Bulletin

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
September 1, 2019

Chiming of the Hour

Welcome

Prelude: Our Father Who Art in Heaven J.S. Bach

Announcements | Joys and Concerns | Silent Prayer

Introit: #391 This is the Day ESTE ES EL DÍA

Call to Worship

ONE: That our worship may change us and glorify you:

ALL: Enter this place, O Christ.

That justice may be done so you need no longer weep over your people’s inhumanity:

Enter this nation, O Christ.

That the blood of war no longer water the Earth,
nor the poor be exploited:

Enter this world, O Christ.

That truth may cleanse us of fear, prejudice, greed, arrogance, and indifference:

Enter our minds, O Christ.

That love may teach us its deep challenge,
enabling us to risk our lives for our neighbors:

Enter our hearts, O Christ.

That faith drive us into the glorious madness of your dance of shalom:

Enter our lives, O Christ.

Unison Prayer of Invocation

Gracious God, we seek your presence in this time of worship. We have come intending to listen and to receive your transforming Word. Melt our hearts’ stubbornness that keeps us from seeing your glory and living your joy. Stretch the capacity of our minds and spirits, that we may become followers of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Hymn: #505 The Trumpets Sound THE FEAST IS READY

Responsive Prayer of Confession                         

ONE: Holy God, Maker of all

MANY: Have mercy on us.

Jesus Christ, Servant of the poor

Have mercy on us.

Holy Spirit, Breath of life

Have mercy on us. 

Let us in silence confess our faults and admit our frailty. 

(Prayer in silence)

Before God, with the people of God,
I confess to my brokenness:
to the ways I wound my life,
the lives of others, and the life of the world. 

May God forgive you, Christ renew you,
and the Spirit enable you to grow in love. 

Amen.

Before God, with the people of God,
we confess to our brokenness:
to the ways we wound our lives,
the lives of others, and the life of the world. 

May God forgive you, Christ renew you, 

and the Spirit enable you to grow in love. 

Amen. 

Assurance of God’s Love 

Gloria #583 GLORIA (Taizé)

Glory to God, glory to God, glory in the highest!

Glory to God, glory to God, alleluia, alleluia!

Responsive Psalter: Psalm 81:1, 10-16

ONE: Sing for joy to God our strength; 

MANY: Raise a shout to God
who blessed our ancestors. 

“I am the Holy One, your God, 

Who brought you up out of the land of captivity.

“Open your mouth wide and
I will fill it with good things.

“But My people did not listen to My voice; 

“The people would not heed Me
and follow My way.

“So I let them adhere to their own stubborn hearts, 

“And follow their own counsels.

“If only My people would listen to Me, 

“If only the people would walk in My ways!

“quickly their enemies would collapse,

“Subdued in the shadow of My saving presence.

“Those who abhor the pathways of life
cannot stand before Me, 

“They are forever shattered in the face of the Source of Life.

“While you I would feed with the finest of the wheat, 

“And with honey from the rock
I would delight you.”

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2:4-13

(Pg. 854 in the Old Testament in the pew Bible)

Offering of our Gifts 

ONE: As God has welcomed us, let us extend God’s blessings by sharing our tithes and offerings in support of Christ’s ministry today.

Anthem: With a Voice of Singing  Martin Shaw

Doxology: #609 LASST UNS ERFREUEN 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; 

praise God, all creatures high and low.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise God, in Jesus fully known:
Creator, Word and Spirit one.

Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Unison Prayer of Dedication

Dear God, you have offered us a place at the table and you have invited us to share without expectation of being repaid. You have called us to make a place for the poor, the outcast, and the oppressed, and to recognize them as kindred. So we ask you to bless these resources, that they might support ministries of compassion and justice until all of your children have a place at the table. In Jesus’ name: Amen. 

Hymn: #532 Sheaves of Wheat  UNA ESPIGA

Scripture Reading: Luke 14: 1, 7-14

(Pg. 94  in the New Testament in the pew Bible)

Sermon: Grace at the Table Pastor John Nelson

Invitation to Communion

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Pastoral Prayer| Silent Prayer | Lord’s Prayer (debts)

Unison Prayer of Consecration

Come, Holy Spirit. Continue to pour out your life-giving, healing power on us, and on this meal that nourishes us. As we share this food and drink, may we become, for each other, the hope that Jesus has awakened in us. In this meal we celebrate the promised banquet when all shall be fed abundantly, and all shall drink from the river of the water of life. Amen. 

Sharing the Meal

The bread on the communion plate is gluten free.
The communion wine is non-alcoholic

Prayer after Communion

ONE: Eternal and gracious One, though we live in a world of need, 

MANY: here we have tasted your goodness 

and hungered for a world more just. 

Though afflicted by brokenness and division, 

here we have heard your call 

to be a people of healing community. 

Though daily we touch our limits, 

here we have received 

the fullness of your grace. 

Send us forth, O God, 

in faith, in hope, and in love. Amen. 

Hymn: #546 Lord, Dismiss Us SICILIAN MARINERS

Benediction

Response: #601 Three-Fold Amen DANISH AMEN

Postlude: Festival Postlude Dominico Zipoli

( The congregation may stand.)

If you are visiting us today, Welcome!  Please sign our guest book and introduce yourself to our Pastor or to one of the Deacons. Fill out a welcome card in the pew to be put on our email list. Please see an usher if you would like to use a hearing device. 

Join us in the Parish Hall for refreshments and fellowship following worship. 

Many thanks to: Bob Maxwell for serving as lay reader; Deborah Moore and Kathy Mera for serving as ushers.

Psalm quoted from The Psalms in Worship, Mary Susan Gast, © 2002; used by permission in this service of worship.

Welcome Statement

We seek to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and love our neighbors as ourselves. This Church is Open to persons of every race, ancestry, class, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, and gender identity for participation, membership, leadership and employment. We Affirm each individual as a child of God. 

As an Open and Affirming Congregation, we advocate for the dignity and welcome of every person.