The Presbyterian Church
New England Congregational Church
Lord show us your love. Open our ears that
we might hear; open our minds that we
might understand; strengthen our dedication
that we might show love to You and to each
other. Help us to use this worship service for
Your glory and our benefit. Amen
ORDER OF WORSHIP
March 1, 2015 10:45am
24 CIRCULAR STREET

P.O. BOX 582

Rev. Coqui Conkey ....................................... 596-9990
Emily Otto, Director of Christian Education
Chuck Kochheiser, Coordinator of Senior Ministries
Robin Leary, Music Director
Pamela Lipkin, Organist
Dave Ricci, Sound Technician
Julie Campbell, Office Manager
Kathy Sephas, Custodian
Church Office (Mon-Fri 9am-2pm) ........... 584-6091
E-Mail..........…..................…..office@pnecchurch.org
Website............................……...www.pnecchurch.org
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK 12866-0582
╬ A MORE LIGHT / OPEN AND AFFIRMING FAMILY OF GOD ╬
“My choice is you, GOD, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!”
- Psalm 16:5 (The Message)
GATHER TO WORSHIP
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE AND A TIME FOR CENTERING
“Christus, der uns selig macht”
Marcel Dupré
The time for centering can be used to make the transition between “getting here” and “being here.” This allows time to
be in touch with the Spirit that meets us. The candlelight is a symbol of God’s presence with us. By bringing the light
into our worship space, we are reminded that God is among us as we worship together.
CALL TO WORSHIP +
Pamela Quinn
Leader: Come, all who labor and woke early to be first.
CONG: Come, all who labor but were delayed and now wait.
Leader: Come, laborers who feel wronged, overlooked, and struggle to feed their children.
CONG: Come, laborers who use wages to show Christ’s love.
Leader: Come, all who are ready to roll up their sleeves.
CONG: Come, let us worship God who prepares us and gives us work to do.
“For the Fruits of All Creation”
*OPENING HYMN
attached
PRAYER OF TURNING
MOMENT OF SILENCE
SONG OF RESPONSE
“Lord, Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary”
Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true;
with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.
God empow’r me to be a witness for you, acting boldly, in your name;
seeking justice where there is hurting offering hope where there is pain.
CHILDREN’S TIME
Emily Otto
(Children leave for Sunday School)
GATHERING OF JOYS AND CONCERNS
PASTORAL PRAYER
LORD’S PRAYER
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 glory forever. Amen.
CHORAL RESPONSE
OFFERING
Offertory
“Verset”
Léon Boëllmann
*Doxology
# 592
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God all creatures here below.
Praise God above ye heavenly host; Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost.
*Prayer of Dedication
LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
*HYMN
“O for a World”
# 386
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 20:1-16
Pamela Quinn
SERMON
“It’s Only Money”
Rev. Coqui Conkey
SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION
Preparation
Communion Anthem
“Ave Verum Corpus, K.618”
by W.A. Mozart
Invitation
Communion Prayer
Sharing of Bread and Cup
Whoever you are and wherever you are in your spiritual journey, we invite you to join us
in communion. As the Elders pass the elements, please accept a cup and piece of bread.
Hold each until all have been served so that we may partake together. Water and grape
juice are used in the sacrament. All of the bread is gluten free.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
DEPART TO SERVE
*CLOSING HYMN
“You Shall Prophesy, All My People”
attached
*SENT INTO THE WORLD
*AMEN
POSTLUDE
“Glory Be to the Father” (last 8 measures)
“Basse et Dessus de Trompette”
# 577
Louis-Nicolas Clérambault
*Congregation standing.
Large print bulletins and hearing devices are available at the rear of the sanctuary.
+
adapted by Coqui Conkey, 2015
╬ All are welcome in this church! As part of our commitment to diversity, we are allied with More Light churches in the
Presbyterian Church (USA) and Open and Affirming churches in the United Church of Christ in advocating for justice and
affirming God’s love for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. ╬ We welcome all visitors to our church.
Please sign our guest book in the foyer and fill out one of the cards in the pews and place it in the offering plate. We hope
you’ll be able to join us again next week! We invite you to a coffee/tea time in the Fellowship Hall immediately following
the worship service. Please come and join our hosts in welcoming new and old friends.
Child Care for infants to 3-year- olds is available during the worship service in the Nolan House next door.
3
We, THE PRESBYTERIAN-NEW ENGLAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Rooted in worship, prayer and action
WELCOME people of diverse backgrounds and experiences
CARE for one another in community
NURTURE the gifts and faith of children and youth
WORK to make God’s love and justice real in our world
The Annual Meeting of the New England Congregational Church will be held after church on Sunday,
March 15th.
Meet the Family . . .
Acolytes are Sydney and Paige Wildermuth
Sunday School teachers and helpers are Ben Doern, Khai Martin-Hays, Jen Horn, Audrey Letts, Sean
Nolan, Sandee Shoemaker and Marny Skinner.
Deacons of the Month are Tom Cobb and Christine Jaronski.
Members of the Pastor Search Committee are Ellen deLalla, Terry Diggory, Kirstin Drabek, Peggy
Gorss, Jen Horn, Hannah LeFevre, Jim MacNeill, Harry Meehan, Judith Nelson and Susan
O’Donnell. You may email the group at pastorsearch@pnecchurch.org.
Calling All Palm Cross Creators. Did Gordie pass on his Palm cross making skills to you? Please help us carry
on his legacy and this tradition. Please email Emily (emily@pnecchurch.org)
Game Day: TODAY, noon – 2pm For everyone who is young at heart. Come join the Middle
School Youth for an afternoon of games, food and prizes. All ages event, bring your friends!
We'll play progressive BINGO and have a prize walk. Suggested donation of $10 for unlimited
games and prizes. Food and treats a-la carte. Proceeds support the Middle School Youth Group’s
sponsored AOET child and end of the year trip.
The Lycoming College Chamber Choir will perform at PNECC at 4pm on Sunday, March 8th. We will be
offering dinner to the choir members on Sunday after the performance so we need people to help prepare the
food on Saturday afternoon. Please see Robin if you can help. The concert is free (donations accepted) and is
open to the public. Please come and bring friends!
A new walking group is forming! Come join us Saturdays at 9 a.m. (Our first Saturday will be
March 7th) We will meet in the Saratoga State Park parking lot, across from the large field and
park buildings. (Take Rte 9 to Avenue of Pines. At fork, go left. Go straight through stop sign and
take your first left into parking lot). Walking distance will depend on who shows up, but plan for
about an hour. Any questions? Call Susan Moore-Palumbo at 587-6007 or Therese O'Neil at 5839772.
Mens’ Group Thursday, March 12th: Selma to Saratoga! Given the great turnout in February, we’ll once again
plan to start with a 9am breakfast in the Fellowship Hall and then head over to the Nolan House Parlor for our
discussion. Last time, Jim Cortelyou provided an account of his participation in the 1965 Selma Civil Rights
March. For our next meeting, we fast forward fifty years and explore some of the racial issues and divisions that
still exist in Saratoga today. It should make for an interesting discussion in assessing how much progress we’ve
made when it comes to integration and affording equal opportunities.
The Membership and Congregational Life committee is looking for members! This standing committee of
the Governing Board is responsible for creating, planning and implementing events that provide fellowship for
the congregation. In addition, they plan new member classes, Welcome Back Sunday and Volunteer Sunday.
They are also responsible for the pamphlets that tell about the church and the church directory. Bring your
creative ideas and your enthusiasm and join us the second Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Nolan
House. Our next meeting is Thursday, March 12th. Any questions? Contact Susan Moore-Palumbo 587-6007
or palumbof@msn.com
Donate Easter Candy for EOC on Sundays through March 22nd. The Sunday School children
will be assembling Easter baskets on March 22nd to be delivered through EOC. Please donate
wrapped candy (sugar free, too) or Easter grass outside the fellowship hall in the giant Easter
basket.
Pastor Coqui’s office hours this week are Wednesday 1-3 at Nolan House and Thursday 9:30-11:30 at Uncommon
Grounds or by appointment. When can we get together?
YAHA Luncheon: The next YAHA luncheon will be held at 1pmTuesday, March 17th at
Longfellows restaurant. Our very own Jim Cortelyou will share the story of his involvement in
the 1965 Selma Civil Rights March. This should prove to be a very interesting program which you
will not want to miss. If you wish to attend and are not on the call list, please call Jane Lindberg at
583-1610.
Easter Flowers: The Deacons will be taking orders for Easter flowers on Sunday, March
15th and March 22nd . Lilies, tulips and daffodils will be available for purchase, though
availability cannot be guaranteed. The flowers will decorate the sanctuary on Easter Sunday,
after which you make take them home. Proceeds from the Easter flower sales allow the church
to provide flowers to our homebound members as well as our rural food delivery families.
You may make a donation to help cover the cost of purchasing these flowers if you prefer not to purchase one for
yourself.
Today’s Communion Anthem
Ave Verum Corpus, K.618
by W.A. Mozart
Ave, ave verum corpus natum ex Maria Virgine;
vere passum immolatum in cruce pro homine.
Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit et sanguine.
Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.
Translation:
Hail, true body, Born of the Virgin Mary,
Truly suffered, sacrificed On the Cross for mankind,
Whose pierced side Flowed with water and blood,
Be for us a foretaste [of Heaven] in the trial of death.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Worship – Sanctuary
Game Day – Fellowship Hall
Step Up – Nolan House
Sr. High Youth Group
Sunday, March 1
10:45am
Noon
6:45pm
6:45pm
Monday, March 2
6:00pm
7:00pm
Finance Committee – Nolan House Dining Room
Governing Board Meeting – Nolan House Parlor
Tuesday, March 3
7:00pm
Theology Book Study – Nolan House Parlor
Wednesday, March 4
11:30am
7:00pm
Saturday, March 7
9:00am
Sunday, March 8
9:30am
9:30am
10:45am
4:00pm
6:45pm
Weezers Group – Nolan House Parlor
Social Concerns Committee – Nolan House Dining Room
Women in the Woods
Walking Group – Meet at Spa State Park
Middle School Youth Group
Choir Rehearsal – Sanctuary
Worship – Sanctuary
Lycoming College Choir Performance – Sanctuary
Sr. High Youth Group – Fellowship Hall
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 20:1-16
New Revised Standard Version
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers
for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his
vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace;
4
and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they
went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about
five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you
standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You
also go into the vineyard.’ 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager,
‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’
9
When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10 Now
when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual
daily wage. 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last
worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day
and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you
not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to
this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?
Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
(TEAR OFF)
Worship in August: The Worship Committee is considering whether to hold Sunday services in August at
PNECC. We need the congregation's thoughts on this. Put a check beside the proposals you favor. Add any
comments below. Place in the offering plate or email Steve Sink at ssink46@yahoo.com. Thank you.
Comments:
____
Have a service each Sunday in August at PNECC.
____
Gather at regular 10:45 a.m. time for worship.
____
Gather earlier, perhaps at 9:30 a.m.
____
Hold an evening service instead of in the morning.
____
Meet somewhere other than the sanctuary, such as in the Nolan House parlor.
Everyone is invited to attend, PNECC is a proud sponsor of this event.
“Letters from Anne and Martin”
THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 at 7:00 PM
SKIDMORE COLLEGE FILENE AUDITORIUM
Letters from Anne and Martin is a unique production that combines the iconic voices
of Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Developed from excerpts from ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ and Dr. King’s ‘Letters from a Birmingham Jail,’ this
piece evokes the important messages from these legendary figures, as they write of their hopes and plans for a
peaceful and unified world.
Letters from Anne and Martin was first developed for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at the Anne Frank
Center USA in 2013. It has been performed at the Center for other groups and in July 2014, it was featured in a
50th Anniversary Celebration of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It has also been performed at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, at the South Carolina Society for
Social Studies Annual Conference, Battery Park City School, Union Vale Middle School, Temple Beth El of
Cedarhurst, Southern Cayuga Central School, and for an MLK Day celebration event sponsored by
Congregation Tifereth Israel and Calvary Baptist Church.
What people are saying about Letters from Anne and Martin
“The performance with Anne and Martin Luther King really did make the issues of prejudice, oppression, human
rights, human nature during WWII come alive through the Civil Rights Movement and prompted everyone in the
room to think about how far we've come, or not.”
-Miriam Edwin, The Doe Fund
THINK TOWARDS NEXT WEEK
Matthew 22:1-14
Jesus responded by speaking again in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a
wedding party for his son. 3 He sent his servants to call those invited to the wedding party. But they
didn’t want to come. 4 Again he sent other servants and said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited,
“Look, the meal is all prepared. I’ve butchered the oxen and the fattened cattle. Now everything’s
ready. Come to the wedding party!” ’ 5 But they paid no attention and went away—some to their fields,
others to their businesses. 6 The rest of them grabbed his servants, abused them, and killed them.
“The king was angry. He sent his soldiers to destroy those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then
he said to his servants, ‘The wedding party is prepared, but those who were invited weren’t worthy.
9
Therefore, go to the roads on the edge of town and invite everyone you find to the wedding party.’
7
“Then those servants went to the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The
wedding party was full of guests. 11 Now when the king came in and saw the guests, he spotted a man
who wasn’t wearing wedding clothes. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without
wedding clothes?’ But he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet
and throw him out into the farthest darkness. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.’
10
14
“Many people are invited, but few people are chosen.”
CONSIDER: What kind of relationship must there be to so adamantly refuse an invitation to a life
event like a marriage? When we interpret parables, we can open up different understand by imagining
Jesus as one of the characters we don’t usually associate with him. How does the parable change if we
think of Jesus as the “least of these” who comes to the banquet but doesn’t have the right clothes to
wear?
Scripture reading
Matthew 20: 1-16
CALL TO WORSHIP +
Pamela Quinn
Pamela Quinn
Leader:
Come, all who labor and woke early to be first.
CONG:
Come, all who labor but were delayed and now wait.
Leader:
CONG:
Come, laborers who feel wronged, overlooked, and struggle to feed their
children.
Come, laborers who use wages to show Christ’s love.
Leader:
Come, all who are ready to roll up their sleeves.
CONG:
Come, let us worship God who prepares us and gives us work to do.
Our reading this morning is from the 20th chapter of Matthew:
20 “ The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the
morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 After he agreed with the workers to
pay them a denarion, he sent them into his vineyard.
3
“Then he went out around nine in the morning and saw others standing around
the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard,
and I’ll pay you whatever is right.’ 5 And they went.
“Again around noon and then at three in the afternoon, he did the same thing.
6
Around five in the afternoon he went and found others standing around, and he
said to them, ‘Why are you just standing around here doing nothing all day
long?’
7
“‘Because nobody has hired us,’ they replied.
“He responded, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’
8
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the
workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and
moving on finally to the first.’ 9 When those who were hired at five in the
afternoon came, each one received a denarion. 10 Now when those hired first
came, they thought they would receive more. But each of them also received a
denarion. 11 When they received it, they grumbled against the landowner,
12
‘These who were hired last worked one hour, and they received the same pay
as we did even though we had to work the whole day in the hot sun.’
13
“But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I did you no wrong. Didn’t I agree to
pay you a denarion? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I want to give to this
one who was hired last the same as I give to you.
15
Don’t I have the right to do
what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you resentful because I’m
generous?’ 16 So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be
last.”
Here ends today’s reading.