Freedom to Serve

Holy God, you are for all the world a river of shelter and nourishment, a city of joy and riches, the defender of those you love. Take us into your arms again this day and feed us with the power of your comfort; through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

A Psalm of Lament by The General Commission on the Status

and Role of Women

(Adapted from Psalm 13)

Oh Lord, how long will you allow women and girls to be unseen and

forgotten?

We recognize that every person; woman and man is a full and

equal part of God’s family. We stand in solidarity with every

woman, and young girl.

Oh Lord, how long will women and girls be viewed as second-class

citizens? How long shall they be left with deep sorrow, anguish, and

travail?

We recognize that every person; woman and man is a full and

equal part of God’s family. We stand in solidarity with every

woman, and young girl. How long before women and girls will be able to make decisions

for their own health and wellness as well as for their families?

We recognize that every person; woman and man is a full and

equal part of God’s family. We stand in solidarity with every

woman, and young girl.

How long will they continue to be exploited by those who do not share

in their burdens, nor carry the weight of their collective pain? Oh Lord,

how long shall they be persecuted by those who have tormented

them and taken away their dignity?

We recognize that every person; woman and man is a full and

equal part of God’s family. We stand in solidarity with every

woman, and young girl.

Oh Lord, help all to remember that everyone is created in the image

of God. Help all humankind to know that we are of equal value in your

eyes. Dear Lord, we long for the day when reason, not power,

when love, not indifference will lead us to create a more equitable

society.

AMEN.

Your Word, O Lord, is our inspiration, our light, and our motion. Your Word, O Lord, is power, is wisdom, and is comfort. Guide us today, as we listen to the Word read and proclaimed, and fill us with understanding and with the desire to change. Speak Lord! Your people listen! Amen.

Galatians 6:1-6 ¹ My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. ² Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³ For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. ⁴ All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. ⁵ For all must carry their own loads. ⁶ Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. Luke 10:1-11,16-20 ¹ After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. ² He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³ Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. ⁴ Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. ⁵ Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house! ⁶ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. ⁸ Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; ⁹ cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you. ’¹⁰ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near. ’¹⁶“Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” ¹⁷ The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” ¹⁸ He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. ¹⁹ See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Question for Reflection: Rev. Johan Dodge

God heals and commands us to go out into the world and help others.

How are you a helping person? What situations around you are in

need of assistance? How can the church be a help rather than a

hinderance

Invitation to Communion (Pastor Johan Dodge)

Here at Community Church we celebrate “Open Communion’.

Anyone who wishes to commune may come to our Lord’s Table. You

do not have to be sinless; God forgives you. You do not have to be

perfect; but God is encouraging you to grow. You need not belong to

_ this or any church; God Invites all people to this meal. It is enough to

love the Lord and follow Him with all your heart. This is what God

asks us to do. Come to our Lord’s Table in faith this day. Go from

this place to live, and never be the same again. Let us commune as

brothers and sisters in Christ.

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Lift up your hearts.

People: We lift them up to the Lord.

Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Pastor: It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and

everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God, creator of heaven

and earth. In the beginning your Spirit moved over the face of the

waters. You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath

of life. When we turned away, and our love failed, Your love

remained steadfast. Your Spirit came upon prophets and teachers,

anointing them to speak your Word. And so, with your people on

earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join

their unending hymn:

People: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven

and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed

is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the

highest. Pastor: Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ. At his

baptism in the Jordan your Spirit descended upon him and declared

him your beloved Son. With your Spirit upon him he turned away the

temptations of sin.

Your Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim

release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at

liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had

come when you would save your people.

He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners.

By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection, you gave

birth to this your Church, You delivered us from slavery to sin and

death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.

When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always,

baptizing us with the Holy Spirit and with fire, as on the Day of

Pentecost.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us, Jesus took bread,

gave thanks to you O God, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples,

and said: "Take, eat; This is my body which is given for you. Do this

in remembrance of me."

When the supper was over he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave

it to his disciples, and said: "Drink from this, all of you; This is my

blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the

forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance

of me."

On the day you raised him from the dead Jesus was recognized by

his disciples.

In the breaking of the bread, and in the power of your Holy Spirit,

this your Church has continued in the breaking of the bread and the

sharing of the cup.

And so, in remembrance of these Your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,

we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living

sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the

mystery of faith.

People: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pastor: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these

gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of

Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by

his blood and empowered by the gifts of the Spirit. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one

in ministry to all the world, showing forth the fruit of the Spirit until

Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy

Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we

all partake of the one loaf.

The bread which we have eaten is a sharing in the bread of Christ.

The cup over which we give thanks is the sharing in the cup of Christ.

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. INVITATION TO THE OFFERING — Kelly Frankiewicz The blessings that come from God are sweet like the fruits of summer. With our tithes and our offerings let us give thanks and praise to the triune God: to the Son, the Spirit, and the Creator. Amen.

In you, O God, we take refuge. You are the source of all our hope, the font of all wisdom. You created the world and feed it daily. You cradle your people in safety. You call your creatures everywhere to grow and live according to your purposes. You sent us your Son to give life and vision. You guard us with your Holy Spirit even in the midst of those who would destroy what you have made. Let these gifts be signs of your creative hand in the places where there is need. Bless the work of your people. We ask this in the name of the one who knows us through and through— Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

O God, you send us out into the world as your disciples. Allow the church to be a healing presence, a place and a people that live out the essence of your kindom, here and now; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever. Amen. Blessed Be the Tie that Binds Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.