Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
All-Newton UCC Worship
Prelude Allegro Maestoso (John E. West)
Community Welcome
Call to Worship
*Opening Hymn (Insert) God, who Stretched the Spangled
Heavens
*Prayer of Invocation (unison)
All: Holy Creator, we gather this morning in the light of your
peace. Receive our joy for your unfailing faith in us. Renew our hope
for new life through our re-membering of the body of Christ. Instill in
us a passion for your justice, which is nourished into being by our
communion. This we pray as the people of Christ. Amen.
*Assurance of Grace
The Gospel Reading Matthew 14: 13-21
The Hebrew Bible Genesis 2: 8-9, 15-17
Sermon “Knowledge” the Rev. Dr. Nancy Taylor
Pastoral Prayer and The Lord’s Prayer
(“Our Father and Mother…trespasses…”)
*Hymn #514 Let us Talents and Tongues Employ
Communion Liturgy
Invitation
Affirmation of Faith: We are One (written by the Rev. Kenneth L.
Samuel)
One: Holy God, in this Communion, we are one:
All: One in the witness of those present with us and those
present around us, who testify to your healing presence, your saving
grace, your resurrecting power.
One: One in the work you have given us to be agents of
reconciliation in this
world of partisanship and polarization.
All: One in your worship, true and living God, whose good news
of all-inclusive love we celebrate and announce to all in word and in
deed.
One: Holy God, in this Communion, we are one:
All: One in the community of disciples, who overcome fear
through faith, and who allow the truth about ourselves to make us
free.
One: One in the community of freedom fighters, whose conviction
and courage bring down the strongholds of injustice and iniquity.
All: One in the community of believers, whose loving relations
in the household of faith make this Communion holy.
(continued on back)
One: Holy God, in this Communion, we are one:
All: One, in the purposeful providence of our Creator. One, in
the trusted salvation of our Redeemer. One, in the glorious promise of
our Sustainer.
In you, O God, we are one.
Sharing of Communion
Musical Offering Offertory (Carl Bohm)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
One: Thank you, God, for inviting us to this Banquet of Life, and
feeding us with the good news of Jesus and his wondrous bread and cup.
You are always glad to have us here around your Holy table.
All: Help us notice who is missing. Make us everybody’s
neighbor. Send us to them as friends with your standing invitation to
come, to eat, to know love, and be in peace at home.
*Hymn of Thanksgiving (Insert) Praise the Source of
Faith and Learning
*Benediction
Postlude Grand Chorus (Joseph Jongen)
* Those who are able please stand
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome the Rev. Dr. Nancy S. Taylor to our All-Newton UCC
Pulpit
Nancy Taylor is the senior minister emeritus of Old South Church
in Boston,
where she served for seventeen years. An ordained minister in the
UCC,
she has also served churches in Maine, Connecticut and Idaho.
Prior to being called to Old South Church she was the Minister and
President of the Massachusetts Conference of the UCC. She last
celebrated communion here at NHCC on March 9, 2003 (for Ken’s
Installation).
Our worship is “masks optional.” We continue to be careful,
and our leaders are vaccinated.
Celebrating the assembly of Newton’s UCC community, we repeat the
sounding joy:
all who seek the way of Jesus and express the love of God and neighbor
are
most welcome at the Communion Table; come, receive, share, and
rejoice.
If you are not able to come forward and wish to participate,
a Deacon will serve you where you are.
NHCC is an Open and Affirming, Still Speaking congregation
where all are welcome regardless of the divisions or separations
that some in society would impose: whoever you are, you are
welcome in God’s house. “In Christ we are a new creation,”
so we are blessed to be together in Christ’s name.
Thanks to worship leaders Nancy Taylor, Cheryl Kerr, Amy Clark
Feldman,
Dom Ackermann, Kenneth Baily, Carol Jensen, Yevgenia Semeina, Misha
Hill,
and the Deacons of United Parish, Union Church, and Second Church in
Newton.