Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Communion July 5, 2020 WELCOME to Desert Garden UCC! No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, or the map, you are welcome here. A special welcome to those who are with us online for the very first time; we are glad that you found us! We hope that you encounter the Risen One as you worship. You are welcome to join us in the virtual DG Café at 10:30 a.m. Sunday (details on p. 2). As you prepare for worship: We celebrate our nation’s birth in troubling times: The alarming spread of COVID-19 may mean permanent, uninvited changes in how we live and worship and serve. Civil protest and unrest around racism and economic injustice de-stabilizes the status quo with no clear roadmap of what lies ahead. How can we tend to our own spiritual, physical and mental health in all of this —and yet remain engaged in this crucial time as faithful followers of Christ? A very familiar scripture has some guidance for us as we come to the Communion table on this July 4 th weekend. WELCOME and DG OPPORTUNITIES Pastor Len Silvester PRELUDE Wayfaring Stranger (arr. David Paxton) Claudia Marsollier, Organist CALL to WORSHIP Swanee Pringle, Liturgist The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the unbounded love of God, And the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Alleluia! Christ is risen, and welcomes us to this table of grace. Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia! HYMN of PRAISE—by request No. 592 (B), vs. 1 & 2 How Beautiful, Our Spacious Skies PRAYER of CONFESSION Swanee Pringle God of the ages, we have failed to fully respond to your call and presence, in our lives and in our nation. With gratitude for the abundance of our blessings, we confess that we have not been as passionate about sharing as we have with consuming. We give ourselves again to our founders’ vision that all of us are created equal, endowed with your gifts of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Make bold our commitment to more fully live life in the Way of Christ …Amen. ASSURANCE OF GRACE Pastor Len THE GLORIA #1 (B), v. 1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible, hid from our eyes, Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, your great name we praise! Our CCLI license is #1011176—all music used with permission
Transcript
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Communion July 5, 2020
WELCOME to Desert Garden UCC! No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, or the map, you are welcome here.
A special welcome to those who are with us online for the very first time; we are glad that you found us! We hope that you encounter the Risen One as you worship. You are welcome
to join us in the virtual DG Café at 10:30 a.m. Sunday (details on p. 2).
As you prepare for worship: We celebrate our nation’s birth in troubling times: The alarming spread of COVID-19 may mean permanent, uninvited changes in how we live and worship and serve. Civil protest and unrest around racism and economic injustice de-stabilizes the status quo with no clear roadmap of what lies ahead. How can we tend to our own spiritual, physical and mental health in all of this —and yet remain engaged in this crucial time as faithful followers of Christ? A very familiar
scripture has some guidance for us as we come to the Communion table on this July 4th weekend.
WELCOME and DG OPPORTUNITIES Pastor Len Silvester
PRELUDE Wayfaring Stranger (arr. David Paxton) Claudia Marsollier, Organist
CALL to WORSHIP Swanee Pringle, Liturgist
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the unbounded love of God,
And the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Alleluia! Christ is risen, and welcomes us to this table of grace.
Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
HYMN of PRAISE—by request No. 592 (B), vs. 1 & 2 How Beautiful, Our Spacious Skies
PRAYER of CONFESSION Swanee Pringle God of the ages, we have failed to fully respond to your call and presence, in our lives and in our nation. With gratitude for the abundance of our blessings, we confess that we have not been as passionate about sharing as we have with consuming. We give ourselves again to our founders’ vision that all of us are created equal, endowed with your gifts of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Make bold our commitment to more fully live life in the Way of Christ …Amen.
ASSURANCE OF GRACE Pastor Len
THE GLORIA #1 (B), v. 1
Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible, hid from our eyes, Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, your great name we praise!
Our CCLI license is #1011176—all music used with permission
SCRIPTURE READING Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (NRSV) Swanee Pringle HYMN of PREPARATION—by request No. 473(R), vs 1&3 What a Friend We Have in Jesus
COMMUNION MEDITATION “The Ultimate Fahrvergnügen” Pastor Len
SPECIAL MUSIC Tribute to America (arr. Mark Hayes) Caludia Marsollier, piano
HOLY COMMUNION Offering of Gifts and Tithes Offertory Communion (Cesar Franck) Claudia Marsollier
Prayer of Dedication Invitation Communion Prayer
Lift up your hearts!
We let them go, and they fly to God! Let us give thanks to the Holy One…
It is right to give God thanks and praise!
Communion Prayer (continues until:) ...we declare the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! Partaking of the Bread Partaking of the Cup Prayer of Thanksgiving & Benediction
HYMN OF PARTING No. 740 (R) The Lord’s Prayer
POSTLUDE Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above (arr. Hal Hopson) Claudia Marsollier
DG {VIRTUAL} CAFÉ (see log-in information below)
Our Building is Closed … Our Mission is W i d e O p e n !
Join us Sunday at 10:30 a.m. for our virtual DG Café! Grab a Zoom ‘table’ by computer at https://zoom.us/j/842133771; by phone at1-669-900-6833#, meeting number 842133771.
The Worship Committee meets today at 11 a.m. via Zoom.
Summer Mission/Outreach: Food and water collection, Mon-Wed 9 to 11 a.m. Leave items just outside the office door. Food goes to Valley View Food Bank and the water goes to the Salvation Army. Plastic bags and ‘plarn’ for homeless mats may be left outside Fellowship Hall.
No Pastor’s Bible Study in July: Our bible study will resume in August with “Bible 101.” Plan to join us as we survey the drama of the bible story.
You can donate online at www.desertgardenchurch.org—it is fast and secure.
Verses 1 & 2 only
Verses 1 & 3 only
Our Desert Garden of Prayer Your prayers matter...in ways you may never fully realize. Please remember these people
and needs in your regular prayer routine. They, and you, will benefit:
Those who asked us not to name them publicly; Ernest Haeussler; Edith Warren (daughter of the Wenners); Bill Layson; Dru Powell; Ronda Lee (daughter of Virginia Heiman); Marsha Griep; Audrey Ellis; Heidi Kallstrom; Daryl Shipp; Jill (daughter of Joan Hamilton); Barbara Rose; Birdean Christofferson; Gudrun Adell; Florence Woodward; Toni & Robert Pringle; Helen & Doug Middlebrooks; Faye Beck; Alla Sawitski; Bob Davis; Cindy Dauterive; Sara Givens; Tess Julianna; our Profile Team; Marty Garretson; Alyssa (Nordahls’ granddaughter), first responders and medical personnel; delivery and service people at risk; all those grieving and all for whom the current isolation is especially difficult; for peace and justice and racial equality in this nation.
Online ‘attendance’ figures: Online worship service: for the week, 259 — for the last 30 days, 1,060
Website visits: for the week, 697 — for the last 30 days, 3,081
(Visitors were from all over the U.S., Europe, S. America, Oceania and Asia)
DESERT GARDEN UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 18818 N. 128th Avenue — Sun City West, AZ 85375
Rev. Len Silvester, Pastor (Interim); Annette Strangman, Business Manager; Dennis Marsollier, Music Director; Claudia Marsollier, Organist/Bell Choir Director;
Duane Scholler, Custodian; Alice Goss, Pastoral Intern/E-mail prayer coordinator; Craig Olinger, Recording Tech & IT
New Logo, New Website Coming The Publicity Committee has been hard
at work, and is debuting a proposed new logo and look with this bulletin. (See the
front page.) It takes our former “donut” design and moves it into a comma, symbolic of the God is still speaking initiative (“never place a period where God has placed a comma”). New colors,
the same as on our building, give this a clean, ‘desert’ feel.
A new website utilizing our logo and colors will be rolled out in July. It will have a fresh, simple-to-use look and be very user-friendly. Watch for the announcement!
Can I get a witness? How Do You Love, Care, Share, Serve?
The Stewardship Committee invites you to submit short (up to 100 words)testimonies as to how you have embodied these core values of Desert Garden—or how you have seen it in others. We will collect them and share them as part of our ongoing time/talent/treasure emphasis.
You may participate by completing the form at www.desertgardenchurch.org/time-talent-treasure or by emailing to [email protected].
