Today’s service will be held indoors in the sanctuary as an in-person service and also live streamed at this link.  Click on “live” for the live stream.  Join us!   

************

First Sunday in Lent

Today is the first Sunday in Lent AND the first One Great Hour of Sharing during Lent.  Please wear your blue PDA shirt or any blue clothing item.  

***********************************************************************

Gathering Music                                    Polly Dunford                                                                                          

Welcome and Announcements        Bonnie Marsden                               

Call to Worship

Leader:  Welcome this day to the beginning of a journey.

People:  Where will this journey take us?

Leader:  It will take you to the Cross of Christ and beyond.

People:  How much time do we have to get ready?

Leader:  The time is now at hand for this journey.

People:  Help us to be ready for this, O Lord. AMEN.

Opening Hymn                 “Morning Has Broken”                                 Hymnal #664                                     Words by Eleanor Farjeon; Music is a Gaelic melody

1)  Morning has broken like the first morning; blackbird has spoken like the first bird.

Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them, springing fresh

from the Word!

2)  Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven, like the first dewfall on the first grass.

Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, sprung in completeness where God’s   feet pass.

3)  Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning, born of the one light Eden saw play!

Praise with elation; praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day!

Scripture Lesson

Sermon                                                     Rev. Tricia G. Lytle

Joys and Concerns

Prayers of the People 

Closing Hymn and Offertory            “Jesus, Tempted in the Desert”                 Handout

Lyrics by Herman Stuempfle, Jr., Hymn Tune Beach Spring

1) Jesus, tempted in the desert, lonely, hungry, filled with dread:

“Use your power,” the tempter tells him; “Turn those barren rocks to bread!”

“Not alone by bread,” he answers, “Can the human heart be filled.

Only by the Word that calls us is our deepest thunder stilled!”

2) Jesus, tempted at the temple high above its ancient wall:

“Throw yourself from lofty turret; angels wait to break your fall!”

Jesus shuns such empty marvels, feats that fickle crowds request:

“God whose grace protects, preserves us, we must never vainly test.”

3) Jesus tempted on the mountain by the lure of vast domain:

“Fall before me!  Be my servant!  Glory, fame, you're sure to gain!”

Jesus sees the dazzling vision, turns his eyes another way:

“God alone deserves our homage!  God alone will I obey!”

4) When we face temptation's power, lonely, struggling, filled with dread,

Christ, who knew the tempter's hour, come and be our living bread.

By your grace protect, preserve us lest we fall your trust betray.

Yours, above all other voices, be the Word we hear, obey.

Benediction

Congregational  Business

2026 NACCP Budget  —  Tom Wright

The Year in Review  —  Diane Lee

Introduction to NACCP Teams  —  Laurie Gentry

NACCP TEAMS; Session and Committee Chairmen

Member Signups

Discussion 

Shalom  (meaning - “May you be well and whole and in communion with all creation.”)

Shalom, my friends, Shalom, my friends, Shalom, Shalom.

Till we meet again, Till we meet again, Shalom, Shalom.                       *************************************************************************************

It is with sadness to share the news of Bud Flier’s passing. The NACCP family sends its love and condolences to Bud’s family and friends.  Howard "Bud" Weldon Flier II, born January 2, 1943, in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in the Lake of the Ozarks, passed away on February 14, 2026.

A celebration of life will be held on March 7, 2026, at North Anderson Community Church, Presbyterian.  Receiving of friends will start at 1:00 with the service beginning at 1:30.  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the church.  Foggie-Holloway Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Calendar of Service -

March 1 - Dave Johnson

March 8 - Rev. Nancy Blakely, Communion, Session meets

March 15 - Rev. Shelley Chapman

March 22 - PFLAG Speakers

March 29 - (Palm Sunday)  Dave Johnson  

******************  

Mark your calendars! The 2026 celebration of Black History Month is hosted by First Baptist Church in Pendleton on Thursday, February 26, at 7:00 PM.  This event is part of the National African American Read-In for 2026.  You can learn more about the National Event here: https://ncte.org/get-involved/african-american-read-in/.

Cassie Owens Moore is a wonderful Speaker/Storyteller (and Reader!) who will make the evening enjoyable.  See you there!

******************

The next Meet & Eat gathering will be on Wednesday, March 4, at 5:30 pm at Tipsy Tavern.  The address is 4300 SC Highway 81.

******************

The next Campus Edge Concert (CEC) at Saint Andrew Catholic Church will take place on Sunday, March 22, at 3:00.  The FREE concert will be presented by Petrie Winds, a faculty quintet in residence at Converse College in Spartanburg.  This woodwind quintet plays both classical and contemporary arrangements.  Saint Andrew's Church in Clemson is located at 209 Sloan St. in downtown Clemson and has plenty of free parking.

******************  

A Free Shred Day event in Anderson is scheduled for April 25, 2026, from 8 am to 12 pm.  It is hosted by Anderson County Solid Waste & Recycling at 1428 Pearman Dairy Road and allows residents to securely dispose of sensitive documents with a limit of 5 boxes or bags.

****************

Volunteers needed:  Consider giving a small amount of time to one of our groups using our church building.  1)  Every Saturday morning, Al-Anon meets at 9:30-10:30.  They need someone to unlock and lock the building.  You’re welcome to sit in with the group too.  2)  PFLAG meets on the 2nd Thursday every month at 7:00 pm.  They need the same unlocking service, and you’re welcome to sit in with their meeting too.

*****************

Lost item:  Sharon Fowler has lost a dark blue lunchbox size cooler with a National Wildlife Federation logo on it.  It contained a blue ice block.  Please return if you picked it up. Thanks.

*******************

Bible Study meets on Mondays at 6:30 pm through Zoom.  The topic is The Origins of Christianity as a historical and theological study.  If you’d like to be added to the Zoom invite list, contact Cynthia at cynthiakwarner@mac.com.

*********************

Al-Anon meets in the church building on Saturdays from 9:30-10:30.  Volunteers have been asked to open and close the building for them.

*****************

Please remember to donate non-perishable food items to AIM (Anderson Interfaith Ministries).  An extra item when you shop is a great help to others in our community.

**********************
Remember in prayer:  Family and Friends of Bud Flier; Cierra Donnelly; Libby and Aaron Riggins Pennington; Jay Lyn Martin and Jerry Meehan; Mary Alice Mundy; Latha Semones; Immigrant families; Victims of all violence, oppression, and injustice; People of the World in ALL walks of life and strife.