June 2, 2019
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Prelude: Conditor Alme Siderum Ephrem Feeley
Chiming of the Hour
Welcome
*Hymn #459: O Word of God Incarnate
Joys and Concerns | Silent Prayer
Introit: #243 Be Not Afraid
Call to Worship
One: The grace of Jesus Christ be with all the saints!
We have gathered in that grace to worship God.
Many: Rejoice in God and give thanks to God’s holy name. Let all heaven and earth behold God’s glory.
God is alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
All creation is subject to God’s rule and reign.
We bring our prayers and praise to God most high, we lift our voices in hymns of celebration.
Come, all who hunger, all who thirst;
Be nourished and renewed in this time of worship.
We bring joys and sorrows, fullness and needs.
We come with successes and failures; we come seeking.
Prayer of Invocation (in unison)
We come seeking a presence that shakes foundations and helps us build new ones. We come with our wounds, seeking healing. We come, remembering our baptism and wanting to claim the difference that makes in our lives. We come through the shadowy clouds of our unbelief, seeking the brightness of your glory, O God. Be powerfully present with us, gracious Spirit. Amen.
Call to Confession
Unison Prayer of Confession
Hear our heart’s confession, O God, as we recall the ways we ignore you every day. Listen to our awareness of the hurts we have caused you and the opportunities for compassion we have missed. We live by our own devices rather than take risks to follow where Christ might lead us. Deliver us, O God, from allegiances born of fear or pain, so we may again receive the fullness of your grace and the power to live as you intend.
Moment of Silent Prayer
Assurance of God’s Love
*Gloria: #583
Glory to God, glory to God, glory in the highest!
Glory to God, glory to God, alleluia, alleluia!
Responsive Psalter: Psalm 97
One: The Holy One reigns!
Many: Let the earth be glad;
Let the many coastlands rejoice!
Clouds and thick darkness surround the Most High;
Justice and equity are the heart of God’s reign.
Fire is the vanguard of the Almighty,
Consuming the forces of terror and malice.
God sends forth lightning that illumines the world;
The earth sees and is awed.
Mountains melt like wax before the Almighty,
Before the Sovereign of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim God’s majestic compassion;
And all the peoples behold the magnificence of the Holy One.
All worshipers of phantoms are bereft; those who put their trust in earthly goods are devastated,
As all creation gives way before the Most High.
The downtrodden hear and rejoice;
the compassionate and faithful are glad,
Because of Your justice and mercy, O God.
For You, O Saving One, are most high over all the earth;
You are exalted far above any who would take Your place.
Let those who love God reject injustice and hostility,
For the Creator guards the lives
of those who are faithful;
God delivers the true and the compassionate
From the grasp of the oppressor.
Radiance is scattered upon the compassionate,
And joy on the true in heart.
Rejoice in the Almighty, you who walk in God’s way,
And give thanks for holy presence and care!
Scripture Reading: Acts 16:16-34
(Pg. 166 in the New Testament in the pew Bible)
*Hymn #688: Spirit of God (verses 1-3)
Sacrament of Communion
The cut bread on the communion plate is gluten free.
The communion wine is non-alcoholic.
Communion Prayer (in unison)
In this time of looking back, O Lord, we are more prepared to look forward. In remembering all you have done for us, we are better able to look to the future. We give thanks that your mercy has revived and encouraged us that we might go forward in love and forgiveness. For this time of renewal and hope, we give you our humble praise. Amen.
*Hymn #688: Spirit of God (verses 4-5)
Offering of our Gifts
Anthem: My Kind of Music R. Avery & D. Marsh
*Doxology: #607
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise Christ, all people here below;
praise Holy Spirit ever more;
praise Triune God whom we adore. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication
Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:1-23
(Pg.16 in the New Testament in the pew Bible)
Sermon: Worry-free Gardening Dr. Mauro
Pastoral Prayer| Silent Prayer| Lord’s Prayer
Response: #243 Be Not Afraid
*Hymn: #250 Hymn of Promise
Benediction
Response: #243 Be Not Afraid
Postlude: Llangloffan Robert J. Powell
(* The congregation may stand.)
Welcome Statement
We, the Salisbury Congregational Church, seek to love God with all our hearts, souls and minds and love our neighbors as ourselves. This Church is Open to all for participation, membership, leadership and employment regardless of race, ancestry, class, gender identity, physical/mental ability or sexual orientation. We are Affirming of each individual as a child of God, celebrating the total identity of each person.
As an Open and Affirming Congregation, we commit ourselves to work toward ending ignorance, fear, hatred, prejudice and discrimination against any person.
Whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey,
you are welcome here!
If you are visiting us today, Welcome!
Fill out a welcome card in the pew to be put on our email list! Please join us in the Parish Hall for refreshments and fellowship following worship.
A special welcome to our guest preacher,
the Rev. Dr. D. Elizabeth “Betsey” Mauro, who was ordained in 1987 and served churches in Colebrook, Connecticut and Rockland, Maine. She earned her Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary, focusing on clergy ethics. Until 2015, she worked as Dean of the Center for Congregational Leadership, a joint ministry of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan. She served on the faculty of the college teaching religion and ethics. Having grown up in this area, Betsey and her husband, Paul, returned home to be closer to family. She now is the Executive Director of Women’s Support Services in Sharon, Connecticut, whose mission is to create a community free of domestic violence and abuse through intervention, prevention and education.
Please see an usher if:
You would like to use a hearing device
If you would like to bring your child to the Nursery
Many thanks to:
Jenn Oberto for serving as our lay reader
Kathy Mera & Becky Belcher Feen for serving as ushers
Psalm 97 adapted from Mary Susan Gast, Redemption Songs, A 21st Century Descant on the Psalms © 2002; reprinted by permission for this worship service.
Prayer List
Dale Sapp, Marty Finkle, Sean Clegg, Bolton Hull, Roberta Fay, J. Kevin Carroll, Siddhi, Evan Adsit, Marty Sorenson, Franny Yerkes, Terry Roy & family, Petee Robinson, Leonard Kaufman, Dick Taber, Tom Splaine, Joe K., Peter & Linda, Paula & Herman, Anne & Bill, Jan & John Hazard, Pauline