October 1, 2023
Prelude: In the Beginning
Callahan
Leonard Byrne, serpent
Introit: Morning Has Broken
Gaelic melody
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Genesis 1:1-5]
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep,
A wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Let us worship the LORD!
I Sing the Mighty Power of God (Hymn 288)
Watts/Gesangbuch der Herzogl
I sing the mighty power of God that made the mountains rise;
That spread the flowing seas abroad and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey.
I sing the goodness of the Lord that filled the earth with food;
God formed the creatures with a word and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eyes;
If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the skies!
There's not a plant or flower below but makes Thy glories known;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care,
And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God, art present there.
Confession
God of greatness and humility, in your act of creation you brought order and harmony out of chaos. You created humans in your image and chose not to entirely dominate or control us. We feel tension between the freedom you have given us and obedience to what you have asked of us. Forgive us when we do not embrace relationship with you as you created. Forgive us when we contribute to the chaos. Help us become agents of creation as we work to repair the world. Amen.
Silence
Halle, Halle, Hallelujah!
Haugen
(Sung thrice, please join song leader for 2nd & 3rd time.)
Halle, halle, hallelujah! Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Halle, halle, hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Forgiveness in Jesus Christ
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Gloria Patri (Hymn 579)
Greatorex
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
Word without end. Amen, Amen.
Children’s Message
Out of Deep Unordered Water (Hymn 494)
Kaan/Parry
Out of deep, unordered water God created light and land,
World of bird and beast and, later, in God’s image, woman, man.
Refrain:
There is water in the river bringing life to tree and plant.
Let creation praise its giver: there is water in the font.
Water on the human forehead, birthmark of the love of God,
Is the sign of death and rising; through the seas there runs a road.
(Refrain)
Standing round the font reminds us of the Hebrews’ climb ashore.
Life is hallowed by the knowledge: God has been this way before.
(Refrain)
Prayer for Illumination
Homily: The Pivoting Point
Genesis 1-3
Focus: The powerful implication here is that God’s original intention can be consummated only by Adam’s free perception and desire. Only when Adam comes to feel the solitude of the angelic, unitary existence is he split into two separate beings. He must, in a sense, diminish himself, come to know the rightness of a more complex form of unity. -Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, The Beginning of Desire, p. 37
Silent Reflection
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
Communion Music: One Bread, One Body
Foley
Refrain:
One bread, one body, one Lord of all, one cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord.
Gentile or Jew, servant or free, woman or man, no more. (refrain)
Many the gifts, many the works, one in the Lord of all. (refrain)
Grain for the fields, scattered and grown, gathered to one, for all. (refrain)
Communion Prayer
Pastoral Prayer & The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Call to Stewardship
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. -1 Corinthians 16:2
Offering Our Gifts: Many and Great, O God, Are Thy Things
Dakota Hymn
Lisa Phillips
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Charge & Benediction
Postlude: Siyahamba
South African Freedom song, arr. Behnke
(We Are Marching in the Light of God)
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