Sunday, October 11, 2020
“Faith in Times of Uncertainty”
10:00 a.m. – Meeting for worship on the southeast lawn plus still live streaming via the church Facebook page or our website at www.wichitaquakers.org
Don’t forget to bring a lawn chair!
Order of Worship
- Prelude: Bell choir, “Entrada” by Taylor
- Announcements
- Music: Bell choir, “Exuberance” by Taylor
- Prayer Concerns
- Pastoral Prayer
- Message: Faith in Times of Uncertainty
- Scripture: Leviticus 23:39-43
- Open Worship
- Benediction
Scripture
39 “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. 40 On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”
Leviticus 23:39-43
11:15 am: Listening Group 1.2 (bring a sack lunch)
3:00 pm: 205 Sunday Class via Zoom
Please feel free to share worship time on your Facebook page for others to enjoy also!
Flowers provided by Dorothy McKay, technology by Michael Barrett, Michelle Barrett & Erin DeGroot, and pastoral leadership by Catherine Griffith.
Talent Show Update
Extending a big THANKS to Sarah Wine for the idea of the Talent Show on the Steps last Sunday October 4th! She did a great job organizing and conducting it.
Kudos also to Sarah Wolfe & Erin DeGroot for the Artwork on the flyers, John & Sue Wine for the hay bales to sit upon, Joe Dawley for sound, and Michael Barrett for live streaming the show. Big handclaps to all of the people who performed also!! Thank you, Michelle Barrett for having the Sunflower Espresso Coffee Shop Food Truck here. What a great time!
Church activities this week
Monday, October 12, 9:30am Transition Team
Wednesday, October 14, 5:30 pm, Nominating Committee
Wednesday, October 14, 6:30 pm, Bell Choir rehearsal
Wednesday, October 14, 7:00 pm, Listening Group 5.1
Friday, October 16, 1:30 pm, Finance Committee
Friday, October 16, 6:30pm, Ministry & Counsel
Shhhhh, a little goblin tells us there may be something in the works around here for Halloween!!!
Guidelines for in-person worship
As you may know, University Friends’ Worship Committee has decided to go ahead with reopening our meetinghouse for worship beginning October 18.
In order even to do so safely, we will follow these guidelines:
- Masks that cover the nose and mouth will be required of everyone except small children. (Masks and hand sanitizer will be available for your use.)
- Worship will be limited to between thirty and forty minutes long.
- Offering plates will be positioned near the front and the back of the meeting room.
- Labeled packets will be available for children to use as they sit with their families, and a children’s moment will be included during worship each week. Note that, to help protect their safety, children will not gather up front to hear the children’s moment, and we will not be providing childcare. We ask that use of the cry room be limited to one family at a time, with the Fellowship Hall available as overflow if needed.
- People will sit in designated pews only to allow for distancing. In addition, talking with folks beyond one’s family group will be discouraged indoors, and the foyer will not include a coffee station or tempting readings. Smiling and waving are welcome, as are gestures of “namaste” and “live long and prosper.”
- Instead of having bulletins, the order of worship, announcements, and prayer requests will be included in The Light This Week. If you would like to have any of that information handy on Sunday morning, you might want to print it out and bring it with you.
Please understand that, while we are taking these steps to make worshiping in person possible during the pandemic, being inside the church with other people increases the risk of exposure to COVID-19. Attending worship in these times means you are willing to accept that risk.
Please stay home if…
- you are unable or unwilling to comply with these guidelines,
- you are uncomfortable about or have health reasons to avoid attending worship even with the guidelines,
- you are sick,
- you or anyone in your household has been diagnosed with COVID-19, or
- you have been in contact with someone over the past two weeks who has been diagnosed with or is showing symptoms of COVID-19.
Also, be assured that we will continue live streaming worship for the foreseeable future.
Questions and suggestions are welcome. Prayers too.
— Catherine Griffith, on behalf of the Worship Committee
Listening Groups: Preparing for an All-Church Retreat
As you know, University Friends Meeting is in a time of transition. As part of that effort we are seeking to answer these questions: Who are we? Who are our neighbors? To what is God calling us? As part of discovering God’s call for University Friends Meeting, Ministry and Counsel plus the Transition Team are putting into action a series of Listening Group conversations.
These Listening Group conversations are crucial as we consider questions related to the future of University Friends Meeting. Currently, three groups have scheduled their first sessions, and others are in the works. Please keep them in your prayers.
What would it mean for us to join God’s work in our community, in our time?
How can we be better stewards of our assets, in terms of people, facilities, and money?
What is God calling us to be and do?
Book Club
Book Club Meets at 6:30 p.m., the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. Join us in the church library or on Zoom. Tuesday, October 13th, the discussion will be finishing up the last half of the “Light Within” and starting “Holy Obedience” in Thomas Kelly’s Testament of Devotion. If you would like to attend via Zoom, please email Catherine at orcagriffith@yahoo.com, and she will send you an email invitation.
PRAYER REQUESTS AND CONCERNS:
- Lynn Hankins would love some thoughts and prayers as she recovers from experiencing abnormal heart functioning. The doctor has her homebound for 90 days. She is wearing a defibrillator vest and taking medications for a heart virus, but she says she is doing pretty well.
- Our church during this time of transition – May we find clarity and energy for the tasks at hand and the decisions we will need to make as we find our way forward. May we find ways to use our assets wisely and well. May we discover ways we are to be a beacon of love in our world. May we be looking for the doors God is opening, and may we have the courage to walk through them.
Everence to hold Social Security and retirement income planning webinar
Everence will host a Social Security and retirement income planning webinar, on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Attendees will learn about Social Security strategies, risks that can impact retirement savings and strategies to help income last throughout retirement. This online workshop is free. Register soon by contacting our office at 316-283-3800, 877-467-7294 or central.kansas@everence.com.
Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
— Proverbs 12:18 (NIV)
