Worship Bulletin – October 26, 2025

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC

WELCOME TO OLDTOWN

North Attleborough, MA   •   October 26, 2025

Ministers: ALL of our Members and Friends
Pastor & Teacher: The Rev. Kelly Thibeault

Welcome to the Oldtown Church!

We are so glad that you have chosen to worship with us today. We invite you to join in on the bold print in the bulletin and to stand as you are able any time you see a ⇑. The restrooms are out the back door of the sanctuary to the right, as is a little space in case your little one needs a walkabout. Here in Oldtown, we are all about being curious, so don’t be afraid to ask questions, and please join us for fellowship with coffee and snacks after worship!
Finally, as a way of honoring our time together and truly loving our neighbor, we ask that you please silence your phone or, better yet, turn it off, allowing yourself to be truly present in worship.

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PRELUDE

GATHERING MUSIC

WELCOME / WORSHIP WAYS

HOW’S YOUR HEART?

A TIME FOR LETTING GO

OPENING PRAYER

CALL TO WORSHIP
All are welcome,
For we are all made in the image of God.
All are welcome,
For each of us are unique, each special.
All are welcome,
For we are all brothers & sisters on a journey of faith.
Let us worship God together
Knowing that all are invited and all are loved!

⇑ HYMN C#464–”God of Grace and God of Glory”

TIME OF SHARING (C#323, v.1)
Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life;
Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life.
Words of life and beauty, teach me faith and duty;
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life,
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.

THE SHARING OF WONDERFUL WORDS

WONDERFUL WORDS FROM THE WORLD
Valerie Kaur
“Revolutionary Love calls us to stand up and protect anyone who is in harm’s way. Black people, Brown people, Indigenous people, LGBTQ people, disabled people, women and girls, poor people, immigrants, and refugees. We are called to see one another as brothers and sisters and siblings – even those who hurt us.”
from “Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints” by Daneen Ackers

WONDERFUL WORDS FROM THE PSALMS
Psalm 146:3-8a (OT 715)
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day, their plans perish. Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

WONDERFUL WORDS FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
Acts 2:47b (NT 146)
And day by day, the Lord added to their number of those who were being saved.

SERMON: “Faith in Action”

PREPARING OURSELVES FOR PRAYER (C#306)
Hear our prayer, O Lord, hear our prayer, O Lord,
Incline Thine ear to us, and grant us thy peace.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and 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, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
CHORAL RESPONSE

OFFERING OF OUR GIFTS
GIFT OF MUSIC
⇑ DOXOLOGY (C#47)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God, all creatures here below.
Praise God above, Ye heavenly host.
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost! Amen.
⇑ PRAYER OF DEDICATION

LOVE OF THE CHURCH

⇑ SENDING HYMN C#526–”The Gift of Love”

HOW’S YOUR HEART?

⇑ BENEDICTION

⇑ BENEDICTION RESPONSE (C#583)
Lead me, guide me, along the way,
Lord, if you lead me, I cannot stray
Lord, let me walk each day with thee,
Lead me, oh Lord, lead me. (repeat)

POSTLUDE

*** Our worship has ended; let our service begin! ***

OLDTOWN CALENDAR
Sun October 26: Household Huddle 9am
 ~ Worship 10am
Wed October 29: Second Serving Thrift Shop 9am-noon
 ~ Coffee Connection 10am-noon
 ~ NOOMA Night 7pm
Sat November 1: Second Serving Thrift Shop 9am-noon
Sun November 2: Household Huddle 9am
 ~ Worship 10am w/Communion – All Saints Sunday
Check our Online Calendar for even more Oldtown, denominational, and local events, free webinars, and other resources!! Have something you’d like added to the calendar? Email calendar@oldtownucc.org with all the information, and we’ll get it posted.

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OLDTOWN PRAYER LIST

Edi, Lynn, Tim, Mark, Cyndy, Joan, Justine & Nolan, Dana, the Miranda & K family, Jan & Kylie, Steven, Tegan, Ken, Lynne, Kaye, Karen, Samantha, Robin, Donna, Winnie, Carl, Michael, Sue C., Laura, Jim, Paul, Daniel, Nancy, Paul L, Jake, Muriel, Michelle, Joe, Bob, Gloria, Barry, Magda, Erik, Hailey & Bryce, Al, Denise, Rhonda, Jake, Cindi, Henry, Roxanne, Paul Garvey & family, Val, Myrtle, Deane, Rusty, Gianna, Kelsey & Nick, Jayne, John, Kait & Dom, Bill, Autumn, Judy, Kayla, Edie, Renee, Perilene, Newell Family, Paul, Diane, Carol, John, Liesel, Robert, the friends and family of Matthew Wilson.
To add a name to the list, email Pastor Kelly at PastorKelly@Oldtownucc.org, text 508-695-1713, or drop a note in the offering plate.

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OLDTOWN UPDATE EMAIL

Do you get our Friday Email, aka “The Oldtown Update”? Our Oldtown Update is like a weekly newsletter that lets everyone know what is going on in Oldtown. If you do not receive it and would like to, drop a note in the offering with your email address or let Pastor Kelly know. Subscribe to our Friday Email Updates online, or let Pastor Kelly know your email address.

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STEWARDSHIP CORNER

Weekly Giving

• Last week, we welcomed 44 people to worship with us. Our total giving to the church last week was $1,002.78, which is $420.30 less than expected.
• So far, this year’s congregational giving has been $6,500 more than expected. Keep up the great work!!

Jesus teaches us through His actions as much, if not more than, through His words. Time after time, Jesus welcomes those who have been judged by society, marginalized, oppressed, or discarded as “less than” by a world that is much more eager to judge than to help. As humans, we judge others too easily without knowing the paths they have walked. We fail to see them as individuals rather than stereotypes, and quite often, that judgment far too easily leads to fear, animosity, and hatred. Jesus shows us a better way and calls us to walk in it.

“That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love.”
   ~ Rose Tico, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us.
   ~ 1 John 4:17-19 (NRSVUE) (emphasis added)

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First Congregational Church, UCC of North Attleborough
(Oldtown Church)
675 Old Post Road, North Attleborough, MA 02760
508-695-1713
Pastor Kelly’s email: PastorKelly@oldtownucc.org
Church Email: church@oldtownucc.org
Website: www.oldtownucc.org
YouTube: www.youtube.com/oldtownucc
Facebook: www.facebook.com/oldtownucc
Subscribe to our Friday Email Updates
Learn more about our denomination: www.ucc.org