January 17, 2021
Human Relations Day Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song TFWS #2172 We Are Called Luther College Cathedral Choir https://youtu.be/rZtPYS76ZMA Announcements Thursday, 7:00 PM Zoom Bible Study – The Minor Prophets Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Bible Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86066732644?pwd=emorNUc2RlJkWEN4UUdrZHJZY0o2Zz09 Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 One tap mobile +19292056099,,86066732644#,,,,*762435# US (New York) +13017158592,,86066732644#,,,,*762435# US (Washington D.C) Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdxhcclBuf *Call to Worship Who is calling us? Come and see. What might happen? Come and see. Jesus calls us to follow him. We follow the one who calls us. Song TFWS #2218 You Are Mine St. Paul Inspirit Ensemble https://youtu.be/J3k2b5hDK0c *Opening Prayer Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us. As we gather in this place, allow your Spirit to fill our very being. As we worship today, we remember our brothers and sisters who are worshiping elsewhere throughout the world. Inspire each of us to work more faithfully for justice and dignity of life everywhere. Raise our vision above the barriers of color, culture, and creed that separate us. Give us wisdom as we deal with one another. Help us to recognize and to respect different ways, rather than to judge. In the Spirit of Jesus, we now must walk in the world. We must reach out hands with help and open our hearts in love. Awake in us the desire to seek your way of serving in the world. Amen. Song We are the World/Heal the World Voice of Hope Children’s Choir https://youtu.be/9tRLowGHh4c Hearing the Word Children’s Time Scripture John 1:43-51 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” (NIV) Sermon Facing Our Prejudices Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I don’t know about you, but I am a little anxious about what might happen, with threats of violence being made by white supremacist groups. But I can’t help but think how much we need to remember Dr. King’s life, his words, and his cause this year. We may have come a long way since the work of Dr. King during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, but I don’t think anyone will disagree that we still have a long way to go. Ten days ago, we witnessed a mob made up of Trump supporters and white supremacists, among others, take over the U.S. Capitol. Among the hateful emblems present in the crowd was the Confederate battle flag, as well as other symbols of racist groups. But that event wasn’t something that just happened from out of the blue. We have seen events leading up to something like that ever since the early days of Barack Obama’s presidency. Some people just could not stomach the thought of having an African American occupying the White House. While there were other incidents that drew our attention, two of them in particular stand out in my mind. The first was the Charleston church massacre that took place on June 17, 2015. Nine African Americans were killed during a Bible study at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. That church is one of the oldest black churches in America and it has long been a center for organizing events which are related to civil rights. Police arrested Dylann Roof for the shootings. He was a 21-year-old white supremacist who targeted members of the church because of its history and reputation. Roof wrote of his racial hatred on a website published before the shooting and in a journal written in jail afterward. He posted pictures on the website of emblems associated with white supremacy and the Confederate battle flag. The other incident was the Unite the Right rally which took place in Charlottesville, Virginia from August 11 to 12, 2017. Protesters gathering in the small town to demonstrate against the removal of Confederate monuments following the Charleston church shooting. Among others in the crowd were members of the far-right, such as the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, members of the Ku Klux Klan, and various right-wing militias. The chanted racist and anti-Semitic slogans as they marched, carrying weapons, pro-Nazi symbols, Confederate battle flags, and other symbols. Their goals were to unify the American white nationalist movement and oppose the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee from a local park. On August 12, white supremacist James Alex Fields, Jr., deliberately rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 other people. President Trump’s remarks following the rally seemed to imply moral equivalence between the white supremacist marchers and those who protested against them. He appeared to be sympathetic to the white supremacists. It is not hard to draw a line directly from these two events to the storming of the Capitol on January 6. There are large numbers of Americans who are racist, white supremacists and who feel so angry with a government that does not support their agenda that they are willing to use violence to try and overturn an election that went against their candidate. Some were threatening to hang Vice President Pence, seen as a traitor because he would not take action to overturn the election results (which he had no power to do). It seems that others were ready to harm or even kill members of Congress. The hatred of these groups of people had become so inflamed that they believed it was patriotic to try and disrupt the processes defined by our Constitution. I wonder, though, about the rest of us. Have we examined our own hearts for signs of racism? Do the seeds of prejudice not lie in our hearts, too? Even if we don’t feel like racists, don’t we make judgments of other people based entirely on the color of their skin? Skin color is a primary – if not the primary – means of identification. And we make assumptions based on another person’s skin color. We also make judgments based on a person’s accent, where they were born, what their ethnicity might be, and what political party they belong to. I am guilty of being prejudiced against the kind of people who were in that crowd at the Capitol ten days ago. In the story I read from the Gospel of John a few moments ago, we hear about a future apostle who made assumptions about Jesus based on his place of origin. Because Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathanael made assumptions about him. After all, Nazareth was kind of a dinky little country village, with a population of about 500 in those days. It was not on any major trade route and was isolated from the mainstream. And besides, Nathanael was from Cana, and there was probably a degree of jealousy and rivalry between these two neighboring country towns. Nathanael made assumptions about Jesus and about Nazareth. And when Philip came to tell him about Jesus, Nathanael’s first reaction was, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?” The unspoken answer was, of course, “No.” And yet – and yet – Jesus came out of Nazareth. And Jesus was good, Jesus was beyond good. Jesus was God in the flesh. Jesus was the Messiah that the Jews had been waiting on for hundreds of years. Jesus was the Savior of the world. And Jesus would soon become Nathanael’s leader and teacher as the twelve apostles took to the road to follow Jesus in his ministry. We are just as guilty as Nathanael of making assumptions about people. I first moved to New England in 2002. I quickly learned that people made assumptions about me based on my southern accent. They assumed that I was not well educated and that I was a racist. I took some youth to camp that first winter I was in Massachusetts. It was during the time that there was controversy raging about South Carolina flying the Confederate flag above the State House. Thank goodness, the decision was made to take it down. But while I was at the camp, one of the other adults found out I was from South Carolina and asked me, “So do you really believe in slavery?” I soon began working on getting rid of my southern accent. People make assumptions about each other based on their accents, based on the size or shape of their bodies, based on where they come from, based on where they were educated, based on the political party they support, and based on the kind of car they drive. But more than anything else, people make assumptions about other people based on the color of their skin. And in this country, people make all kinds of negative assumptions about people who have darker skin than they do. That is why racial profiling is so commonly used by police departments. These assumptions are born in the subtle – and not so subtle – racism that is still so prevalent in our country. People of color are assumed to be less educated, less wealthy, and less likely to be successful than people who are lighter skinned. They are also assumed to be more likely to commit crimes. And our racism is not just individual, it is systemic – that means it is embedded in our criminal justice system, our educational system, and in the workplace. That is why we see incidents of unarmed black men and women being killed by police officers. It will not just disappear on its own; it will not just go away because we wish things were different. We need the change the systems, and the assumptions behind the practices. But the more we do that, the more push-back we are likely to see from white supremacist groups. I think that is why it is so important to remember Dr. King as we think about our desire to end racism and prejudice once and for all. We can think about the assumptions we make and work to change them, as individuals and as citizens and as organizations. I would like to quote from what is probably Dr. King’s most famous speech, made at the March on Washington in 1963: Five score years ago a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation … But 100 years later the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later the life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity … When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men – yes, black men as well as white – would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned … Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all God’s children … There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality … We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and the Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, No, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream … I say to you, today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brother-hood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream … I have a dream that one day in Alabama … little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream, a dream that he said was based on the American dream. But it was a dream based, just as clearly, in the teachings of Jesus Christ. And it is a dream still worth dreaming: that one day we will all learn to be sisters and brothers with each other. That one day, we will stop looking at the color of each other’s skin as a reason for hatred and racism and violence. That one day, we will stop making assumptions based on race and start looking at each other’s hearts instead as the true test of character. To make that dream come true, we must stand up to white supremacy in our country. We must hold people accountable for their actions. We must join with our brothers and sisters of color to protest racial injustice and discrimination. We must work to rid our nation of systemic racism wherever it exists. And we must learn to love each other with the love of Christ. Only in that way can the dream ever come true. Song Ebony and Ivory Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder https://youtu.be/fXAlfh6QKQs Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer It is given to only a few people, O God, to rise above the crowds and become symbols of hope and passion to all of us. We thank you for these persons, from Moses and Jesus Christ to Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and for the way they remind us of your care and grace for all the little ones of the earth. We praise you today, on Human Relations Day, for the qualities that shaped Dr. King’s life: for a strong sense of justice, that regarded all souls as having importance in your eyes; for an unshakeable belief in love and gentleness, that would not permit him to turn to violence in order to achieve his dreams; for a commitment to sacrifice, that led him forward without regard for his own safety; and for an ultimate trust in you, that you would never abandon those who stand up for truth and righteousness in the world. We mourn what the world did to Dr. King – the pain and the degradation, and finally the death. But we celebrate the dream for which he stood, of a society where the lion and the lamb would lie down together, and the children of all races and backgrounds would mingle together in sweetness and harmony of spirit. Help us to be as committed to that dream as he was, to care as much about the poor and disen- franchised as he did, to be prepared to pay the price that he paid to ensure its ultimate success. Teach us to love all men and women as our brothers and sisters, and to care as much about their welfare as we care about our own. And grant that we shall always have heroes that we admire for their moral clarity, their unremitting courage, and their passion for righteousness, that your name and your way may be honored in all the world. (John Killinger) We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught his disciples to pray: The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on 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. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Prayer of Dedication God, you are the source of all goodness and life. We bring our offering to you this day, knowing that all we have comes from you. We hear your call and we answer, bringing all that we have and all that we are. Use our gifts, our talents, and our bodies for your work of peace and justice. Amen. Song Let There Be Peace on Earth Voices of Hope Children’s Choir https://youtu.be/bgL1v8FZaNM *Benediction God, who knows us better than we know ourselves, calls us to follow. We go in Jesus’ name to share the good news of God’s love. Go in peace, knowing that God loves you. We follow the call of Love and go with God’s abundant blessing.
0 Comments
January 10, 2021
Baptism of the Lord Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song Nobody Loves Me Like You Chris Tomlin https://youtu.be/SG_IXFEO8yE Announcements Thursday, 7:00 PM Zoom Bible Study – The Minor Prophets Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Bible Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86066732644?pwd=emorNUc2RlJkWEN4UUdrZHJZY0o2Zz09 Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 One tap mobile +19292056099,,86066732644#,,,,*762435# US (New York) +13017158592,,86066732644#,,,,*762435# US (Washington D.C) Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdxhcclBuf *Call to Worship Lost … wandering without purpose, meaning, value, acceptance, or place. We wander lost. But the Spirit of God descends like a dove upon us. We hear the ancient words that name and claim us as children of God. We are cleansed, refreshed, and made new in the love of those words. Song The River Jordan Feliz https://youtu.be/maT4phfTXR4 *Opening Prayer Almighty God, parent of all who call upon your name, in the waters of baptism you have transformed us, marking us as your children, and recreating us through the work of your Son and the power of the Holy Spirit. Shower us once more with your grace that we might be renewed in your spirit, through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. Song When Jesus Came to the Jordan Faith UMC, Rockville, MD https://youtu.be/eJEMg_fpB6U Scripture Mark 1:4-11 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (NIV) Sermon Renewing the Covenant One of my quirks, if you want to call it that, is that I think people should play by the rules. Whether it is a board game or card game, sport or hobby; whether it is following a mask mandate or self-quarantining, I believe that people should follow the rules. That is only fair and just and reasonable. Following rules – obeying laws – is how we maintain order in our society and peace in our homes. We all operate within a number of covenants, or agreements, or sets of rules. A covenant may be defined as a binding and solemn agreement to do or keep from doing a specified thing (Webster’s Dictionary). It is also a kind of formal contract. There is the Covenant of Marriage, in which partners make certain promises or vows to each other. There are contracts that are made between individuals or businesses in which certain things are to be done, whether construction or repairs. There is also a covenant between citizens and the government, most obviously seen in the United States Constitution. The Constitution promises certain things to citizens: according to the Preamble, we are insured domestic Tranquility, common defense, general Welfare, and the blessings of Liberty. In return, citizens agree to abide by the laws and principles laid out in the Constitution. And for over 200 years, this covenant has worked. On Wednesday, we saw that covenant attacked by a violent mob who occupied the United States Capitol. They were there to protest the certification of the election results by the Congress, one of the oldest rites or duties that they perform. Because their candidate did not win the election, the mob was there to try and overturn the results of the election. This is a serious violation of the rule of government laid out in the Constitution. We have a means of providing for a president every four years, and that process was followed. When a group or party does not win an election, they are not to try and change the results through force. That is not how our country works. Covenants only work when people follow the rules; and the Constitution only works when citizens agree to follow its procedures. This morning we celebrate another covenant: the Baptismal Covenant. Accor- ding to our United Methodist Book of Worship, “The Baptismal Covenant is God’s word to us, proclaiming our adoption by grace, and our word to God, promising our response of faith and love. Those within the covenant constitute the community we call the Church…” Through baptism, “we are incorporated into the Church, which is the body of Christ, and made one in Christ. Because baptism initiates us into Christ’s whole Church and not only into a denomination, United Methodists recognize all Christian baptisms and look upon baptism as something that should unite, rather than divide, Christians.” “Baptism is an act that looks back with gratitude on what God’s grace has already accomplished, it is here and now an act of God’s grace, and it looks forward to what God’s grace will accomplish in the future. While baptism signifies the whole working of God’s grace, much that it signifies … will need to happen during the course of a lifetime” In the Baptismal Covenant, candidates (or parents), make certain promises to God, and receive certain promises from God. In baptism, as in any sacrament, we receive God’s grace and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. And we renounce evil and wickedness, agree to be a part of God’s inclusive church, and agree to support the church. The congregation also makes certain promises to God and to the candidates, agreeing to support the candidate (or parents) in their development in the Christian faith, to nurture them, and to uphold them. Periodically, we are encouraged to reaffirm our Baptismal Covenant. That happens whenever we have baptisms take place during worship. And it also happens on other special occasions, such as the day we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. That day happens to be today! And in a few moments we will take part in the renewal of our Baptismal Covenant. I really like what Mary N. Pugh wrote about baptism in the Connections commen-tary: “Baptism is about love! It is given to the church as a way to express God’s love to all people who seek it. It is the entry way to the church, yes, but it is primarily and always an expression of God’s profound love. No matter who we are, we may be baptized. No matter what we do after we are baptized, we are still baptized. God’s love does not rub off when we are badly behaved.” We could all do with a dose of God’s love today. We would do well to remember the promises we make – or that were made for us – when we were baptized. And we should keep in mind the promises we make to support the church. Baptism calls us to a certain way of life, a certain quality of life. And it connects us with every Christian in the world in a huge family of faith. We receive God’s love. We live in God’s love. And we are to share God’s love by loving one another. That is now I look at the Baptismal Covenant. Renewing the Baptismal Covenant (You will need a small bowl or cup of water available.) Brothers and sisters in Christ: Through the Sacrament of Baptism we are initiated into Christ’s holy Church. We are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit. All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price. Through the reaffirmation of our faith we renew the covenant declared at our baptism, acknowledge what God is doing for us, and affirm our commitment to Christ’s holy Church. On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you: Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin? I do. Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression, in whatever forms they present themselves? I do. Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put you whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races? I do. According to the grace given to you, will you remain a faithful member of Christ’s holy Church and serve as Christ’s representative in the world? I will. Let us join together in professing the Christian faith as contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Let us pray. Eternal Father, when nothing existed but chaos, you swept across the dark waters and brought forth light. In the days of Noah you saved those on the ark through water. After the flood you set in the clouds a rainbow. When you saw your people as slaves in Egypt, you led them to freedom through the sea. Their children you brought through the Jordan to the land which you promised. Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Tell of God’s mercy each day. In the fullness of time you sent Jesus, nurtured in the water of a womb. He was baptized by John and anointed by your Spirit. He called his disciples to share in the baptism of his death and resurrection and to make disciples of all nations. Declare his works to the nations, his glory among all people. Pour out your Holy Spirit, and by this gift of water call to our remembrance the grace declared to us in our baptism. For you have washed away our sins, and you clothe us with righteousness throughout our lives, that dying and rising with Christ we may share in his final victory. All praise to you, eternal Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever. Amen. Remember your baptism and be thankful. Amen. (You may dip your finger in the water and touch your forehead.) The Holy Spirit work within you, that having been born through water and the Spirit, you may live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen. We give thanks for all that God has already given us. As members of the body of Christ and in this congregation of The United Methodist Church, we will faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness, that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer O God, your ear hears the songs of the universe before they are sung, the symphonies before they are played, the harmonies before they are sounded. As your voice hums the lyrics of the canticle you have composed, your ear tunes the strings of the lyre you have crafted. You are composer, conductor, musician, and music, and you have created us to read the score, to follow your direction, to sing to your accompaniment, to dance with the Word. Your voice has sung to us, and its song is familiar. It rises in the majesty, falls in the agony, rushes in the ecstasy, and rests in the serenity known by your creatures. Sometimes, when we hear the rise and the fall, the rush and the rest, we begin – despite ourselves – to hum along with you. You glory in the entrance of our voices, and you lead us in the concert of creation. We strain to hear your Word, O God, and you strain to hear our word. If we yodel from the heights of joy, you echo our song. If we wail from the depths of despair, you join our lamentation. If our voices peal in exultation, you wait with them. Your voice sends out the Word into your world. It stands before the entrance to the tomb, it edges near the threshold of the void, and there it sings a love song to life. And life dances forth from the grave, leaping to the rhythms of the universe. We praise you, God, for making your Word the Word of life. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught his disciples to pray: The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on 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. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Prayer of Dedication Mighty God, you have given us everything we have. You have granted us life. You have poured out abiding love on our behalf. We share out of this awareness, and because we care about people who have not shared your abundance, people who need your love. Bless our gifts to do the work you intend. Amen. Song Covenant Prayer Newlife Church https://youtu.be/F3_TjhpK5OY *Benediction God has laid claim to your life. By your baptism you have been marked as God’s own forever. In grace may God watch over you. In strength may you go forth in service. Amen. |
Archives
October 2022
Categories |