Sunday, October 28, 2018
Worship Led by Reverend Dr. Michael Lyle
For Meditation and Reflection:
Like the majority of humankind I don’t know much about wholeness at first hand. It is something that, at most – like Abraham and Sarah and Moses and the rest of them – I have every once in a while seen and greeted from afar, as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews puts it, but that is about all. I like to believe that in a disorganized way it is what I am journeying toward, but the most I have to show for my pains is an occasional glimpse of it in certain people who had clay feet more or less like the rest of us but who struck me as being at least a good deal wholer than I have ever managed to become myself.
(Frederick Buechner, The Longing for Home)
Welcome and Announcements
Opening Prayer (Pastor)
Responsive Call to Worship (Traditional Monastic Liturgy)
Pastor: We wait for the word of the Lord as we wait for the rains.
People: and our God shall come down upon us like gentle dew.
Pastor: The hills and the mountains will be singing praise to God.
People: Every tree in the forest will be clapping its hands.
The Lord will come and rule for ever. Alleluia.
Hymn #1 Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Prayer for Illumination (Pastor)
Today’s Scripture Reading Mark 10:46-52
Sermon Blind Long Enough (Mike Lyle)
Sunday, October 21, 2018
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
For Meditation and Reflection
“We live in the Age of the Higher Brain, the cerebral cortex that has grown enormously over the last few millennia, overshadowing the ancient, instinctive lower brain. The cortex is often called the new brain, yet the old brain held sway in humans for millions of years, as it does today in most living things. The old brain can’t conjure up ideas or read. But it does possess the power to feel and, above all, to be. It was the old brain that caused our forebears to sense the closeness of a mysterious presence everywhere in Nature.” – Deepak Chopra
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Call to Worship
Pastor: Ever present God, source and ground of all that exists, pre-sent and active everywhere in the universe, your gift is life.
People: May we be empowered to embrace life’s possibilities with positive energy.
Pastor: May we be helped to live life fully; to live life as connected-ness with God with nature and with all other people.
People: May people see in us the spirit of appreciation, gratitude, and generous self-giving, that was seen in Jesus.
Pastor: And may we be prompted to be more expansive and more inclusive as we accept our responsibility to make the forward movement of God visible in our present moments.
All: Welcome to worship.
Opening Hymn: #538 – Standing at the Future’s Threshold
Opening Prayer
We gather in this sacred place to honor and affirm life. We come to consider again being the change we wish to see in the world. This morning we celebrate a journey filled with new thoughts and commitments, born out of critique and letting go. This morning we celebrate the unfolding of the universe, and our ability and possibilities for creating brighter and gentler futures for our communities. The symbols of life are all around us: light and noise, infants and adults, birds and animals, colors and movement, words of goodwill, songs of joy. May we recognize these symbols as life affirming. May we seek to renew them everyday. May we be inspired to share them generously. As we meet and as we prepare to depart, may we again commit as individuals and as a community to the values and ideals that would contribute to the transformation of this world. May each of us undertake again the appraisal and joy of living out what is dear to us, and what truly advances and invites compassion, grace, forgiveness, kindness, justice and love to flourish and transform. This is our prayer. Amen.
Scripture Reading: Mark 13:1-2, John 4:19-26
Reflective Hymn: #312 – We Love Your Realm, O God
(Verses 1, 2, 5 & 6)
Sermon: “An Elevated Understanding of What It Means to Be Human” – Rev. Samantha Tuttle
Responsive Sharing
The Offerings and Offertory Music
Our offerings for the celebration of life in this place and beyond, shall now be received. May a good feeling be found in our hearts as these gifts are used to help free some people from hunger, lift some people from their distress, and encourage some people to be part of a better world.
Sharing of Joys and Concerns
The Lord’s Prayer (Traditional, with “debts”)
Closing Hymn: #181 – You Are Salt for the Earth, O People
Blessing and Sending:
May the Spirit which flows through all creation, that speaks through the prophets and the poets, and which acts through those who care, be with us here today, and awaken us to the unconquerable power of life. Go in peace, and may the peace of God go with you. Amen.
Sharing the Peace as we go… And we hope you can join us for post-worship coffee and conversation in Fellowship Hall.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
This Sunday, Oct 21st:
10:00am: Sunday School for children in Fellowship Hall with Robin Scott; for adults in Sanctuary; discussing The Phoenix Affirmations, copies available.
11:00am: Worship led by Rev. Samantha Tuttle
Wednesday, Oct 24th:
Morning Meditation: 10:00-11:30am
Evening Meditation: 7:00- 8:00pm each week with Diane Younkins. No experience necessary.
No evening meditation on Wed. October 31st.
Next Sunday, Oct 28th:
11am: Worship Led by Rev. Michael Lyle
12:30pm: Jammin’ at James open mic in the Sanctuary. Special Call for Contribution: Please bring decorations, goodies, or pump-kins for Halloween.
Wednesday, Oct. 31st: Halloween!
6:00-8:30pm: Come in costume or St. James teeshirt and mask to hand out goodies for trick-or-treaters. To volunteer, talk to Allison Harteis or text her at afredhart@gmail.com
Childcare is available during services at St. James. Thank you to Greta Harteis and Katie Sulek for your generous and caring work.
Food Bank Donations: Please bring non-perishable food items to church; Thanks, Tena B, for taking our donations to the Lovettsville Food Bank.
Statement of Faith: We gather as an open and affirming community to worship God, however known. We welcome everyone, no exceptions. Together we seek spiritual comfort and challenge, learn from ancient texts, and seek new dimen-sions of truth. We practice following the way of Jesus. We dare to demonstrate God’s love by working for justice and peace among all people.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Order of Worship for October 14, 2018
Worship Leader: Mark Dewey
Musician: Janell Kinzie
For Meditation and Reflection:
What impedes your rush into God’s arms? What treasure weighs in your pocket? What railing do you cling to even as you long to leap?
Surely more than your riches. Your expertise? Your approval rating? The despair that enfolds you when you face the deep unknown? The familiar failure that nestles you, hides you from the risk, the ask, the new?
Go sit in silence and listen for the beckoning. See what arises to stop you. Then lay your hands on it, tie it down, and walk away.
—Steve Garnass-Holmes
Introduction of Worship Leader
Call to Worship
God of grace, we come with all we have
and all we are: bodies, souls, and minds.
We come for a glimpse
of your kingdom of kindness–
a world where love rules over all,
a world where enemies embrace,
and distinctions between friend and foe
dissolve in the light of your love.
We dedicate this hour to being with you,
to noticing your presence,
which is around us and within us always.
We come to share the welcome of your kingdom.
Amen.
Opening Hymn: #21 “God Reigns O’er All the Earth”
Pastoral Prayer
Today’s Scripture Reading: Mark 10:17-31
Sermon: “Threading the Eye of the Needle”
by Mark Dewey
Reflective Hymn: #179 “We Yearn, O Christ, for Wholeness”
The Offerings and Offertory Music
Responsive Sharing & Prayers of Joys and Concerns
Lord’s Prayer [Alternate version, in memory of William Dewey]
Earth-maker, pain-bearer, life-giver: blessed be your work.
Let happen here on earth what you will.
Give us what we need today in bread and insight, and release us from our offenses, as we release our offenders.
When we forget that life is both a gift and a task, forgive us; when we hold grudges or blame other people, forgive us; when we love ourselves more than we love other people, forgive us.
Don’t leave us alone with our private demons and fears, with our apathy and our indifference, but deliver us from the evil in us and around us.
Help us choose what is good, what is right, what is loving, what is just, for we are endowed with the power to make our world whole, forever.
Amen
Closing Hymn: #563 “We Cannot Own the Sunlit Sky”
Blessing and Sending
Sharing the Peace as we go… And we hope you can join us for post-worship coffee and conversation in the Fellowship Hall.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
This Sunday, Oct 14th:
9am: Council Meeting in Fellowship Hall
11am: Worship led by Seminarian Mark Dewey
12:30pm: Oktoberfest Debrief
Wednesday, Oct 17th:
Morning Meditation: 10:00-11:30am
Evening Meditation: 7:00- 8:00pm each week with Diane Younkins. No experience necessary.
Next Sunday, Oct 21st:
10am: Sunday School for children in Fellowship Hall with Robin Scott; for adults in Sanctuary; discussing The Phoenix Affirmations, copies available.
11am: Worship led by Rev. Samantha Tuttle
Sunday, Oct 28th:
11am: Worship Led by Rev. Michael Lyle
12:30pm: Jammin’ at James open mic in the Sanctuary.
Childcare is available during services at St. James. Thank you to Greta Harteis and Katie Sulek for your generous and caring work.
Food Bank Donations: Please bring non-perishable food items to church; Thanks, Tena B, for taking our donations to the Lovettsville Food Bank.
Our Statement of Faith:
We gather as an open and affirming community to worship God, however known. We welcome everyone, no exceptions. Together we seek spiritual comfort and challenge, learn from ancient and modern texts, and seek new dimensions of truth. We practice following the way of Jesus. We dare to demonstrate God’s love by working for justice and peace among all people.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
World Communion Sunday, October 7th, 2018
For Meditation and Reflection
“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” – Edgar Allan Poe
“I want my boys to have an understanding of people’s emotions, their insecurities, people’s distress, and their hopes and dreams.” – Princess Diana
“God can dream a bigger dream for me, for you, than you could ever dream for yourself.”- Oprah Winfrey.
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Call to Worship
Pastor: Here, in this space made sacred by our shared lives and our shared yearnings, may we find new courage, new generosity of spirit, forgiveness given and received, and rededication to the dreams and higher purposes of our lives.
People: Let us not add to the hopelessness that is in the world. But may wonder and adventure, curiosity and joy, live in us always.
Pastor: May there be aroused in us a determination that by the fuller living of our lives we might find the meaning that life is trying to teach us.
People: May we be filled with new passion, new resolve, to take the next step in our own lives and in the life of the Earth.
Pastor: The moments of worship quickly pass. May the little that we know become enough to guide us, while we seek for new wisdom.
People: What our prayers begin, may our lives continue. Welcome to worship.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Order of Worship on Sunday, September 30, 2018
Worship leaders: Rev. M. Michael Morse and Sea Raven, D.Min.
Prelude – Rockin’ UCC Part I (Sea Raven, piano)
Welcome, Announcements and Introduction (Lay leader)
Call to Worship
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world
and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
–Langston Hughes, 1902 – 1967
Opening Hymn: #597 Shall We Gather at the River
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Saint James United Church of Christ
10 East Broad Way,Lovettsville, Virginia
www.StJamesUCC-love.org
For Meditation and Reflection:
This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine. But other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine. But other lands have sunlight too and clover and skies are everywhere as blue as mine. O hear my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine. (Lloyd Stone, 1934)
Opening Prayer (Pastor)
Responsive Call to Worship (Traditional Monastic Liturgy)
Pastor: We wait for the word of the Lord as we wait for the rains.
People: and our God shall come down upon us like gentle dew.
Pastor: The hills and the mountains will be singing praise to God.
People: Every tree in the forest will be clapping its hands.
The Lord will come and rule for ever. Alleluia.
Opening Hymn Jennifer leads us in a song she wrote
Prayer for Illumination (Pastor)
Today’s Scripture Reading Luke 12:6&7
Sermon Incomprehensible (Mike Lyle)
Sunday, September 16, 2018
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
For Meditation and Reflection
“It is, indeed, a unique occasion at which the distinguished word qadosh is used for the first time: in the Book of Genesis at the end of the story of creation. How extremely significant is the fact that it is applied to time: “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.” There is no reference in the record of creation to any object in space that would be endowed with the quality of holiness.”
― Abraham Joshua Heschel
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Call to Worship
Pastor: May we find it in ourselves today to work toward a better world.
People: May we make use of our energy to take part in the lifting of burdens.
Pastor: May our gratitude find expression in the care of others, both near and far.
People: May we find ways to live and grow on the margins.
Pastor: May we leave behind us a trail of encouragement and hope.
People: May ours be a faith that is more than words and ideals.
Pastor: May ours be a faith of vitality and compassion.
All: Welcome to worship.
Music by our VBS Participants:
Jesus Loves Me
This Little Light of Mine
He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands
Sunday, September 9, 2018
For Meditation and Reflection:
Though the human body is born complete in one moment, the birth of the human heart is an ongoing process. It is being birthed in every experience of your life. Everything that happens to you has the potential to deepen you. It brings to birth within you new territories of the heart.
–John O’Donohue, Anam Cara
Welcome and Announcements
Opening Prayer (Pastor)
Responsive Call to Worship (Traditional Monastic Liturgy)
Pastor: We wait for the word of the Lord as we wait for the rains.
People: and our God shall come down upon us like gentle dew.
Pastor: The hills and the mountains will be singing praise to God.
People: Every tree in the forest will be clapping its hands.
The Lord will come and rule for ever. Alleluia.
Opening Hymn #4 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You
Sunday, September 2, 2018
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
For Meditation and Reflection
“Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”
– Mother Teresa
“If we’re destroying our trees and destroying our environment and hurting animals and hurting one another and all that stuff, there’s got to be a very powerful energy to fight that. I think we need more love in the world. We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that.”
– Ellen DeGeneres
“To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment.”
– Eckhart Tolle
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Call to Worship
Pastor: Creativity God, source of our life, may we approach this day with joy.
People: We celebrate the gift of life itself and the gift of every resource that enhances life.
Pastor: Life is sometimes complicated and it can be easy to feel powerless to make a difference.
People: Our coping capacities run low. Fears and dangers can block out the awareness of the goodness and the strength that sur-rounds us.
Pastor: When time and events and people go by so fast, may we know the power in pausing, and in pausing find our life renewed.
People: We will now pause, and in this sacred place, be reminded that we are a people of God, that we are accepted and strength-ened, encouraged and blessed.
All: Welcome to worship.
Opening Hymn #8 – Praise to the Living God
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Musicians: Keith and Jennifer Taylor on mandolin and guitar
For Meditation and Reflection:
In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us of the unique relationship between the Kingdom of God and the natural world. He emphasizes the mysterious forces at play in the world around us.
For Jesus, as in Celtic Christianity, story and nature, rhythms and words, meaning and mystery are inextricably intertwined. In scripture, worship, contemplation and prayer God refreshes and sustains like water from a holy well. The weary traveler is wise to drink deeply and often.
Welcome and Announcements
Opening Prayer (Pastor)
Responsive Call to Worship (Traditional Monastic Liturgy)
Pastor: We wait for the word of the Lord as we wait for the rains.
People: and our God shall come down upon us like gentle dew.
Pastor: The hills and the mountains will be singing praise to God.
People: Every tree in the forest will be clapping its hands.
The Lord will come and rule for ever. Alleluia.
Opening Hymn Arise Shine (see insert)
Prayer for Illumination (Pastor)
Today’s Scripture Reading Matthew 13:24-20, 36-43
Sermon A Matter of Emphasis (Mike Lyle)
The Offerings and Offertory Music
A Litany of Thanksgiving
Pastor: All things come from you, O God, and with gratitude we return to you what is yours. All that we are, and all that we have, is your gift to us.
People: And so, in gratitude for all your gifts, we offer ourselves, and all that we have. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.
All: Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn Sanctuary (see insert)
Joys and Concerns
Prayers of the Pastor and the People
The Lord’s Prayer (Traditional, with “debts”)
Closing Hymn Thy Word (see insert)
Prayer of Benediction: (Pastor)
Go forward in the comfort and strength of God’s blessing. Remember that you are loved, that God is ever near, and that divine mercy is your way in the world. Amen.
Sharing the Peace as we go… And we hope you can join us for post-worship coffee and conversation in Fellowship Hall. And today—enjoy Jammin’ at James Open Mic and pot luck party!
Reverend Lyle is happy to stay following the service to talk about questions, concerns or thoughts you may have about today’s worship.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Summer worship time in July and August is 10AM.
This Sunday, August 19th:
10am – Worship led by Rev. Michael Lyle
11:30am – Jammin’ at James Open Mic and potluck party.
Next Sunday, August 26th: Worship by working.
Please come at 10am to join the crew! We’ll be cleaning our the dusty corners and putting things in order. Then maybe eat out?!
Sunday, September 2nd: 11am – Worship led by Rev. Samantha Tuttle
Sunday, September 9th: 11am – Worship led by Rev. Michael Lyle
Thoughts for the Week
Roads
No need to wonder what heron-haunted lake
lay in the other valley,
or regret the songs in the forest
I chose not to traverse.
No need to ask where other roads might have led,
since they led elsewhere;
for nowhere but this here and now
is my destination.
The river is gentle in the soft evening,
and all the steps of my life have brought me home.
— Ruth Bidgood (b.1922)
Our Statement of Faith
We gather as an open and affirming community to worship God, however known. We welcome everyone, no exceptions. Together we seek spiritual comfort and challenge, learn from ancient texts, and discover new dimensions of truth. We practice following the way of Jesus. We dare to demonstrate God’s love by working for justice and peace among all people.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
For Meditation and Reflection
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” – Steve Jobs
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Call to Worship
Pastor: Over many years, men and women have come to this sacred place. They have been enriched. They have been strengthened. They have been renewed in spirit.
People: Today as we come to this place, may we too find the pathway and the journey that awaits us.
Pastor: In all of our adequacy and inadequacy, may we be caring people. In all of our strength and weaknesses, may we be people true to our best and highest selves.
People: May we become people of vitality and commitment.
Pastor: May ours be a faith that shines to the world as the light of deeds and the witness of actions.
People: Source and Spirit of our lives, may we respond boldly to the call for justice, for love, for joy.
All: Welcome to worship.
Opening Hymn: #177 – God of Change and Glory
Sunday, August 5, 2018
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 5th, 2018
For Meditation and Reflection
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King
“Solitude is very different from a ‘time-out’ from our busy lives. Solitude is the very ground from which community grows. Whenever we pray alone, study, read, write, or simply spend quiet time away from the places where we interact with each other directly, we are potentially opened for a deeper intimacy with each other.” – Henri Nouwen
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Call to Worship
Pastor: We marvel at life. We celebrate ourselves as a life-form giving the source of all that is, a unique expression…
People: in our awareness, in our intelligence, and in our ability to communicate.
Pastor: Enfolded in this Presence may we realize that the world of the Spirit and the world of the body do not exist alongside one an-other…
People: but within one another.
Pastor: This morning we celebrate the unfolding of the universe,
People: and our ability and possibilities for creating brighter and gentler futures for our communities.
All: Welcome to worship.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
For Meditation and Reflection
“Evolution rarely follows a straight line from species to species. Instead, it is more like a tree with many branches. Some branches lead to new branches, while others become dead ends.” – Robert Winston
“You have to meet people where they are, and sometimes you have to leave them there.” – Iyanla Vanzant
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Call to Worship
Pastor: Let us be the embodiment of the larger life in all the little things we do
People: As we listen and ponder, deepen and explore our faith…As we laugh and play, greet and touch one another,
Pastor: As we live this day in the integrity of our own selves, and as we live this day in the community of precious people,
People: Breathe through us as the Summer wind caresses our bodies, as we live in the fullness of today.
All: Welcome to worship.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
For Meditation and Reflection
“Be Impeccable With Your Word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.” – Don Miguel Ruiz
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
– Nelson Mandela
“Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it our-selves. It is a daily practice… No one can prevent you from being aware of each step you take or each breath in and breath out.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 24, 2018
Worship Led by Rev. Dr. Mary Mason
Pianist, Janell Kinzie
Meditation
“Help us to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown.
Give us the faith to leave old ways and break fresh ground with You.
Christ of the mysteries, we trust you to be stronger than each storm within us.
We will trust in the darkness and know that our times, even now, are in your hands.
Tune our spirits to the music of heaven, and somehow make our listening obedience count for You.” – Christine Valtners Paintner
LIGHTING OF THE CANDLES
Welcome and Announcements – Rev. Dr. Mary Mason
Call to Worship
Leader: Morning has broken.
Let us give thanks for the gift of life
and for the presence of the Holy One among us.
Let us worship God together.
Unison:
Praise God with drums and dance.
Praise God with strings and songs.
Praise God with lively prayers.
All things praise the Lord! – Psalm 150:4-6
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
For Meditation and Reflection:
Frederick Buechner, referring to the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins writes, “He says with equal understatement that to have pity on his own heart means simply to be as kind and charitable to himself as Christ calls all of us to be to our neighbors, with the implication that unless charity begins at home, the chances are that there will be something a little grim and bloodless about it everywhere else.” (From Speak What We Feel)
Welcome and Announcements
Opening Prayer (Pastor)
Responsive Call to Worship (Traditional Monastic Liturgy)
Pastor: We wait for the word of the Lord as we wait for the rains.
People: and our God shall come down upon us like gentle dew.
Pastor: The hills and the mountains will be singing praise to God.
People: Every tree in the forest will be clapping its hands.
The Lord will come and rule for ever. Alleluia.
Opening Hymn: #43, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Sunday, June 10, 2018
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
For Meditation and Reflection
“When we are mindful, touching deeply the present moment, we can see and listen deeply, and the fruits are always understanding, acceptance, love, and the desire to relieve suffering and bring joy.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“We should indeed keep calm in the face of difference, and live our lives in a state of inclusion and wonder at the diversity of humanity.” – George Takei
“I’d much rather be gay than so desperately afraid of God that I couldn’t make a cake for a fellow human being.” – Bradley Gusler
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Call to Worship
Pastor: Fresh anticipation percolates, as this community gathers together in this sacred place.
People: Draw a deep breath, knowing you are welcomed and val-ued here and now.
Pastor: Be at peace and at one with yourself and with those close by.
People: Let us affirm we are not alone. That we need others and others need us.
Pastor: To be more of who we are, to be challenged with new growth, to be fully alive!
People: Let us be guided by love and imagination for what is yet to be.
All: Welcome to worship.
Opening Hymn: Gather Us In (Please see insert)
Sunday, June 3, 2018
9th Sunday in Ordinary Time
For Meditation and Reflection
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” – Nelson Mandela
“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” – John F. Kennedy
“Anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero to me.” – Fred Rogers
“Safety and security don’t just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.” – Nelson Mandela
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Call to Worship
Pastor: Gathered here, we sense the Sacred in this place. May we be awakened again to the mysteries that humble us,
People: the realities that orient us, the beauty that inform us,
Pastor: the fellowship that sustains us, and the creativity that heightens and deepens our living,
People: that we may give ourselves in honesty and openness to the larger life before us.
All: Welcome to worship.
Opening Hymn #359 – O, God, Who Teaches Us to Live
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Second Sunday after Pentecost
Worship Leader: Rev. Michael Lyle; Musician: Janell Kinzie
For Meditation and Reflection:
“. . . the Church exists for nothing else but to draw people into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became one of us for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose. It says in the Bible that the whole universe was made for Christ and that everything is to be gathered together in him.” – C.S. Lewis
Welcome and Announcements
Opening Prayer (Pastor)
Responsive Call to Worship (Traditional Monastic Liturgy)
Pastor: We wait for the word of the Lord as we wait for the rains.
People: and our God shall come down upon us like gentle dew.
Pastor: The hills and the mountains will be singing praise to God.
People: Every tree in the forest will be clapping its hands.
All: The Lord will come and rule for ever. Alleluia!
Opening Hymn: #306 – The Church of Christ In Every Age
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Pentecost Sunday
For Meditation and Reflection
“There is a new Hummer dealership in our town. In America they call a Hummer an SUV, in the rest of the world, it is a military vehicle! People in America use military vehicles to get groceries.” – Rob Bell
Welcome and Announcements
A warm welcome is extended to all. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here in this safe and sacred place.
Children’s Moment
The children are invited to come forward for a special lesson or story.
Call to Worship
Pastor: In this caring and supportive community, during this time of prayer and quiet reflection, we come to be emptied.
People: And to be filled with the spirit that flows in and among us and throughout the world.
Pastor: We, here today, are also people of spirit. We, too, are struck in awe before the great mystery of the cosmos.
People: We, too, are powerfully moved by a deep concern for our world and our care for one another.
Pastor: The spirit moves in us as in others, that we might be the embodiment of the larger life in all that we do.
All: Welcome to worship.