Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Today’s Meditation Verse: “The rich and the poor have this in common: the LORD is the
maker of them all.” —Proverbs 22:2
Welcome...Pastor Charles
Prelude...Bell Ensemble / “Simple Gifts,” arranged by Patricia Cota
*Call to Worship (Psalm 125:1-2)...Claudia Mills
Leader: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
People: As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds the people, from this time on and forevermore.
*Hymn...“In Christ There Is No East or West” (UMH #548)
A Companion Litany to Our Social Creed...Claudia Mills (To be read responsively)
Leader: God in the Spirit revealed in Jesus Christ, calls us by grace...
People: To be renewed in the image of our Creator, that we may be one in divine love for the world.
Leader: Today is the day God cares for the integrity of creation, wills the healing and wholeness of all life, weeps at the plunder of earth’s goodness.
People: And so shall we.
Leader: Today is the day God embraces all hues of humanity, delights in diversity and difference, favors solidarity transforming strangers into friends.
People: And so shall we.
Leader: Today is the day God cries with the masses of starving people, despises growing disparity between rich and poor, demands justice for workers in the marketplace.
People: And so shall we.
Leader: Today is the day God deplores violence in our homes and streets, rebukes the world’s warring madness, humbles the powerful and lifts up the lowly.
People: And so shall we.
Leader: Today is the day God calls for nations and peoples to live in peace, celebrates where justice and mercy embrace, exults when the wolf grazes with the lamb.
People: And so shall we.
Leader: Today is the day God brings good news to the poor, proclaims release to the captives, gives sight to the blind, and sets the oppressed free.
People: And so shall we.
*Offering/Doxology (UMH #95)
Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebrations
Pastoral Prayer...Pastor Charles
Gospel Lesson: Mark 7:24-30...Claudia Mills
Special Music...Bell Ensemble / “Balm in Gilead,” arranged by Patricia Cota
Epistle Lesson: James 2:1-10, 14-17...Pastor Charles
Pastor: This is the Word of God for the people of God.
People: Thanks be to God.
Sermon...Pastor Charles / “Dead or Alive?”
Communion / The Lord’s Prayer
In the United Methodist Church, Holy Communion is open to all persons desiring to partake. Individual communion packets are available at the back of the sanctuary. We will take communion together seated in the pews as directed by Pastor Charles. During Holy Communion, we take a special offering to benefit the PATH Fund, a fund used to help fill the gaps for our underserved neighbors. If you would like to make a contribution, please place your gift in the basket marked “PATH Fund” on the table at the back of the sanctuary.
Leader: Creator of the harvest-—We lift our voices in praise!
People: Creator of the table—In You we find our peace.
Leader: In gratitude we gather to share this meal.
People: With thanksgiving, we gather to share our love for neighbor.
As the sun sets earlier, the days become cooler, and the crops near harvest, we celebrate the plenitude of fruits available to us. We acknowledge the ways that we can use our gifts to care for our siblings in need. We extend this table through the work of our hands and the missions of this church.
As we celebrate this sacrament, may we remember the laborers in the fields: The harvesters of the wheat and grapes. The transporters of their yields. Those who transform wheat into bread and grapes into juice.
Bless their hands and feet as they labor at farms and gardens, in trucks and warehouses. We give thanks for the ones who prepare the table here today. May their gifts of preparation and hospitality inspire us to extend hospitality to the strangers among us.
After laboring on the streets of Jerusalem—doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God—Jesus clutched bread in His hands. He blessed the food, gave thanks, and heartfully expressed to His friends that this was the bread of life. “As you eat this bread, remember me.”
After supper, Jesus grasped the cup filled with the gifts of the vine. In His blessing, He reminded them “whenever you drink of this cup, remember me.”
*Hymn...“Sent Forth By God’s Blessing” (UMH #664)
*Words for the Journey...Pastor Charles
*Postlude...Louise Cook
“A Companion Litany to Our Social Creed” comes from The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church © 2012 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.
“A Labor Day Communion Liturgy” by Michelle Torigian comes from God Goes Pop Culture website, August 30, 2018.
No comments:
Post a Comment