Order of Worship World Communion Sunday
October 1, 2023
Welcome/Announcements - Shelly Wilson
Prelude “World Communion: Prelude” by Todd Jolly; performed by St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, CA
Lighting of the Candle of Peace
Call to Worship
One: We give praise to our God who gathers us as one people.
All: We delight in our God who has mercy upon us.
One: We seek to be one with refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants.
All: Clear our eyes that we may see the sufferings of displaced people.
One: We welcome those whose lives have been dislocated by war, famine, climate change, and injustice.
All: Open our ears that we may hear the cries of those deep in despair.
One: We express our solidarity with all who search for a new life, a new home, a new promise.
All: Guide our feet that we may spread comfort; loosen our tongues that we might speak words of hope. Give us open hearts that we may be truly welcoming to the stranger in our midst.
Invocation* (from the Africana Worship Book)
O God, Jesus prayed that we might be one. One in spirit, one in mission,
In union and communion with each other and with You.
On this World Communion Sunday, give us eyes to recognize your reflection in the eyes of your children everywhere. Give us a mind to accept and celebrate our differences.
Give us a heart big enough to love one another.
We thank you for setting a table with space enough for us all! Amen.
Opening Hymn - “Gather Us In” - CH#284
Special Music - “World Communion” performed by Kingston Congregational Church choir, Kingston, RI
Selected Scriptures from John 17
Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, “O Beloved, I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for all those who will believe in me through their message, that all may be one, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they all be one.”
Response - Thy Word - CH No. 326
Sermon - “One-ish” - Shelly Wilson
Hymn of Response - “O God of Love, O Power of Peace” - CH#676
Call to Offering/Neighbors in Need
When we share our material blessings with others, we can help to bring light where there exists the shadows of hunger, poverty, climate destruction, exclusion, and pain. Through the work of our church, we offer blessing and hope to others in need and healing for our planet. May we give joyfully and with gratitude.
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Doxology - OLD HUNDREDTH - (NCH No. 778)
Dedication of Our Offerings
O God, giver of all, the seasons of light and plenty and of fallowness and rest, bless and multiply all that we give so that our gifts and our love, in and out of season, will bring some measure of light and hope for those who need it most. Amen.
Invitation to the Lord’s Table - Shelly Wilson
In the silence of the morning, as the new day dawned around the world, God’s people have gathered for worship or have made a welcome table in their own homes as best they can. And now we, too, join in this worldwide chorus of those who call upon the name of the Spirit who makes us all one. On this World Communion Sunday we remember especially that the Scriptures are fulfilled as “People will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at the table in the realm of God.” So share in this feast that God prepares and know that all… all are welcome there.
Among friends gathered around a table, a long time ago, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” Later, after they had eaten, he took a cup of wine and said, “This cup is the cup of suffering and of blessing. Whenever you drink it, do it remembering me.” So now, following Jesus’ example, we take this bread and wine; for in remembering him and all the prophets and teachers and examples of love, we are united in heart, one in the Spirit. And in celebration of God’s goodness, let us receive the gifts of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!
(Receive the communion elements you have prepared.)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
O living God, for your blessing in creation, for your image deep within us, for your life in all its fullness, we give thanks. For Jesus our sibling, who came to live among us and to call us friends, and who shared in our life and in our death, we give you thanks. O Spirit of grace and truth, for revealing yourself in community, healing us in our brokenness and inspiring us with courage to share, we give you thanks. O Creator of love, for the promise of a spreading tree giving shade and protection, for the vision of a body in which each part works for the health of the whole, for the invitation to a feast where the despised will be the guests of honor, We give you thanks.
God of justice and peace, you stand with those who are suffering and are most in need. Now, in prayers spoken and unspoken, we call upon you for those who suffer the injustice of violence and want; for those who carry heavy burdens; for those we love and those who love us, and for the beautiful Earth herself and all her creatures, that your presence, there, here, and everywhere will breathe new life, hope, and healing into our world. You have fed us with the bread of life and renewed us for our service. God of peace, may this meal, shared in the Spirit with your son Jesus, strengthen us, your people, to engage in peacemaking, to call for restraint, to plead for diplomacy, to urge the use of international law, to halt the endless, downward spiral of violence in all places. Strengthen us, your people, to raise our voices and to act. In the name of Christ who taught us to pray, saying . . .
Lord’s Prayer (in unison)
Our Creator, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kin-dom 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 kin-dom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Closing Hymn - “Come to the Table”
Benediction (by Jan Richardson)
And the table will be wide.
And the welcome will be wide.
And the arms will open wide to gather us in.
And our hearts will open wide to receive.
And we will come as children who trust there is enough.
And we will come unhindered and free.
And our aching will be met with bread.
And our sorrow will be met with wine.
And we will open our hands to the feast without shame.
And we will turn toward each other without fear.
And we will give up our appetite for despair.
And we will taste and know of delight.
And we will become bread for a hungering world.
And we will become drink for those who thirst.
And the blessed will become the blessing.
And everywhere will be the feast. Amen.
Peace I Leave With You Shalom
Postlude “Don’t Give Up on Me”(Andy Grammer) performed by the Jerusalem Youth Chorus
Worship has ended, let the service begin!
#end