Quote for Reflection: the way we walk, the way we worship,


the way we create community, the way we journey. We Respond to God’s Word
God desires to do more than “help out” a bit. May we have strength for the struggle to reshape the faith
 REFLECTION Struggling with God
God wants to completely transform us. that makes hope for the future possible:
God wants to take a timid heart in our faith communities, in our personal lives,

HYMN Lord, Speak to Me UMH 463
and set it ablaze with strength and courage, in the neighborhood we live, places where struggle

so much so that people know in the faithful life,

something supernatural has taken place.  PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE & THE LORD’S PRAYER
never accepting what is given
but reshaped in the doubting
– Francis Chan  SELF-REFLECTION FOR THE WEEK Steve G-H
and questioning and creativity. The angels you’ll have to wrestle with most often

May we never keep silent when heaven needs to argue. are no strangers:

May we never sit still when the kingdom needs to move. they’re your anger, fear, control, defensiveness,

We Gather as God’s People May we never hurry by 

when the body of Christ needs patience.
your despair, blame, insecurity, avoidance.

You won’t get away without a fight.
HYMN Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing UMH 400 May we never speak over the cries of others. They may also be God’s forgiveness,

In the struggle that is faith may you find us,
 the Beloved’s absolute acceptance,

CALL TO WORSHIP invite us and struggle with us. God’s serenity in the face of your betrayal,

Welcome to worship, fellow strugglers on the way!
 In the tension and the love may we be the church. God’s accompaniment in your troubles.

All are invited to this service, So be it. Amen. You won’t accept them without a fight.
as fellow wrestlers and travelers on the journey! You’re not wrestling with what’s happening;

Greetings to you, who get tired along faith’s rocky road! you’re wrestling with your feelings about it:

Together we congregate,

Together we seek God’s face, We Listen for God’s Word not the problem but its difficulty,

not the suffering but how you take it personally.

Together we help one another
 HEBREW SCRIPTURE Genesis 32:22-30 The angels are not your world, but your self.
in being resilient, in being endurant, The same night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two So wrestle. Grab them firmly.

in being forgiving, in being loving maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Feel their breath on your neck,

in being gentle, in being patient
 Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and their body against yours,

in being attentive to the very presence of the Divine. likewise everything that he had. the weight of their intent.

Welcome to worship! Jacob was left alone; and a being wrestled with him until Let your sweat mingle.
daybreak. When the being saw that he did not prevail against Learn their moves.

SPIRITUAL Wade in the Water FWS 2107 Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put They’re your sparring partner,

out of joint as he wrestled with him. not out to destroy you

PASSING THE PEACE but to shove you into the face of God.
Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob Who knew divine intimacy could be so hard?
said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to
YOUNG PEOPLE’S MESSAGE him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” OFFERING & DOXOLOGY
PRAISE Lord, Listen to Your Children Playing FWS 2193 Then the being said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but
Israel,for you have striven with God and with humans, and HYMN Spirit of the Living God UMH 393
OPENING TO GOD Steve G-H have prevailed.”
Jacob was left alone; Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he
and a being wrestled with him until daybreak…
 said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed We Are Sent Into God’s World
him.
God of the struggle, may we struggle with love. ANNOUNCEMENTS
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God
May we never take it for granted, but wrestle with it,
 face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” BENEDICTION
discern its cause

and let it change our very being:
 Essex Eats Out Schedule Here are people, places, & concerns folk have recently lifted
up. Please keep them in your prayers at home.
Oct 5 - 1st Congregational Oct 12 - Holy Family Please call or email the church office to add to the prayer list.
Oct 19 - St James Oct 26 - EUMC
Ongoing Prayers Lifted Up Last Sunday
Tim Kathy - sister, Mary, having surgery
Birthdays & Anniversaries Lenore Kathy - friend Bruno dealing with cancer
Sep 25 - Nathan McDonald Sep 29 - Elliot Johnsen Michael Parker Judy M - friend, Chris, bladder removed
September 24 - Barb Lemmel & Mitchell Hay Anniversary
September 28 - Susan & Art Bristol Anniversary
Keenan
Arlitha
Judy M - friends Lena and George
moved into assisted living b
Jacob Wrestles
Callie
Christine - Dad's successful surgery
Grace Naylor
Calendar Anne Kennison Kathryn - Safe travels for family
Tuesdays: Pastor is In- The Nest Coffee Shop 10am - noon Gloria McKeen Kathryn - relief those in chronic pain
Church Office noon- 2:00 pm
Mary Willard Lisa - friend Robert
Mt Mansfield Bible Study 2 pm, begins Oct 2
Norma Strickland Lisa - prayers for her mom, that she may
Thursdays: Church Office noon- 2:00 pm Judy & Diezela feel at ease
Matthew C.
For Lisa who is struggling with own
Mon, 24 Sep: Monday Companions Begins at Eve’s home on Elissa & Leif illness
Brown’s River Road. 7:00 pm. Read Ch. 1& 2
Greg
of Canoeing the Mountains. David J - friend and neighbor Lane who
Paula DeMichele is dealing with multiple losses
Tue, 25 Sep: Pastor-Parish Relations Meeting 7 pm Don Strickland
Compassion for those dealing with
Ellie Uckele addiction
Fri, 28 Sep: Essex Eats Out at EUMC, 5:30 pm Cole Liz: Prayers of thanks to God who
Harley works in mysterious and miraculous
Mon, 1 Oct: Questions of Faith Begins Session One
in the Parlor, 7:00 pm. Gordon Mitchinson ways

Tue, 2 Oct: Mt Mansfield Bible Study Begins 2:00 pm

Sun, 7 Oct: World Communion Sunday

Sat, 14 Oct: All-Church Meeting after worship. art by Jack Baumgartner

16 Oct- 19 Oct: Pastor Mitch is interviewing Pastor Candidates

at the Board of Ordained Ministry. He is available by phone.
Essex Center United Methodist Church
Sun, 20 Oct: Laity Sunday Joshua leads worship essex_umc@comcast.net tel. 878-8304
www.essexumc.com
Ministers: the entire congregation Lay Leader: Joshua Knox
Equipping Pastor: Rev. V. Mitchell Hay
Announcements
Essex Center
cell tel. 881-3268 (feel free to call) mitchellhay@comcast.net
Helping Refugee families: there is a red box in the fellowship Office Manager: Heidi Evans
hall for collecting gently-used preschool-sized clothing, Organ: Kathryn Parker Piano: June Packard
especially winter clothing & coats. Song Leader: Dana Thomas Projection: Sam Evans
Greeters - Nancy Nye United Methodist Church
Ushers - Marilyn Almeida, Barbara Audet, Donna Holmes
23 September 2018 18th Sunday after Pentecost
 Monday Companions Discussion:
 Monday Companions Discussion:
 Monday Companions Discussion:
Canoeing the Mountains
We will meet at Eve's at 7:00 pm this Monday
Last week I preached about a few of the lessons we can learn
from Avram and Sarai’s journeying beyond the land they knew
into an undiscovered country. (Genesis 12) God calls them with
the words Lech lecha!, which one rabbi paraphrases as “Go! Go
into yourself in order to go forth from your country, away from
your relatives and your father’s home. Go to the land that I will
show you.”
Communities of faith in the 21st century feel more than a little
bit like Avram and Sara; we know how how to ‘do’ church in the
context of the mid-20th century, but we also know that the
cultural topography has changed so much that our old ministry
maps seem useless.
For clergy and lay folk who want to do faithful ministry today,
we need some new maps. In Canoeing the Mountains, author
Tod Bolsinger gives us a guidebook to help us navigate in a
challenging and beautiful new land that has no map.
I’ve purchased 20 copies of the book and we’ll begin exploring it
Sept 24th in our Monday Companions Group which will meet on
the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. Please pick up a copy
of Canoeing the Mountains on today and read the first two
chapters before we gather at 7:00 pm at Eve Thorsen’s home.
Here’s a PDF of ch. 1-2:
 Here’s a PDF of ch. 1-2:
 Here’s a PDF of ch. 1-2:
https://www.fuller.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Canoeing-
the-Mountains-ch-1-and-2-courtesy-of-Fuller-Theological-
Seminary-and-IVP.pdf
(I purchasd them for $15 each. List is $22. E-books are
available)
My hope is that we as a church may gain a new vision and
vocabulary for discovering how to be an effective force for God’s
love in the world. Not just to become a more loving community
(as crucially important as that is!) but also (in Bolsinger’s words)
to be a community of people who participate in God's mission to
heal the world by reestablishing God’s loving reign on earth as it
is in heaven.
Eve Thorsen’s home is at 130 Brown’s River Road, just past the
bend where Weed Road intersects. Call Mitch at 881-3268 if you
need more information!
Canoeing the Mountains
We will meet at Eve's at 7:00 pm this Monday
Last week I preached about a few of the lessons we can learn
from Avram and Sarai’s journeying beyond the land they knew
into an undiscovered country. (Genesis 12) God calls them with
the words Lech lecha!, which one rabbi paraphrases as “Go! Go
into yourself in order to go forth from your country, away from
your relatives and your father’s home. Go to the land that I will
show you.”
Communities of faith in the 21st century feel more than a little bit
like Avram and Sara; we know how how to ‘do’ church in the
context of the mid-20th century, but we also know that the
cultural topography has changed so much that our old ministry
maps seem useless.
For clergy and lay folk who want to do faithful ministry today, we
need some new maps. In Canoeing the Mountains, author Tod
Bolsinger gives us a guidebook to help us navigate in a
challenging and beautiful new land that has no map.
I’ve purchased 20 copies of the book and we’ll begin exploring it
Sept 24th in our Monday Companions Group which will meet on
the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. Please pick up a copy
of Canoeing the Mountains on today and read the first two
chapters before we gather at 7:00 pm at Eve Thorsen’s home.
https://www.fuller.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Canoeing-
the-Mountains-ch-1-and-2-courtesy-of-Fuller-Theological-
Seminary-and-IVP.pdf
(I purchasd them for $15 each. List is $22. E-books are
available)
My hope is that we as a church may gain a new vision and
vocabulary for discovering how to be an effective force for God’s
love in the world. Not just to become a more loving community
(as crucially important as that is!) but also (in Bolsinger’s words)
to be a community of people who participate in God's mission to
heal the world by reestablishing God’s loving reign on earth as it
is in heaven.
Eve Thorsen’s home is at 130 Brown’s River Road, just past the
bend where Weed Road intersects. Call Mitch at 881-3268 if you
need more information!
Canoeing the Mountains
We will meet at Eve's at 7:00 pm this Monday
Last week I preached about a few of the lessons we can learn
from Avram and Sarai’s journeying beyond the land they knew
into an undiscovered country. (Genesis 12) God calls them with
the words Lech lecha!, which one rabbi paraphrases as “Go! Go
into yourself in order to go forth from your country, away from
your relatives and your father’s home. Go to the land that I will
show you.”
Communities of faith in the 21st century feel more than a little bit
like Avram and Sara; we know how how to ‘do’ church in the
context of the mid-20th century, but we also know that the
cultural topography has changed so much that our old ministry
maps seem useless.
For clergy and lay folk who want to do faithful ministry today, we
need some new maps. In Canoeing the Mountains, author Tod
Bolsinger gives us a guidebook to help us navigate in a
challenging and beautiful new land that has no map.
I’ve purchased 20 copies of the book and we’ll begin exploring it
Sept 24th in our Monday Companions Group which will meet on
the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. Please pick up a copy
of Canoeing the Mountains on today and read the first two
chapters before we gather at 7:00 pm at Eve Thorsen’s home.
https://www.fuller.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Canoeing-
the-Mountains-ch-1-and-2-courtesy-of-Fuller-Theological-
Seminary-and-IVP.pdf
(I purchasd them for $15 each. List is $22. E-books are
available)
My hope is that we as a church may gain a new vision and
vocabulary for discovering how to be an effective force for God’s
love in the world. Not just to become a more loving community
(as crucially important as that is!) but also (in Bolsinger’s words)
to be a community of people who participate in God's mission to
heal the world by reestablishing God’s loving reign on earth as it
is in heaven.
Eve Thorsen’s home is at 130 Brown’s River Road, just past the
bend where Weed Road intersects. Call Mitch at 881-3268 if you
need more information!
 Odd Monday Group:
 Odd Monday Group:
 Odd Monday Group:
Living the Questions 2.0
We'll gather in the Parlor at 7:00 pm on Monday, Oct. 1
-Does it seems sometimes that the public face of Christianity has
been kidnapped by voices of intolerance and bigotry?
-Are you attracted to Jesus, but repelled by what some churches
do in his name?
-Have you been away from church for a while and your Sunday
School lessons don't help you navigate the complexities of a
post-modern world?
-Are you beginning to explore your own faith journey and want
some theological guidance along the way?
-Are you flummoxed when someone asks a question like, "So
what do you believe anyway?"
You are not alone!!
I'm excited by a DVD curriculum called Living the Questions
2.0. which seeks not to provide easy answers, but to be a resource
for people who are in the midst of a life-long conversation about
the mysteries of faith and life. The videos feature interviews
with theologians, activists, and scholars about themes of
scripture, lived faith, spirituality, and contemporary social
issues. The interviews and workbook are a springboard to
informed discussion by the folk in the small group. (The "2.0"
inthe title means a number of much-needed newer, younger, and
more diverse voices have been added to the distinguished pastors
and scholars from the decade-old original version.)
If you would like a safe space to explore, question, and
wonder about how it is we live as as followers of Jesus in the
21st century, come join the Odd Monday Living the Questions
small group!
We'll meet for the first time in the upstairs Parlor at Essex UMC
at 7 pm on Monday, Oct 1. We'll discuss future possible meeting
places then. We will meet on odd (first and third) Mondays
through the end of Advent.
Call Mitch at 881-3268 if you need more information.
Living the Questions 2.0
We'll gather in the Parlor at 7:00 pm on Monday, Oct. 1
-Does it seems sometimes that the public face of Christianity has
been kidnapped by voices of intolerance and bigotry?
-Are you attracted to Jesus, but repelled by what some churches
do in his name?
-Have you been away from church for a while and your Sunday
School lessons don't help you navigate the complexities of a post-
modern world?
-Are you beginning to explore your own faith journey and want
some theological guidance along the way?
-Are you flummoxed when someone asks a question like, "So
what do you believe anyway?"
You are not alone!!
I'm excited by a DVD curriculum called Living the Questions
2.0. which seeks not to provide easy answers, but to be a resource
for people who are in the midst of a life-long conversation about
the mysteries of faith and life. The videos feature interviews with
theologians, activists, and scholars about themes of scripture,
lived faith, spirituality, and contemporary social issues. The
interviews and workbook are a springboard to informed
discussion by the folk in the small group. (The "2.0" inthe title
means a number of much-needed newer, younger, and more
diverse voices have been added to the distinguished pastors and
scholars from the decade-old original version.)
If you would like a safe space to explore, question, and
wonder about how it is we live as as followers of Jesus in the
21st century, come join the Odd Monday Living the Questions
small group!
We'll meet for the first time in the upstairs Parlor at Essex UMC
at 7 pm on Monday, Oct 1. We'll discuss future possible meeting
places then. We will meet on odd (first and third) Mondays
through the end of Advent.
Call Mitch at 881-3268 if you need more information.
Living the Questions 2.0
We'll gather in the Parlor at 7:00 pm on Monday, Oct. 1
-Does it seems sometimes that the public face of Christianity has
been kidnapped by voices of intolerance and bigotry?
-Are you attracted to Jesus, but repelled by what some churches
do in his name?
-Have you been away from church for a while and your Sunday
School lessons don't help you navigate the complexities of a post-
modern world?
-Are you beginning to explore your own faith journey and want
some theological guidance along the way?
-Are you flummoxed when someone asks a question like, "So
what do you believe anyway?"
You are not alone!!
I'm excited by a DVD curriculum called Living the Questions
2.0. which seeks not to provide easy answers, but to be a resource
for people who are in the midst of a life-long conversation about
the mysteries of faith and life. The videos feature interviews with
theologians, activists, and scholars about themes of scripture,
lived faith, spirituality, and contemporary social issues. The
interviews and workbook are a springboard to informed
discussion by the folk in the small group. (The "2.0" inthe title
means a number of much-needed newer, younger, and more
diverse voices have been added to the distinguished pastors and
scholars from the decade-old original version.)
If you would like a safe space to explore, question, and
wonder about how it is we live as as followers of Jesus in the
21st century, come join the Odd Monday Living the Questions
small group!
We'll meet for the first time in the upstairs Parlor at Essex UMC
at 7 pm on Monday, Oct 1. We'll discuss future possible meeting
places then. We will meet on odd (first and third) Mondays
through the end of Advent.
Call Mitch at 881-3268 if you need more information.