Worship and Music Team
Team Purpose: To oversee and coordinate all aspects of United Presbyterian Church’s worship services.
Our congregation has worshiped both in-person and online throughout this year. As of May 14th, 2023, we have made mask-wearing optional, as the Covid pandemic has waned. We have discovered that there is still a healthy online presence, even though many of us have come back to worship in the sanctuary. UPC will continue to provide this hybrid approach as it suits the needs of many of us, and try to build ways for all of us to connect in our corporate worship. We have discovered, too, through the use of all of our technology, the added benefit of being able to bring people to the pulpit from afar, increasing our awareness of the wider world and its issues.
UPC offers YouTube viewing, the Zoom Room, the 9:30am Prayer Time, and our after-service Coffee Hour. We will continue to include as many people as possible from our congregation in our worship services through musical offerings, as liturgists, and as participants in the services.
Worship Highlights of June 2022 – May 2023
Pentecost, June 5th: We celebrated a different tradition of the “quiet Pentecost”, as told in the Gospel of John. It is not a story revealed with “tongues” and “fire” imagery, as in book of Acts, but rather as “breath” to the body of Christ. It is the quiet activity of the Spirit that works secretly in our presence. Austin Shadduck’s musical offering on the shakuhachi was a wonderful expression of the quiet nature of this theme.
Juneteenth, June 19th: Our worship on this day, which is the day of delayed emancipation for Black Americans, acknowledged the continuing wounds of racism in our nation. We recommitted ourselves anew to standing up against the oppression of people everywhere.
Worship, Annual Congregational Meeting, and Picnic, June 26th: We enjoyed hearing the children of our church playing handchimes during the last hymn of our worship. A joyous time was had by all at the picnic, as we shared our stories, having come through the worst of the pandemic.
Summer 2022:
Over the course of the summer, we were so happy to celebrate 7 baptisms! Owen Westcott, Declan Jones, Charlotte Livingston, Elinor Hugenbruch, Khiro & Tyson Brunson, and Zander Rwabukwisi were baptized.
July 10th – Dr. Douglas Jones, a member of our congregation, reflected on “Certainty and Authenticity in Religion”.
July 17th–August 28th – Pastor Kimberly and Pastor Becky did a worship series on “The Seven Marks of Vital Congregations”.
September 4th–October 9th: We celebrated the “Season of Creation”.
Prayers, music, and reflections from the global church, with a South African folk song, “Senzeni Na? (“What Have We Done?”), used as a weekly prayer response, and a land acknowledgement which we offered to the Onondaga nation.
A celebration of the waters of the earth on September 11th.
Elder Chris Burger, a member of our congregation, reflected on “Care of Creation” on September 18th.
We had a Blessing of the Animals, via projected photos, and Potluck Picnic on September 25th.
A celebration of the entire living family on Earth, and Worldwide Communion on October 2nd.
On October 9th, our congregation reflected on the ways we can respond to our “Season of Creation” series, with 4 circles of care (care for creation, congregation, community, and the wider world). We set up stations around the church and used sticky notes to write our responses, inviting our online viewers to post in the live chat or send us a message via email or Facebook.
October 16th: Victoria Barics, a UPC vocalist, reflected on her recent trip to Israel.
November, 6th, Feast of All Saints/Bouquet of Remembrance Sunday: We continued our tradition of remembering those who had died this year and in the past with flowers for a big bouquet in the front of the sanctuary.
November 13th: Dr. Elikem Nyamuame, a member of our congregation, reflected on the work of our sister congregation in Whuti-Srogboe, Ghana.
November 27th: We began the Advent season, with the theme “From Generation to Generation”, inviting people to decorate the church with some of their favorite Christmas memorabilia and to share their memories of past Christmas times throughout the season of Advent.
December 24th, Christmas Eve, 4:00 pm: We had a hybrid Christmas service at 4 pm. It was a lovely service of readings, carols, and candlelight! The festive musical offerings were from the UPC choir, the United Ringers handbell choir, the Nyamuame family with a traditional Ghanaian carol, and “Away in a Manger” with trumpeter Sara Lieberman, trombonist Nate Raboy, organist Becky Mebert, and members of the United Ringers accompanying on handchimes.
December 25th (Christmas Sunday) and January 1st: We had online, pre-recorded services only. Christmas Sunday was a service of beautiful musical offerings, from our congregation, and New Year’s Sunday was one of readings and meditative offerings.
January 8th (Epiphany) – February 19th: Pastor Kimberly began preaching a series on the Gospel of Matthew, which included stories that don’t usually make it into the lectionary.
February 12th: In Sunday worship, we had Dave Ruston, from our congregation, and Gail Cocourek, of the Tuscon Samaritans and Casa de la Esperanza, talk about their mission and work in the Southwest U.S., aiding refugees.
February 22nd, Ash Wednesday, 12:30pm and 6pm: We worshipped both in the sanctuary and streaming on YouTube. The congregation was invited to participate in a pruning and planting meditation. The pastors offered “Ashes To Go” at the university.
On Ash Wednesday, Pastors Kimberly & Becky were joined by Rev. Alicia Dixon-Garrard to offer “Ashes To Go” at Binghamton University.
February 26th – March 26th: For the Season of Lent, Pastor Kimberly preached a series on Paul’s Letter to the Romans.
April 2nd, Palm/Passion Sunday: We returned to the Gospel of Matthew for our reading. Matthew included the cutting of branches and the cloaks and garments on the road, so we used the tradition of palms and repeated the coat and linens drive that we did the previous year.
April 6th, Maundy Thursday, 7pm: We gathered in the sanctuary for a service of communion and candles.
April 9th, Easter: We had a joyous service together, with communion, wonderful music from our UPC choir and United Ringers handbell choir, and Sending Music with Sara Lieberman on the trumpet. The children exited the service to enjoy their annual Easter Egg hunt out on the front lawn.
April 16th: Rev. Dr. Andrew Stehlik, a former West Presbyterian minister, was the guest preacher, reflecting in his sermon, “Samaritan Water of life” on his recent trip to the Tuscon Samaritans in the southwest U.S. and his work there.
April 23rd through the end of May: Pastor Kimberly resumed preaching from the Gospel of Matthew, with the intent to cover one chapter per week through the end of the church year in November.
Thank you from the Worship Team! We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our pastors, musical directors, musicians, choir, and UPC’s wonderful tech team: Scott Kindig, Ken Mebert, Sara Lieberman, Chris Burger, Andy Chadwick, Aeden Hickey, Emily Hugenbruch, Matt Johnson, and Shawn Landon. Worship services would not have been the quality they were without their skills and their ability to change with UPC’s needs!
Musicians for worship services: Music Coordinator Becky Mebert has secured many talented people from our congregation and community over the course of 2022–2023. Among them have been: Our wonderful choir, and choir section leaders — Starletta Noll-Long, Victoria Barics, Ernest Backus, and Riya Bolander; UPC’s United Ringers Handbell Choir; musical offerings by children in our congregation (such as children’s handchimes); Andy Chadwick (organ, piano); Ian Chung (piano); Claude Cornwall (piano); Kailey Labrecque (flute); Sara Lieberman (trumpet); Elikem Nyamuame (drums) & his family (vocals); Robert Manners (vocals); Ken Mebert (vocals); Lana Ogden (recorder); Phil Westcott (saxophone); Aimée Backus (flute, soprano vocals, & Choir Director), Austin Shadduck (shakuhachi flute, vocals, & Bell Choir Director), and Becky Mebert (piano, organ); with additional participation through pre-recorded videos provided by the Whuti-Srogboe Evangelical Presbyterian Church congregation, Andrew Beaty, David Berti, Cathy Ciganek, Margaret Davis, Eleanor Hough, Sharon Landon, Justin Miller, Julia Naldjian, Peggy Sniezek, Alex & Jackie Westcott, and Becky, Emma, & Scott Kindig.
Current Worship & Music Team Members: Suzie Northrop Raboy, chair; Andy Chadwick, Margaret Davis, Sarah Willis; Music Coordinator Becky Mebert, Office & Technology Coordinator Scott Kindig, Pastor Kimberly Chastain, Pastor Becky Kindig.