Calendar for March 7 to March 14, 2010

Sunday, March 7                       Third Sunday in Lent

      10:00 AM      Worship / Communion                                                   Fellowship Hall

      11:00 AM       Refreshments                                                                         Rose Room

      11:30 AM       Faith Ed for All Ages

 

Monday, March 8

      7:00 PM         Personnel Mtg                                                                         Rose Room

 

Tuesday, March 9

      3 to 5 PM       Children’s Choir                                          Fellowship Hall & Rose Room

      5:30 PM         Troy Music Day Camp Mtg                                                    Rose Room

 

Wednesday, March 10

      3:00 PM         Church Staff Mtg                                                                Pastor’s Study

      6 to 8 PM       WRAP Program begins                                                          Rose Room

 

Thursday, March 11

      6:00 PM             Music Sub-Committee Mtg                                                Rose Room

      7 to 8:30 PM      Chancel Choir                                                                    Rose Room

 

Saturday, March 13

      8 to noon            Sight Singing Workshop                                                     Rose Room

 

 

Daylight Savings Time begins

 

Sunday, March 14                    Fourth Sunday in Lent

      10:00 AM      Worship                                                                          Fellowship Hall

      11:00 AM       Refreshments                                                                         Rose Room

      11:30 AM       Faith Ed for All Ages

 

A note about the worship environment:  

The psalms at the center of our services throughout the Lenten season contain repeated references to God as a sheltering presence.   The visual focus created by Trudi Wybourn and Peg Drew, members of our worship team, is a tent-like shelter comprised of seven lengths of deep purple cloth (the liturgical color for the season of Lent) which extend over the worship space above the heads of worshippers from our large wooden cross.

 

The Service Today

Welcome! It is a joy that you have chosen to enrich this worshipping community with your presence this morning. We hope you find a spiritual home here, a place of love, support and service. Following worship, you are cordially invited to gather with the community for a time of refreshment.

 

 

Parking for Worship is available in the large lot behind the Gurley Building at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Fulton Street or in the small lot on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fulton Street and also along Fifth Avenue. Please Note: The parking spaces in the alley on the Grand Street side of the sanctuary are private parking spaces that belong to Franklin Plaza. Please do not park there.

 

For families with children:  Childcare during worship for children through age 4 is available in the nursery located between the sanctuary and Fellowship Hall.

 

Hearing Devices and Enlarged Print Hymnals for worship use are available from the ushers. Transportation to services and events can be arranged by calling the church office at 272.2771.

 

 

Prayers of the People February 28, 2010

• Continued prayers for the Kerr family.
• Prayers of healing for Trudi Wybourn’s son, Robert Kroner, who was injured in an auto / bicycle accident February 22.
• Prayers for Dana, Gavin and Breanna Crobok ~ so that we know peace and safety: harassing phone calls and stalking has begun again . . . Although probation is violated, the courts turn a blind eye.
• Prayers of joy for Zachary Shuster who has “survived” Marine boot camp and will be on his way to San Diego for his first assignment.
• Prayers for Ida Blair as she recovers from a broken hip. Ida use to take reservations for the Roustabout Players, and is a dear friend of the Harrington’s and the Colwill’s.
• From Sue Steele: prayers of safety for the Chamber Singers of St. Rose (and Kaitlyn Steele) as they sing in Salzburg, Austria.
• From Martha Juenger: prayers for Diane, going to the Cleveland Clinic for treatment of her renal artery blockage.
• Prayers for all those in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic dealing with power outages, property damage, and many other difficulties caused by recent winter snow and rain storms.
• Prayers of thanksgiving for the skill and athleticism of all the Olympic participants.
• Prayers of support for all the people of Chile after a massive earthquake there.

 

 

Please keep in your prayers this week the families and friends of the

 Roessleville Presbyterian Church

            The Roessleville Presbyterian Church is a Community of Caring, Committed Christians witnessing to God’s Good news in Christ on Central Avenue in Colonie. We have served Christ in Colonie for 141 years. So we hope you also enjoy reminiscing with a picture of our "Old Church" taken circa 1957 (below).

            God has blessed us with a group of hardworking leaders who keep our ministry active and outward focused. Our goals include increasing church attendance, becoming more connected to our neighborhood by increasing our visibility on Central Avenue and finding new ways to serve the Lord both here and worldwide.

            Past community outreach efforts have included: One Great Hour of Sharing, our church food pantry, Tsunami Relief Project, Souper Bowl, Deacons’ scholarships for college-bound students, Equinox Thanksgiving Day Dinner can collection, Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box, collections for Katrina victims, and collections for the Capital City Rescue Mission.

The Reverend Richard Patterson, Stated Supply - also serves as parish associate at the Brunswick Presbyterian Church. He is also employed by Scripture Union USA. A native New Yorker, Rich was educated at Union College (B.A.), The University of Pittsburgh (M.P.A.) and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (MDiv.). Rich was ordained to specialized ministry to children by Pittsburgh Presbytery in 1981 and has worked for Scripture Union USA for 35 years, first in ministry to children and their families and more recently as Vice President-Editorial Services. Rich is the author of four books and a Bible study guide, all in the area of children and family life. He enjoys choral singing and has sung with the Pittsburgh Symphony at both Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. The father of two grown sons, he and his wife of 38 years, Sara, live in Halfmoon.

Currently, our homepage features a Lenten Study Series prepared by Rich. He serves Albany Presbytery as a member of the Committee on Ministry (COM).

 

 

 

Prayers of thanks to God for the ministry of Deacon Kathleen Roe who arranged hospitality for our guests from the Inn from the Cold throughout the eight weeks of their stay with us. They have now moved on to spend the month of March at the Roarke Center.  A heartfelt thank-you to all who provided snacks, sweets, and homemade treats for our guests, adding a special measure of welcome to their evenings at First United:
Kathleen Roe and Jim and Kate Corsaro, Lois Lanoue, Laura and Dan Rogers, Martha Juenger, Betsy Belle Eadie, Marsha Cutting, Jane and John Husson, Kerry Welcome, Shirley Street.

 

 

Music Notes

A Troy (Kid's) Night Out Event:  Lake George Opera presents:  The Three Little Pigs.  Friday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.  Music of Mozart to tell this classic tale with twist! Enjoy this 40-minute concert for kids of all ages featuring this semi-staged production. Admission:  suggested donation of $3 per child 3 and over; parents and 0-2 free!  For more information, see:

www.lakegeorgeopera.org/education.html.

 

2nd Annual Summer Music Day Camp.  This camp runs at First United from June 28 – July 2.  It will give your child a variety of fun-filled learning experiences associated with music such as singing, dancing, introductions to a variety of instruments and composers, field trips, guest musicians, and more.  The camp is open to children entering grades 1-6.  The program day runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with extensions to 7:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.  If you are interested in registering, please look out for registration materials after March 1.

 

Today at 2:30!!!  Maury Castro in a Pre-Evensong Organ Concert - All Saints Episcopal Cathedral, Albany. Widor: Symphony Gothique (No.9). Followed by Choral Evensong with Cathedral Men and Boys singing.

 

Adult Education, in the Rose Room at 11:30am

“Unbinding First United”

Utilizing insights gained from Martha Grace Reese’s book, Unbinding the Gospel, Elder John Buckley will facilitate an interactive series of discussions that build on our overall Lenten theme, “From Isolation to Community”. 

March 7         we will spend some time hearing from and sharing with o confirmation candidates and with other members and friends of
                        First United what we value about being affiliated with First United.

March 14       we will explore our own faith stories and work with several    questions, among them, “Who passed faith to you?” and
                        “To whom are you passing your faith?”

March 21       a sermon talk-back with guest preacher, Lisa Larges

 

 

Deacons News

The Deacons thank those who are contributing $1 each week to the work of the Deacons. It is greatly appreciated as we work to help others. You can either use the Deacon Fund envelope or make a designation in your pledge envelope for this important Deacons fund.

 

Would you like to join First United’s Prayer Chain?  Now is your chance . . .

If you are interested you may contact Carol Harrington at 235-7580.  Prayers are distributed two different ways; either by a phone tree or you can receive the prayers by email.  The choice is yours. In the world today everyone can certainly use your prayers.

 

 

 

General News

There is a flower chart on an easel in the worship space.  Add your name to any open date then Pat Carlson will call and confirm with you.

 

Flower request forms are also available on the easel. Please fill out the form and put into Pat's mailbox in the main lobby next to the Session mailboxes or mail directly to the church office.

 

The Sock Basket is BACK!!!!!  Bring a pair of new, white socks (we need men’s, women’s, and children’s sizes) to worship on Sundays during Lent to feed our hungry sock basket.  Please help provide some warmth and comfort to cold feet in these waning weeks of winter. Your Lenten discipline can make a real difference to someone in need.

 

Interested in locally grown vegetables?  First United is a delivery site for Roxbury Farm, Consumer Supported Agriculture farm. Check out their web site for more information      Roxburyfarm.com

 

 

Save the Date !!!

Caribbean Island Food Fair

 

Palm Sunday, March 28

Proceeds will go to Haiti relief.

 

2010 First United Address and Phone Directories are now available in Fellowship Hall.