IN THIS ISSUE:

·         Order of Worship

·         Church Activities This Week

·         We got clearer about God’s call

·         Book Club

·         Family Promise

·         Randy and Carol’s Wednesday Zoom Gatherings

·         Prayer requests and concerns  

·         Sandy’s Corner

Sunday ~ March 14, 2021

10:00 a.m. ~ Meeting for worship

Order of Worship

Prelude: Rosemary Nettrouer

Announcements

Music: “Love Divine” Hymn #31

Prayer Concerns

Pastoral Prayer

Message: “God is Calling Us to Be Loving”

                Scripture: John 15:1-4, 9-12

Open Worship

Benediction

        Postlude: Rosemary Nettrouer

“Love Divine” Hymn #31

Love divine, all loves excelling, 
joy of heav’n, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling, 
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion, 
pure, unbounded love thou art.
Visit us with thy salvation;
enter ev’ry trembling heart.

2 Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
into ev’ry troubled breast.
Let us all in thee inherit, 
let us find the promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning; 
Alpha and Omega be.
End of faith, as its beginning, 
set our hearts at liberty.

3 Come, Almighty, to deliver, 
let us all thy life receive.
Suddenly return, and never, 
nevermore they temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing, 
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing, 
glory in thy perfect love.

Technology by Michael Barrett & Joe Dawley, music coordination by Dawn Blue, and pastoral leadership by Catherine Griffith.

10:55 am ~ Children’s Zoom

  3:00 pm ~ 205 Sunday Class via Zoom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Church activities this week                               

Saturday, March 13, 3:00 pm, Outreach Committee

Sunday, March 14, Family Promise Co-Host Week ends

Monday, March 15, 12:00 pm, Prayer with Sue

Wednesday, March 17, 6:30 pm, Bell choir rehearsal

Thursday, March 18, 8:30 am, Prayer with Kim

Sunday, March 21, 11:15 am, Monthly Meeting for Business

Church office hours are 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Tuesday through Friday.

Don’t forget March 17^th is St. Patrick’s Day, and Spring begins March 20!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We Got Clearer about God’s Call for University Friends

“Discerning, Designing, and Developing Our Live in Christ Together,” was the theme of this past weekend’s all-church retreat.  Led by Colin Saxton, North American Ministries Director for Friends United Meeting, attenders found the time together (on Zoom) to be rich and fruitful.  

Who is God calling University Friends to be?  What is God calling University Friends to do? 

God is calling us to be a loving, unified, serving community, listening for and proclaiming the leading of the Holy Spirit, being a light to the world.  We know that God is not asking us to be everything to everybody. 

As we begin to put feet to that call, Doug Chambers plans to gather the Pastoral Search Committee and work on a church profile.  That will help to spell out answers to the question, who are we?   And those answers will be useful as we begin the search for a new settled pastor.

Also, the Listening Groups have been addressing these questions:

·         As an individual, who is God calling you to be, and what is God calling you to do? 

·         What is the one thing you would wish for our church?

·         What role do you see for yourself in making that wish become reality?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Book Club meets at 6:30 p.m., the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of each month.  If you would like to join via Zoom, please email Catherine at orcagriffith@yahoo.com, and she will send you an invitation.  Everyone is welcome!  On Tuesday, March 23, the Book Club will be discussing pp. 107-138, on study, the “self-hatred narrative,” and solitude in Nathan Foster’s The Making of an Ordinary Saint.  

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Facilitators:  Carol and Randy Mullikin

Unprogrammed Gatherings for Worship on Wednesdays

      When:   2^nd and 4^thWednesdays at 6:30 pm, through May 26 via Zoom in quiet

Prayer and Study

       When:   1^st and 3^rd Wednesdays, 6:30 pm, through May 19 via Zoom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PRAYER REQUESTS AND CONCERNS.

·         Those who are coping with grief and change, including Joan Smith, Beth McDonald, and Don and Linda Mallonee

·         Our church at this time of new beginnings – 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 continue to find ways to use our assets wisely and well.  May we be a beacon of love in our world. May we have the courage to walk through the doors God is opening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SANDY’S CORNER

I was thinking the other day.  Yes, sometimes that hurts!  I truly believe that God is with us in all trials and tribulations.  These help us become who we are if we just learn from those experiences and put them to work. I learned at an early age to take my hardships with a smile and move on and to pray a lot.  For instance, a lot of you don’t know that I was born with clubbed feet and went through about ten major operations to get me walking at age four.  I used to stick up for other kids who had handicaps, meaning I went to school detention several times! Ha-ha!  I also went through breast cancer eleven years ago, and because of that, I became a Reach to Recovery Volunteer for the American Cancer Society.  This is a rewarding and humbling experience, helping other women through it also.  I just wanted you to know a little about me.

I also want to say, I enjoy preparing this newsletter for all of you and hope you like reading it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. — Proverbs 14:31 (NIV)