Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church Asheville, North Carolina

Transcription

1 Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church Asheville, North Carolina October 2, :30 am Called to Christ Called to Celebrate World Communion Sunday So much is unfolding that must complete its gesture, so much is in bud. from Denise Levertov, Beginners Bell Peal Introit Cameroon Procession arr. Ralph M. Johnson * Call to Worship (adapted from Psalm 86) I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart For great is your steadfast love toward me You have delivered my soul You are merciful and gracious, O God Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and worthy of our worship and praise! * Hymn 596 You Are Holy Sing once in unison, then in canon as directed. * Call to Reconciliation DU ÄR HELIG

2 * Kyrie (Lord, Have Mercy) SINGAPURA * Prayer of Confession Merciful God, We confess that we have allowed the world to steal our joy. We struggle to trust your presence in our midst. We expect the worst. We avoid uncomfortable situations and fail to see your healing opportunities all around us. We surrender our joy in favor of distraction, pessimism, judgment, and worry. Free us from the burden of our lack of trust. Help us find our way back to days and moments centered in your promise of a joy that is complete. AMEN. * Assurance of Forgiveness * Response * Passing of the Peace The Peace of Christ be with you. And also with you. Our Life Together (Please sign the pad located in your pew) Prayer for Illumination New Testament 2 Timothy 1:1-14 The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God! We Come From a Place A Homily in Three Parts

3 * Refrain We Are People On a Journey SOMOS PUEBLOS (Children wishing to participate in the 3 rd part of the homily, please met Heather Gast in the narthex during the music following the 2 nd part) Invitation to The Table Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Prayer of Thanksgiving The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give God thanks and praise! The Lord s Prayer (from The New Zealand Prayer Book) Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven: The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world! Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth. With the bread we need for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and for ever. Amen.

4 The Bread And The Cup Please come forward by the middle aisle, beginning with the front pews. Take a piece of bread, dip it in the cup. Return to your pew by the outside aisles. You may also be served in your pew. Please note, ALL bread is gluten-free. Music During Communion Come to the Table of Grace Jesus, tawa pano

5 * Affirmation of Faith (adapted from a Creed by the Maasai people of East Africa) We believe in One High God, who out of love created the beautiful world. We believe that God made good God s promise by sending the Son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left his home and was always on safari doing good: curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and human beings, and showing that the meaning of religion is love. He was rejected by his own people, tortured, and nailed by hands and feet to a cross, and died. He lay buried in a grave, but the hyenas did not touch him. On the third day he rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies. He is the Lord. Amen. Called to Celebrate Makahla Stout Offering (Please place prayer cards in the offering plate for the Prayers of the People) Offertory With a Heart of Thanksgiving Howard Helvey * Doxology

6 * Prayer of Dedication God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, may these expressions of gratitude, connection, and sharing find their way into Your highest good. May they touch the needs of your creation, of your children. And may we always remember and respond to ever-flowing mercy with generosity, hope, and joy. AMEN. * Hymn 526 Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ LINSTEAD * Charge and Benediction * Recessional Hallelujah! We Sing Your Praises HALLELUYA! PELO TSA RONA We Are People on a Journey. Carolyn Jennings (c) 1993, The Pilgrim Press. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission of Onelicense.net License No. A , Come to the Table of Grace. Barbara Hamm (c) 2008, Hope Publishing Company. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission of Onelicense.net License No. A (For some, the Voluntary serves as festive music to accompany their going back out into the world. Others prefer to remain seated and listen. Please be mindful of these different needs as you depart. Thank you!) * Please Stand in Body or Spirit. We gather to worship God who is larger than all our imaginations! We encourage all persons to sing the gender nouns and pronouns they prefer in referring to God.

7 Our Life Together Thank You! Head Usher: Betsy Wilson Liturgist: Jim Wallis Thank you to Jeannette Williams for the flowers that decorate our sanctuary this morning, given to the glory of God and with thoughts and prayers for Jeannette s sister-in-law, Shirley Ralph and her daughter, Angela. Deacon of the Week: Nan Clarke, frauclarke41@gmail.com Each Sunday morning there is a deacon available for everything from praying with you to giving you a tour of the building. This deacon will be wearing a purple sash and stationed in the narthex before 10:30 worship and in the front of the sanctuary after worship. He or she is also available during the week if you or someone you love needs assistance from our board of deacons. From the Nominating Committee This is an exciting time at Grace Covenant as we approach being fully staffed. We still have one more important step to take on our Pastoral Staff. We need to fill the full-time Associate Pastor position, previously held by Kristy Farber. The nominating committee is looking for suggestions for names of people to serve on an Associate Pastor Nominating Committee. We need people who know the church and, particularly, but not exclusively, people who have close connections to pastoral care and adult education in this congregation. Please send suggestions within the next week to Tiffany Kinnaird, kinnaird.tiffany@gmail.com, chair of the Nominating Committee; or place the nomination card in the offering plate. Staff News The Session voted this week to extend the terms of call for Rebecca Gurney as a part-time Associate Pastor through the end of May We are blessed to have Rebecca serving among us and we are grateful for her gifts and her willingness to extend her time with us. Celebration Team We need your creativity as we continue to look for ways to incorporate the arts in worship (visual, dramatic, music, etc.). Advent is fast approaching and we are forming a Celebration Team to explore new ways to be church in the Advent season. Please plan to join us after church next Sunday, October 9. Lunch will be provided. Social Media Grace Covenant has several social media accounts in which to engage. Facebook (Grace-Covenant-Presbyterian-Church), Twitter (@GraceCovPC), Instagram (gcpc_avl), and our website ( We welcome your images and news about things happening at GCPC. Please send them to Anna Louise at almurchison@gcpcusa.org. Grace Covenant is committed to being a trustworthy place for everyone, especially children. If you would prefer that images that include your child(ren) not be posted on social media, please mmshoop@gcpcusa.org to let Marcia know and we will put you on our social media opt-out list.

8 Giving Statements are here! Please pick up your statement at the Information Station. They will remain in this location for one more week. Help keep postage down by picking them up. Thanks! SERVE Guatemala Scholarships Sign up in the narthex today! We are honored to participate in the Timothy Scholarship Program with our sister church, Iglesia Jerusalem, in Coatepeque, Guatemala. The lives of the recipients of GCPC scholarships have been greatly changed by the education that Grace Covenant has helped provide. w Over 40 scholarship students attend primary, middle, and secondary schools in the Coatepeque area. Most of them are children of families that are members of our sister church. The scholarships help them with tuition, purchase of uniforms, books, shoes, school supplies, and many other items that their families could not afford. Without this aid, these children would not be able to attend school. w You can make your check out to GCPC. Please write Guatemala Scholarship on the memo line. Any amount is welcomed; $180 provides for a full scholarship. Backyard BBQ at the Veterans Restoration Quarters Tuesday, October 4 For the past 7 years a team from GCPC has cooked & served a hamburger supper for veterans the first Tuesday of each month. Come around 4:30 and you will have a job. Creation Care Alliance Harvest Celebration Potluck Dinner Thursday, October 6 5:30 7:30 PM GCPC Fellowship Hall Get involved with Creation Care Alliance this fall! The speaker is Susan Sides, founder and director of the Lord s Acre Garden in Fairview. Tour GCPC garden with Buzz Durham. Bring a covered dish to share and plates/utensils for everyone in your party. Drinks will be provided. Support Baton Rouge Flooding through Presbyterian Disaster Relief (PDA) PDA enables congregations and mission partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to witness to the healing love of Christ through caring for communities adversely affected by crises and catastrophic events. Starting August 11, 2016, regions in Louisiana and Mississippi experienced inches of rain. FEMA reports that there were 6 fatalities, over 8,000 people in shelters and over 10,000 residential and commercial structures affected. The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is working with the Presbytery of South Louisiana and the Presbytery of Mississippi to offer assistance. To make a donation or learn more about PDA's efforts, visit:

9 Grow Live Productions of Krista Tippet s Radio Show On Being October 21 and 22 7 PM UNC Asheville, Humanities Lecture Hall As a part of UNCA s Festival of Faith in Literature, Krista Tippett will be interviewing Marilyn Nelson (Friday night) and Isabel Wilkerson (Saturday night) for her Peabody Award-winning radio show, On Being. We still have some tickets left! almurchison@gcpcusa.org to check availability. Wednesday Sanctuary Open for Prayer Each Wednesday from 11:45 AM 5:30 PM, the sanctuary will be open for silent prayer. Some evenings will close with a brief time of centering prayer. Wednesday Bible Study 11 AM Conference Room Starting September 28th Join the pastoral staff to read and study our sermon texts for Sunday. No preparation needed, just come ready to open scripture and discuss. Care SOS ~ Save Our Sanity 7:00 PM Meets first Monday of the month A social, prayer, support group for mothers of young children! Come with an appetizer and choice of drink; leave the kids at home. Together, we ll create the fun and support we need as we work to raise our little ones. To be added to list, almurchison@gcpcusa.org. First Meeting: Monday, October 3 Gilliland Home PNO ~ Parents Night Out 5:00 8:15 PM Meets one Saturday a month Leave your children at the church for childcare, and let s all go out on the town together! Contact the church to reserve a space for childcare the Monday prior to our outing Saturday. Drop your child and $10 at the church on the night of the event. Carpool or meet us wherever we are to gather! almurchison@gcpcusa.org to be added to the list. (Schedule will be posted on the website, under CARE tab.) First meeting: Saturday, October 15 th Co-hosts: Shems and Shem s home Please RSVP to hgast@gcpcusa.org for childcare or if you wish to attend. CALL FOR MOVING HELP! Saturday, October 15 9:30 AM Spruce Hill Apartments, 133 Spruce Hill Lane, Apt. B Jane Lee Vondette is moving to West Haven, Utah and needs help loading the truck. We need a minimum of 6 volunteers. To volunteer, Jim Wallis or call him at or Directions will be provided. October Circle Meetings #1 Tue., Oct AM Sally Richardson 22 Reunion Hill Ln., Blk Mtn. Leader Peggy Rada #2 Tue., Oct. 4 7:30 PM Karen Rohls 108 River Walk Dr. Leader Barbara McLean #3 Tue., Oct. 4 7 PM Susan Propst 273 Kimberly Dr. Leader Leslie Sharpe #3 Tue., Oct PM Bonnie Parker (host & leader) 108 Stonecrest Dr. #4 Thur., Oct. 6 7PM Jane Sutton 6 Holmwood Rd. Leader Frances Johnson #5 Mon., Oct AM Betsy Wilson 10 Northwood Rd. Leader Susie Churchfield

10 Prayer List [We are happy to pray for anyone who is in need. Concerns will stay on this list for a month unless we hear otherwise. Please keep us updated.] Jerusalem Church congregation; Linda Albin (Les & Susan Stradley's friend); JoDell Hawthorne (Donna Robertson's cousin); Natalie DeVito (Karen Rohls' daughter); Miranda Roop (Cindy Roop s sister); Jose Palacios (Marie Palacios husband); Betsy Needle (Robin Gaiser s friend); Debbie Bartlet (Laura Ross friend); April Alexander (Robby Hassall s friend); Bill Ross (Jonathan Ross dad); Ian Nash (Dave & Mary Lou Nash s grandson); Bonnie Peterson (Louise Root s friend); Susan Logan (Bob and Eleanor Walther s friend); June Glenn (Elizabeth Mullen s mother); Bob Kemper (David Kemper s dad); Lynda Emashowski (Matthew Cox s friend); Bob Keever (Cynthia Keever s dad); Mark Hassall (Bob and Sue Hassall s son and Robby Hassall s father); Karen Arrowood (Teresa Stern s cousin); Margo Steyer (Lynne & Rick Noble s mother); Barbara McLean (Moderator of WNC Presbytery); Barrett & Ali Payne (In Seminary); Craig, Elsa and Josie Plocica (Sheryl Aikman s family); Betty Smith; Mimi Aldridge; Susan Stradley; Virginia Bradley; Hettie Lou Garland; Gerry Simons; Pat Callison; Bob Busey; Dot Holladay; Sherrie Meehan; Serge Kavalhuna; Jerry Bleckley; Ray Kisiah Youth News Youth Group "Lights, Camera, Action!" TONIGHT, Sunday, October PM GCPC Fellowship Hall Hey Youth Editors, Actors, Techies and more! Get ready for an evening of great fun as we film three short videos for the Stewardship season. The videos are written and directed by fellow youth and there will be a role for everyone (on or off screen). Enjoy a delicious meal and great times together! Youth editors (you know who you are!) please meet at GCPC at 4 PM. Senior High Camping Trip Saturday, October 8 - Sunday, October 9 2 PM (Sat) - 2 PM (Sun) Celo Community Meet/pick up GCPC parking lot Senior Highs (grades 9-12), get ready for a camping adventure to remember! Youth Advisor, Dean Presson is inviting us to camp around his cabin in the mountains. Get ready for an awesome weekend of hiking, hanging out, chatting, and even having worship in the woods! RSVP to Samantha at sgblock@gcpcusa.org, if you are able to attend!

11 Next Sunday s Education for All Ages 9:15 AM The Improv: Responsive Faith in an Ever-Changing World Jerusalem Room This class looks at scripture, life, and practice through various theological perspectives, seeking to discover credible and promising ground for faithful improvisation as we live in a dynamic and changing world. Next week: What does it mean to be human? Process theology has a potent answer to the question. Asking the Hard Questions: Pressure Points Choir Room This class explores thorny issues and new ideas that challenge us where we live, at the intersection of our faith and the world. During fall term, we are reading and discussing Bishop Spong s book Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy. Digging In: Encountering Scripture Sunroom This class reads the Bible with the expectation that whether it is comforting, disturbing or challenging it has something to say about who God is and who we are. Next week, we continue with chapter three of the Book of Acts. CHILDREN & YOUTH EDUCATION [Contact Heather or Samantha] Preschool/Kindergarten: Flood and the Ark Elementary: Creation Middle School Let's continue diving into our faith together. Next Sunday, we will explore the question "Is the New Testament more important than the Old Testament?" with JD and Carlyn. Enjoy a bagel breakfast and a great time! Senior High Get ready to learn and grow together, with teachers, Sheryl, Amy W and Amy P. We will look at this week's headlines through the lens of faith. Come enjoy a delicious bagel breakfast and great conversation with fellow youth! Next Sunday, October 9, 2016 Called to Christ Called to Risk Worship at 8:30 & 10:30 AM Education Hour at 9:15 AM Courtyard Fellowship at 11:30 AM Sermon: Risky Business by Marcia Mount Shoop Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Luke 17:11-19

12 CALENDAR Sunday 2 8:30 AM Worship 9:15 AM Education Hour 10:30 AM Worship 5:00 PM Children s Choirs 5:00 PM Youth Group 6:30 PM Fall Book Discussion Soil & Sacrament Monday 3 7:00 PM SOS Gilliland Home Tuesday 4 9:00 AM Prayer Group 4:30 PM VRQ Dinner Wednesday 5 11:00 AM Bible Study 11:45 AM Sanctuary open for prayer 7:00 PM Choir Practice Thursday 6 5:30 PM Creation Care Alliance Potluck 6:15 PM Nominating Comm. Mtg. 6:30 PM Fall Book Discussion The Beautiful Possible Fri.-Sat. 7-8 Senior High Youth Campout Saturday 8 9AM-4PM Chancel Choir Fall Retreat Sunday 9 Stewardship Kick-Off 8:30 AM Worship 9:15 AM Education Hour 10:30 AM Worship 11:30 AM Courtyard Fellowship 11:45 AM Celebration Team Mtg.