3rd Sunday of
Easter
10:30 am Holy Communion Service
Grace Evangelical Lutheran, San
Francisco
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 10:30am
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
Greeting
Pastor: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Congregation: Christ
is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The joy of the resurrection fills us with hope,
promises us new life, and draws
us together as one. We cannot keep this good news
to ourselves. Let us begin
our worship by turning to fellow worshipers and
greeting them with the words,
“Christ is risen!”
Worshipers
greet one another by saying, “Christ is risen!” or “Alleluia!” along with
introducing themselves to others they may not have yet met.
Gathering Hymn
Prayer of the Day
Loving
God, help us become a compassionate community that gives thanks more often than
we complain, assumes the best in others and shares when we can. Amen.
Welcome
First Reading Acts 3:12-18
12When
Peter saw it, he addressed the people, “You Israelites, why do you wonder at
this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had
made him walk? 13The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you
handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to
release him. 14But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked
to have a murderer given to you, 15and you killed the Author of
life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16And
by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see
and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health
in the presence of all of you. 17“And now, friends, I know that you
acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18In this way God
fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would
suffer.
Word of hope, word of life. Thanks be to God
Psalm 4 (read responsively)
1Answer me
when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me
room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
2How long,
you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and
seek after lies? But know that the Lord has set apart the
faithful for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. 4When you are disturbed, do not
sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. 5Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
6There are
many who say, “O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine
on us, O Lord!”
7You have
put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound.
8I will both
lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make
me lie down in safety.
Second Reading 1 John 3:1-7
3See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called
children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is
revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And
all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4Everyone
who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You
know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No
one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. 7Little
children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous,
just as he is righteous.
Word of hope, word of
life. Thanks
be to God
Special Music Every
Time I Feel the Spirit Grace Choir
Gospel Reading John
20:19-31
36While
they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them,
“Peace be with you.” 37They were startled and terrified, and thought
that they were seeing a ghost. 38He said to them, “Why are you
frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look at my
hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does
not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40And when he had
said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While in their
joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you
anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and
he took it and ate in their presence. 44Then he said to them, “These
are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written
about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then
he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to
them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the
dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins
is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of
these things.
The
gospel of the Lord. Praise
to you, O Christ.
Sermon
Silence for reflection follows the sermon. Following the sermon, the assembly stands to
proclaim the word of God in song.
Hymn of the Day Verses
1, 2 and 4 in English
(Hilda may teach the congregation the refrain in
Spanish if she is with us and willing)
Prayers of Intercession
A During this season of Easter, we pray for
all who long for a new start, experience health and love beyond their expectations
and for the church, 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. 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, you are the highest
authority. Help our civic leaders to
bring peace to a war torn world and to care for those who are vulnerable. Be with our bishops Elizabeth and Mark, our
pastor Megan and all the staff and leaders of our congregation. Help us to support the work and hobbies of
all who worship with us, so that we may draw closer to God in all that we do at
work and at home. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Loving God, help us to have
patience, compassion and listening ears for those who differ from us. Provide healing and hope for those whose
minds, bodies or spirits are in need of care.
We pray especially for those who care for the sick and support those who
are aging. Help us to live and
experience as much as we can while we await the day we will be reunited with
those we have lost. 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’s is on our side. Amen.
Offering
An offering is gathered for the mission of the church,
including the care of those in need. After
the offering is gathered, the assembly stands.
Offering Prayer
A Let us pray. God,
bless the 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
The
Lord be with you. And
also with you.
Lift
up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let
us give and thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give God thanks and praise.
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:
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
Lord’s Prayer
C
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your
will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us
our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now
and forever. Amen
Blessing
Announcements
Sending Hymn
Dismissal
A: Go in peace and serve our God.
C: Thanks be to God.
Postlude
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.
Grace
Film Festival:
Friday, April 24, 2015 - 5:30-10pm
Bayberries Have
Ripened (16:25) a short film from Nepal
; Dervish: a spiritual sojourn
(39:01) a short film from India
- Intermission -
Films resume at 6:30
Love Free or Die
(1:22:00) Documentary from US - The life and work of Bishop Gene Robinson, an
openly gay man who set a precedent in New Hampshire in the battle for LGBT
people to receive full acceptance in the faith.
- Intermission - Films resume at 8pm
The Illusion (2:04)
a short animated film from Iran;
The Complicated Race to the Wheel of
Life (11:35) a short film from the Philippines;
The Glorious Refuse (14:57) a short
film film from Nigeria; Alyosha's Love (22:42) a short film from
Russia; 1-0 (1) a short from Iran
- Intermission -
Films resume at 9pm
Of Boys and Planes (2:40) an animated short from Mexico; Two
Men and a Cradle (55:19) a documentary from France
Saturday, April 25, 2015 - 5:15-8:30pm
to be or not to be? (1:01:00) a film from Kazakhstan (All roles of this film are performed by
young people with disabilities. Every second of their lives is given to them by
incredible struggle, which enforces them to put a question for themselves: “To
be or not to be”?)
- Intermission
- Films resume at 6:30 pm
Brother Outsider (1:23:00) Documentary from US -
Documentary on Bayard Rustin, best-remembered as the organizer of the 1963
March on Washington.
-
Intermission - Films resume at 8pm
Because of Mum (12:17) an
animated short from Bulgaria;
Shades of Gray (6:18) an animated short from the Russian Federation; Ticonderoga (7) a
short film from Canada; Coffee
Talk 6 - Gay Marriage (5:06) a short from the US
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.
Pastor Megan is away for continuing education at a retreat
with other LGBTQ Pastors in upstate New
York and will be back next week. Today, our service will be led by Pastor Susan Strouse of First United
Lutheran Church. Pastor Susan Strouse is a native of Pottstown, PA (near Philadelphia) and is a graduate of Antioch
University/Philadelphia (B.A. in Human Services) and the Lutheran Theological
Seminary in Gettysburg (Master of Divinity) She
has previously served congregations in Buffalo, NY and Novato,
CA. She has been at First
United since December 2004.
In
2005 she received a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Pacific School of Religion
in Berkeley.
Her area of study and interest is interfaith theology, particularly working
with congregations and clergy to explore the meaning of being a Christian in
our religiously diverse world. She served as the Interim Executive Director of
the Interfaith Center at the Presidio in 2011-2012.
