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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Call to
Worship
Blessed
are those
who do not follow the advice of the
wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of
the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its
season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind
drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of
the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish. Hymnal
#811
New Revised Standard Version
vs. 1a is from Revised Standard Version
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Opening
Prayer
God of all time and space, of all wisdom and knowledge - we worship
and adore you. You could have remained far beyond our understanding
yet you chose to reveal yourself in the person of Jesus, your Son,
our Savior. He widened the horizons of minds and hearts when he made
your love and your wisdom known through his gentleness, compassion
and humility. And you empower us with your Holy Spirit so that we
can apply your wisdom to all our words and actions, making them
gentle, compassionate and humble. Gracious and wise God, accept our
praise and adoration in response to all your gifts to us, especially
the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen
by Rev Moira Laidlaw,
Uniting Church in Australia,
from
Liturgies Online.
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Deacon
Drama
Having wrestled with the dilemma of how to help members who have
difficulty getting down on their knees to wash the feet of a
brother or sister during our Love Feast, the deacons wish to
make room for the washing of hands (instead of feet) for those
who are open to it. To show what this might look like, two of
our male deacons, Mike Hanna & Dave Sack, will come forward and
pretend to be sitting together at Love Feast. One of them will
be unable to wash the feet of the other, though he would like to
do so, if only he could. This will be followed by a brief
commentary on what just happened, and then an invitation to come
on the evening of Oct. 7 (World Communion Sunday) to join
in this ordinance of the church.
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Invitation to Love Feast
"So if I,
your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another’s feet." There is beauty in this simple
act. There is also frustration. When knees cannot bend as they
should, when balance becomes a barrier, when a medical condition
gets in the way, the "ought to" of this ordinance of
Jesus can be experienced as bad news instead of gospel. Your
deacons have wrestled with this dilemma, and suggest what you
just witnessed Mike and Dave portraying.
Starting at our
next Love Feast, you are invited to either wash the feet of the
person beside you, or wash their hands if you have difficulty
getting down on your knees. Likewise, you may choose to have
your hands washed instead of your feet if there is some barrier
that prevents you from receiving feetwashing. As always, there
will be two types of basins. One is for the washing of feet. The
other, instead of being for the cleansing of hands after
feetwashing, will now be for the purpose of washing hands in
fulfillment of Jesus' command. We’ll pass around hand sanitizing
lotion after we are done, so that we can then head on to the
meal portion of Love Feast.
Service, humility, cleansing – these things lie at the core of
what we do when we wash feet. Let’s keep these firmly in mind as
we come to the Lord’s table next month. Speaking of which, two
weeks from today is World Communion Sunday. That evening,
beginning at 6:30pm, we will gather around the table of the Lord
to wash feet, share a simple meal, and celebrate communion –
what we call Love Feast. A place is set for you. Please put this
down on your calendar and reserve this time. Come to the table,
the candles will be lit. You will be most welcome, so come in
and sit!
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Pastoral Prayer
written closer to the time (if not at the
moment)
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Returning
our Tithes and Offerings
Sisters and brothers,
through what you are about to give,
as well as through the offerings this week
of
your time and talents,
your listening and speaking,
your acts of kindness and expressions
of love,
your asking and receiving grounded in
wisdom and justice,
may you plant seeds of God’s peace in the world
around you. |
Ushers?
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Benediction
May you go forth from this place and time
blessed by the wisdom of God,
the peace of Christ, and
the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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