Welcome to this service for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany and Transfiguration Sunday reflecting on the light of the Spirit of the Universe shining through humanity and the New Story that we need to tell that could save human civilization and all life on earth.
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 February 7th.
You will also see below some portions of our worship together that were not included in the live service, including 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. If you would like to be added to our weekly newsletter list please let us know at unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com
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:
Wild turkeys,
their shadows stand beside them
as they peck the corn.
Let us worship together.
Readings: The scripture readings for this Sunday are a Transfiguration reading from Psalms 50, 104, 36 & 139 and II Corinthians 4, and also Mark 9:2-9. You can read them or download them by clicking here: 2-14-21 Service Readings
The Live Zoom Service Recording Order of Worship (the video is below):
- Call to Worship by Pastor Tom Kinder
- Introit “Siyahamba (We Are Marching in the Light of God)” South African Freedom Song, sung by members of the United Church of Strafford choir with Annemieke McLane, Choir Director
- Readings (see above), read by Joey Hawkins
- Hymn, “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
- Reflection, “O God, You Speak and Summon the Earth” by the Rev. Thomas Cary Kinder, Pastor
- Hymn, “God’s Realm on Earth Is Hidden in Plain Sight”
- Closing Unison Prayer
- Postlude, Etude in F# Minor, Op. 15, No. 9 by Sergei Bortkiewicz, Annemieke McLane, piano, Church Musician
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 