Hampstead Congregational Church UCC

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Hampstead Congregational Church

June 14, 2026

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)                                                                    Brad Robie

God meets us in surprising yet ordinary places—under a tree, in the smile of a stranger, in a refreshing breeze that comes at just the right time.

God, open our hearts to notice your presence all around us.  

God speaks to us in surprising yet ordinary ways—in a well-placed word from a friend, in a prayer that comes at just the right time, in a song that resonates through our entire being.  

God, open our minds to recognize your voice all around us.  

God fulfills God’s promises in surprising yet ordinary ways—in an unexpected act of kindness, in providing just what we need at just the right time, in sending someone to listen when we feel alone.

God, open our hands to receive your blessings all around us.  

Beloved, in the surprising and ordinary ways that God shows up among us, may we meet God and our neighbors with open hearts, minds, and hands, ready to encounter God’s miraculous work.  

God, open our lives to receive your blessings, that we may share together in the joy, wonder, and laughter of God’s miraculous works all around us.  

Invocation (unison)                                                                                    Brad Robie

      God who calls us, we are here, here to serve, and here to worship. We are here to sing and to pray, to let the word resound in us and the community to envelop us. We are here, O God, to know you and be known by you. We enter with thanksgiving and praise. We enter in safety of love and hope of peace. Holy One, we respond to your call. We are here. 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:  Gen 18: 1-15,  Romans 5: 1-8      (NRSVUE)         Brad Robie

Gen 18: 1-15

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. ² He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground. ³ He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. ⁴ Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” ⁶ And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” ⁷ Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. ⁸ Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹ They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” ¹⁰ Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I be fruitful?” ¹³ The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁵ But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Romans 5:1-8

5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸ But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Children’s Message

 
Sermon:  "When God’s Plans Make Us Laugh”  Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

Special Music

Call for Concerns & Celebrations

     (Please write joys and concerns on the papers in the baskets in the pews and pass them to an usher.  The Congregational Response is: “Hear Our Prayers”)

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.

Blessing the Crop Walk

Call to Offering

*Doxology:  NC # 779

      Praise God from whom all blessings flow;  Praise Christ all creatures here below;
      Praise Holy Spirit, Comforter;  One God, Triune, whom we adore.  Amen.

*Prayer of Dedication                                                          Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

     As Abraham and Sarah offered their hospitality and received the promise of new life, so we offer our gifts in trust and gratitude. Bless these gifts, O God, that they may bear witness to your goodness and extend joy, hope, and welcome to the world you so love. May our giving be a reflection of our faith, and may our faith be full of laughter. In the name of the one who brings life out of impossibility, Amen

*Hymn of Going Forth: 


 

*Benediction                                                                              Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

Go now, in the blessing of God who meets us where we are and surprises us with new life where none seemed possible. May we be a people who embody God’s miracle called laughter as we work for the flourishing of all creation as the family of God. Amen.  

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

Announcements:

Summer Hours

Just a reminder that the summer office hours will begin on Monday, June 15th until August 31st.  

Office hours will be:

Monday 9am-12pm

Wednesday 9am-12pm

Thursday 9am-12pm

June 15^th Church Weekly Calendar