Author: Sam Ward (Page 4 of 6)

Worship Service via Zoom Video Conferencing

March 27, 2020 / Sam Ward

Due to the City of New Braunfels’ “stay at home” order issued earlier this week, we are planning to come together to worship on Sunday’s at our normal time (10:30am) using the video conferencing platform Zoom. Zoom video conferencing capabilities can be installed for free on most computers, smart phone, or tablets. If you choose not to download the application, you can always join the worship service by phone at the number listed at the bottom of this note.

Click here to watch a video that can help you understand how to install and join a zoom meeting.

If possible, we recommend you sign-up for a free Zoom account so that you can download and install the Zoom application prior to this Sunday’s worship service.

We are blessed to be able to leverage technology to allow us to come together as a congregation during these challenging times.

Worship Service – 3/22/2020

March 22, 2020 / Sam Ward

Sunday Bulletin: March 22, 2020

March 20, 2020 / Sam Ward

Prelude: Stephanie Phillips

Call to Worship (from NCH #825 by Congregation Beth El of the Sudbury River Valley)

Pastor: Blessed is the One who spoke and the world came into being.

People: Blessed is the One who created the world.

L: Blessed is the One who speaks and does.

People: Blessed is the One who decrees and fulfills.

L: Blessed is the One who has compassion on the earth.

People: Blessed is the One who has compassion for all creatures.

L: Blessed is the One who rewards those who fear God.

People: Blessed is the One who lives eternally and exists forever.

L: Blessed is the One who redeems and saves.

People: Blessed is the Holy One.

Song: “Now Thank We All Our God” – NCH 419

Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices,
who from our parents arms, has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us,
and keep us still in grace, and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills in this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God our Maker now be given,
to Christ and Spirit, too, our help in highest heaven,
the one Eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore,
for thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

Scripture: (find a Bible and read along)
Psalm 23 | Ephesians 5:8-14

Meditation: “Walking in the Light Amidst Dark Shadows”
Scott B. Martin

Special Music: Stephanie Phillips

Prayer Joys and Concerns:
Text your prayer, joys and concerns to 830-515-2866 or leave them as a comment in the Facebook Live feed
Pastor Scott ahead of time and he will read it and light a candle for you. You can also email Pastor Scott with your prayer joys and concerns [email protected]. Please text or email by 10 a.m. so Pastor Scott has time to record them.)

Prayer:
(written by Dr. John Dorhauer, President & General Minister of the UCC)

O God in whom we move and have our being, and with whose first breath we were once created, we bring to you our grief, our anxiety, and our fear.

As the world responds to this new threat to our health and well-being, and as more and more elderly and vulnerable people face an uncertain future with the spread of this virus, instill within us a new capacity for love and compassion.

We call for blessings upon the medical care workers who will treat the sick and dying.

We call for blessings on government officials and elected representatives who will manage and steward the resources needed to fight this virus.

We call for blessings on the children sent home from school, especially those whose parents can’t come home from work to take care of them or who might be missing meals while not at school.

We call for blessings on all who must travel during this season.

We call for blessings all who are grieving the passing of a loved one and who cannot gather to memorialize their beloved dead.

May the power of your abiding and steadfast love inspire us all as all to be people of compassion, hope, and joy as we discover anew that there is nothing that can separate us from that love.

We ask this prayer in the power of your most holy name, AMEN

Lord’s Prayer (All)
(using “…forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us….”)

Closing Song: “God Be With You Till We Meet Again”

God be with you till we meet again; By good counsel guide, uphold you, With a shepherd’s care enfold you; God be with you till we meet again.
(Chorus)

Till we meet,….till we meet,….Till we meet at Jesus’ feet….. till we meet,….till we meet,…..God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again; Wings of shelter safely hide you, Daily manna still provide you, God be with you till we meet again.
(Chorus

God be with you till we meet again; When life’s perils thick confound you,
Put unfailing arms around you, God be with you till we meet again.
(Chorus)

God be with you till we meet again, Keep love’s banner floating o’er you,
Smite death’s threatening wave before you, God be with you till we meet again.
(chorus)

Benediction (pastor) May the peace of the Lord Christ be with you: wherever you are or go; my God guide you through the wilderness; protect you through the storm; may God bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders God has shown you; may God bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors. Amen.

Postlude: Stephanie Phillips

Our thanks to Sam Ward for coming and videoing this for facebook live!

Worship services suspended until further notice

March 18, 2020 / Sam Ward

March 18, 2020
To: Faith Church members and friends
From: Faith Church Council

Hello Everyone,
With the heightened measures being taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Faith UCC council has voted to suspend Sunday worship services until further notice. We are committed to keeping everyone safe and healthy during these difficult times.

Though we will not be worshiping together on Sundays, we are working to provide either live or recorded sermons from Pastor Scott in the interim. Last Sunday, we streamed the service live on Facebook and had a really nice viewer turnout. Please keep an eye on your email in the coming days for updates on this. You can watch last Sunday’s service and any future videos at: https://www.faithuccnb.org/category/worship-services/.

We have set up a PayPal account for you all to continue giving to the church during if you so choose. With this PayPal donation option, you can also setup recurring gifts using all major credit and debit cards. Visit the link below to give. https://www.faithuccnb.org/donate/

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support of Faith UCC. It is important that we continue doing God’s work despite the challenges facing each and every one of us.

Grace and Peace,
Faith UCC Council

Worship Service 3/15/2020

March 15, 2020 / Sam Ward

Faith UCC Sunday services to continue as normal

March 13, 2020 / Sam Ward

March 13, 2020
To: Faith Church members and friends
From: Pastor Scott

Hello Everyone,
Given all the cancelations of various events, some of you may be wondering if we will cancel church services at Faith UCC. As of now we are NOT canceling upcoming worship services. As of today, there are no reported cases of corona virus in Comal County. I confirmed this through phone calls to both the county and city health departments this morning (March 12). However, if local health authorities recommend cancelling, we will comply immediately. I have also called our sister church, Friedens UCC, in nearby Geronimo and they have no plans to cancel services at this time.

Obviously common-sense steps should be taken by all of us:

Wash your hands regularly
Avoid touching your face with your hands
Don’t shake hands with people – even at church
Cover your mouth when you cough
Keep a reasonable distance from people
Stay home if you don’t feel well
If you are elderly or have a medical condition you may want to err on the side of caution and stay home as much as possible – we will understand if you do not come to church.

Given the above recommendations we will make some changes at church. Instead of passing the offering plates you are invited to simply drop your offering in the plates provided in the front and back. You can also contribute online or by mailing a check. We are working to make hand sanitizer available in the narthex for your use. You are encouraged to spread out when you sit down in the sanctuary. By way of setting an example don’t shake hands with the pastor or anyone else after the service.

If the corona virus threat remains an issue on Easter Sunday, we will celebrate communion using self-contained cups with juice and a wafer. We will not have communion the first Sunday of April, as Easter is the following Sunday anyway.

We may not be over the worst of it in this country, but I find it encouraging that new cases are way down in China, where it started. With common sense measures, the help of the medical system and scientist and with God’s help we will get through this.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Scott

Heart of Texas Association News

February 28, 2020 / Sam Ward

Our Heart of Texas Association Spring Meeting will be on Saturday, April 4th, at Weimar UCC. Registration starts at 10:30 am with the meeting beginning at 11. We will start with worship in the sanctuary and then move to lunch and our meeting in the Weimar church’s fellowship hall. We anticipate having people go through the lunch line right after worship, so we can eat and meet at the same time. Our offering will go to donate to provide supplies to those living outdoors at the border in Matamoros awaiting asylum. We will be accepting money and supplies (list of items needed to be distributed later) to be sent down on a trip that United Christian is making later this spring. Those who wish to stay a bit after the meeting are welcome to help sort donated supplies. All paperwork (agendas, reports, and other paperwork we have handed out in the past) will be posted on the Heart of Texas Association website, http://hotaucc.org/, the week before the meeting. In order to save paper, we ask that people download these from the website, as we will have only a few copies.

At our meeting, we anticipate discussion and a vote on whether to support the formation of a conference-wide fitness review committee. A fitness review, in the United Church of Christ, is a serious and demanding process that takes place when the fitness of a minister for ministry is brought into question, usually due to a serious accusation. At this time, fitness reviews are held at the Association level by our Committee on Ministry, which has the general task of oversight of ministers in the UCC. When a fitness review occurs, Committee on Ministry members have to be trained in the process, members must recuse themselves if they are close to the person who is the subject of the review, a trained team must be sent to interview people close to the situation, and there are other demanding aspects of the process. During the time of the fitness review, the other tasks of the Committee on Ministry need to continue and, as in any situation where there is a problem of this sort, it is difficult to get work done. Some other Conferences have moved fitness reviews to a Conference level committee, which allows a group to be “on call” with ongoing training and without other ministry oversight tasks to handle. At our Association Meeting, we will be deciding whether to support this initiative, and our meeting is scheduled in time to give our answer to the Conference Board at its April meeting as they prepare for a possible decision at the South Central Conference Annual Meeting in June. In addition, we anticipate discussion on a few proposed changes to the Conference bylaws.

We also anticipate having either one or two Ecclesiastical Councils, following ordination interviews for one or more candidates to be held at the Committee on Ministry’s meeting on Tuesday, March 31st. I will be sending out the information on Ecclesiastical Councils to our churches and ministers as soon we can on March 31st, and we will be posting the relevant ordination papers on our website as soon as possible.

Finally, on Sunday, February 16th, the Friends Congregational Church Choir sang the Requiem by John Rutter in Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Singers Series. I had the privilege of hearing this inspiring and beautiful concert, along with several folks from Friends. Congratulations, Friends choir!

Blessings in Christ, Liz Nash, Association Minister

Our Thoughts and Prayers are With the Triesch Family

February 28, 2020 / Sam Ward

Kenneth Triesch peacefully passed away on February 14, 2020 in New Braunfels at the age of 95. He lived a life filled with music and service to others.

A direct descendant of New Braunfels’ original German settlers, Ken was born on August 30, 1924, the eldest child of Walter and Adeline Triesch. He grew up on a farm in Solms, and graduated from New Braunfels High School…

Ken’s musical talent was evident at a young age–his first professional job was at the age of 6, when he was paid to sing at a wedding. As he grew up, he developed a powerful baritone/bass voice. He was a church organist and choir director for 75 years (locally at First Protestant, St. John’s Episcopal, and Faith UCC), sang for innumerable weddings and funerals, and worked as a cantor at Temple Beth-El in San Antonio. He appeared several times in operas in San Antonio (both in the chorus and in featured roles), at Circle Arts Theater in New Braunfels (most memorably as Ben Franklin in their Bicentennial production of 1776) and in a State Fair production of Miss Liberty in Dallas. He was also a featured concert soloist with various organizations, including the Pan American Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, and Valley Civic Chorus. While living in Mission, Texas, he was named Valley Musician of the Year. He earned a Master’s Degree in music education, and spent part of his career teaching high school choir and giving private lessons in voice and piano.

As Ken once said, “A musician also has to eat and live.” To support his young family, he worked as a bookkeeper at Airmaid Hosiery’s New Braunfels plant and at Eden Home (now Eden Hill) during the 1950s. The contacts made there led to a dramatic change of career when he was invited to become Eden Home’s administrator in the late 1960s. In addition to the leadership he brought to the organization for the next 20 years, he also brought music and warm interaction to the residents, and oversaw the expansion of the facilities. In retirement, Ken discovered that he had a talent for painting. He took classes and produced many works during his later years. Throughout his life, he was also an avid gardener and had an enviable green thumb. Ken was a member of Faith UC C, and was active in the Lion’s Club, Men’s Garden Club, and the local chapter of the National Iris Society. He also volunteered many hours for Meals on Wheels, S.O.S. Food Bank, and the New Braunfels Art League.

In 1948, Ken married Betty Pfeuffer Triesch. During their 61 years together, they had four children. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Randolph (“Rennie”) Triesch, his son Bruce Triesch, and his wife Betty. He is survived by his sister Grace Triesch Dreyer, his daughter Wendy Triesch Reinke, sons Mark Triesch and Jonathan Triesch, grandchildren Joshua Reinke and Jenna Reinke, great-grandchildren Embyr Reinke and Jack Reinke, nieces Gayle Dreyer Stroh and Susan Dreyer Ziperman, and nephew Wayne Triesch….. Ken’s memorial service was held on Sunday, February 23rd at 1:30 p.m. at Faith UCC.

Author: Sam Ward (Page 4 of 6)

Worship Service via Zoom Video Conferencing

Worship Service – 3/22/2020

Sunday Bulletin: March 22, 2020

Worship services suspended until further notice

Worship Service 3/15/2020

Faith UCC Sunday services to continue as normal

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