Bulletin – August 9, 2020 Communion
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Communion
Approach
Lighting the Christ Candle
This candle dances with the presence of the Spirit, reminding us of the warmth of the community in which God calls us to gather and the light that shines with wisdom, insight, and clarity for us in our time of worship.
Call to Worship
These summer months offer us much-needed time for rest and renewal.
Let us come to this time of worship with the same desire, to find rest and renewal for our souls.
Let us come as the sun shines, as the warm rains fall, as the earth ripens, that we might praise God together.
Let us come together to worship, in word and song, the God of all that is.
(adapted from Nora Vedress, Gathering, Pentecost 1, 2020, page 33)
Hymn – “As the Deer Pants for the Water”
As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you;
You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship you.
You alone are my strength, my shield,
To you alone may my spirit yield,
You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you!
Day and night I cry, my heart is breaking, tears my only food;
While my enemies jeer and taunt me, saying “Where is Now your God?”
You alone are my strength, my shield,
To you alone may my spirit yield,
You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you!
Why am I so sad, so troubled, why must suffering be so long?
I will hope in you, my God and saviour, praise you with a song!
You alone are my strength, my shield,
To you alone may my spirit yield,
You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you!
Prayer
Holy God, here we are, ready to celebrate this day! Open our minds to possibility. Open our hearts to love freely. Open our hands to each other. Work through us, we pray.
God of possibilities and surprises, you send us your messages and show us your grace in surprising and sometimes confusing ways. You send us strangers because you know that they have something to teach us through their presence.
Yet, too often, we are frightened by strangers, or discount their wisdom, instead of seeing them as your messengers. Forgive us, O God. Help us to notice you in every person and in every circumstance that we encounter. Amen.
(adapted from Catherine Tovall and Jamie Miller, Gathering, Pentecost 1, 2020, pages 38 and 40) Words of Assurance
Hymn – “Open My Eyes”
Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth thou has for me;
Place in my hand the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my Good, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine!
Open my ears, that I may hear voices of truth thou sendest clear;
And while the wave-notes fall on my ear, everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my Good, thy will to see.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit Divine!
Open my mouth, and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere;
Open my heart and let me prepare love with the children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit Divine!
The Word
Scripture Reading:
Genesis 32:22-31
Romans 9:1-5
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God!
Meditation – “To Wrestle with God”
Anthem – “Rain Down”
The Response
Communion
O God, true source of humanity, mother and father of us all. You renew us so we may grow like you. We gather together. May God be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up our hearts.
We lift them up to the Holy One.
Let us give thanks.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
God of the summer’s day and season, God of the lingering sunset and early dawn, God of the hot wind and the refreshing shower, God of the shady tree and the cool water bag, God of the ripening harvest and sparkling sea, We offer our praise to you.
All creation blesses the Source of Energy and Life. For all things bright and beautiful. For all things dark and mysterious and lovely. For all things green and growing and strong. For all things weak and struggling to push life up through rocky earth. For all human faces, hearts, minds, and hands which surround us. And for all non-human minds and hearts, paws and claws, fins and wings. So we join our praise with all your people across the generations saying:
Holy, holy, holy, Celebrating God, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God. Hosanna in the highest.
In our praise and thanksgiving we also remember the ways of Jesus who walked the dusty roads of Galilee, who taught from seashore and mountainside, who told stories of the sower and the seed, the lilies of the field, and the birds of the air. May we, too, know your presence in the beauty of creation. May those who we lift up in prayer feel your presence with them this day…
We also remember, Creating God, that your care for this earth and your people can be denied; for your goodness was abused and the Human One betrayed. On the night of his arrest, so our tradition reminds us, Jesus shared a meal with his disciples. Bread taken, blessed, broken in silence. Wine taken, poured out in silence. Through grain and grape, bread and wine, he spoke of his coming death and new life, asking his disciples to remember him.
Be present with us now, Enfolding God, as we share this sacrament. Let your Holy Spirit brood among us…and upon and through this bread and wine. Bless us with a desire to praise in song and story. Bless us with a sharpened awareness of your presence. Bless us with deep compassion. Bless us with the patience and daring of the mystics. Abide with us always. Abide with us in our daily work. Abide with us when we rest. Abide with us in our journeying. Abide with us at all times and through eternity.
Prayer after Communion
Generous Giver of life, you supply us with all good things. May this bread and wine be the nourishment we seek, and may it transform us into disciples who serve in your creation.
(adapted from Rex A.E. Hunt)
Hymn – “Like a Healing Stream”
Like a healing stream in a barren desert,
Spirit water bringing life to dusty earth,
God is trickling through our lives as in a dream unfolding,
Promising revival and rebirth…
Like a healing stream.
Like a gentle rain on a thirsty garden,
Spirit water come to nourish tiny seed,
God is bubbling through the soil to coax a new creation,
Yearning for an end to want and need…
Like a gentle rain.
Like a river strong with a restless current,
Spirit water rushing on to distant shore,
God is carving out a channel in a new direction,
Calling for an end to hate and war…
Like a river strong.
Like a might sea reaching far horizons,
Spirit water with a love both deep and wide,
God is working in our hearts to shape a new tomorrow;
God will always challenge and provide!
Like a mighty sea,
Like a river strong,
Like a gentle rain,
Like a healing stream.
Benediction
Go now from this service of worship to the service of God’s people near and far, refreshed by the living water that Jesus offers to you. Listen for the parched voices of the least of these; search out the dry places and the arid souls, and become for them a spring of living water. And as you go, may the blessings of the God of life, the Christ of love, and the Spirit of grace be upon you this day and every day. Amen
Response
Love God, love God.
Love in the morning, Love in the noon time.
Love God, love God.
Love when the sun goes down.
