness.
We taste the mystery of God’s great love for us, and are renewed in faith and hope.
We place our hope in God. We sing of a life beyond life and a future good beyond imagining:
a new heaven and a new earth, the end of sorrow, pain, and tears, Christ’s return and life with God.
We yearn for the coming of that future, even while participating in eternal life now.
In the meantime, we embrace the present, embodying hope, loving our enemies, caring for the earth, choosing life.
We witness to Holy Mystery who is Wholly Love. From United Church of Canada
Sanctus (unison)
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Words of Institution
All Respond: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Epiclesis (pour out)
Sharing the Bread & Cup
Prayer after Communion
Closing Song 495 Weave (Play on keyboard, lower by 3 half steps, key of C)
Benediction
Passing the Peace
One: The peace of the Lord be with you. Another: And also with you.
Postlude
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE – A list of organizations accepting donations is available in the sanctuary or emailed upon request from the church office. We have also contacted Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ludlow to identify material donations being gathered to be shipped to Europe. Their wish list with Amazon is available through the link I Stand with Ukraine. Please donate as you are able.
CIRCLES of CARE - Catholic Charities has established Circles of Care (comprised of 6-10 people) for specific Afghan refugee families, providing support to help people transition in their first year, including providing transportation to doctor's appointments, helping navigate local community resources, etc. For additional information see http://welcomehomenorthampton.org. Marla Lindsay is currently helping a resettled woman to use the bus, practice English, go food shopping, etc. If you would like to help her in some way, contact marla0680ml@gmail.com.
PRAYER REQUESTS – You are invited to Personal Message your requests for prayers of joy or concern on the church FaceBook page - www.facebook.com/BelchertownUnitedChurchOfChrist and note desire whether or not to mention during Sunday worship. Peace and wellness to all.
SUPPORT BUCC WHILE YOU SHOP!
By starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com
AMAZON DONATES 0.5% of the price of your
eligible AmazonSmile purchases
To Belchertown United Church of Christ (BUCC)
AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know.
Register TODAY!!!!!
You shop. Amazon gives.
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS: 9am-2pm, Tues through Fri
Belchertown United Church of Christ
18 Park Street, P. O. Box 603
Belchertown, MA 01007
Church Office Phone: (413) 323-7442
Church Office email: belchertownucc@gmail.com
