Transcript - service provided by otter.ai

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Music

12:07

Good morning. It's a beautiful fifth Sunday of Easter here in Cooperstown. And I would like to extend a warm welcome to our First Presbyterian congregation, our friends from First Baptist guests, visitors, and those worshipping online, and a special welcome to Michael Miller who has blessed us with his voice this morning. Thank you. The call for worship today is from Psalm 96 verse two. And after I read the first line, you may all as you're seeding with mass on read the bold print in response, saying and give praise to God's name like news of salvation from day today. Cheers

16:33

Some really exciting news for our church. And it also it's in your bulletin but we verbally wanted to announce that the First Presbyterian churches nominating committee, along with the help of the congregation has a slate of folks who are nominated for the pastoral nominating committee, and we need your vote on May 9, after our regular service. The nominees are listed in your bulletin, but I really want you to hear their names. Carol afra T. Carol beachy, Richard Blaby, john Craig, Deb Dalton, Doug lumen, Karen my hen, Catherine Muir, and myself, Robert Nelson. If you have any concerns, please contact the nominating committee this week. Thank you so much.

17:34

Good morning.

17:36

For those of you who are worshipping online and aren't here in Cooperstown, you should know that after a dusting of snow yesterday, it is sunny outside. And you can almost go out without a jacket. And it really feels like spring. So I hope everyone's moods are as high as mine. There are a number of announcements that are listed in the bulletin. I want to run through some of them roughly in chronological order. The first is that there are two new Bible studies that got started this weekend. So you've missed the first week, but it's never too late to join. So September Schecter is running a Bible study on Saturday mornings at 930, focusing on the Psalms, and I am running a Bible study on Sunday morning on zoom, focusing on the early Christians. So please, if you're interested in either of those, reach out. And today, there's a very special event going on at the courthouse, which Janine is going to tell us a little about.

18:50

Thank you. So just a reminder that today is our otsego rally for support in solidarity with Asian Americans. The sun's going to stay out until at least three o'clock.

19:02

But it's happening rain or shine. And thank you, there's been so much support from this community. We really appreciate it and we thank the Baptist Church for giving us space for the young people. To me, their enthusiasm and excitement has been really touching and overwhelming. So make sure you check out the window and Alex's Bistro that's now decorated for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The girls put that up yesterday. So make sure you stop by and check that out. Hopefully it hasn't fallen down overnight. So the rally again is at two o'clock in front of the atsuko County Courthouse. Thank you.

19:43

We look forward to seeing everyone there Katie you have an announcement as well.

19:50

So we are bringing a little bit more music back into the into the fold. Carefully and gently next three Thursday nights from at seven, the handbells will gather. And they will know it's the other way around. Singers will gather in here for about 45 minutes, 40 minutes, sing some simple music to put together for services on the ninth and 23rd of May. And the bells will meet after them at 745. And so if you're interested, talk to me, if you haven't already. Great.

20:37

Thank you, Susan.

20:47

Good morning, I hope you will be able to take advantage of our tasty tamales on Friday. This is the first fundraiser that the living waters team has done in more than a year. And you will have many choices in this. We have been in regular email contact with our people in Honduras. We're planning a new water installation with our technician open. And that will be in 2022. And we're also in continued contact with the Martin banega School District, which is a very remote School District. Some of the schools in Honduras have gone on remote in urban areas where children have cell phones, but in this area in this school district, our children don't have cell phones. And even if they did, they don't have cell service, except in one spot in the community. So we are continuing to help the children in the school district and we're planning for a new water installation purification system. And we hope you can make it Friday.

22:00

Thank you. Are there other announcements? Yes, and the staff support team and the worship team would like your help. We would love it if you would help spread the word about our need for a very important person to fill a very important part time position here. It is for an AV IT technician. This is someone who would help us with live streaming the worship services, somebody who had helped with videotaping special activities, somebody who would be helping us with all of our computer systems, lots of very important structural jobs that need to be done at this church. So if you know of anybody who would be interested, it's an eight hour a week job. I have a job description here if you'd like to see me afterwards, or anyone who is interested should call the church and they can get more information. So thank you for your help in spreading the word.

23:12

Anyone else? I'll point out a few other things in the in the bulletin. The sisters in Christ group which is an ecumenical group has been on hiatus throughout the pandemic, it is starting up again on May 5, which is this Wednesday at 10am. So if you're interested in that be at the Baptist Church at 10am. It is an ecumenical group it formally met at Christ Church, but they're still having some issues with their facilities. So we're glad to offer a new space for that. And there is a reading group that some of you are part of that is meeting next Saturday at 11am. To discuss Paul le is the life you save may be your own an American pilgrimage, I am assured that if you don't make your way through this very large tome, it's okay. And you should still you should still come. And then finally, on Tuesday the 11th there is a panel discussion on environmental racism that's co sponsored by the clergy emergency League and the Wisconsin Council of Churches. Tickets are $10. And if you need more information you should see Karen about that. I think that's all of the announcements. It's so wonderful that so many things are happening again in our faith communities. Are their requests for prayer this morning.

24:51

Hearing none let's turn to the Lord in prayer. Dear Lord, we pray for them. Those who need healing. We pray for physical healing, for psychological healing, for spiritual healing. We pray for those who are mourning after suffering a loss. We pray for those who have been touched by violence and for those unable to escape from hate. We pray for our congregations, our community, our nation, and our world. empower us individually and collectively, to be instruments of your will and embolden us to pray as your son Jesus taught. 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 debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

31:41

Today's first scripture reading is from the book of Psalms, Chapter 22, verses 25 to 31. From you comes my praise in the great congregation, my vows I will pay for those who fear Him, the poor shall eat and be satisfied. Those who seek Him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For Dominion belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations. To him indeed shall all who sleep in the earth bowed down before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for Him. posterity will serve Him, future generations will be told about the Lord and proclaim His deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it, Word of the Lord.

33:11

Our next reading is from the book of Acts, chapter eight starting at verse 26. Then an angel of the Lord said to fill up, get up and go toward the south, to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a wilderness road. So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch accord official of the Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire Treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home, seated in his chariot. He was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said, to fill up, go over to this chariot and join it. So Philip ran up to it, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, Do you understand what you're reading? He replied, how can I unless someone guides me and he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this, like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its sheer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was was denied him who can describe his generation, for his life has taken away from the earth. The Eunuch asked Philip, about whom may I ask you? Does the Prophet say this about himself or about someone else? Then Philip began to speak. And starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him, the good news about Jesus. As they're going along the road, they came to some water. And they you and the unit said, Look, here's water. What is to prevent me from that being baptized. So he commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them fill up and the eunuch went down to the water, and fill up baptized him. When he came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The Eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at aza tests, as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good nose to all the towns until he came to South Korea. This is the word of our Lord.

36:14

Grace, mercy and peace to you. From the God who says, You've got some explaining to do. The texts that Judy read for us, it's probably one of the most important pieces for this time of church. For a bout 400 years, that particular text was used to proclaim that black people were just as valuable in God's sight as white people. The text over the last 40 years has been used to say that God delights in the creating of gay and lesbian, bisexual, transgendered folk. It's been used to break down boundaries that we set up in regards to who it is that God gets to love. It's also been used to challenge infant baptism, because the baptism happened after the and it's for let's see, it's been used to chastise the rule followers and polity police. Because this person didn't wait till everything got figured out. Apparently, the spirit and Philip just went on doing their stuff. So those of us, me, who loves score carding. We got to hold our scorecards up to this text and see who it is that we think is in and who's out who's right and who's wrong. But that's not what I'm going to preach on today. Because you folks already do that pays pretty well. There's a nut. There's another word in here that I think is specific to the people of First Presbyterian and First Baptist. First 33 How can I unless someone guides me, I think this little verse, this little verse has our name on it. Let me go back, show you where it is. Then the angel of Lord said to fill up, get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So Philip, got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians in charge of her entire Treasury. He'd come to Jerusalem to worship. And he was returning home seated in his chariot. He was reading the Prophet. So let's see who we got here. We have a black man who's outside the current sexual norm a government employee, probably a treasure. We don't know his religious affiliation, but he is seeking a relationship with God. He's literate and he's got a driver's license. Then the Spirit said to fill up, go over to his chariot and join it. And so fill up ran up to it. Heard the Ethiopian eunuch reading the prophet Isaiah. Fill up ask you understand what you're reading. Ethiopian eunuch replied. How can I unless someone guides me and he invited fella to get in and sit beside him. I know Philip wasn't Lutheran, he probably wasn't Presbyterian, either. Because otherwise he would have said, Wait, I'll get a Sunday school teacher for you or the pastor will sit next to you, but me know somebody else needs to do that. Who knows this stuff might have been Baptist, they do tend to talk about that better than we do at times.

40:22

Philip, we don't know a lot about Philip, but he stands in, he stands in for sort of all disciples.

40:32

He's kind of the everyone of the disciples. So the Philips story is Our Story. In the very same way the Ethiopian eunuch stood in for all those who are different from us, who don't quite fit with the power structures and the people who are in and the people who get to make the decisions. Philip is the one who is the disciple for all of us. He's us. So I'm going to invite you might read it one more time, either to yourself, or out loud, if you would like me to leave a blank or Philips name in and just just put your name in. It'll help you get a sense of what God's doing in the text. Then an angel Lord said to get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch record official of the Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians in charge of her entire Treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home seated in his chariot. He was reading the prophet Isaiah.

41:51

Then the Spirit said, to go over to this chariot and join it. So he ran. She ran, she walked, she rolled and heard the unic reading the prophet Isaiah. asked, Do you understand what you're reading? He replied, how can I unless someone guides me. Any invited you to get in and sit beside, probably don't look like an angel to you a little soft in the middle of balding, that's probably not your picture of an angel. But I think I got some chariots to point out to you today. And your job when you spot a chariot, is to go and sit with them. Listen to them.

42:59

And then explain. People First Presbyterian and First Baptist guests, you got a little explaining to do. I just finished a conversation. One of the things I get to do is it's a gracious job, I get to sit with really smart, bright clergy, who want to talk about how to do their work a little bit better. So I was in a little coffee shop northwest of Boston. And I was meeting with three Lutheran clergy. One of them was the campus pastor of MIT. And he said that he had to leave the conversation early to get back to school because there was going to be a conversation about what to do with the pandemic. And its beginnings. And what would this school do as this virus was beginning to ravage and to bring itself forward in ways we'd never seen. So that March day, he left early, we got an email before one. I think those of you in academia know this email, and it says we're sending our kids home. Now we'll figure out what to do with the foreign students who can't leave today, what we're sending our kids home. You've got your day of the pandemic when it shifted for you. So do all the people out there so to all the folks you engage with, they spent 1516 months being worried and scared, upset, nervous, alone.

45:00

You're starting to sing here, it's a sign or coming back to something different. And you will get to sit with those folks. And you will get to hear their pain, their fear, their sadness. And for a few of them, the pandemic actually worked out pretty well. So you may want to hear their sense of how that happened and their sadness for the fact that worked out for them, and not knowing how to fit in. But you will get to hear them. And they then will tell you their stories. And as you hear them, your job is then to explain about the god you know, who sidles up next to you when you're alone. who finds the one to send you to invite you to be near, or nobody's been near them for a very long time.

46:12

You went through the same election i did. The summer before the racial reckoning the political strife. Now the chariot sitting out there because it is broken, some families, it's made Thanksgiving miserable. You have folks who can't talk to their friends, you got folks who don't know how to engage, they don't know what their histories have taught them. They don't know where they've come from, as people who either know how to or not how to reach out to those who are not just like them. You got a town in a county full of them. You know them, you may be them. Your job, as Cindy said, are coming back. faith communities are active again, one of the actives you get is to sit with those folks to listen to those folks. And when you don't know what to say, Tell him the story of the Ethiopian unit. That wasn't enough. For last year. You folks, at First Presbyterian, you had your own additional difficulty, right? your pastor is no longer your pastor that you started your year with and that has caused all kinds of hurt and pain and anxiety. To carry it to chariot you get to walk up to and sit down and listen. And if you listen well enough, you may have engendered enough trust that the other will say, Tell me your experience where they might not put the God who loved the one who was outside of all of the power structures. In our story for today. The God who loved the Ethiopian eunuch sent a disciple to that person to demonstrate God's love. Philip didn't walk up to the unit and say, let me tell you so my best friends are black. My aunt third, about less lesbian.

48:41

He didn't.

48:43

He sat.

48:46

What do you read? Do you know what it means? You do not have to convince others who aren't like you. Because the God who loves loves relationships more than yours or my point of view. To chariot it's out there for you. Today's text, it's good for you to congregations. First Presbyterian and First Baptist is good for you to go out amongst your family and your friends. And this community and county that God desperately loves. And you have lived through the same year they did. Granted you had your own peace. But you've lived through the same year of distance and separation of racial hatred and push and shove and wondering about authority and who gets to use it and who doesn't and how is it used? You've been through a very tough year and your God I asked you to do what Janine dead set with some people and listen. Hers are Asian American kids. Sure. So kind of come from all over the world. You get to be the ones who proclaim God's desperate love to be in relationship with everyone. You get the lesson you get to sit with maybe you get a chance to do some explaining. But if you don't sit with them listen. Let them know that the God who loves you loves them as well. Thanks be to God.

54:19

that doesn't go so well. ducks. Ah, here's right one. Cool. We are gathered now to celebrate what some call communion. Some call the Lord's Supper. Lutherans I think still call it the meal. And there are those in other traditions and in the Presbyterian Book of Common worship, that called

55:22

what we are gathered to receive. Eucharist. And Eucharist is a very simple term from the Greek, meaning Thanksgiving. And we begin with thanksgiving and actually it will be the first song that we are as congregation invited to sing when we come to the end of the prayer, the doxology to praise God, from whom all blessings flow. But here and now. Let us pray. Our Thanksgiving. God have mercy and love. We praise and thank you through Jesus Christ our Lord, for your presence and action in the world. You created us in your image to love and serve. Your Spirit is at work when understanding puts an end to strife. When hatred is quenched by mercy, and vengeance gives sway to forgiveness. By your power and love. You continue to deliver your people from bondage, to work designs of evil and reveal your hand upholding patients justice and kindness. In your compassion, you gave us Christ Jesus, who came among us to feed to listen, to heal and teach, to give hope, to those who long for peace and to set us free from death. We celebrate the reconciliation Christ has gained for us and for all creation. From the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus took bread and having given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you Do this in remembrance of me.

58:38

And in the same manner, after supper or savior cup and have been given thanks. He gave it to them saying This cup is the new covenant which is sealed in my blood and poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin. Drink all of you in remembrance of me. Gracious God your son entrusted to us. This pledge of His love. We celebrate the memory of his death and resurrection. And bring your gift. You the gifts that you have given the sacrifice of reconciliation pour out your spirit upon us. And upon these your gifts of bread and the fruit of the vine. The bread we break and the cup we drink man D Be the communion of the body and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. By your spirit make us one with Christ, that we may be united in ministry in every place. By your spirit give us courage, to pray without ceasing. to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to hear the voices of people long silenced, and to work for justice, freedom, and peace. Keep us faithful in your service, until Christ comes in final victory. And tweet fees with all your saints in the joy of your eternal realm.

1:01:01

For it is in his name that we pray. Amen. Brothers and sisters since the body of Christ and the cup of salvation take Andy Holy God how can we thank you for these gifts of grace and life?

1:02:03

You have met us that us drawn us to you and bound us to one another Sandoz to share your love. Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us. So that we and all your children shall be free. And the whole earth can praise and sing your name as we do, here and now. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Let us join in the singing.

1:04:20

Go out into the world in peace. Have courage. Hold on to what is good return no one evil for evil. Support the week. Help the suffering. honor all people. love and serve the Lord rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.