October 1, 2017

St. James United Church of Christ
Order of Worship on Sunday, October 1st, 2017
World Communion Sunday

For Meditation and Reflection:
As surely as we belong to the universe, we belong together. We join here to transcend the isolated self. To reconnect, to know ourselves to be at home, here on earth, under the stars, linked with each other.
Let us take a moment now to settle into the silence. Hear and feel your quiet breathing. Hear and feel the quiet of this place and this community of people. In this quiet hour may our spirits be renewed. In this gathering of old and new friends may our minds be open to new truth, and our hearts be receptive to love, as we give thanks for this life we are blessed to share.

Welcome and Announcements – A warm welcome is extended to all. Your presence both enriches us and this time of celebration together.

Call to Worship
Pastor: May we greet one another with open hearts and minds;
People: inspire each other to consider new questions
Pastor: seek deeper meaning;
People: and cultivate both wisdom and compassion.
Pastor: May this time together empower us to take some steps
People: so all our living is transforming
All: and the yearning of our hearts become reality

Opening Hymn: #516 – O Grant Us, God, A Little Space

Opening Prayer:

As we gather in the silence of this sacred place, let us become aware we are in a sustaining, life-giving Presence, active in our universe since the first moment of its existence.
(Silence)
We marvel at life. We celebrate ourselves as a life-form giving the source of all that is, a unique expression in our awareness, in our intelligence, and in our ability to communicate. Enfolded in this Presence may we realize that the world of the Spirit and the world of the body do not exist alongside one another but within one another. Human like us Jesus discerned where this Presence is found: in the everyday, in human interaction, in feeding, in caring, in clothing, in visiting, in sharing, in forgiving, in being neighbor. We remember his total commitment to living fully and loving totally. May we allow his life and teaching to motivate all that we do so that what we profess to have seen in his life and heard in his teaching might be evident in our living and loving. May God-in-us find generous and courageous expression in our words and actions as we undertake to make the reign of God evident in our community. May it be so. Amen.

Scripture Readings: John 13: 21-30, John 17: 18-23

Sermon by Rev. Samantha Tuttle –
“What a Tuning Fork Can Teach Us About Holy Communion”

Responsive Sharing

The Offerings and Offertory Music

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Lord’s Prayer (Traditional, with “debts”)

Communion Hymn: #562 – Take My Gifts

Holy Communion: (please see handout)

Closing Hymn: #288 – Let It Breathe On Me

Blessing and Sending May God’s breath stream within you.
May God’s breath renew you.
May God’s breath invigorate you.
Walk with confidence into this day.
Go in Peace.

Sharing the Peace as we go…….And we hope you can join us for post-worship coffee and conversation in Fellowship Hall.

Announcements:

We will continue to enjoy the bread we share today during communion for our potluck lunch. Cheryl Conrad left us a large jug of vegetable-beef soup, leftover from Oktoberfest, which will be the perfect accompaniment to our “bread buffet.” Many thanks and blessings to all those who donated their time and/or food to make our “German Kitchen” at St. James a great success during Oktoberfest this year. We very much enjoyed and appreciated our partnership with Roland’s congregation in re-opening this long-standing tradition.

We debuted our new St. James t-shirts at Oktoberfest, which were worn by most of our workers at that event. These beautiful t-shirts are available to all of our members, (with a suggested, but not required, donation of $20.00 per shirt) and are available for sale at that price to those who are friends of St. James. All sizes are currently available.

Sunday, October 8th – Our Worship Leader will be the Rev. Michael Lyle, and his sermon topic will be “On Nazareth”. The Church Council will hold its regular, monthly meeting in Fellowship Hall at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome to attend.

Sunday, October 15th – Our Worship leader will be the Rev. Samantha Tuttle. As of now, Jammin’ at James is on this evening! Stay tuned for details.

Sunday, October 22nd – Our Worship leader will be Mark Dewey.

FOR OUR VISITORS: Since the retirement of our pastor in January, we at St. James have been on a journey of discernment ……re-evaluating our worship and our direction and mission as a congregation. During this process, we have welcomed a number of visiting ministers and speakers to share their messages of faith and service from our pulpit; several of these have become active friends of St. James. We have had open forums to discuss the needs of the congregation and the community. We plan to continue this process through this calendar year, although we are calling more often on those pastors whose messages fit most closely with our values. We always welcome input from visitors and those who are new to our community. WELCOME !