gather as god’s people
TRANSCRIPT
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Greeting God be with you. And also with you.
Focus on Ministry (see sidebar)
Prelude Come, Let Us Eat John Carter
Call to Worship Ann B. Day Children of God, as we gather in the welcome of God’s love, as we gather in the joy of our unity in Christ, as we gather in the power of the Spirit, we listen for the voice of God! We worship God, who has spoken and still speaks to those who attend to the roar or the whisper of the Holy One. Amen!
Gathering Hymn 399 God Welcomes All Engelberg
Call to Confession Ruth C. Duck
Come, people of God, out of your separateness, to enter into unity with one another, and with all those who seek the presence of Jesus Christ, through the breaking of bread and the sharing of wine. Come, confessing the sin that separates you from God and one another.
Prayer of Confession Eternal God of all people and places, as we begin this celebration of unity in Christ we confess to you our lack of oneness with our human siblings. We have closed our ears to voices of pain, and of wisdom, when they speak in accents other than our own. We have lacked the vision to see that people living in places we call foreign are surely your children as we are. Our sensibilities are jarred even by the way our nearest neighbors express their faith in Christ. We cling to the pride of nation and denomination as if we had a special claim on truth and leadership.
Gracious God, forgive us, and renew a right spirit within us, a spirit of compassion, understanding, and humility. Fill us with the vision of unity in Christ, and enable us to incarnate Christ’s love, so that we may worthily partake in the body of Christ and the wine of the new covenant.
Time of Silent Confession
Words of Assurance The Good news in Christ is that God is more willing to forgive our sins than we are to acknowledge them. Friends, believe the good news: we are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Amen
Gather as God’s People
Welcome to FPC. Our prayer is that all will be blessed by the Word read and proclaimed as we are bound together by the Spirit as a community of faith.
The FPC liturgy has four parts: Gathering, Proclamation, Response, and Sending.
Gathering Prelude, Call to Worship, Hymn, Confession, Pardon, Peace: This is the time to make the transition from home to worship, to turn attention toward God, to acknowledge our need for God, and to greet one another in Christ’s name.
We seek to share the good news of Jesus Christ and his call to the realm of God: the practice of justice, mercy and faith.
Our mission is represented by the Celtic cross, a shepherd’s crook, the extension of the right arm of fellowship into the world and the
church’s hospitality toward the world.
October 3, 2021 World Communion Sunday
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Gloria: Hymn 635 Sing, Praise, and Bless the Lord Laudate Dominum
The Peace The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
And also with you. (The people may exchange signs of Christ’s peace and reconciling love.)
Prayer for Illumination Almighty God, give us ears to hear your story in these words of Scripture; give us eyes to see your story in the faces of those that surround us; and give us faith enough, that by your grace, we might serve you until the end of our days. Amen
The First Lesson Genesis 2:18-24
Response Holy wisdom, holy Word. Thanks be to God.
Psalter Hymn O Lord, Our Lord, Throughout the Earth John L. Bell
Stanza 1 Solo Stanzas 2-4 All
The Second Lesson 1 Corinthians 6:16b-17, 19
Response Holy wisdom, holy Word. Thanks be to God.
The Gospel Lesson Mark 10:2-16
Response The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon “You Don’t Belong to Yourselves” Pastor Terry Purvis-Smith
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer (see sidebar)
Invitation to the Offering In addition to our offering to support the First Presbyterian Church, we also receive a special offering on World Communion Sunday. We approach the table today but we don’t approach it alone. We approach it on this World Communion Sunday with Christians around the world, in congregations large and small, speaking every language and one language. And so part of our approach this morning is to remember in our offering our connection to the work of the church in every corner of God’s creation. We do this using the PC(USA) Peace and Global Witness Offering, which goes to support advocacy, education, and educational outreach with communities of faith all across the globe. Truly, God has blessed us with the rich, varied, and abundant gifts of creation. From God’s abundance, we also give abundantly.
Offertory Prayer Gracious God, you create more than we could ever hope to return. You share more than we could ever hope to deserve. We pray, accept our humble gifts. May they honor and glorify you in all creation, and may they empower us for the work of witness and service, for the sake of justice, and for the sake of peace, now and forever. Amen
Proclaim God’s Word
Proclamation Prayer, music, scripture readings, and sermon: in the prayer for illumination we ask God to speak to us and to communicates with us through music, scripture and the sermon
Response Affirmation of Faith, Prayers of the People, Offering: The affirmation is the opportunity to say what we believe as a faith community. The prayers are often prayers of intercession (for others), a practice that acknowledges that we exist for mission (service). The offering is opportunity to dedicate our lives and resources to mission.
The Lord’s Prayer Our Parent who is in heaven, uphold the holiness of your name. Bring in your realm so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven. Give us the bread we need for today. Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you, just as we also forgive those who have wronged us. And don’t lead us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. For yours is the realm, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Respond to God’s Word
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The Sacrament of Communion
Invitation to the Lord’s Table
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving* Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8; Psalm 118:25–26 The Lord be with you.
And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Prayer continued . . . singing your eternal hymn of glory:
Sanctus Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in your name. Hosanna in the highest.
Prayer continued . . . Great is the mystery of faith:
Memorial Acclamation Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
Breaking of the Bread
Communion of the People
Unison Prayer after Communion
Gracious God, we offer our thanks, for the whole communion of saints witness to this feast, and for the ministry of churches around the world who gather with us today. By this broken bread may we be restored for the work yet to come. At this shared table we are united as children of your promise, children of your word, dying and made new again, sent boldly together into the world as servants of your peace. Amen
Sending Hymn 508 Come to the Table Hendon
Charge and Blessing
Postlude Allegro Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Depart to Serve God’s World
Sending Hymn, Charge, Blessing, and Postlude focus attention on mission. The charge is a statement about our responsibility as we leave worship. The blessing asks for God’s presence in fulfilling that responsibility, and the postlude is opportunity for God to use music to inspire our service. The service ends after the postlude.
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This Morning Worship Leadership~
Ministry of Music: Members of the Sanctuary Choir
Liturgists: Ryan Brentner and Kathy Maxey
Dear Members and Friends,
The Open Information process is now in operation through the FPC website. Session adopted its Open Information Policy in July to communicate to the membership about its work and the work of its committee. What follows are instructions for accessing information.
Instructions on viewing Open Access to Information documents on FPC Website
Call Tammy Schroeder 319-351-2660 for the password
Go to FPC website firstpresiowacity.org
Scroll down Homepage to Open Access to Information
Review list of Recently Updated documents
Click View Repository
Enter Password and click enter button
Click on Click Here button
Page opens to Committee Folder listings
Click on desired folder to open and views documents
Example:
Click on Session Folder — It will open with 2 sub folders
Minutes (contains Minutes from Clerk)
Monthly Packet (contains documents for preparation of said month’s meeting)
Click on document you wish to see
In our ongoing study of 1 Corinthians, we have come up with questions:
What does the word “call” mean?
How might we understand what the phrase “will of God” means?
What does being saved mean?
We will continue reading in chapter 7.
MINISTER OF EQUIPPING PROGRAMS Anna Sheetz [email protected]
ASSISTANT MINISTER OF EQUIPPING PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS
Judy Whitford [email protected]
ASSISTANT MINISTER OF EQUIPPING PROGRAMS FOR YOUTH, YOUNG ADULT, AND HOSPITALITY
Layne Sheetz [email protected]
MINISTER OF WORSHIP AND ARTS Leah Bergman [email protected]
ORGANIST Melissa Moll [email protected]
MINISTER OF PROGRAMMING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Tammy Schroeder [email protected]
INTERIM PASTOR Terry Purvis-Smith [email protected]
MANAGER OF FINANCE & PURCHUSING Krista Livingston [email protected]
MINISTER OF STEWARDSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
Tammy Foster [email protected]
SEXTON Gerald Hill [email protected]
ENDOWMENT & MEMORIAL COORDINATORS
Bob & Millie Youngquist [email protected]
First Presbyterian Church Staff
2701 Rochester Avenue, Iowa City, IA 52245 319-351-2660 www.firstpresiowacity.org
TODAY at 11:30 will be the first weekly “After Sermon Conversation.” The springboard for this conversation will be the day’s sermon. This is an opportunity for Pastor Terry to hear your thoughts and questions. The Zoom link can be found in the FPC Daily.