Sunday Special from the Maritimes

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Our Lay Worship Sunday, January 24, 2021, takes on new meaning this week as we participate in a Zoom Worship Service from Nova Scotia.  Zoom invitations have been issued to participants and the Zoom service will be live-streamed on our Facebook page.  Make sure you tune in on time so you won’t miss a second. Please download the bulletin so you can follow the order of service.

The Reverend Dr. Susan MacAlpine-Gillis, Assistant Professor of Theology at Atlantic School of Technology in Halifax, will host the meeting and deliver the sermon.  Susan is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada and just happens to be the mother of our Lay Worship Leader for this Sunday, Jennifer Gillis-White.

While this personal connection is extremely important to our congregation,  there is a deeper theological connection between the United Church of Canada and the United Church of Christ.

The United Church of Christ and The United Church of Canada, both members of the World Council of Churches (WCC), formalized a full communion agreement in a worship service at St. Andrew’s United Church, Niagara Falls, Ontario, on 17 October.

Through the agreement, the US-based and Canadian-based churches agreed to “commit to living into a common vision of ministry and mission together, to exploring the possibilities of this full communion relationship, and to finding ways of living into deeper, fuller expressions of witness that will strengthen the Church as we learn and grow together.”

Please join us Sunday at 10:00 am for this special worship experience.

What If…

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The Gospel message for this coming Sunday, January 17, 2021, comes from 1 Samuel 3:1-20.  We will hear once again the story of Samuel staying with Eli and watching to make sure the lamps in the temple don’t go out.  Samuel keeps hearing a voice calling to him but can’t figure out who it could be.  Eli is the only one with him, but Eli insists he didn’t call out.  Who could it be?  Has this ever happened to you?  If so, did you answer.

 

Join us Sunday to learn more about this reading.  It could help you decide your answer if the call ever comes to you.

Live streaming worship will begin at 10:00 am on our Church Facebook page.

Download the bulletin, which contains the Order of Service, Prayers and Scripture Reading.

 

ONA Discernment Statement

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Last night, the council members of the Presque Isle Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, voted to start the discernment process to become an official Open and Affirming (ONA) Congregation.

We believe this is a natural progression in the life of our congregation, as we already strive to be welcoming and inclusive to all.

To become an ONA Congregation means creating a public declaration of unconditional welcome and support to those in the LGBTQ+  community.  This requires a time of education, reflection, and prayer.  We believe that through this process we can develop an understanding of how we can be fully inclusive to LGBTQ+ persons.