Welcome to this service for the Fourth Sunday of Epiphany. The main part of the service is included below in one video of our live zoom worship on Sunday morning at 10:00 AM on January 31st. You will also see below some portions of our worship together that were not included in the live service, including the Prelude, the haiku of the day, a few announcements and the offering.
Thank you for being part of our church community! If you would like to join us on our Sunday morning zooms click here or on our Thursday Heartfulness Contemplative Training Circle zooms click here.
You can respond with thoughts about the service or with anything you would like to say by using the comment feature at the end of the post or by emailing us. You can also bring others into this experience by sharing the link to this webpage by email or social media.
Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey, you are welcome here and in our church community.
Pastor Tom Kinder Call to Worship
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46
This week’s haiku by Mel Goertz:
Tell how the wings of the redpolls
caught the light,
how their ruby crowns glowed.
Let us worship together.
Prelude French Suite IV – Sarabande, J. S. Bach, BWV 815, Annemieke McLane, piano
Readings: The scripture readings for this Sunday are Isaiah 42:1-9 and Mark 1:4-11. You can read them or download them by clicking here: 1-31-21 Service Readings
The Live Zoom Service Recording Order of Worship
- Welcome by Pastor Tom Kinder
- Introit by Becky Bailey and Annemieke McLane, “Way Over Yonder”
- Readings (see above), read by Christina Robinson
- Hymn, “Hymn of Promise (In the Bulb There Is a Flower)”
- Reflection, “Fishing for People” by the Rev. Thomas Cary Kinder, Pastor of the United Church of Strafford
- Medley, “Move Me/Lead Me Lord,” sung by members of the United Church of Strafford choir with Annemieke McLane, Choir Director and Pianist
- Closing Unison Prayer
Here is the video:
Sermon You can read the text and find a pdf of the Call to Worship and Sermon by clicking here.
Offering
This congregation is a small but meaningful part of the movement to establish God’s realm of peace, justice and care for God’s creation on earth, actively engaged in serving our community and supporting the wider worldwide movement.
One of the ways we work together and increase our strength beyond our individual abilities is by pooling our resources.
This is hard to do when we are forced apart by the pandemic, so we hope you will take just a minute to use our online donation service. To make your offering on line, please click here. (This is a service we are providing through an extremely well established on-line donation company specializing in churches that is recommended by the national United Church of Christ and used by thousands of churches like ours. To read more about our decision to allow on line donations, click here.)
Announcements
To read additional announcements please see our weekly churchwide emails by clicking here. You can be added to our email list by requesting so at unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com.
It is extremely important that we stay connected now. Please reach out by phone or email to neighbors and other members of the congregation, especially those who live by themselves or are struggling or vulnerable. Our Deacons, Becky Bailey, Kim Welsh and Maggie Hooker, are coordinating our Deacons Fund and our outreach to people in need of support, and Danette Harris, Chair of our Mission Committee, is leading our work with the Food Shelf. If you would like to donate or help please email us or use the comment feature on this page.
United Church of Strafford, Vermont 
I wrote this once, but the computer ate it, I think . Sorry if it is redundant. I am in the midst of yet another shift in consciousness, one of several major ones in my life. At 96, I thought I was through! No, this new world has again expanded the need for a bigger view, and it is happening, and you are helping. I must find a way to help it along. Thank you , Tom.
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