February 16 @ St Paul's: Worship bulletin

February 16, 2025
The Blessing of Difference 

Worship video link:  https://youtu.be/fg1DdyWI7Xc

In consideration of others, please silence your cell phones.
The prelude calls us to worship; let us listen quietly in reflection and prayer.
*Indicates please stand if you are able.

GATHERING

Prelude...Kyle Dacon (he/him)

Welcome...Rev. Elizabeth (she/her)

*Opening Hymn...“Help Us Accept Each Other” (UMH #560)

*Call to Worship...Amy Abshire (she/her)
Leader: We come together, yet we do not always see the world the same way.
People: Still, we are called to worship as one.
Leader: Some of us arrive with certainty; others carry questions and doubt.
People: Still, we are gathered by the same Spirit.
Leader: We are many voices, many stories, yet one people of God.
People: We step forward, not in sameness, but in the richness of difference.
Leader: In our diversity, we are made stronger; in our unity, we are made whole.
All: Together, with God’s help, we move forward in faith.

Unison Prayer...Amy Abshire
God of all people, all voices, all ways of seeing, You have created us uniquely, Each with our own experiences, perspectives, and gifts. Too often, we resist what we do not understand, turning difference into division, rather than seeing it as a gift. Still, you call us to walk together. When listening is hard, open our hearts. When we feel uncertain, steady our steps. When we resist the unfamiliar, remind us— Your Spirit moves in the spaces between us. Step by step, teach us to trust, to learn from one another, to see the gifts that abound in our community. And, God, teach us to move forward in love. Amen.

Hymn of Prayer...“Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying” (TFWS #2193)

LISTENING

Community prayer concerns and celebrations

Please wait for Rev. Elizabeth or the usher to bring you a microphone so that all in the congregation will be able to hear your prayer clearly.

Pastoral Prayer and Silent Prayer...Rev. Elizabeth

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Creator,† who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

†Please use the language for God that resonates with your soul and helps you connect with the Divine.

Scripture Reading: Genesis 11.1-9 (CEB)...Amy Abshire
All people on the earth had one language and the same words. When they traveled east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them hard.” They used bricks for stones and asphalt for mortar. They said, “Come, let’s build for ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves so that we won’t be dispersed over all the earth.”

Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the humans built. And the Lord said, “There is now one people and they all have one language. This is what they have begun to do, and now all that they plan to do will be possible for them. Come, let’s go down and mix up their language there so they won’t understand each other’s language.” Then the Lord dispersed them from there over all of the earth, and they stopped building the city. Therefore, it is named Babel, because there the Lord mixed up the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord dispersed them over all the earth.

For the Word spoken, the Word received, and the Word lived, we say...
Thanks be to God.

Message...Rev. Elizabeth / “The Blessing of Difference”

RESPONDING

Hymn of Response...“Take My Life, and Let It Be” (UMH #399)

Offering...Rev. Elizabeth
Donations to St. Paul’s by cash or check can be left in the offering plate on the usher’s table at the back of the sanctuary.

Doxology...“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” (UMH #94)

SENDING

Connecting...Rev. Elizabeth

*Closing Hymn...“For the Healing of the Nations” (UMH #428)

*Words for the Journey...Rev. Elizabeth
Please stand to receive the benediction and then be seated if you wish to enjoy the postlude.

Postlude...Kyle Dacon

Upcoming Events, News, and Information

The church council will meet tomorrow, Monday, February 17, at 7:00 p.m. in the Blue Room.

Sew What will meet on Friday, February 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Myrle Myers's home. Please R.S.V.P. to Myrle via text, email, or phone call (mmmyers59@msn.com / 303-810-8044). Myrle will provide lunch. Sew What is for those who love to sew, knit, crochet, embroider, and/or enjoy visiting with one another.