|
Worship Order for
Sunday
|
Call to
Worship
Come, you saints and sinners,
on this 300th anniversary of the church’s beginning.
Surrender yourselves to the glory of God.
Unless a grain of wheat
falls into the earth and dies,
it will never know the fullness
of life
that God intends for all
people.
Come, you who are faithful and doubtful.
Christ has lived, died, and risen
so that you may be transformed in his likeness.
We offer ourselves,
our hearts, souls, minds, and
strength
to the glory of God and our
neighbor’s good.
Come, you who are wondering and waiting.
There is power in God’s spirit
to bear fruit for generations to come.
The Spirit of God is upon us
to bring good news to the poor
and peace to all who are
oppressed.
by Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm
from "Worship
Resources for the 300th anniversary of the Church of the
Brethren"
|
|
Opening
Prayer
Almighty God, we invite your presence in our worship today. We seek
to enter into this worship experience with a spirit of surrender,
with an openness to transformation, and with anticipation of
empowerment to do your will. We pray in the name of Jesus the
Christ, who modeled for us a life of surrender to God and a life
empowered by the Holy Spirit. Oh, God, we praise and honor you now.
AMEN
by Carol Spicher Waggy
from "Additional
Worship Resources for the 300th anniversary of the Church of the
Brethren"
|
|
Tercentennial Minute
The First Brethren Baptism
Sunday, August 3rd,
2008, is the Sunday which is designated to celebrate the first
Brethren baptism. It was an act not only of faithfulness, but
of great bravery, for it was illegal.
Following the horrific
religious wars of the 17th century, in which
unspeakable atrocities were committed by Christians of several
stripes in the name of Jesus, the Treaty of Westphalia
established that there were only three official churches in the
German states. You were either Roman Catholic, Lutheran, or
Reformed, and the choice was made for you. You shared the same
church as your local prince. If your prince changed churches,
for economic or political reasons, you changed as well.
Against this rather cynical
backdrop there were those, known as Pietists, who believed that
it was not the outward observances mandated by the state, but
inward belief and practice according to the Bible, which made
one a follower of Jesus. Many of these Pietists continued to
hold membership in the established churches, but some, including
the eight who participated in the first Brethren baptism,
decided that scripture gave them no choice but to separate from
them.
Writing sixty-six years later,
Alexander Mack, Jr., son of the first Brethren minister,
remembered how it had been described to him. “Finally in the
year 1708, eight persons agreed together to establish a covenant
of a good conscience with God, to accept all ordinances of Jesus
Christ as an easy yoke, and thus to follow after their Lord
Jesus – their good and loyal shepherd – as true sheep in joy or
sorrow until the blessed end…..”
The group decided that
Alexander Mack, Sr., would perform the baptisms, but the
question arose – who would baptize him? After prayer and fasting
they decided to cast lots to determine this.
Mack Jr., said, "They promised
one another never to reveal who the first baptizer among them
was, so that no one might have cause to call them by someone’s
name. They found such folly reprimanded already by Paul in his
writing to the Corinthians.
"After they were thus prepared,
the said eight went out to the water called the Eder in the
solitude of the morning. The brother upon whom the lot had
fallen, first baptized that brother who wished to be baptized by
the church of Christ. When the latter was baptized, he baptized
him who had first baptized, and then the other three brethren
and the three sisters. Thus all eight were baptized in an early
morning hour. After they had emerged from the water, and had
dressed themselves again, they were all immediately clothed
inwardly with great joyfulness.
"…This happened in the said
year, 1708. However, they have left no record of the month of
the year, or the day of the month, or of the week."
To this day we have no idea who
performed the first Brethren baptism, nor when exactly it took
place! It is believed to have been later in the summer. The
Brethren did not wish to be identified by anyone’s name – and
since they believed they were restoring the first church, and
not forming a new one, they did not take a name for their
group. Ultimately others named them according to their practice
of baptism, Dunkers, and their close family relationship to each
other, Brethren.
And that's the Tercentennial Minute for Sunday, August 3, 2008.
by Frank Ramirez, pastor of the Everett, PA
Church of the Brethren
posted by permission
The Everett church
graciously makes available these weekly vignettes from Brethren
history
to all who are interested during this
300th
anniversary year of our denomination.
Frank will be the guest preacher for our Homecoming on October
26, 2008
(this is our congregation's 100th anniversary year)
|
|
Listening
(led by Congregational Discovery Team)
Invitation to Participate
In this morning’s
gospel lesson, the disciples were faced with a dilemma. As they
viewed the situation, there were too many people needing to be
fed and too few resources with which to feed them. “We have
nothing here but five loaves and two fish,” they told Jesus.
This was an honest assessment of the circumstances. Jesus did
not reply, “O you of little faith, watch and learn.” He simply
took what they had and made do. And it became enough.
As we celebrate the 300th
anniversary of our denomination and the 100th
anniversary of our congregation, it is appropriate to honestly
assess our own circumstances as we look to the future. Last
month we opened some space during worship for listening. What do
we do well as a church? What draws us to this church? What keeps
us here? These were the questions to which you responded. Thank
you.
Today, we ask a different set
of questions, all of them focused upon our growth areas as a
church. It’s important that we honestly assess these as well.
So, let me ask: What ministries or activities of our
congregational life can be strengthened? What ministry, program,
or activity doesn’t have the energy it once did, and you are
willing to let it go? Which ministry, program, or activity do
you hold as a priority for your time and energy?
During the following quiet
time, please write your responses to these 3 questions on the
index card in your bulletin. The questions are listed on the
overhead. Do not put your name on the card. When you are done,
pass your card to the center aisle to be collected. On June 8th
we met after worship in the fellowship hall to read over the
responses in small groups and talk about them. We will follow
the same format today. I hope you can stay, and enjoy the
fellowship along with some refreshments.
Now, would you prayerfully
respond to the questions?
Quiet Time for writing
Receiving our offering of words
|
|
Returning
our Tithes and Offerings
"Bring them to me." That's what Jesus told his disciples when
they pointed out their limited resources in the face of a great
need, saying: "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."
Similar words have been spoken here lately as we have honestly
assessed our own church finances. Of course, you know the rest of
the story of the feeding of the 5,000. Whether told by Matthew,
Mark, Luke, or John, the result is the same. Jesus took what they
had and made it more than enough. What was true then is true now.
You have already offered your own assessment of our present
circumstances as a church in your responses to the questions that
were asked. Now is the time for putting your loaves and fishes in
the plate, if you know what I mean. Before doing so, let’s pray.
|
Thank you God for clear vision. The history of our
church – our denomination as well as this
congregation – is full of real loaves and fishes
experiences. Not the candy-colored,
back-in-the-good-old-days way of remembering, but
rather times of honest wondering if there was enough
to go around. The wonder of it all is that out of
such times have often come some of the greatest
miracles, as you have taken what we had and made it
more than enough. In that spirit, we place our
loaves and fishes in the basket today, and ask you
to bless this offering. Amen. |
Ushers?
|
|
Pastoral Prayer
written closer to the time (if not at the
moment)
|
|
Congregational Affirmation of Faith
In the circle of God’s compassionate
love,
we surrender our lives to our Creator,
knowing and being known by the great “I Am,”
accepting the grace offered day after day.
Surrendered, we know God’s love.
In the circle of Christ’s
transforming power,
we change our lives to follow the Son,
repenting, turning toward a new way,
following the one who calls us friends.
Transformed, we know Christ’s power.
In the circle of the Spirit’s
unifying peace,
We open our lives to the wider world,
reaching out to all who are called God’s children,
giving, receiving in a world made one.
Empowered, we know the Spirit’s unity.
by June Adams
Gibble
from "Worship
Resources for the 300th anniversary of the Church of the
Brethren"
|
|
Benediction
O God,
Open our wills
that we may surrender ourselves to
you;
Open our hearts
that we may be transformed in Christ;
Open our spirits
that we may be empowered by your
Spirit.
by June Adams Gibble
from "Worship
Resources for the 300th anniversary of the Church of the
Brethren"
|
(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)
|