Welcome To All Who Worship Here!

Sunday – July 12, 2020, 9:30 A.M.

GATHERING MUSIC

GREETING

CALL TO WORSHIP Ashley Dubois, Lay Leader, Williston Federated Church

(adapted from Psalm 119)

One: Your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
All: May it bring joy to our hearts.

WELCOME Pastor Paul Eyer

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE

SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST

HYMN “O Spirit of the Living God”  Hymnal #539

(led remotely by Martin and Donna Sue Hain)

(copyright license CCLI #176957 and #20480319)

PRAYER FOR TODAY

One: O God, give us the sensitivity to know how great you are, the discernment to understand how wise you are,

All: the humility to accept how hidden you are, the faith to trust how close you are,

One: and the love to appreciate how caring you are.

All: Amen!

ANTHEM “Overture in D for Two Clarinets and B-flat Horn” first movement

by George Frideric Handel

performed by the Magill Family Trio (Heidi, Erin, and Brennan)

TIME WITH CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

SCRIPTURE: Genesis 25:19-34 Ashley Dubois

¹⁹ These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. ²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. ²² The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. ²³ And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
    the elder shall serve the younger.”

²⁴ When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. ³⁰ Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) ³¹ Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” ³² Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” ³³ Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION (Psalm 19:14)

All: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

SERMON “Birthright” Pastor Paul Eyer

CELEBRATIONS AND CONCERNS

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Pastor: Lord of Life and Love,

Congregation: Hear our prayer.

SILENT MEDITATION

LORD’S PRAYER

OFFERING

OFFERTORY

“Overture in D for Two Clarinets and B-flat Horn,” second movement

by George Frideric Handel

performed by the Magill Family Trio (Heidi, Erin, and Brennan)

If you’re interested in setting up automatic online withdrawals, please contact Matt Bliss who can invite you to set up an account with our online church membership software, Realm.  When logged in, select the “Giving” menu on the left hand side and the “+ Give” button on the next screen.  Then, enter your giving details and payment information to set up automatic withdrawals from your bank account.  Select one of the pledge accounts (e.g., Pledge Jul 2020 to Jun 2021).  Frequency should be set to monthly on the 15th.  You can follow the same process to make one time contributions too.  If you have any questions, contact Matt Bliss at blisswm@comcast.net.  Or you can complete a hard-copy registration form (posted on the church Facebook page) and mail it to Matt Bliss at the church.  

Credit card contributions can be made on the church website at steeple.org.

PRAYER OF DEDICATION (unison)

Receive these gifts as tokens of our lives, O God. Send your cultivating Spirit to work among us so that we may grow continually in grace. Amen.

LIFE AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH

–“virtual” coffee hour immediately following worship (via Zoom)

–Official Board on Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom

–Centering Prayer on Thursday, July 16 at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom

–“How We Respond: congregational conversations about racism” on

Thursday, July 16 at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. via Zoom

–online Sunday worship services via Facebook, Sunday, June 19, 9:30am

HYMN “The Trees of the Field”  Songbook #27

(led remotely by Martin and Donna Sue Hain)

(copyright license CCLI #176957 and #20480319)

BENEDICTION/BLESSING

POSTLUDE

“Overture in D for Two Clarinets and B-flat Horn” third and fourth movements

by George Frideric Handel

performed by the Magill Family Trio (Heidi, Erin, and Brennan)

Liturgical resources: The Call to Worship and Prayer of Dedication were adapted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2014) at pages 70 and 73. The Prayer for Today was adapted from a liturgy by Bruce Prewer, the Uniting Church in Australia, found at http://www.bruceprewer.com/DocA/44SUN15.htm.

THIS WEEK AND BEYOND…

Official Board meets on Tuesday: This coming Tuesday, July 14, at 7: 00 p.m. , the Official Board will meet via Zoom. Among the important items to be discussed will be visioning about how we move forward in ministry remotely in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an updated report from the Steering Committee overseeing issues around eventual re-entry into the church building and sanctuary.

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Prayer Requests: In addition to prayers offered during our worship services, prayer requests may still be sent to Pastor Paul via email at pastoreyer.gmail.com. These prayers will then be lifted in prayer by the pastor throughout the week. (If you would like to submit prayer requests to be shared during our online worship service, please send those requests to WillistonFederatedYouth@gmail.com or post them as chat comments during our video live-stream of our worship service on Facebook Live on Sunday.)

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New Musical Contributions… We are looking for new musical contributions to our online worship service. Anyone who would like to sing or play an instrument as a prelude, special music, offertory or postlude, or anyone who would like to lead hymns and songs during a worship service is encouraged to contact Martin at mhainvt@gmail.com. You can either participate live via Zoom or make an audio or video recording which can be played back during the service. If you need accompaniment, Martin can put you in touch with Carolyn or Carol who can make a recording of the accompaniment which you can play back while you record your voice or instrumental playing. It would be wonderful to see new faces, hear new voices and new instruments as part of our services. Thanks, Martin

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Access to church building – please note

In an effort to ensure health and safety, the Official Board has closed our church building to everyone except the Daycare, their clients, and church staff. It is understood that other people need to have limited access to the building for a variety of reasons. We are asking that those who want access contact Tony Lamb at 802-343-1544.

Access is limited to the North Williston Road entrance. Those entering are expected to take their temperature before entering and not enter if they have a fever or do not feel well. They are also expected to wear a mask, to use the hand sanitizer located inside the door, and to “social distance” at all times. They cccshould use the hand wipes on the door knobs when leaving.

As the statewide restrictions are eased we will be engaged in ongoing conversations about how and when (gradually) to open our spaces.

Remember that the building is closed but the Church is open, carrying out ministry in support of God’s work in the world.

For more information contact Tony Lamb at 802-343-1544.

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Stewardship Campaign Continuing— Have You Been Counted?

Many thanks to those who have returned their Estimate of Giving cards for 2020-21 to the church office or to Barb Bristol, Financial Secretary. Of those who have responded so, over 40% have increased their financial commitment— yet another sign of the exceptional generosity of our congregation during these challenging times!

Our Spring Stewardship Campaign has not concluded, as a number of members and friends have not yet confirmed their commitments for the coming year. If you are in this group, please prayerfully consider your support of Williston Federated Church, and confirm your financial commitment for July, 2020-June, 2021 by Tuesday, June 30 (the last day of our fiscal year). You may do so by returning your card to the church office; by renewing your pledge via Realm, or by calling or emailing Barb (fbbristol@gmail.com; 863-5807). Thank you!

If you attended the Annual Meeting on June 14, you know that increased financial support from the congregation is needed to fulfill all the ministries of the church this coming year. So please give generously. If you have any questions about your pledge, or if you have already pledged and are in a position to increase the amount, please contact Barb directly. Thank you again.

Apart but Still A Part— Williston Federated Church, continuing to do God’s work near and far.

Your Finance Committee

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Kids4Peace is offering virtual summer camps for $50 each session, kids grades 6-12. To learn more, go to k4p.orgfor details, looking under “Summer 2020 virtual edition”, for these special opportunities to make new friends and deepen skills to build peace. Some of the camps are only for youths in the United States; others are international.

Exploring Social Media and Social Justice

Lift Ev’ry Voice: Freedom, Patriotism and Democracy

Life, Animated: Evaluating Meaning and Finding Connection

Protest Art and other Small Crimes

Uncomfortable : Race, Racism and Privilege

All Power to the People

Facilitation 101–Building Trust and Supporting Dialog

A Virtual Interfaith Road Trip

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DISMAS HOUSE – Every third Tuesday of the month, our community, Williston Federated Church, has the to plan, prepare and deliver the evening meal to Dismas House in Burlington.

Tuesday, July 21st, the 3rd Tuesday of July, will be the next date for volunteer cooks to participate in this meaningful opportunity.

Please call or email Peet Grobler for details regarding this meaningful opportunity:

(802) 881-9007; peetgrobler@aol.com.

Thank you for considering,

Your Missions and Social Concerns Committee, Chairperson, Carol Wyatt.

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Thursday morning prayer (note time!): Thursday mornings, at 9:00am there will be a zoom gathering for silent prayer and Bible discussion. Please check the meeting time every week the time may be temporary. The session begins with a brief reading and then 20 minutes of silence. A picture and participants will appear on the screen. After 20 minutes a bell will ring 3 times. Then the Bible passage of the day will be read three times. Participants will talk of the part of the passage that touched them or had questions or special meaning. The gathering will end at about 10am with the Lord’s Prayer also known as the Our Father. The code is 395 928 9957.

Questions: call Donna Fellinger 802 355 1700.

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Need for Masks – If you are someone making masks the Williston Food Shelf could use some for our customers. Any size and shape is fine, just please make sure they’re lined. Thank you so much, Sally Metro!

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