Round Hill Community Church

ORDER OF SERVICESeptember 25, 2016 –Blessing of the Animals

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

PRELUDE The Swan Saint-Saens WORDS OF WELCOME

INTROIT

CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader: Creator God, we assemble with all your creatures in this circle of life.

All: We ask you to join our circle and celebrate with us.Leader: As we join in celebration with you and all creation,All: we ask for your blessing, your shalom, on the creatures

present here that we love and on all creatures celebrating in the wild.

Leader: In the name of God, who creates all life,in the name of Jesus Christ, who redeems all life, and in the name of the Spirit, who renews all life, we shout with all in the circle of life:

All: Shalom! Shalom! Shalom! May your blessing come! 

*The congregation is invited to stand

*HYMN All Creatures of Our God and King Ralph Vaughn Williams

*OPENING PRAYER Lord, make us instruments of thy peace.Where there is hatred, let us sow love;Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is doubt, faith;Where there is despair, hope;Where there is darkness, light;Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that we may not so much seekTo be consoled as to console,To be understood as to understand,To be loved as to love;For it is in giving that we receive;It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

*THE LORD’S PRAYER

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,and the power, and the glory,forever and ever. Amen.

*GLORIA PATRIGlory be to the Father, and to the Son,and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning,is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE The Rev. Dr. Ed Horstmann

ANTHEM All Things Bright and Beautiful Rutter

SCRIPTURE LESSONS Psalm 104: 24-25, 27-28, 30-31O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, Creeping things innumerable are there, Living things both small and great. These all look to you to give them their food in due season; When you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the Lord endure forever.

Matthew 6: 25-34Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?  Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

SERMON Gratitude: Celebrating God’s Gifts to Creation

The Rev. Dan Haugh

*HYMN God of the Sparrow God of the Whale Carl F. Schalk

OFFERING

InvitationAnthem De Animals A-Comin Bart*Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him,

all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

*Hymn No. 720 O Beautiful for Spacious Skies (verse 1)O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber

waves of grain, for purple mountainmajesties above the fruited plain!

America! America! God shed full graceon thee, and crown thy good with servanthood

from sea to shining sea.THE BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

PASTORAL PRAYER

CHURCH PRAYEROur Heavenly Father, shed forth thy blessed spirit upon all our lives. Make each one of us an instrument in thy hands for good. Purify our hearts, strengthen our minds and bodies, fill us with Christian love. Let no pride, no self-conceit, no rivalry, no ill-will ever spring up among us. Make us earnest and true, wise and prudent, giving no just cause for offense and may thy holy peace rest upon us this day and every day throughout the coming week, sweetening our trials, cheering us in our work, and keeping us faithful to the end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

BENEDICTION

CHORAL RESPONSE

POSTLUDE Royal March of the Lion Saint-Saens

ROUND HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH MISSION STATEMENTWe, the members of the Round Hill Community Church, a self-governing, non-denominational body, seek to foster a community of faith where people of all ages and backgrounds pursue spiritual growth; where God is worshipped in Word and praised in music; where friends are made and hurts are healed. We seek to be a community where individuals commit their time and resources to education, fellowship, and to helping those in need among our Church family and in the broader world. We are a church where faith, hope, justice and love are valued, and above all, Jesus is Lord.

ROUND HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH CREEDI believe in God, the one universal Father of all mankind, revealed supremely in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and present with us to guide, comfort and inspire in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the Kingdom of God; and in the mission of the Christian Church to proclaim the Gospel to all the world, exalting the worship of the Lord our God, and laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of righteousness, the reign of peace, and the realization of human brotherhood. United in Christian love, we pray and labor for the coming of the Kingdom, the triumph of righteousness and the life everlasting. Amen.

CHURCH NEWS

Thank you to Helen and Hooker O’Malley for ushering today.

Thank you to all who contributed to this morning’s coffee hour and to all those who worked to organize today’s annual Blessing of the Animals service! Please stay after the service to enjoy fellowship and to visit with the animal welfare and advocacy organizations under the tent on the great lawn.

Faith Formation

Meditation Class will run sessions every other Thursday evening. Please check the church calendar on our website for exact dates.A Life Worth Living

Jesus said: “I have come that you may have life, and have it in abundance.” Beginning today, the Center for Faith Development of Round Hill Community Church has launched a yearlong exploration of the theme, A Life Worth Living. From month to month we will explore different dimensions of this theme. Through worship, classes, speakers, and resources to be made available on our website, we will give you many ways to engage your thinking about A Life Worth Living. The theme for the month of September will be Gratitude, and it is in a spirit of gratefulness for our life together that we look forward to joining you on this journey of faith!

As we embark on this program of learning we will provide you with ongoing announcements and opportunities for study and reflection through our church website, church Facebook page, and e-blasts. We invite you to extend and enhance your growth via the tools available to you.

LEARNSunday sermons- Each week the sermon will explore one aspect of the current theme.

Website- The year-long Faith Formation curriculum, sermons, scriptures, resources, links, videos, and more are uploaded. (Perfect for those who like to learn at their own pace and refresh their learning periodically)

LIKE Facebook- Join the RHCC Facebook page by clicking on the

Facebook icon on our website and then click the Like button. Each week we will be uploading videos and additional resources to our Facebook page. This platform makes it easy to share your experience with your community of friends.

SHARE

Email- You will receive a monthly email snapshot of the current theme. If you like what you are learning, forward the email to your circle of friends and family.

As we Grow in Faith together by listening to sermons, watching videos & reading scriptures, we encourage all to share your experience and spread the word. Round Hill Community Church needs your help to GROW.

Outreach

Please join us this year in the Inspirica Youth Center! Volunteers are needed every Tuesday starting September 6 from 4 pm - 6 pm. Children arrive off the bus, have some free time, are fed a snack and then begin homework. Please talk with Jenny Rye (203-861-6757) or Caroline Lazzara (203-353-0003) if you are interested.

We are currently looking for meal providers for Inspirica’s Early Childhood and Parenting Program [ECPP] beginning in September. The program runs Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights with the meal being served at 7p.m. You can either cook on site or drop off a prepared meal, whatever is easiest for you! Please look for available dates that you would be able to fill at www.inspiricact.org/meal-calendar/

Neighbor to Neighbor …..With school back in full swing, we are running a special Lunchbox Collection in September! Please help fill lunch boxes (and hungry tummies!) with healthy and nutritious elements such as granola bars, single serve boxes of dried fruit, 100% real fruit juice boxes/pouches, fruit roll-ups, peanut butter or cheese crackers, beef jerky, pouches of trail mix, fruit or pudding cups, etc.  Also, canned tuna is a welcome addition for sandwich fillers. Please leave donations in the food wagon located near the front entrance.

Les Beaux Arts Gallery

We invite you to come to Les Beaux Arts Gallery to view the current exhibit of landscapes and drawings by Yukio Ishizuka. The exhibit runs through October 19.

We invite you to join us in the Community House on Sunday, October 2nd

at 4pm for our first First Sunday service following the summer hiatus! We are pleased to welcome back to Round Hill Community Church the always fun and energetic song leader, Nick Page, who will lead us in a casual and contemporary service of worship. A family-style supper will follow. All are welcome…bring a friend!!

REFLECTIONS

Apprehend God in all things,for God is in all things.Every single creature is full of God, and is a book about God.

Every creature is a word of God.If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature- even a caterpillar-I would never have to prepare a sermonso full of Godis every creature.

-Meister Eckhart, a 13th century Christian mystic

My brother and sister birds, you should greatly praise your Creator and love him always. He gave you feathers to wear, and wings to fly, and whatever you need. God made you noble among his creatures and gave you a home in the purity of the air, so that, though you do not sow nor reap, he nevertheless protects and governs you without your least care.

-St. Francis of Assisi

Please review your experience with us on Yelp!http://www.yelp.com/biz/round-hill-community-church-greenwich

Senior Pastor: The Rev. Dr. Edward G. Horstmann

Associate Pastor: The Rev. Dan Haugh Guest Organist: Benjamin Steinhardt

Director of Children’s Ministries: Jenny ByxbeeMinister Emeritus: The Rev. Dr. Ralph Ahlberg

Round Hill Community Church395 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, CT 06831

203.869.1091 roundhillcommunitychurch.org