Creation 4A
September 28, 2014
10 am Holy Communion Service
Grace Evangelical Lutheran
Today’s Worship
Participants:
Pastor: Rev. Megan
Rohrer
Music Director: Dorothy
Clazie
Assisting Minister: Laurel
Reader: Sally
Welcome to worship at
Grace!
Welcome to long-time Lutherans, Christians from every tradition, and
people new to faith. Welcome to all who have no church home, want to follow
Christ, have doubts, or do not believe. Welcome to new visitors and old
friends. Welcome to people of every age and size, color and culture, every
sexual orientation and gender identity, socio-economic status, marital status,
ability and challenge. Welcome to believers and questioners, and to questioning
believers. This is a place where you are welcome to celebrate and sorrow,
rejoice and recover. This is a place
where lives are made new.
Special
Welcome to Newcomers
Welcome to our small community of
faith. While we are small in numbers, we
have big hearts and a desire to grow. In
order to help you follow along, we have included all the materials you need for
worship in this bulletin.
Please join us for worship any Sunday at
10am that you are able. If you cannot
join us in person, you can also join us online via live stream or by watching
the archives of our worship and Bible Study that Doesn’t Suck anytime during
the week at our website (www.gracesf.com), or on our mobile phone app, Bible Study that Doesn’t Suck, is
available on Google Play and ITunes.
If you have any questions about the service
or about Grace, you can fill out the form in pew to let our pastor know you’d
like to chat. Or you can contact Pastor
Megan Rohrer at pastor@gracesf.com.
Prelude: "The Heavens Are Telling the Glory of God" Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)
Greeting:
In the name of the Creator, the fountain
of life, in the name of Christ, the pulse of life,
and in the name of the Spirit, the
breath of life. Amen.
Holy!
Holy! Holy!
Earth
is filled with God’s presence.
Christ, we come into your presence to
worship in this sanctuary called Earth,
a planet pulsating with your presence,
a
presence quivering in the forests,
a
presence vibrating in the land,
a
presence pulsating in the wilderness,
a
presence shimmering in the rivers.
God,
reveal yourself to us in this place, and show us your face in all creation.
Opening Hymn: Verses 1-3
Welcome
Prayer of
the Day:
Creator God, thank you for all the beauty of the
Earth. As we wade in the river of life,
refresh, renew and revive us. Amen.
First Reading: Genesis 8:20-22; 9:12-17
20Then Noah built an altar to the Lord,
and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt
offerings on the altar. 21And when the Lord
smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, “I
will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of
the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living
creature as I have done. 22As long as the earth endures, seedtime
and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not
cease.”
…
12God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I
make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all
future generations: 13I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall
be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14When I bring
clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15I will
remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of
all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all
flesh. 16When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember
the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh
that is on the earth.” 17God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the
covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the
earth.”
L Word of hope, word of life. Thanks
be to God
Psalm 104:27-33
(read responsively)
27These
all look to you to give them their food in due season;
28when you
give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with
good things.
29When you
hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30When you
send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
31May the
glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— 32who
looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33I will sing
to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
Second Reading:
Revelation 22:1-5
Then
the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing
from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the
street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its
twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the
tree are for the healing of the nations. 3Nothing accursed will be
found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and
his servants will worship him; 4they will see his face, and his name
will be on their foreheads. 5And there will be no more night; they
need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they
will reign forever and ever.
L Word of hope, word of life. Thanks
be to God
Special
Music: "Look
at the World" John Rutter Grace
Choir
Gospel Reading: Matthew 28:1-10
After
the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And suddenly there was a great
earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled
back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning,
and his clothing white as snow. 4For fear of him the guards shook
and became like dead men. 5But the angel said to the women, “Do not
be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6He
is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he
lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised
from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee;
there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8So they left
the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly
Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his
feet, and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be
afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee;
there they will see me.”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise
to you, O Christ.
Sermon: Silence for reflection follows the sermon. The assembly stands to proclaim the word of
God in song.
Hymn of the
Day:
Prayers of Intercession
A During this season of Creation, we pray that
God will draw near and remind us that we were fearfully and wonderfully
made. May our uniqueness inspire the church
to be ever looking to see what God will reveal next. Let us lift our hearts and expand our
community by praying for the world and all people in their need. A brief
silence.
Creating
God, help us repair broken relationships, to clean up our messes and debts and
to ask for help when we need it. Help us to be good stewards of our planet and
its resources. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Parent
God, bless all who are parents, the family and staff of the Grace Infant Care Center
and all who have created families. Help
us to become better at loving and receiving love from others. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
God,
guide our civic leaders and enable them to be good stewards of our natural
resources and to help protect the air and water that is vital to our survival. Be with our bishops Elizabeth and Mark, our
pastor Megan and all the staff and leaders of our congregation. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We
give thanks for all who work in healing and caring professions. Support doctors, nurses, partners, parents
and friends who love and support others.
Provide healing and hope for those whose minds, bodies or spirits are in
need of care. Help us to live as fully
as we can as we await the day all pain and suffering will end. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For
whom and what else do the people of Grace pray?
(Please offer - silently or aloud- petitions
to God. End spoken petitions with “God
in your mercy.”)
P
Our prayers rise like incense and are held by a loving God who yearns for us to
be our best. May we sleep well, worry
less, and live convinced that God is on our side. Amen.
Peace
The presiding minister and the assembly greet each
other in the peace of the risen Christ.
P The peace of Christ be with you always. C
And also with you.
The people may greet one another with the sign of
Christ’s peace, and may say, “Peace be with you” or similar words. Then, the assembly is seated.
Offering
An offering is gathered for
the mission of the church, including the care of those in need.
Offertory: "Colors of the Wind" Menken
& Schwartz Hilda
Schedler
Offering
Prayer:
After the offering is
gathered, the assembly stands.
A Let us
pray. God, bless all that we have to offer. May our financial support
match the generosity of our lives. Help
us to be good stewards of our financial and emotional investments. Amen.
Communion:
P It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise . . . we
praise your name and join their unending hymn:
P On the night in which he was betrayed, our
Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples,
saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the
remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took
the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new
covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of
sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
The pastor invites the Holy Spirit to be in the meal
and with the people present.
The pastor takes the bread.
You are blessed indeed, God
of all creation. Through your goodness
we have this bread which the Earth has given and which we have received from
the silent soil. Bathed in morning
light, this beautiful planet rests in the galaxies of space, faithful and surprising,
bringing forth life in all its forms. Blessed be God forever.
The pastor takes the wine.
You are blessed too, Loving God, in the wine
we have, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. In our Earth of many blessings the vine was
planted, its roots reaching down to that richness from which nourishment,
strength and health are drawn. Blessed be God forever.
The Creation Creed:
We believe that God creates all things,
renews all things, and
celebrates all things.
We believe Earth is a
sanctuary,
a sacred planet filled with
God’s presence,
a home for us to share with
all creatures.
We believe every creature
joins us in praising God.
We see many suffer with Earth
because of human crimes
against creation.
We believe that God became
incarnate
as a part of Earth, Jesus
Christ,
that he lived and breathed
and spoke among us,
suffered and died on a cross,
for all human beings and for
all creation.
We believe that the risen
Jesus Christ
fills the whole creation,
reconciling all things to
God,
renewing all things.
We believe the Spirit renews
life in creation,
groans in empathy with every
suffering creature,
and waits with us for the
rebirth of the whole creation.
We believe that with Christ
we will rise
and with Christ we will
celebrate a new creation,
reconciled, restored, and
renewed.
The bread is broken.
Creator God,
meet us in this bread and wine, and be with us on the journey which is the
future, that we and all creation may make anew the story of Life. People of
God, draw near in faith and travel far in Grace. Come, to be renewed by the Spirit who makes
all things new.
Blessing
Announcements
Closing Hymn
Dismissal
A: Go in peace and serve our God.
C: Thanks be to God.
Postlude "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" Hymntune: St. Anne William
Croft (1708)
Please
join us for coffee and refreshments downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.
To
get to the Fellowship Hall, exit to the right of the communion railing at the
front of the church.
Scripture in
this service is adapted from The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian
Translation, by Priests for Equality.
2009, Sheed & Ward. Kindle Edition. The
traditional Lutheran liturgy is from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2014
Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress
Liturgies Annual License #28429. Hymns used with permission for worship
and podcast
under OneLicense.net #A-723548.
Announcements:
You can find more information and find archived
sermons and worship live streams at our website: www.gracesf.com or on our blog: www.sfgrace.blogspot.com
· A special thanks to everyone who stopped by and
brought food or gifts to the gathering at Pastor Megan and Laurel’s house last night.
·
Next week, we are
celebrating the Feast of St. Francis. Don’t
forget to bring pets (that play well with others) to worship for a
blessing. You can bring photos of others
pets you’d like to remember or include in the blessings.
Upcoming Events and
Dates:
·
October 9 –
Night Ministry Fundraiser: We will
invite singing groups to come to grace to help us raise money for the Night
Ministry.
·
November 7-8 – Welcome
Fundraiser: We will have three
Musical Events featuring the movie RENT.
·
November 27 –
Thanksgiving: A meal served for 300 individuals (mostly homeless or
seniors) by Welcome at St. Francis Lutheran Church.
·
December 4 –
18 - Holden Evening Prayer, 6:30pm: Each Thursday night in Advent.
·
December 11-13 – West Coast LGBTQ Conference for Christian College Students
·
December 24 – Christmas Eve Service of Carols, 9:30pm
Director: Daniel Prypchan
