Sunday Bulletin
Celebration Service
Third Sunday in Lent
March 8, 2026 9:30 am
Prelude “Variations on Hymn for Lent” Dale Wood
Introit “As Moses lifted up the serpent”
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship Lay Leaders: Jena Anthony
In this season of Lent, we make our way to the cross.
We remember the steps that led Christ there: betrayal and fear,
but also trust in God, and love for humanity.
In this season of Lent, as we make our way to the cross, we strive to
follow Christ’s example: to admit betrayal and fear that are part of life,
To embrace trust in God and love for humanity.
So that we may make our journey, and let us worship God.
Hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” #86
Lenten Prayer of Confession
God of living water, you call us to come and drink.
So why do we sit here and complain that there is not enough water?
You call us to strike the rocks of our world and let your living water flow.
But we do not trust enough that the spring is there. We want to find
the water on our own, using our own wisdom.
You call us to share the water of life with the world around us.
But we believe that the water is limited, not abundant, and so we
are tempted to save it for ourselves.
For all the times we turn away from your water, for all the times we sully
the water by misusing it, for all the times we let others go thirsty instead of
offering a drink,
Forgive us we pray.
…time of silent prayer…
The water of life flows with abundance to fill us with hope, to cleanse us of
our guilt, to float us to a new life. Washed in the living water, we are forgiven
and set free to live abundant life.
Thanks and praise to God. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Message
Reading Psalm 95
O Come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his
hands have formed.
O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before
the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and
the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden
your hearts, as at Mer’ieah, as on the day at Mas’sah in the
wilderness,
when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof,
though they have seen my work.
For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a
people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my
ways.”
Therefore in my anger I swore, “They shall not enter my
rest.”
The Gloria Patri #35
Anthem “God Is a Spirit” Kopylow
Prayers of the People
Hymn “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” #73
Reading John 4:5-42
Message “Thirsty Voices” Rev. Dan Haugh
Offering
Offertory “Jesus, Priceless Treasure” Flor Peeters
Doxology* #46
Offertory Prayer*
Hymn “Just as I am, Without One Plea” #665
Benediction
Closing “May the Grace of God Attend Us”
Postlude “When We Are in Deepest Need” J.S. Bach
Calendar of Events
Monday, 3/9 Noon AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, 3/10 Noon, Lenton Prayer Session, Pastor Dan’s office
or Zoom- see Quest or website for link
7:30 AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, 3/11 Noon AA meeting in Fellowship Hall
5:30 Lenten Simple Soup Supper at Blessed
Sacrament
5:30 Choir Rehearsal in Organ Loft
Thursday, 3/12 3:15 Cherub Choir
4:00 Youth Choir
Happy Birthday this week to:
Julie Anne Glowac today, 3/8
William Blauvelt and Eleanor Meckert on 3/9
John DeRienzo, Zoe James, and Courtney Percy on 3/12
Noah Labor, Everett Thomas, and Margaret Williams on 3/14
Happy Anniversary this week to:
Roland and Sandy Godin on 3/13
Announcements
The ushers today are Dave and Nan Myers. Thank you for helping today.
Lenten Prayer Sessions Begin March 10th!
Pastor Dan invites you to an online Lenten lectionary prayer session on Tuesdays at 12:00 noon from March 10 through March 31
The link can be found in the Quest or online Here. Email Pastor Dan if you have any questions. dan@stowechurch.org
Congregational Financial Meeting Sunday, March 22nd | Immediately Following Worship
Please join us in Fellowship Hall for an important congregational conversation focused on understanding our finances — where we stand today and where we are headed together. We had some very helpful feedback at the Congregation meeting, we listened - THANK YOU - and this meeting is intended as follow up.
We will review the financials (income statements and balance sheets) of the SCC Endowment Fund and the 2026 YTD, plus an update on the 2026 Stewardship campaign and the Steeple Fund Capital Campaign.
Grounded in our commitment to complete transparency and faithful oversight, we will share comprehensive and fully updated financial reports. This presentation will provide greater detail and clarity beyond what was shared at our Annual Meeting, ensuring that every member has a clear and accurate view of our church’s financial position.
As we look ahead, we do so with purpose — building forward together, committed to resources and renewal, and thoughtfully funding the future of SCC.
Come, listen, review the presentation materials, and be part of this important conversation as we move forward in faith, unity, and confidence. If you cannot attend in person please let us know and we will send a zoom link.
With Grace & Peace, The Executive and Finance Teams
Stewardship Update
As of March 5, 2026 we have received 84 pledges for a total of $273.964. Our goal is $325,000, and we are now at 84% of our goal. Sincere thanks to all of you who have already pledged. There are pledge cards on the table in the Narthex. Sincere thanks, Nancy Money, Stewardship Chair
Pastor Dan invites you on a journey of finding God in the world around us, and that surrounds us each day.
Lent is 40 days beginning on Ash Wednesday, leading to Easter. Throughout the centuries, Christians have set aside time to fast, pray, read, reflect, serve, and give with intentionality. We prepare our hearts for a season of renewal and rebirth. This year, we are encouraging the following Lenten daily devotional as a guide along the way. It is free to download, and each daily reflection is only a few minutes to read. However, if possible, please include a few minutes of silence. The link for this download is available on our website Here and in the Quest.
We are actively looking to hire a Nursery Care Coordinator. If you or if anyone you know might be interested, you can reply to the office or have them get in touch with Oana or Taryn, that would be wonderful! It's $25 per hour, for about 90 minutes of work/ time on a Sunday morning. Any loving and eligible high school students and adults are all welcome and encouraged to apply!
Lenten Simple Soup Suppers. Every Wednesday during Lent, area churches are hosting Simple Soup Suppers like St. John’s in the Mountains use to do.
They will begin at 5:30 pm. March 11th will be at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. March 18th will be at Jewish Community of Greater Stowe. March 25th will be here, Stowe Community Church. Suggested donations of $8.00/adult and $5.00/child. All donations go directly to Lamoille Community Food Share.
Musical Notes by Karen Miller
Prelude: The tune that Dale Wood used for his "Variations on a Hymn for Lent" is from The Sacred Harp, published in 1859. This is a collection of folk melodies from the British Isles and brought to American shores by early Baptist settlers. Their original texts were often old love songs and ballads. Now, many have sacred texts and are included in various hymnals. The text now associated with this tune starts "Alas! and did my Savior bleed, and did my Savior die? Would he devote that sacred Head for sinners such as I?" This piece has four variations. The soprano line carries the melody, except for the second variation where the tenor states the tune.
Anthem: "God is a Spirit" is a work by Russian composer Alexander Kopylow (1854-1911) that takes its text from John 4: 24 and reads:
God is a spirit, and they who worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
For He seeketh such to worship Him. Amen.
For the hour cometh when the true worshippers shall worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Offertory: The melody to the German hymn "Jesu, Meine Freude" (Jesus, Priceless Treasure) was written by Johann Cruger (1598-1662). He studied music and theology and became a cantor at St. Nicolas Cathedral in Berlin where he organized and directed the choir. He also taught at the Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster. Beginning in 1644 he edited the first editions of Praxis Pietatis Melica ("the practice of piety through melody") which became an important 17th century contribution to Lutheran hymnody. He composed masses, motets, concertos, and hymn tunes. In Flor Peeters' slow and quiet organ piece based on this Cruger melody the tune remains in the soprano line.
Postlude: "Wenn wir in hochsten Noten sein" (When in the Hour of Utmost Need) is an old German chorale tune attributed to Louis Bourgeous and written in 1547. Bourgeous (1510-1561) was born in Paris, but became a follower of John Calvin and moved to Geneva in 1541. He became cantor and choirmaster there at St. Peter's Church. Calvin appointed him as musical editor of the Genevan Psalter. He collected suitable melodies for the psalms using German and French secular sources and some were probably original tunes. J. S. Bach used this tune to create a short chorale prelude in his Orgelbuchlein. The soprano carries the melody line in a highly ornamented style with harmonic support from the other three voices.