Service of Worship
18 September 2013
Emmanuel College
Welcome & Announcements
Passing of the Peace
Call to Worship from Seasons of the Spirit 2008
We gather here as followers of Jesus.
We gather here as the church.
For almost two thousand years,
Christians have gathered in many places:
in cities, towns, and countryside,
in homes, and in refugee camps,
in cathedrals and in colleges and in caves,
in prison cells and in open fields.
Through all these years and in all these ways,
Christians have gathered
to worship
to learn from one another
to share stories with one another
to pray together
to sing together
to break bread together
to care for one another
to welcome the stranger
to renew our faith
and to prepare to go out as followers of Jesus in the world.
In this new season, in this time of new beginnings,
we followers
in this time and this place
rededicate ourselves to be the church
now and always.
Hymn 371 Open My Eyes, That I May See
Holy Scripture
Jeremiah 8.18-9.1
Psalm 34 (VU 761)
Luke 16.1-12
Sermon Faithful in LittleMartha ter Kuile
Silent Reflection
Presentation Hymn 479 Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether
The Sacrament of Communion
The celebration of communion
is always a festival of friends,
a pulling together of our loves and our hopes,
our moments of agony and our glimpses of victory.
It is here, where bread is broken and wine is shared,
that we can most fully be ourselves
and see others for who they truly are:
sons and daughters of the living God.
Here the common things of life—
bread and wine,
memories and dreams—
become holy, touched by God.
Here that which is earthly becomes divine,
and that which is human
becomes more than it has ever dreamed.
This is an open table. All are welcome.
At this table all are fed and no-one turned away.
At this table all share the cup and no one is denied.
May God be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift our hearts in prayer.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Let us pray:
Loving God, Source of all,
we thank and praise you with our lips and with our lives,
that, having created us and all things through your Word,
you welcome our prayer and praise.
For the goodness of creation
and the glory of redemption, we praise you.
For the law of holiness, inviting us to flourish,
and the call of prophets, challenging our selfishness,
we praise you.
For your Holy Spirit, filling us with life and liveliness,
we give you thanks.
Therefore, with all that is, seen and unseen,
and with all the faithful of every time and place,
we join in this hymn of praise and thanksgiving:
Holy God, source of life and goodness,
all creation rightly gives you praise.
In the fullness of time,
you sent your child Jesus Christ,
to share our human nature,
to live and die as one of us,
to reconcile us to you,
the Mother and Father of us all.
He healed the sick
and ate and drank with outcasts and sinners;
he opened the eyes of the blind
and proclaimed the Good News of your kingdom
to the poor and to those in need.
At this time, we also remember
all with whom you would have us share your feast.
We pray for all whose lives have been blighted
by violence, racism, or poverty
all who live with fear, oppression, or hunger . . .
all who are in sorrow or in pain . . .
all who are ill or alone . . .
for all whom the world counts as last and least . . .
We pray for the church and its many ministries . . .
for nations as they strive for peace and justice . . .
for all our families and friends . . .
O God, we call on you in the prayer Jesus taught,
THE CASA DEL SOL PRAYER OF JESUS Paraphrase by John Philip Newell
Ground of all being,
Mother of life, Father of the universe,
your name is sacred, beyond speaking.
May we know your presence,
may your longings be our longings in heart and in action.
May there be food for the human family today
and for the whole earth community.
Forgive us the falseness of what we have done
as we forgive those who are untrue to us.
Do not forsake us in our time of conflict
but lead us into new beginnings.
For the light of life,
the vitality of life,
and the glory of life are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
Words of Institution and Epiclesis
On the night before he died,
we remember that Jesus took a loaf of bread,
gave you thanks, broke it, and said,
“Take and eat; whenever you do this, remember me.”
Likewise, after supper, he took the cup, saying,
“This is the new covenant; remember me.”
Send, O God, your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts,
that all who share in this loaf and cup
may be the body of Christ:
life, hope, and love in the world.
SHARING THE BREAD AND CUP
The body of Christ, the bread of life.
The lifeblood of Christ, the cup of blessing.
Let us eat and drink together
for our strengthening in the faith,
and for the sake of the world.
In the name of the One who said,
“I am the bread of life,”
I invite you to come and eat.
In the name of the One who said,
“I am the true vine,”
I invite you to come and drink.
In the name of the One who said,
“Love one another, as I have loved, you,”
I invite you to the table of Jesus Christ.
You are invited to receive communion
Music during Communion
instrumental improvisations
Prayer after Communion
We thank you, God, for the gifts you have given us:
for the bread of our being loved,
for the wine of our joy,
for our life together as people
ready to do your work of love and justice.
We pray that, having been refreshed at this table,
we may be bread and wine for each other and the world.
Amen.
Closing Hymn 482 Shout for Joy
Commissioning and Benediction
1