Hampstead Congregational Church UCC

PDF BULLETIN

NEW WORSHIP TIME!

We are now beginning worship at 9am.

Hampstead Congregational Church

September 14, 2025

Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

No Matter Who You Are or Where You Are on Life’s Journey,

You are Welcome Here!

Order of Worship

Prelude                                                                                                              Herb Tardiff  

Greetings and Announcements                                                                   

Call to Worship (responsive)                                                                          

Leader: When we feel lost

All: God is there.

Leader: When we feel powerless

All: God is there.

Leader: When we look for wholeness

All: God is there.

Leader: When we rejoice in our worship

All: God is here.

Invocation   (unison)                                                                                         Rick Little

     God our teacher, who helps us to understand the world around us, thank you for the privilege of education. You have blessed our communities with teachers who take new skills and concepts and pass them along to each new class of young people.  God who came as a child to show us how to be fully human, to show us how to be children of God, 

      You have given our children minds that grow and develop in unique ways, at unique speeds, and we are astounded by that miracle.  You speak to us through the words, actions, play, and feelings of children. You call us to listen to the Spirit speaking through our young siblings in Christ.

      We celebrate the beginning of this school year and ask for your blessings upon the children, the educators, and the families who support them all.

But in this celebration of education and learning, we do not forget there are children and families and teachers who do not have the resources they need.     We come to worship together, to lift up our young people and all those who care for them and teach them. Open our hearts to what you are saying to us today.

Amen.

Passing of the Peace of Christ 

(Feel free to pass the peace by shaking hands, offering hugs or waves.  Those who would like to share peace without physical contact are invited to place their hands over their hearts in greeting.)

*Opening Hymn: 

Scripture Readings: Luke 15: 1-10    (NRSVUE)                                         Rick Little

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”    

Children’s Message

Blessing of School Bags

     Praying for the School Year:

Pastor:  God of fresh starts and new beginnings, we bring ourselves, our big feelings, and our backpacks to you. In our backpacks, we carry blank pages, sharpened pencils, and pointy crayons, and in our hearts, we carry big feelings, unanswered questions, and hopeful expectations.

People:  There are endless possibilities of what this new year might bring—  of what we might learn, who we might meet, and who we might become. God, our friend who is always with us, be with us through it all. Be with us as we ride the bus. Be with us as we walk.

Be with us as we buckle seat belts, zip-up jackets, and tie shoes.

However we get there, and whatever we wear, bless this journey into something new.

Pastor:  For the grown-ups going back to school, With-Us God, be with them too. Thank you for our teachers, helpers, caregivers, and leaders, and for all they do to help us learn and grow.

People:  God, our friend who’s full of wonder, fill their hearts and bless their hands. Amen.

Sermon: "God's Search Party"                                                                     Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

Special Music

Call for Concerns & Celebrations

Pastoral Prayer                                                                                                 Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

     The 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, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.

Call to Offering

*Doxology:        Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
                           Praise God, all creatures here below;
                           Praise God above, you heavenly host:
                           One God, Triune whom we adore.

*Prayer of Dedication                                                          Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

   Sheep and coins, the things that people cherished, were what you spoke of, Lord, for you recognized their value and what it meant to lose them.

     Today, Lord, we willingly give up what is precious to us

for we know that while it is lost to us it finds a way into the heart of your kingdom. Bless these gifts we offer, Lord, gather them up and celebrate with us what they may achieve in your hands. Bless us, Lord, and the gifts we have, that we might lose ourselves in your transforming love. Amen.

*Hymn of Going Forth:

*Benediction                                                                              Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

Leader:  We have been found

All: within the love of God.

Leader: We have been found

All: within the grace of God

Leader: We have been found

All: within the community of God

Leader: May we go from this place and proclaim to all who are lost:

we have a home for them here.

Music Usage permitted through OneLicense HCC License # A-730412 and CCLI License Number 2927783.

All rights reserved.

Announcements:

New Pastor Office Hours

Beginning this week, Rev Paige will be dividing her time between HCC and Atkinson Congregational Church. While this may shift as we move into new routines, the current plan is that Paige will have office hours in Atkinson on Tuesdays and Wednesday afternoons. She will have office hours in Hampstead on Wednesday mornings and Thursdays. She will work from home most Saturdays and be in both buildings on Sundays.

Phone messages and emails will continue to be effective ways to communicate no matter which office she is in! So please reach out - particularly if you have a pastoral care concern. The best approach is to make an appointment. The pastor wants to see you and respond to your needs!

  September 15^th Church Weekly Calendar