Berry UMC and Big Shoulders UMC
Bulletin for April 21, 2024
Annotated Order of Worship
Gathering
Prelude “It is No Secret (What God Can Do)”
Mindfulness Check-in
During this time the congregation will be led through a mindfulness meditation grounding them in the place, time and action of worship. (Pastor Lindsey)
Welcome (Pastor Matthew)
Call to Worship and Order (DS Isaac)
We are called to be God’s table.
We gather as a beloved community
Blessed with a theology of abundance
To equip vital faith communities
That we would make disciples of Jesus Christ
For the transformation of the world.
First and foremost, we believe God is preparing this table and that collectively, we are at a moment in time that our prayer could be framed as, ‘by Your Spirit make us one in Christ that we may be one in ministry.’ This is, first, God’s table, a table of life in Christ as one body. (Adapted from Bishop Dan Schwerin’s State of the Church address)
Opening Hymn: “Draw The Circle Wide”
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
No one stands alone, we’ll stand side by side.
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
No one stands alone, we’ll stand side by side.
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still.
Let this be our song: no one stands alone.
Standing side by side,
draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still.
Let this be our song: no one stands alone.
Standing side by side,
draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
No one stands alone, we’ll stand side by side.
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still.
Let this be our song: no one stands alone.
Standing side by side,
draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still.
Let this be our song: no one stands alone.
Standing side by side,
draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Time of Listening
Scripture Reading:
Genesis 17: 3-8, 15-16
God renames Sarai and Abram as a sign of a new covenant, a new identity, and a new place. God promises God will not leave them alone.
Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham. I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are immigrants, the whole land of Canaan, as an enduring possession. And I will be their God.”
God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you will no longer call her Sarai. Her name will now be Sarah. I will bless her and even give you a son from her. I will bless her so that she will become nations, and kings of peoples will come from her.”
Matthew 6:25-35
God tells the people not to worry about what they will eat or wear, God will take care of them!
“Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Testimony: Robin Koptik
Robin shares the story of her transition, the power of claiming a new name and identity and the meaning behind her name.
Sermon DS Brittany Isaac
Time of Response
Song of Response “Seek Ye First” UMH 405
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
And all these things shall be added unto you.
Allelu, alleluia!
Ask and it shall be given unto you; seek and ye shall find;
Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you.
Allelu, alleluia!
Business
1. Resolution to merge Irving Park/Big Shoulders and Berry UMCs
2. Resolution to elect Renewed Hope Leadership Board for remainder of 2024
Doxology N0. 94
Praise God from whom all blessing flow,
Praise God all creatures here below,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God the source of all our gifts,
Praise Jesus Christ whose power uplifts!
Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
No matter how the vote goes, we give God thanks for the time we have spent together and the ways God has expanded our imagination of what church can be!
Time of Holy Communion
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For our sake, and the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may work to build your kin-dom on Earth. Amen.
Time for Silent Confession
At this time you are invited to examine your week, see where harm may have been caused, and what restoration might require.
Words of Assurance
Leader: Good News! Good News! Good News! God so loved the world that They gave humanity a gift: Emmanuel, God with us. This proves God's love toward us! In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
People: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
All: Glory to God, Amen!
Passing of the Peace
At this time you are invited to stand and greet one another by saying, “Peace of Christ be with you!”
Offering
Prayer of Dedication
Risen God, on this day, we offer our gifts to build up the world as you would have it. Make us instruments of your peace and joy! Amen!
Communion (Matthew and Lindsey)
The Holy One be with you
And also with you
Open your hearts to the One who is Love
We open our hearts to you, O God
Let us give thanks to God, who gathers us together
To the One who welcomes us to the table, we give thanks and praise
It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God
You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life.
When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained steadfast.
You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God,
brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey,
and set before us the way of life.
And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, Holy, Holy One
God of justice and love
Heaven and earth are full of your wonder
Hosanna, among us
Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ
By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection
you gave birth to your Church,
delivered us from slavery to sin and death,
and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.
By your great mercy we have been born anew
to a living hope through the resurrection of your Child from the dead
and to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.
Once we were no people, but now we are your people,
declaring your wonderful deeds in Christ,
who called us out of shadow into his marvelous light.
When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always,
in the power of your Word and Holy Spirit.
On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread,
gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
When the supper was over he took the cup,
gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
On the day you raised him from the dead
he was recognized by his disciples in the breaking of the bread,
and in the power of your Holy Spirit your Church has continued
in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup.
And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.
By your Spirit make us one with Christ,
one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world,
until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.
Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty God, now and forever.
Amen!
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father Mother, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kindom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kindom and the power and glory forever. Amen.
Sharing of the Bread and Cup
Prayer After Communion
Almighty God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself for us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your spirit, to give ourselves for others. In your holy name we pray, Amen.
Going Out
Closing hymn “Here I Am, Lord” UMH 593
I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them. They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them. Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame,
I will set a feast for them. My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them. Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.