November 17 @ St. Paul's UMC: Worship

Autumnal table

The bells offer the anthem

Kyle offers the postlude

Fellowship time

Sammy stops by for a cuddle

Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost

St. Paul’s UMC 60th Anniversary

(link to today's worship service)

Today’s Meditation Verse: “Let’s hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, because the One who made the promise is reliable.” —Hebrews 10:23 (Common English Bible)

Welcome...Pastor Charles

Prelude...Kyle Dacon

*Call to Worship (inspired by Hebrews 10:19-22)...Amy Abshire

Leader: We gather together to worship, People: Knowing that God is already here among us; knowing that there is nothing that separates us from the presence of our Lord. Leader: Wherever we are, wherever we go, God is nearby. People: So let us enter into this service of worship with confidence and hope, Leader: Knowing that God is already with us, People: And that God stands eager to meet us and bless us with love.

*Hymn...“Sweet Hour of Prayer” (UMH #496)

Litany for the Church’s Anniversary...Amy Abshire

L: Dear Lord, thank You for drawing us into community in this parish that has been a place called home for so many. P: Inspire us with the lives of those before us, those ancient ones who have lived here in faith and opened and given away Your love to all those who needed it.

L: May You change us with a vision to continue here as a constant presence for those who travel through life, a community of welcome that cares for all our parish, believing into what is still yet to be. P: Teach us to discern Your voice as those before us have discerned Your voice, guided by its call and feeding on its promise of life and hope and belonging.

L: May we hear Your word: a comforting word in its familiar sound, yet a disturbing word in what it speaks anew and longs for us to become. P: Hold us within the faith of our forebears, those who chose to meet You here in this parish, who recognized this thin place as a trysting place where Your miracle of grace abides.

L: May we be moved by that grace into all the places that make up our community, sharing what You have given abundantly like an ever-flowing stream. P: Call us from our past, through the voices of our ancestors, in the songs they have sung and the prayers they have spoken that have shaped peace within this parish, and may we join our voices with their voices, in the one great song of love that will be lived and celebrated yet throughout this parish.

—Rev. Roddy Hamilton, posted on Listening to the Stones. Used by permission.

First Lesson: 1 Samuel 1:4-20...Amy Abshire

Bell Anthem...“Alleluia, Give Thanks,” arranged by Sondra K. Tucker

Community prayer concerns and celebrations / Pastoral Prayer / The Lord’s Prayer...Pastor Charles

Second Lesson: 1 Samuel 2:1-10...Pastor Charles

L: This is the Word of God for the people of God. P: Thanks be to God.

Sermon...Pastor Charles / “Let’s talk about Samuel”

*Hymn...“I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath” (UMH #60)

*Words for the Journey...Pastor Charles

Postlude...Kyle Dacon