( Bethel AME Church used with permission.) I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. Pope Francis www.colonialucc.org October 18, 2015 913 362 7735 8:30 a.m.
The Colonial Church in Prairie Village United Church of Christ Sunday Worship Service in the series The Beloved Community...Finds Its Way Together 1 Please silence your electronic devices in preparation for worship. * Please rise in body or spirit We Gather as God s People Gathering Music Praeludium Max Dreschner Welcome and Announcements (Please sign and pass pew pads and fill out Prayer Request cards you may have. You can place the Prayer Request cards in the offering plates later in the service.) A Moment to Lay Your Burdens Down * Opening Hymn #606 Nearer, My God, to You * Prayer of Invocation Holy Dwelling Place, Your tent is wide enough to provide shelter for all who seek you, food for all who hunger, and healing for all who suffer. Meet us here today, and fill us with confidence in your presence, that we may risk sharing Jesus cup and his baptism so the world may become the place of love and justice you desire for all. Shelter us with your light, and clothe us with your heavenly garments. Teach us how we may best serve ourselves and one another on this daring adventure. Amen.
* Song of Praise Gloria #759 adapted Glory to the Creator, and to the Christ, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen. Amen. 2 * Sharing God s Welcome (Greet everyone in the hope of peace and friendship.) We Hear a Word from God A Word Proclaimed The Truth Once Spoken to Humanity We Are One Body 1 Corinthians 12:15 21 But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts in the body just like God wanted. If all were one and the same body part, what would happen to the body? There are many parts but one body. So the eye can't say to the hand, "I don't need you," or in turn, the head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you." Definition of Faith Hebrews 11:1 Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. We Respond with Thanksgiving and Prayer Call to Offering and Offertory Praeludium II Felix Mendelssohn * Doxology (#780 adapted; tune Old Hundredth) Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God above, you heavenly host: Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Amen.
* Prayer of Dedication God, may this offering assist us in continuing Christ s work in the world to heal the grief, transgressions, and illnesses that oppress and harm your creation. Amen. 3 Time of Prayer Prayers of the People Believing that each joy and/or concern expressed is indeed a prayer, after each expression, the Pastor will say: Lord, in your mercy. And the people may respond: Hear our prayer. Praying in Silence Our Lord s Prayer ( Our Father is the traditional way this prayer begins. You are invited to use whatever name for God you find most meaningful (Father, Mother, Creator, God, etc.). These names for God create a beautiful chorus.) 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
We Depart to Serve 4 * Hymn #597 Shall We Gather at the River * Renew Our Covenant (Turn towards the center aisle as we bless one another with the promise of our covenant.) We covenant with the Lord and with one another and do bind ourselves in the presence of God to walk together in Christian Love. We seek to worship God in spirit and in truth and to love our neighbors as ourselves. With God s help we will honor Colonial Church in our conduct, support its program, and extend the influence of Christ throughout the world. * Benediction and Postlude Pastorale Leon Boellmann (Some elements used with permission from UCC Worship Ways.) Our guest organist is Stephanie Henry. Worship Graphics Operator: Miles Roberts
October 18, 2015 Laity Sunday 5 The latest statistics about pastoral longevity offer good news and bad news. The bad news is that the average tenure for a church pastor these days is between three and four years. The good news is that it forces all of us who care about the local church to ask: Who does ministry and how do lay people participate in strong churches? The work of our church is not just the work of the ordained. We are all called to witness and work and to build up our shared ministry in the United Church of Christ. One of our many articulate UCC voices for the ministry of the laity comes from Dick Broholm, a member of UCC Norwell in Norwell, Massachusetts, who wrote the following for his church s web page: Having my congregation tell me, in a variety of ways, that what I do in my daily work is important to the Church and of supreme importance to God, is life changing!....this understanding also, strangely enough, deepens my commitment to my local congregation. It helps me know why our gathered life as a community of faith is essential and life giving... it has changed the way I look at my congregation. Instead of the church being one more competing claim on my time, energy and resources, it now stands at the center of my life, shaping the way I work and the way I see the world. I know we have a ways to go to make this visibly true for everyone. But I believe we are on a profoundly important journey of recovering the whole ministry of the Church on behalf of the whole world.
6 Our 10:00am Thursday morning Bible Study is doing something new this fall. We are going to do sessions with the Kerygma Discovering the Bible curriculum. Even if you cannot make the sessions, we re going to put the readings in our weekly study guide. If you would like to take part in the study, simply come on Thursdays or signup for the group via infellowship from the church website. Keep the simple point in mind: our primary purpose is not simply learning information about the Bible. It is hearing God speak. Discovery 24 The Mission Read each passage and make notes on each. Matthew 28:16 20, The Great Commission Acts 8:26 40, Philip and the Ethiopian Acts 9:1 31, Saul is Converted
Acts 10:1 48, Peter and Cornelius 7 Acts 11:19 26, Christians in Antioch Acts 12:1 19, Peter Freed from Prison Acts 15:1 35, The Jerusalem Council
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