2nd Sunday after the Epiphany (Year C)

Call to Worship

Come, God’s people, let us worship our Creator!
We are created for a purpose through the waters of our baptism.
Come, God’s people, let us worship our Redeemer!
We are redeemed and given the gift of new life.
Come, God’s people, let us worship our Sustainer!
We are sustained for the work that stands before us.
Come, let us worship the Triune God!

Prayer of the Day

God of all Mystery and Majesty,
we are gathered in your presence this day
to ponder the abundance to which you call us.
Renew and invigorate the barren parts of our lives
and welcome us into the abundant future that you have promised us. Amen.

Call to Confession

Come, friends, and let us confess our sins before God and one another,
trusting in the goodness of God’s mercy to save us from ourselves.

Confession

Merciful God,
we shudder to utter the sins we have committed.
Being your representatives in this world,
we have failed to live as the beloved family you call us to be.
When you call us into unity, we descend into petty fights.
When you call us to show hospitality, we turn people away.
When you call us to have compassion, we let selfishness settle in.
Through the waters of our baptism,
cleanse us of our sin and forgive us our trespasses.
This we pray in your holy and merciful name. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Psalm 36 reminds us that God’s steadfast love extends beyond the heavens Ps. 36:5-6
and is deeper than the far reaches of the oceans.
Friends, I announce to you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
our sins are forgiven. Alleluia! Amen.

Prayer for Illumination

Holy Spirit,
give us your wisdom and knowledge
as we gather before your word.
May it be as a lamp unto our feet
that we might follow the path you place before us. Amen.

Prayers of the People

Let us pray to God, saying:
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.

Gracious God, you created the world with abundance
and charged us with the task of maintaining and sharing it.
However, we have failed to be the stewards of creation you call us to be.
Lead us from the scarcity that we bring upon ourselves
and show us the way to your intention for all of creation.
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.

For the places in the world and in our very community
where your children experience homelessness and unemployment,
we pray that resources may be shared
so that those without can live happy, healthy lives in safety.
Help us not worship capitalism or any other form of economics,
but to worship you, the God who calls us to care for the poor and needy.
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.

For the places in the world and in our very community
where your children suffer violence of many forms, we pray.
For violence in the streets and in the schools.
For violence in the homes and in places of worship.
For cycles of violence that seem never-ending.
Help us become obsessed with peace
and give us the courage to pursue it
and dismantle systems of violence and oppression.
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.

For the places in the world and in our very community
where your children struggle with addictions of any form, we pray.
For those who come from families with patterns of addiction.
For those who becomes addicts after an injury.
For those who become addicts because of life-circumstances.
For those who have loved ones who struggle with addiction.
Help us show them love and give them the resources they need to heal.
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.

For the people of this community, and those we love,
whom we lift up to you in silence now, we pray…
God of Abundance, lead us out of scarcity.

Hear us, Gracious God,
as we pray the prayer you taught us to pray, saying: Our Father…

Comment

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.