Welcome! We are so glad you are here!

Welcome! We are so glad you are here!

Before the worship service begins, please turn off your cell phone. God may be calling YOU, but probably not on your cell phone. Please turn off your cell phone, or put it on vibrate.

CALL TO REFLECTION • PRELUDE: • All Things Bright and Beautiful • arr. Susan Geschke • The Handbell Choir

One ought to examine himself for a very long time before thinking of condemning others. Moliere, (1622-1673), Actor and Dramatist

God knows it is emotionally satisfying to be righteous with that righteousness that nourishes itself in the blood of sinners. But God also knows that what is emotionally satisfying can also be spiritually devastating. William Sloan Coffin

The one who cannot forgive others destroys the bridge over which they themselves must pass. George Herbert, Poet and Cleric

A religious man is a person who holds God and humanity in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair. Abraham J. Heschel, Jewish theologian

To die to our neighbors means to stop judging them, to stop evaluating them, and thus to become free to be compassionate.

Compassion can never coexist with judgment because judgment creates the distance, the distinction, which prevents us from really being with the other. Henri Nouwen

Love without criticism is a kind of betrayal. William Sloan Coffin

How accommodating love is, it forgives everything. Isabel Allende, Ines of My Soul

When those who have received God’s forgiveness have the opportunity to give the message to millions but don’t – that’s injustice. JossyChacko, Leader of Empart, a Mission Agency in India

PRAYER OF TRANSFORMATION

HYMN • All Things Bright and Beautiful • # 267, in the Blue Hymnals

All things bright and beautiful,All creatures great and small,All things wise and wonderful:The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,Each little bird that sings:God made their glowing colors,God made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain,The river running by,The sunset, and the morningThat brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,The pleasant summer sun,The ripe fruits in the garden,God made them every one.

God gave us eyes to see them,And lips that we might tellHow great is God Almighty,Who has made all things well.

PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS – • (in unison) • Adapted from • Christian Conference of Asia

O God, our Creator, who gave us all that we are and have; release us from self-focused love to be able to share what we are, what we know, what we have with one another and in the world which you love.

In the name of Christ, who makes this a possibility, we pray. Amen.

A TIME • OF SILENCE

Assurance of Forgiveness

Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost; • As it was in the beginning, • is now, and ever shall be, • world without end. Amen. • As it was in the beginning, • is now, and ever shall be, • world without end. Amen. • Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. • Amen. Amen. Amen.

A TIME WITH THE Children

The News • of the • Community

Visitors, to First Church! Following worship, please join us on the patio for juice and coffee.

for Children • TODAY, • following worship • Cash or checks only!

Monday, February 12th, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m . Friday, February 16th, 9:00 a.m. – Noon

Ash Wednesday Service February 14, 7:00 p.m. in the chapel

February 15thfor the March issue

A Celtic event is taking place February 18 10:00 a.m. during worship followed by refreshments in the Rice Room!

FLOWERS OF THE FOREST, a memorial to those who have passed away. If you would like to have the name of a loved one included, please contact Alice Carlisle.

Everyone is invited to participate by bringing an item that represents their family, and placing it on the Communion Table for blessing during the Kirking service.

If you would like to sponsor the Kirking, please complete the form found in your bulletin and return it, along with your donation, to the church office.

“Searching for Shalom,” a Lenten film series 7:00 p.m., in the chapel Wednesdays, beginning February 21 and running through March 21st.

Wednesday, February 21st at 7:00 p.m., in the church office. Our next book is Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown

Bold Justice Network meeting February 25, in the chapel following worship

SPECIAL MUSIC — • Jubilance • Kevin McChesney • The Handbell Choir

Thanksgiving for the Word

O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high, O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky: We praise You for the radiance That from the hallowed page, A lantern to our footsteps, Shines on from age to age.

Scripture Reading— Jonah 4:1-10 (Old Testament, Page 861 in pew Bible)

Welcome! We are so glad you are here!