Worship Service – May 2, 2021

The Building is Closed and the Church is Open

While we have restricted access to the building, Peace Church is very much open to ministry—working to respond to our own congregation, as well as the needs of our neighbors and community.  Please consider giving either to Peace Church general fund or the Gabriel Fund – which is used to meet the needs in the community.

We recognize that in this time, people’s financial situations may have changed. We ask you to prayerfully consider what you can give.  If you use electronic giving, we thank you for your constancy of support.  If you would like to give through our online form, we would be grateful. For all the contributions from our members and friends—whether financial, time, or prayer—we ask God’s blessings on those gifts that Peace Church may be healing balm in this time when we are living in our own Gilead.

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May 2, 2021 ⁂ 10:30am

Liturgists
The People of Peace Church
Judy Hlina, ASL Interpreter
Joan Peterson, Lay Reader
Jim Pospisil, Music Director
Sharon Dawson, Children’s Ministry Coordinator
Nathan Holst, Faith Formation Minister
Rev. Greg Briggs, Interim Minister

Prelude   “If I Ever Needed Someone” by Van Morrison

Announcements and Ringing of the Peace Bells

God is Revealed as We Gather

*Responsive Call to Worship    (1 John 4:7-8, 11-12)

Beloved, let us love one another,
Because love is from God;
Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Beloved, since God loved us so much,
We also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another,
God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us.
Come, worship God, who is love,
And follow Jesus Christ our Lord.

Opening Hymn   “You Are Welcome”   (#19 in P&W Songbook)

Unison Prayer of Confession

O God, giver of life, we confess the times when we fail to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
God, forgive us when we ignore or we fail to see our neighbors in need.
Abiding God, also forgive us when we reject love from others and shut down completely.
As we confess the times when we did not tend to our own needs, and denied ourselves of your forgiveness and grace.
In our failures, we have refused your invitation to grow closer to you. In our confession, O God, we pray your abiding love
be shown through the ways we love more fully. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Story for All Ages by Greg Briggs

Special Music   “Helpless” by Neil Young

God is Revealed in the Word

God’s Word in the Epistles: Acts 8:26-40

God’s Word in the Gospel: John 15:1-8

Easter Halleluja! #236

Sermon by Greg Briggs

Hymn   “Many Are the Lightbeams”   (#163)

We Respond to God’s Presence

Sharing Our Prayer Concerns, Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer by Nathan Holst, Lord’s Prayer, and Choral Amen

Sharing our Offerings

Offertory    “My Shepherd Is the Living God”

*The Thanksgiving    (Doxology)

*Prayer of Dedication

Generous God, we offer you the fruits of our time, talents, and resources in celebration of all that we have been given. Loving God, we give you thanks for all that we have and
ask a special blessing on the fruits we have given back to help meet the needs of your beloved community. May the gifts nourish and strengthen the community to grow spiritually, emotionally, and physically. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Sharing Communion Together   

Communion Liturgy

Words of Welcome and Remembrance
May the God of searches be with you.
And also with you.
Bring your hearts to the One who loves you.
We offer them so God may plant fruit-bearing seeds in them.
Lift songs of praise to our God.
We will join our hearts and voices in proclaiming,
“God has done it!”

Welcome
Friends, we are here to share in this age old, yet always refreshing, sacrament of communion. 

Unison Prayer of Consecration
God above, remain in us at this Table, as you pour out your Spirit on the gifts of the bread and cup, and on your children gathered in this place.
The broken bread reminds us that you loved us first so that, as we eat of it, we might put the needs of the hungry, the searching, the hurting, the lonely before our own.
The cup of grace nourishes us so we can go over and join the oppressed and the outcasts, intertwining our branches with theirs, so we all become part of the Vine of justice and of hope.
Love is your language of holiness, Branch weaving God, and Jesus Christ, our Savior is the true Vine of your heart. Imbue these elements with the divine love you give to each and every one of us, so we can bear the fruits you ask us to spread to the world. Amen.

Sharing the Bread and Cup

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Mother of Compassion, may the gifts of this meal help graft us, one to another, to be a thriving branch of God. May the dead parts of us be cut away to make room for new growth, new life, and unexpected new siblings in Christ. May this meal be nourishing food for the spiritual journey we are on, and the spiritual fruits we are called to grow and share with others. May our fruits overflow every container we hope to collect them in, and may they continue to bring in others we might never expect. Amen.

Closing Song   “Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song”   (#270)

Benediction

Postlude

Worship Resources:

• Prayer of Confession, Assurance of Pardon, Invitation, and Prayer of Dedication: UCC Worship Ways https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/easter-5-may-2/
  
• Communion Liturgy based on writings of Thom Shuman.