The Prelude
Reflection for Scripture
Psalm 103:12 – As far as the east is from the west,
_ So far has he removed our transgressions from us!_
The Welcome, News and Announcements
The Introit
The Call to Worship
Nancy VanOrden
One: Name Unnamed, whose intriguing presence is closer to home than we dare to imagine, fill us with wonder of you.
All: that we may be filled with wonder of ourselves!
One: Name Unnamed, whose creativity is a river running, startle us with diversity and surprise us with difference.
All: that we may be filled with wonder of others!
One: Name Unnamed, whose mystery and concern is revealed in Jesus, reshape our perceptions, reshape our patterns of living, reshape our politics and prayer.
All: that we may be filled with wonder of others!
One: Let us wait, wonder, and worship in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, we are bold to worship you though we have sinned and fallen short of your glory. We stand in awe as under a heaven of stars, before a flower, a leaf in the sunlight, or a grain of sand to worship you. We will be silent, receptive, before a tree astir with the wind, or the passing shadow of a cloud. We will work with dedication and with skill; pause from work and listen to a strain of music. We will hum with the beauty of the earth; listen through a storm to the still small voice within. Our loneliness will seek communion; a thirsty land crying out for rain. The kindred fire within our hearts will stir us to deeds of kindness and acts of love. The mystery within us reaching out to the mystery beyond; an inarticulate silence yearning to speak; the window of the moment open to the sky of the eternal will be ours to worship you.
Hymn #625 “How Great Thou Art”
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds thy hand have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed, Then sings my soul, my savior God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art! Then sings my soul, my savior God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art!
The New Testament Lesson Matthew 5:43-47 Nancy Van Orden
“When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. The Message
The Hebrew Scripture Reading Amos 5:21-24
21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. NRSV
Hymn #834 “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”
1 Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand I’m tired, I’m weak, I’m worn; through the storm, through the night Lead me on to the light, take my hand precious Lord, lead me home.
2 When my way, grows drear, precious Lord, linger near; when my life is almost gone, hear my cry, hear my call, hold my hand lest I fall; take my hand, precious Lord, led me home.
We Proclaim God’s Word
Sermon “Responding with the Energies of Prayer”
Organ Music for Meditation
We Respond to God’s Word
The Offertory
The Doxology
**The Unison Prayer of Dedication
We give thanks that the gospel finds voice through us and our gifts, sounding forth against the rival claims of today’s Caesars. We dance for joy, knowing that hungry people will be fed and the oppressed will find freedom. Surely you provide a homeland for all where all are accepted and loved and given a ministry. Multiply, we pray, the work of our hands. Amen.
The Joys and Concerns
The Silent, Intercessory and the Lord’s Prayer
…Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen
We Go Forth in God’s Name
The Charge and Benediction
The Sending Hymn “Go Now in Peace”
Postlude
Attributions
The hymns for today are from Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal, Westminster Press, 2013. Call to Worship adapted & reprinted from The Pattern Of Our Days, The Iona Community; Invocation adapted & reprinted from Jacob Trapp; Unison Prayer of Dedication reprinted from Fresh Winds of the Spirit, Book 2 by Lavon Bayler
For Further Reflection
“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one’s very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
George Elliot (aka Mary Anne Evans)
Helpful Information:
• Need a hearing device for Worship? – You can get one at the rear of the Sanctuary at the sound booth
• Prayer Requests and announcements for the Bulletin/FPCU Family News should be sent to Administrative Assistant Kristin Parry at FPCUlysses@gmail.com
• Reservations for the Chapel should be made through Kristin Parry at 315-283-3137 or FPCUlysses@gmail.com
• Contact Information changes should be sent to Clerk of Session Kris Alling at krisalling56@gmail.com
Helpful Information (Continued)
• Birthday Calendar Updates should be sent to Linda Andrew at lka@ottcmail.com
• To sign up to be a liturgist, usher, or greeter, please see the sign-up sheets in the Chapel.
In alphabetical order:
Kristin Parry, Administrator
Joseph Pepper, Music Director
Joseph Pepper and Sandra Wayman, Accompanists
The Rev. Dr. Daniel J. Russell, Interim Pastor
69 East Main Street, P.O. Box 597, Trumansburg, NY 14886
Web Address: http://www.fpcu.info
Email Address: FPCUlysses@gmail.com
Telephone: 607-387-8185
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