Round Hill Community Church

ORDER OF SERVICEJanuary 1, 2017New Year’s Day

PRELUDE   Meditation on "Von Himmel Hoch" J. D. Wallace

WORDS OF WELCOME

CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader: A new day has dawned, a new year begun.

All: O Lord, call us so we may hear your voice!

Leader: The world turns to hopes and dreams of the future.

All: O Lord, keep us in your ways and on your path!

Leader: We enter this new year with hope and excitement.

All: O Lord, remind us that you lead us, and guide us as we look to you and worship you. Amen.

*HYMN No. 167 Go Tell It on the Mountain

*OPENING PRAYER

Grant us grace, O God, to begin this year in your faith and to continue it in your favor, that being guided in all our doings and guarded all our days, we may spend ourselves in your service, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

*The congregation is invited to stand

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*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

SCRIPTURE LESSON Isaiah 43:19I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

ANTHEM What Child is This? R. Jones Scott Tomlinson, Bass

SCRIPTURE LESSON Hebrews 11, selectionsNow faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s.   By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.  By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  By faith he received power of

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procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised.  Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. 

SERMON Faith: The First Step The Rev. Dan Haugh

*HYMN No. 146 From Heaven Above

OFFERINGInvitationAnthem The Birthday of a King W. Neidlinger

Risa Renae Harman, Soprano

*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 O Beautiful for Spacious Skies

O beautiful for spacious skies, for amberwaves of grain, for purple mountain

majesties above the fruited plain!America! America! God shed full grace

on thee, and crown thy good with servanthoodfrom sea to shining sea.

PASTORAL PRAYER

*HYMN No. 153 It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

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.

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BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE   Improvisation on "Faith" L. C. Smith

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 the Lucero family for ushering today and to Janet and Joe Huley for hosting coffee hour today. Please join them in the parlor following worship.

Save the Date!! On Saturday, January 7th all men of the Round Hill Community Church are invited to attend the Men’s Bible Study Breakfast from 9:30-10:45 a.m. in the parlor. Please RSVP to the main office via email - church@roundhillcommunitychurch.org.

First Sundays have become Second Sundays in 2017! Join us in the Community House next Sunday, January 8 at 4 p.m. for faith, food and fellowship! This month, the second Sunday service will provide an atmosphere in which we discover elements of faith, our highlighted theme this month as we continue exploring “A Life

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Worth Living.” Leslie Smith, our Music Director, will lead us in a special “Candlelight Compline,” featuring music by Byrd, Tallis and Palestrina, entrancing candlelight and chants.

The “Mitten Tree” is now in the parlor through end of January and needs new gloves, scarves, hats and mittens to keep little ones warm this winter! All donations should be hung on the Mitten Tree and will then be distributed to our friends at Neighbor to Neighbor.

Round Hill Prayer Circle meets every last Sunday of the month, in Rev. Dan Haugh’s office. We include the offering of prayers for those in our congregation and beyond. The remainder of the time is devoted to sharing resources and practical guidance to enhance our prayer and spiritual growth.

Church envelopes for 2017 are on the bench in the Narthex – please pick up your envelopes at your convenience. If you do not see your name out there currently but would like to receive church giving envelopes, please contact the Main office at 203-869-1091.

Volunteer with the AARP Foundation to help local, low income and elderly taxpayers prepare their 2016 returns. No previous experience necessary; training, IRS certification and continued support is provided. For information or to volunteer, email greenwichtaxaid@gmail.com.

Neighbor to Neighbor - Please help our neighbors in Greenwich with a food donation. January Foods of the Month: dry breakfast cereals and oatmeal. Donations may be left in the food wagon in the Church entrance.

Youth & Children’s Ministries – Children’s Worship and childcare will resume on January 8. We encourage all of our families to start their Sundays in worship together. After the Children's Message, children may choose to leave for Children's Worship in their classrooms following the special sending song. For parents with little ones birth up to age 3, childcare is available 9:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Children are always welcome at coffee hour.

Les Beaux Arts Gallery – The exhibit Les Quatres Saisons, by French-American folk artist, Anne Strasberg, is currently on display and will run through January 18, 2017.

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REFLECTIONS

Faith is taking the first step even when you cannot see the whole staircase. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

A new year stands on my doorstepready to enter my life's journey.

Something in me welcomes this visitor:the hope of bountiful blessingsthe joy of a new beginningthe freshness of unclaimed surprises.

Something in me rebuffs this visitor:the swiftness of the comingthe boldness of the entrancethe challenge of a year's good-bye.

Something in me fears this visitor:the unnamed events of future daysthe wisdom needed to walk love wellthe demands of giving away and growing.

A new year stands on my doorstep.with fragile caution I moveto open the door for its entrance,my heart leaps with surprise,joy jumps in my eyes,for there beside this brand new yearstands my God with outstretched hand!

God smiles and gently asks of me:can we walk this year together?And I, so overwhelmed with goodness,can barely whisper my reply: “Welcome in!”

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- posted on the Sisters of Saint Martha of Antigonish website

Senior Pastor: The Rev. Dr. Edward G. HorstmannAssociate Pastor: The Rev. Dan Haugh

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

Round Hill Community Church

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395 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, CT 06831 203.869.1091 roundhillcommunitychurch.or

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