To worship with us
July 16, 2023 • 9 & 11 AM
TO UNITE IN FAITH TO DO MORE GOOD TO JOIN A COMMUNITY TO MAKE CHANGE TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY
COVID-19 Guidelines Our current COVID-19 safety policy is “masking by choice.” Everyone on our campus may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect themselves and those around them. We will respect everyone’s choice in this matter. To learn more about the policy, visit asburyfirst.org/news/2022/6/june-covid-masking-update. FIRST TIME HERE We are so glad you are joining us, whether in person or online. If you’re out there watching, check in through the website or take a picture and post it on social media using #asburyfirstathome. If you're in the pews, please sign in on the red fellowship pad and pass it down your pew. Our hope is to get to know you better and help you find your place within our community. Additionally, drop us an email at info@asburyfirst.org. ACCESSIBILITY FOR ALL Large print bulletins and hymnals are available from the ushers. A hearing loop is available for those who have hearing aids with T switches, and you may also request earphones from the ushers to aid you in hearing the service. The screens located toward the back of the sanctuary now display the service stream to aid in visibility. Need prayer? We invite you to share with us how we can be praying for you by emailing prayers@asburyfirst.org or by filling out one of our prayer cards found in the pews. All prayer requests are prayed over by our Ministers and Intercessory Prayer Team. Children We believe children are a sacred gift, and they are welcome in our worship. Children will be invited forward during worship for a Children’s Time. Following this, children ages 4 through 5th grade are invited to go with our children’s educators for further enrichment or return to their caretaker for the remainder of the service. If there is more our Children's Ministry can do, please contact Paula Dugan at pdugan@asburyfirst.org or at 585-271-1050 x111. RECONCILING STATEMENT We are a reconciling congregation and seek to be a fully inclusive church, believing that all people are God’s children. We encourage full participation in our community for all, regardless of age, race, origin, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, marital status, family structure, education/economic background, and physical/mental ability. We recognize that we hold a variety of opinions. We do not seek to erase our differences, but to journey together in faith toward greater understanding and mutual respect. We believe that reconciliation to God and to one another is central to our mission and ministry. GIVE TO ASBURY FIRST There are multiple ways to make a gift to Asbury First. Each gift supports the everyday ministries and operations of this church, allowing us to live into our vision to Do More Good. Cash/Check—We welcome you to send a gift of cash/check in the mail or in the basket on your way out of the sanctuary following the service. Text to Give—You may give a gift with a debit/credit card by texting the dollar amount to 206-222-1050. Online—Online giving is available on our website at asburyfirst.org/give. Venmo—You may give a gift through Venmo by finding “@givingasburyfirst” or by scanning the QR code to the right. Watch and listen Tune into the live video stream of the 11 am service at asburyfirst.org/live-stream. To listen to the service tune into WRFZ 106.3 FM Rochester Free Radio, or call our toll-free number at 833-829-1050. A video archive of past services is also available at asburyfirst.org/archive.
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
* please stand as you are able
11 am • July 16, 2023
Prelude
From 24 Pieces: Paraphrase on “Salve Regina” — Jean Langlais From 9 Pieces: Prelude on an Anthem “Meditation” — Gabriel Dupont
Introit
When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries: May Jesus Christ be praised! Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair: May Jesus Christ be praised! (Words: Edward Caswall; Tune: Laudes Domini, Joseph Barnby)
*Call to Worship
All are invited to read the bold-faced type; the reader will read the unbolded type. Come, let us worship God! Come, let us worship our Creator! God, the great Sower, scatters seeds of life and abundance across the earth. We are created to nurture and sustain the seeds of God’s life-giving love. God, the great Gardener, tills and cultivates our soil with love and grace. We call on the Gardener’s love and grace to transform us into good soil. God, the great Life-giver, longs to produce the fruit of abundant life. May we nurture and grow God’s new reality, bearing fruit for all God’s creation.
*Processional Hymn
#694 "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” (Note: Online users may click the link of the title to access the hymn)
*Welcome and Passing of the Peace
*Gathering Hymn
#451 "Be Thou My Vision", vv. 1, 2
The community gathers As the community gathers, may the music of the prelude draw your hearts and minds to God.
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*Gloria Hymnal #102, v. 3, alt.
All glory be to God, all praise and thanks be given; Whose Son and Spirit reign as one in highest Heaven; Our one eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore; For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
To hear the word
11 am
Scripture Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. If you have ears, hear!” “Hear, then, the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Prayer of Confession
Loving God, we acknowledge that at times we are like stony fields. Sometimes we allow goodness to wither and weeds to flourish. Your mercy has taken root in us, but we do not always share it with others. Your justice has grown in us, but we have not fully embraced it. Your truth has showered upon us, but we have let it run to waste. Your love has blossomed among us, but we have been slow to yield a harvest. Have mercy upon us, Gracious Creator. May your abundant love flow through us, causing new growth.
Silent Confession
Words of Assurance
Friends, hear the good news: “Where sin abounds, love much more abounds.” Receive from such abundance and give thanks. The mercy of God is ours. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Amen.
Children's Time
Children of all ages are invited to join us in this special moment.
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
*Hymn
#707 "Hymn of Promise"
Sermon
Parables Without Borders
Anthem
"Behold, a Sower" early American tune, arr. Crawford Thoburn; words by Washington Gladden Behold a Sower! from afar goes onward forth with might; The rolling years the furrows are, the seed, the growing light; For all the just God’s Word is sown, it springeth up alway; The tender blade is hope’s young dawn, the harvest, love’s new day. O Lord of life, to you we lift our hearts in praise for those, Your prophets, who have shown your gift of grace that ever grows, Of truth that spreads from shore to shore, of wisdom’s widening ray, Of light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Shine forth, O Light, that we may see, with hearts all unafraid, The meaning and the mystery of things that You have made; Shine forth, and let the long dark past beneath the beam grow bright; Shine forth, and touch the future vast with Your untroubled light. Light up Your Word; the ancient page from all past bondage free, Light up our way; lead forth this age in love’s large liberty. Oh, light of light! within us dwell, through us Your radiance pour, That word of life all truth may tell, and praise You evermore!
To Renew Commitment
Introduction to Discipleship, Membership, and Commitment
We are delighted you have joined us and ask that you sign and pass the ritual of friendship pad from the center aisle down the pew. We invite you to prayerfully consider making a gift to support the everyday ministries and operations of this church, allowing us to live into our vision to Do More Good. There are multiple ways to make a gift to Asbury First: Cash/Check—We welcome you to send a gift of cash/check in the mail or place it in the offering plate as it is passed to you. Text to Give—You may give a gift with a debit/credit card by texting the dollar amount to 206-222-1050. Online—Online giving is available on our website at asburyfirst.org/give. Venmo—You may give a gift through Venmo by finding “@givingasburyfirst” or by scanning the QR code to the right.
Offertory Sipra Agrawal Kolar, soloist
"Laudate Dominum" — W.A. Mozart, from Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, KV 339 O praise the LORD, all ye nations; praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Call to Prayer
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. (Words: Joseph Scriven; Tune: Converse, Charles Converse)
Pastoral Prayer
“Behold, a Sower” © 2013 St. James Music Press; Hymns © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House; OneLicense.net #A-721053. Some of the liturgical elements have been adapted from Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church. Illustration Credits: Designed by Sarah Brubaker with Freepik and Vecteezy.
*Doxology Hymnal #95
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*Prayer of Dedication
God, as you have sown our lives in a rich and fertile soil, may we bear much fruit through our giving. Bless our gifts and ministries, that the world may reap a harvest of generosity and love. Amen.
*Benediction
*Benediction Response
We’re marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion! We’re marching upward to Zion, the beautiful city of God.
Postlude
“Trumpet Tune” — Quentin Faulkner
Permissions:
To Disperse in Mission
Participants In the Service
Preacher: Mike Mullin Liturgists: Rev. Kathy Thiel Reader: Sean Cundy Director of Children's Ministry: Paula Dugan Organist: Duane Prill Summer Choir Section Leaders: Sipra Agrawal Kolar, Brenda Nitsch, Dan McInerney, Jordan Bachmann Director of Music Ministry: Dr. Carl Johengen Head Usher: Dennis Roote Audio Operator: Rick Church Video Operator: Sam Doerner Production Director/Graphics Operator: Kenny Bailey Technology Support Team: Deb Bullock-Smith, Carolyn Curran, Ted Skomsky Technical Consultant: Justin Ocello
*Recessional Hymn
#733 “Marching to Zion”, vv. 1, 3, 4
9 am • July 16, 2023
OUTDOOR service
*Opening Song
"Be Thou My Vision” (Words: Ancient Irish, tr. Mary Byrne/Eleanor Hull; Tune: Slane, traditional Irish) 1. Be thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art; thou my best thought by day or by night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. 2. Be thou my Wisdom, and thou my true Word; thou ever with me, and I with thee, Lord; thou and thou only, first in my heart; great God of heaven, my treasure thou art. 3. High King of heaven, my victory won, may I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
*Welcome & Passing of the Peace
Scripture
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 (found on p. 4)
We are delighted you have joined us and ask that you check in with us by scanning the QR code, or by visiting asburyfirst.org/worship-check-in.
Prayer
Benediction
*Closing Song
“Marching to Zion” (Words: Isaac Watts and Robert Lowry; Music by Robert Lowry) 1. Come, we that love the Lord, and let our joys be known; join in a song with sweet accord, join in a song with sweet accord and thus surround the throne, and thus surround the throne. Refrain: We're marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion; we're marching upward to Zion, the beautiful city of God. 4. Then let our songs abound, and every tear be dry; we're marching through Emmanuel's ground, we're marching through Emmanuel's ground, to fairer worlds on high, to fairer worlds on high. (Refrain)
Participants in Service
Preacher: Mike Mullin Director of Children's Ministry: Paula Dugan Musicians: Chris Gold, Carl Johengen
9 am
Monday Morning Crew
Meetings & Rehearsals July 16–22
There’s Something for Everyone at Asbury First!
Help Me Connect
Celebrations and concerns
Are you interested in taking the next step in your faith journey, finding your place in the life of Asbury First, or are just in need of a deeper connection?
NOTA Farmers Market
For a full list of events with links, visit our online calendar at asburyfirst.org/events or call the church office at 585-271-1050
ALTAR FLOWERS The flowers on the altars are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of his brother Raymond Talmage Johnson by the Rev. Dr. Timothy James Johnson. Have you noticed the lone sunflower on the altar? The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine. In solidarity with Ukraine, we will have a single sunflower on the high altar until the war ends. Want to help? You can support UMCOR at asburyfirst.org/give. Please note "Ukraine", or mail a check to the church office at 1050 East Ave. If you would like to place flowers on the altar, please contact Jeanne Ristau at 585-223-4356, preferably two weeks ahead of requested date. JOYS AND CELEBRATIONS We celebrate the upcoming wedding of Mary Church and Dan Smith on Saturday, August 26 at 3 pm in the sanctuary. All are welcome to attend the ceremony and a cookie reception in the Gathering Center. Prayers and Concerns We offer our prayers and concerns for all those who are ill at home, hospitalized, or in hospice care.
Lectio Divina
Sunday 9 am Worship Service Outdoors (moved inside if inclement weather) 10 am Summer Choir rehearsal—1040 Wesley Hall 11 am Worship Service In-Person and Livestream 12 pm Lunch—1010 COC Dining & Caring Center 3 pm Youth Group: Color Wars Slime Festival— Granger Lawn MONday 9 am Monday Morning Crew—1040 9 am Library Committee—1040 Library 4 pm NOTA Farmers Market—1050 Granger Lawn Tuesday 8:30 am Lectio Divina—Zoom (zoom.us/j/8347173468) 9:30 am Tuesday Morning Women's Fellowship —Zoom (zoom.us/j/8347173468) 12:30 pm Asbury Art Class—Canceled 3 pm Gentle Yoga—Gathering Center, $10 pay at the door Wednesday 7 am Breakfast—1010 COC Dining & Caring Center 7 am Men’s Fellowship Group —Zoom (zoom.us/j/6174865464) Thursday 7 am Breakfast—1010 COC Dining & Caring Center 7:30 am Bicycle Repairs—Garage behind 1010 4 pm Gentle Yoga—1040 Gathering Center, $10 pay at the door 6 pm UR Well Clinic—1010 COC Evarts UR Well Clinic friday 7 am Breakfast—1010 COC Dining & Caring Center
Sunday Sermon Podcast
Are you interested in taking the next step in your faith journey, finding your place in the life of Asbury First, or are just in need of a deeper connection? Scan the QR code, visit asburyfirst.org/ help-me-connect, or call the office at 585-271-1050 to connect.
Summer Worship
Scan the QR code, visit asburyfirst.org/help-me-connect, or call the office at 585-271-1050 to connect.
Friday, August 25, 6:45 pm, Frontier Field
Save the Date!
Communications Needs You!
Acolytes and Crucifers Needed
Join us at the Rochester Red Wings game to sing the National Anthem! We have 100 seats reserved and tickets will be $10. For more details visit asburyfirst.org/news.
Asbury First hospitality is still in need of cookies! Please consider making a couple of dozen and dropping them off at the church office. Thanks in advance! For more information, please contact Paula Dugan at 585-271-1050 x111 or at pdugan@asburyfirst.org.
We Need Cookies!
Do you love bulletin boards? Do you like being behind the camera? Well, we've got some projects for you! We are looking for volunteers to help produce the display bulletin for the Welcome Hall, as well as assistance with quick interviews for a video project. If you're interested, please contact Sarah Brubaker at sbrubaker@asburyfirst.org or by calling 585-271-1050 x109. Training and video equipment will be provided.
If you would like to volunteer to be an acolyte, the crucifer, or to carry our Christ candle, please contact Mike Mullin at mmullin@asburyfirst.org. Learn more at asburyfirst.org/news.
Vacation Bible School 2023
Outreach Ministry Task Force Report
Children ages 4 through 5th grade are invited to join us this summer for our Vacation Bible School themed Make A Joyful Noise, August 7-10, from 9 am — noon each day. We will learn how music is an essential part of life and draws us closer to God. We will explore music through song, dance, bells, games, art and stories. We will end the week with a family night of food, fun and music underneath the tent.
Give Online at www.asburyfirst.org/GIVE, text to give at 206-222-1050, OR MAIL IN YOUR CHECKS TO 1050 EAST AVENUE, ROCHESTER, NY 14607
Visit asburyfirst.org/news to sign your child up for VBS. For more information, contact Paula Dugan at pdugan@asburyfirst.org.
A task force of Asbury First neighbors recently completed an update of “A Way Forward,” the 2016 document laying out strategy for our church community’s Outreach ministries. We’ve accomplished much since 2016, including the opening and operation of the new Community Outreach Center. But, there’s more to do, and not just in Outreach. You can learn more and read the full report at asburyfirst.org/coninuing-our-way-forward.
Make a Joyful
Return to Page 3
#694 "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”
Online readers, click the "Return to Page" to quickly get back to the worship portion of the bulletin.
*Processional Hymn (Cont'd)
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*Recessional Hymn (Cont'd)