Baccalaureate Service Friday, May 19, 2017 San Francisco Theological Seminary Stewart Memorial Chapel
Baccalaureate Service 2017 2
Baccalaureate Service San Francisco Theological Seminary Friday, May 19, 2017 4:00 p.m. Stewart Memorial Chapel *Please stand as you are comfortable. Congregation, please read the bold. GATHERING AROUND THE WORD PRELUDE WELCOME *CALL TO WORSHIP alan Choy rev. Scott Clark Jamie Lee Sprague-Ballou One: All: One: All: One: All: One: All: Creator of the world, eternal God, We have come from many places for a little while. Redeemer of humanity, God-With-Us, We have come with all our differences, seeking common ground. Spirit of unity, go-between-god, We have come on journeys of our own, to a place where journeys meet. So here, in this time and place, let us take time together. For when our paths cross and pilgrims gather, there is much to share and celebrate. In your name, three-in-one God, pattern of community, Amen. *OPENING HYMN #366 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling 3 3
PRAYER OF CONFESSION lora East Sojourning God, we pray for your companionship to be made known to us, in times of ease and times of struggle. Help us to hear the calls of the oppressed and the poor. Help us to hear the calls of those who need us. Guide us to live in ways that do not put our wants above the needs of others. Call us to heed the challenge of the prophets, to step out in faith, and to consider our neighbor s needs as important as our own. In the name of Christ, who loves us even when we try to walk away, In the name of Christ, who loves us, even when we think the cost of discipleship is too great, In the name of Christ, who gives us renewed hope, we pray. Amen. ASSURANCE OF GRACE Patrick Kiptum Ever-present God, We praise you, for your love and care is made known to us, in all times and all places and all ways. You have liberated us from our oppressions, and we live forgiven by your grace. Fill our hearts O God, that we might rejoice: We have been made in your image! Emboldened by the mission of Christ, empowered by the movement of the Spirit, and sustained by your glorious Creation, We commit ourselves to the gospel of Jesus, to heal the broken, to speak out for justice, and to proclaim the hope of your coming reign of peace. In the wonder of your grace, we give you thanks and praise. Amen. 4
PASSING OF THE PEACE We are promised in covenant that one day it will be on earth as it is in heaven. That peace will come for everyone, in every place, for the rest of time. This is the hope that we hold for the coming reign of God a hope for peace. Let this peace be here now; let it begin as we greet each other in holy fellowship. May the Peace of Christ be with you. And also with you. PROCLAIMING THE WORD PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION Rev. Dobok Lee God of all creation, send your Holy Spirit among us this day, that the seed of your Word might take root in our hearts, and bear the fruits of peace, love, and justice for all. Amen. FIRST SCRIPTURE Genesis 1:26-31 Jhanderys Dotel-Vellenga (in Spanish) Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created humankind in God s image; in the image of God, God created them; male and female, God created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (NRSV) SECOND SCRIPTURE 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 Manho Hwang (in Korean) Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. (NRSV) SERMON Til We Have Faces Rev. Dr. Jana Childers 5
RESPONDING TO THE WORD *HYMN OF RESPONSE God, You Spin the Whirling Planets 6
OFFERING OFFERTORY SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION Adam Bradley Carolyn Anderson Rev. Dr. Jon Berquist & Rev. Ruth T. West The Invitation The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving Christ be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to God. Let us give thanks to God. It is right to give our thanks and praise. Holy are you, Mothering God! In the beginning, you formed us from the earth, creating us each in the image of you. And when you beheld what you had made, you said, This is good. We praise you because we are fearfully and wonderfully made! Your works are wonderful! We know that full well. Covenanting God, in love and promise, you drew us together, welcoming us into one family, all of us your children. When we found ourselves in slavery, you brought us out of bondage and into freedom. When we lost our way, you brought us out of exile and helped us find our way home. Loved and welcomed by you again and again, with all your people in every time and place, we can only sing your praise: 7
Holy One, when the time was right, you came to us in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, your Word became flesh and dwelt in our midst, fully human, fully you. Jesus lived life with us, experienced what we experience, and felt what we feel. Jesus reached out in love to the poor, the oppressed, and the outcast, binding up the brokenhearted, freeing us from all that would do us harm, and extending a healing touch to our broken bodies and our troubled hearts. Jesus walked with us through the whole of life, even unto death, in resurrection, bringing us into new life together and whole. In Christ, you welcome us into life and renew us day by day. Great is the mystery of our faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Holy One, pour out your Spirit upon these, your gifts of bread and cup that they may be for us and for the whole world your body and your life. May this be a table of welcome, a visible sign in this world of your eternal vulnerability, hospitality, and love. 8
Triune God, in community with all that you continue to create, we pray the prayer that Jesus taught, saying: (Please pray in the inclusive and expansive language with which you are most comfortable.) The Words of Institution *The Communion Communion Music Alan Choy All are welcome to the table. If you wish to participate in the Communion, please come to the communion station in front of you. Dip the bread into the cup. The bread is gluten-free. Prayer after Communion SENDING INTO THE WORLD *SENDING HYMN #765 BENEDICTION POSTLUDE May the God of Hope Go with Us (first, in English; then, in Spanish) rev. Dr. Jana Childers alan Choy Immediately following worship, there will be a reception for the community in Lower Alexander Hall. Alexander Hall is at the bottom of the hill, directly below us here in Stewart Chapel. 9
Baccalaureate Service 2017 Worship PARTICIPANTS Worship Leaders Carolyn Anderson, MDiv Student Adam Bradley, Class of 2017, MDiv Katie Brendler, MDiv Student Joe Chapman, MDiv Student Jhanderys Dotel-Vellenga, Class of 2017, MDiv Rachel Dykzeul, Class of 2017, MDiv Lora East, Class of 2017, GTU MA Manho Hwang, Class of 2017, MDiv Patrick Kiptum, Class of 2017, MDiv Rev. Dobok Lee, Class of 2017, DMin Brooklynn Smith, Class of 2017, MDiv Jamie Lee Sprague-Ballou, Class of 2017, MDiv Rev. Dr. Jon Berquist, President of the Disciples Seminary Foundation (DSF), and Visiting Professor of Old Testament Rev. Dr. Jana Childers, Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Professor of Homiletics and Speech Communication Alan Choy, Musician Rev. Scott Clark, Chaplain and Associate Dean of Student Life Rev. Ruth T. West, Program Manager for Advanced Pastoral Studies Baccalaureate Planning Committee SFTS Class of 2017 Rev. Ellen Baxter Rev. Scott Clark Program Design Dennis Bolt Marissa J. Miller rev. Scott Clark Resources Parts of the liturgy are written by the senior class, and parts of the liturgy are adapted from the following resources: The Iona Abbey Worship Book, a resource of the Iona Community and Wild Goose Publishing; Rev-o-lution.org, a blog by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell; and the liturgy of Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church, www.hamiltonunionpresbyterian.org Music is used with copyright permission under SFTS OneLicense #A-714514 10
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