Sunday Service Archives - September 2026
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Sunday Service - September 20th 2026 - First Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown
September 20, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
Season of Creation - Third Sunday - Water as Life
Preaching: Rev. Jess Lambert
Sermon “Water is Life”
Communion Sunday “Bread For The Journey”
Liturgist: Karen Dunlap
Bulletin: https://www.cooppres.org/s/September-20-2026-Rev-Jess-Lambert-Communion.pdf
Full Service: https://youtube.com/live/xs0dPPvR7Ys?feature=share
“Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish once these waters reach there. It will become fresh, and everything will live where the river goes. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47:9, 12
Scriptures:
Ezekiel 47:1-12
John 5:2-9
World Communion Offering 2026 Micah 6:8 Love Kindness
Cover Art: World Council of Churches - Season of Creation 2026 https://seasonofcreation.org/
Please contribute to our ministry and good works in this community and around the world
https://www.CoopPres.org/donate
Feel free to submit Joys and Concerns prior to the live stream at
https://www.cooppres.org/joysconcerns
We will make every effort to read them during the service.
Our Website: https://www.CoopPres.org
From Pastor Jess:
This week in the Season of Creation, we begin to look more deeply into Ezekiel’s vision of the healing waters that pour out from the Temple to create life and nourishment for the world.
We will hear the story in John’s Gospel of the man who was ill for decades, sitting by the waters of Beth-Zatha, a pool located within the Temple, maybe a hot spring of sorts, that when “stirred up,” was believed to have healing properties. The man was there time after time, because he was alone, with no one to help him into the water at the right time.
What is it about living, moving, stirred-up water that revives and heals? Is it the movement itself? The contents of the water?
In Psalm 23, we hear about the comfort of still waters. In fearful, anxious times, a calm, serene pool of water heals and sustains. Since water is life and water is necessary for the continuation of life, both are needed-still waters and stirred waters. And as we watch the water around the globe disappear, make people sick because they are polluted, become too hot to sustain the life they have always sustained, and become stirred up to the point of disaster in
unprecedented storms, we are again reminded of the preciousness and the power of water. There are so many places that call out for our attention, advocacy and action right now. If we are people of compassion, then we are exhausted and overwhelmed by all of the things, and all of God’s creatures, that cry out for their lives right now.
We can’t do everything, so we have to let that go. But we can all do something. Here is a question that can help guide us, that we can all ask ourselves each and every day: What kind of world am I helping to create in my interactions with others? The “others” can be other people, and can also be the earth, its waters, forests and creatures.
It’s a profound question with a deep well of possibilities, which I find very hopeful in a time like this. We may not see any of the changes we seek in our lifetimes, or ever know the true impact of our advocacy, prayers and interactions, yet they are unquestionably worth doing in a Christ-like way. As Wendell Berry, he of blessed memory, wrote, “practice resurrection, even though you have examined all the evidence.” Amen and Amen.
My Office Days the week of 9/21 will be Tuesday and Thursday.
Rev. Jess Lambert
https://www.cooppres.org/pastor-message
This Weeks Service: https://www.cooppres.org/livestream
Permission to reprint, podcast, and/or stream the music in this service obtained from OneLicense.com with license #A-724436. All rights reserved.
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Sunday Service - September 13th 2026 - First Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown
September 13, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
Season of Creation - Second Sunday
Preaching: Rev. Faith Gay
Sermon “The Sky’s Other Lights”
Liturgist: Diane Kenworthy
Bulletin: https://www.cooppres.org/s/September-13-2026-Rev-Faith-Gay.pdf
Full Service: https://youtube.com/live/rwoU7HTvbRM?feature=share
“Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish once these waters reach there. It will become fresh, and everything will live where the river goes. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47:9, 12
Scriptures:
Psalm 65:5-13
Revelation 22:1-7
John 7:37-39
World Communion Offering 2026 Micah 6:8 Love Kindness
Cover Art: Ezekiel 47:1-12 https://bible.art/p/LePCUs8VeXXYMKTIlgDn/ezekiel-47-1-12
Please contribute to our ministry and good works in this community and around the world
https://www.CoopPres.org/donate
Feel free to submit Joys and Concerns prior to the live stream at
https://www.cooppres.org/joysconcerns
We will make every effort to read them during the service.
Our Website: https://www.CoopPres.org
From Pastor Faith:
Why do we keep listening for the voice of God and longing for God’s company? Why did Wendell Berry write poems and Dolly Parton write songs? Because - as the book of Genesis tells us - there was a time when we walked together with God in the evening breeze and every ounce of our being longs for that time to come again.
That soul memory overlaps with another longing expressed in the book of Revelation: for a time when death will be no more—no more tears, no more crying, no more pain. No more worrying about illness, suffering or what is to come. No more fear of ICE, fatigue from tariff wars, headaches from doom-scrolling or hasty plans of what to do and where to go if there is another world war.
These bookended longings are our alpha and omega stories combined - and this Sunday, we’ll explore our longing, our lament, for the loss of our walk together with God and our possibilities for a destiny that satisfies that longing once and for all. We’ll look for a destination big enough to sustain a richly-developed, fully-realized human life.
I look forward to seeing you!
Rev. Faith Gay
https://www.cooppres.org/pastor-message
This Weeks Service: https://www.cooppres.org/livestream
Permission to reprint, podcast, and/or stream the music in this service obtained from OneLicense.com with license #A-724436. All rights reserved.
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Scenes From Service - September 13th 2026
From Cooperstown First Presbyterian Church
Season of Creation - Second Sunday
Preaching: Rev. Faith Gay
Sermon “The Sky’s Other Lights”
Liturgist: John Rankin
Sermon https://www.youtube.com/live/rwoU7HTvbRM?si=igPCDojZH7E1wYk1&t=733
Minute for Mission - Sarah Dunlap https://www.youtube.com/live/rwoU7HTvbRM?si=onY25VQYXaT9eU1J&t=2096
Joys and Concerns https://www.youtube.com/live/rwoU7HTvbRM?si=mT9BZ7nHR7EuMr_5&t=2587
Blessing https://www.youtube.com/live/rwoU7HTvbRM?si=dXdk5PME5X_amaRp&t=3062
Musical Performances:
“For the Music of Creation”
Text by Shirley Erena Murray (1931-2020)
Music by Eleanor Daley (b.1955)
Text © 1992 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Music © 2023 GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Chancel Choir
https://www.youtube.com/live/rwoU7HTvbRM?si=-VgRXuzKxLy-x_Of&t=217
Offertory
“Peace in the Valley” Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993)
Written in 1939 during pre-World War II tensions,
Dorsey conceived the song while travelling via train through southern Indiana
Upon observing horses, cows, and sheep all grazing together in a small valley,
he questioned why humankind can’t live together in peace.
Copyright 1939 (“There’ll be Peace in the Valley for Me”)
John LeRoux, bass-baritone5
https://www.youtube.com/live/rwoU7HTvbRM?si=kfh1misrhf8iX4nY&t=2328
Cover Art: Ezekiel 47:1-12 https://bible.art/p/LePCUs8VeXXYMKTIlgDn/ezekiel-47-1-12
Please contribute to our ministry and good works in this community and around the world
https://www.CoopPres.org/donate
Preaching Sunday, September 20th 2026
Rev. Jess Lambert
Sermon: “Water is Life”
Communion Sunday “Bread For The Journey”
Scriptures:
Ezekiel 47:1-12
John 5:2-9
Hymns:
Come to the Water of Life
Out of Deep, Unordered Water, #484
God of Great and God of Small, #19
Visit us online at: www.CoopPres.org
Permission to reprint, podcast, and/or stream the music in this service obtained from OneLicense.com with license #A-724436. All rights reserved.
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Sunday Service - September 6th 2026 - First Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown
September 6, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
Season of Creation-First Sunday
Preaching: Rev. Jess Lambert
Sermon “Birth in Living Water”
Communion Service
Liturgist: Margaret McGown
Bulletin: https://www.cooppres.org/s/September-6-2026-J-Lambert.pdf
Full Service: https://youtube.com/live/iLs7VUvL5e8?feature=share
“Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish once these waters reach there. It will become fresh, and everything will live where the river goes. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47:9, 12
Scriptures:
Genesis 1:1-2:3
John 1:1-5
Cover Art: Ezekiel 47:1-12 https://bible.art/p/LePCUs8VeXXYMKTIlgDn/ezekiel-47-1-12
Please contribute to our ministry and good works in this community and around the world
https://www.CoopPres.org/donate
Feel free to submit Joys and Concerns prior to the live stream at
https://www.cooppres.org/joysconcerns
We will make every effort to read them during the service.
Our Website: https://www.CoopPres.org
From Pastor Jess:
This Sunday, September 6th, is the beginning of the Season of Creation, which will last until October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis and World Communion Sunday. This first Sunday is also called the Festival of Creation in Christ, which has a rich history.
Since the seventh century, September 1st has symbolized the day of the creation of the world in the Byzantine Orthodox tradition and has been the opening feast of its liturgical year (known as the Feast of the Indiction), in a parallel with the feast of Rosh Hashanah marking the Jewish New Year. Creation in Christ celebrates the ongoing creation of the world in and through Christ, who sustains, unites, and holds all created things. On Sunday we will hear of the God who creates all things: sun and moon, shining stars, sea monsters, creeping things and flying birds—and, yes, even human beings. God-in-Christ still takes care of all things and invites us to join in as caretakers and healers of God’s good creation.
I learned last night of the death of poet, essayist, novelist, Kentucky farmer and profound thinker, Wendell Berry. His writings are not as well known as some other modern writers on the topics of nature, agriculture, community and peace, but that’s probably because of his humility. He speaks to the heart of what makes us human, and what ails us. As we begin the Season of Creation, his writings will be at the forefront of my mind, beginning with these two quotes:
“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.”
And, fitting perfectly with the Season of Creation theme this year, Living Water, “Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.”
I will have one Office Day next week, Wednesday, September 9th. However, if you have an urgent need, please text or call my cell phone, between Tuesday and Friday.
Rev. Jess Lambert
https://www.cooppres.org/pastor-message
This Weeks Service: https://www.cooppres.org/livestream
Permission to reprint, podcast, and/or stream the music in this service obtained from OneLicense.com with license #A-724436. All rights reserved.
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Scenes From Service - September 6th 2026
From Cooperstown First Presbyterian Church
Season of Creation-First Sunday
Preaching: Rev. Jess Lambert
Sermon “Birth in Living Water”
Communion Service
Liturgist: Margaret McGown
Bulletin: https://www.cooppres.org/s/September-6-2026-J-Lambert.pdf
Full Service: https://youtube.com/live/iLs7VUvL5e8?feature=share
Minute for Mission - Carol Beechy: https://www.youtube.com/live/iLs7VUvL5e8?si=uYjdNqy5hs_mR9CK&t=2591
Sermon https://www.youtube.com/live/iLs7VUvL5e8?si=Rh2hU7hN0yQ_jUyC&t=1748
Joys and Concerns https://www.youtube.com/live/iLs7VUvL5e8?si=Y8Tb8guQRUVQkgY5&t=3103
Communion https://www.youtube.com/live/iLs7VUvL5e8?si=6mPwNBJejfMnKVAb&t=3773
Blessing https://www.youtube.com/live/iLs7VUvL5e8?si=k-W3qaeqLwTxbe5_&t=4596
Musical Performances:
“I Am the Holy Vine”
Text by James Quinn, S.J. (1919-2010)
Music by Leonard Bobrowski (b.1956)
Text © James Quinn, S.J. Selah Publishing Co., Inc., North America Agent
Music © 1999 Selah Publishing Co., Inc.
The Chancel Choir
https://www.youtube.com/live/iLs7VUvL5e8?si=sqbR5M7hcqUbzUc5&t=985
Offertory
“As the Deer Runs to the River”
Source of Living Water
Setting by Roberta Rowland-Raybold (b.1938)
Based on the tune JULION by David Hurd (b.1950)
From All Praise for Music: Hymn Settings for Piano, by Roberta Rowland-Raybold
Setting © 2014 GIA Publications, Inc. Published under exclusive license by Augsburg Fortress
Tune copyright © 1983 GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Peter Deysenroth, organist
https://www.youtube.com/live/iLs7VUvL5e8?si=b6h3YTkNOG1RIbbj&t=2865
Cover Art: Ezekiel 47:1-12 https://bible.art/p/LePCUs8VeXXYMKTIlgDn/ezekiel-47-1-12
Please contribute to our ministry and good works in this community and around the world
https://www.CoopPres.org/donate
Preaching Sunday, September 13th 2026
Rev. Faith Gay
Season of Creation
Second Sunday
Scriptures:
Psalm 65:5-13
Revelation 22:1-7
John 7:37-39
Hymns:
“Down to the River to Pray”
“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”
“Wade in the Water”
Visit us online at: www.CoopPres.org
Permission to reprint, podcast, and/or stream the music in this service obtained from OneLicense.com with license #A-724436. All rights reserved.