20th Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 22 - World Communion Sunday

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Call to Worship

From east and west, north and south, we gather in God’s name,
to pray, to worship, to sing, to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
We give thanks that we are part of a large, diverse faith family.
We are old. We are young. We come from tribes of all kinds.
We give thanks that God’s family is one of many colors.
From black to white to every shade in between, we are children of God.
We give thanks that the narrative we proclaim belongs to everyone.
We stand with our friends and family around the world,
reclaiming the name of Jesus.
We give thanks for Jesus’ resurrection, a truth that tells us that God’s love wins.
We give thanks and praise to the Triune God: Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.
Come, let us worship God and gather at God’s wide and wonderful table.

Prayer of the Day

Abundant God, we gather around tables to fellowship with those we love.
Food is what sustains us for the journey ahead
and we dine with those who you have called to serve with us.
Help us widen our gaze.
Inspire us to draw the welcome circle wider.
Instill within us the truth that your love knows no bounds.
Gather us this day and forever more in your holy and powerful name. Amen.

Call to Confession

Friends, the invitation list to the Lord’s Table
is larger than any of us could ever imagine.
Let us confess the ways in which we have sought to limit that invitation.

Confession

God of Hospitality and Wonder,
you welcome us to a table that invites those who are different than us.
This invitation has made us uncomfortable, unsettled, and defensive.
Our discomfort comes from an unwillingness
to see other peoples’ perspectives.
Our unsettledness comes from a dependence on the status quo.
Our defensiveness comes from a belief
that our image of you is the only one that matters.
Help us to surrender ourselves to the abundance of your invitation.
Inspire us to embrace the fact that diversity is strength, not weakness.
Gather us to welcome the stranger,
care for the oppressed, and feed the hungry.
Forgive us for our short-sightedness and open us to your Gospel
that we might better embody the Beloved Community you call us to be.
In the Wild and Wonderful name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Friends, we are ALL invited to this table.
I am here to announce to you
that whatever you think disqualifies you from God’s love
has been washed away by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
I announce to you that our sins have been forgiven.
Alleluia!  Amen.

Prayer for Illumination

God of All Wisdom and Wonder,
send your Holy Spirit
that She might gather us
with our friends and family around the globe
to listen to what you have to tell the Church today.  Amen.

Prayers of the People

Let us pray to God saying:
God of Welcome and Wonder, help us draw the welcome circle wider.

Triune God,
you are the Creator, who has brought all life into being.
With nothing but a word, you stirred the whirling planets.
You brought life to the fish of the sea and the birds of the air.
You called to your family people of different colors, races, and creeds.
Help us to value the perspective of people different than us.
God of Welcome and Wonder, help us draw the welcome circle wider.

Triune God,
you are the Redeemer, who has renewed all of creation.
With nothing but a body, you walked this earth and changed our lives.
You brought freedom to the enslaved and salvation to the oppressed.
You called to your family people of different colors, races, and creeds.
Help us to welcome the truth that ALL people are worthy of love.
God of Welcome and Wonder, help us draw the welcome circle wider.

Triune God,
you are the Sustainer, who brings all of us together.
With nothing but a wind, you brought us all together.
You brought unity to those who were divided by society
You called to your family people of different passions, gifts, and voices.
Help us spread the news of your gospel that all might be invited to its abundance.
God of Welcome and Wonder, help us draw the welcome circle wider.

Triune God,
help us care for those who are in need:
for those who are alone this day,
for those who lack the resources to care for their family,
for those who see no way out of the graves that surround them,
for those who want nothing more than a word of welcome,
and for those who need the gospel to sustain them for the coming week.
Help us care for those who we lift up to you now aloud or in silence…
God of Welcome and Wonder, help us draw the welcome circle wider.

Triune God,
hear our prayer this day
and provide for us our daily manna
that we might continue to serve you faithfully.
This we pray in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray, saying:  Our Father…

Prayer of Great Thanksgiving

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.

God of Every People,
you created the world long before this nation or any other.
In the first days of creation, you said, “Let there be light,”
and light separated itself from the night.
How can we ever comprehend your power?
How can we ever be worthy of your love?
How can we ever measure up to your goodness?

Hear us as we proclaim your majesty:

Holy, holy, holy Lord.  God of power at might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.  Hosanna in the highest.

Christ came to this world as a helpless infant,
showing us that the weakness of humanity is not beyond redemption.
Born as a refugee is a scary and violent world,
your son came as one of us to show us the way.

Being born, he is a vehicle of your love.
Walking many the miles, he teaches us to travel to the unknown.
Teaching love, he helps us understand our capacity for compassion.
Healing the sick, he inspires us to share your healing power.
Teaching the broken, he reminds us that we are works in progress.
Sacrificing himself, he shows us that love triumphs over hate.

We give you thanks that the Lord Jesus,
on the night before he died, took bread,
and after giving thanks to you, he broke it,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat.  This is my body, broken for you.

In the same way Jesus took the cup, saying:
This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood,
shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.

We gather this day, God of all majesty and power,
to lift up your holy name and proclaim the mystery of faith:

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Giver of All Goodness and Grace,
bless this our gathering in your name.
Bless our worship of you
and bless those who worship in your name around the world.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
all glory and honor are yours, Holy God,
both now and always.  Amen.

 

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Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.