* All who are able, please stand. Please turn off your cell phones. Thank you.
PRELUDE: Cynthia Shaw, guest organist
WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)
* CALL TO WORSHIP AND SALUTATION Steve Sarran
Leader: Destruction and violence are everywhere, strife and contention are all around.
All: The needs of the world are so great; O Lord increase our faith.
Leader: The law is slack, and justice does not prevail.
All: The needs of the world are so great; O Lord increase our faith.
Leader: How many threats surround us: warfare, homelessness, loneliness, loss.
All: The needs of the world are so great, but you O God are greater still--- the One in whom all things are possible. O Lord! Increase our faith in you!
Leader: Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
* HYMN No. 2 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty
* PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)
Merciful God, you have called us to live in sincere faith and to suffer for the gospel. We confess that we do not come before you with a clear conscience. Our faith is clouded by sin and uncertainty. We shrink from your call to live- and sacrifice- for others. Too quickly, we seek our own ease and comfort first. We confess that in our own lives, and in the church, we rely on our power rather than yours. In new mercy, forgive us and increase our faith, that we may be faithful servants at your everyday table. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen
* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
* Gloria Patri (pew card)
ANTHEM: Ave Verum, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
SUNG IN LATIN - TRANSLATION:
Jesu, Word of God Incarnate, of the Virgin Mary born; on the cross thy sacred body for us men, with nails, was torn. Cleans us by the blood and water streaming from Thy pierced side. Feed us with Thy body broken, now and in death's agony.
JUNIOR SERMON
MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
Prayer Response, John Yarrington
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
* HYMN No. 101 My Jesus, I Love Thee
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Lamentations 3:19-26, Pew Bible, pg. 669
The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall!My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Luke 17:5-10, Pew Bible, pg. 852
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”
The Word of God for the people of God. Let the people of God say - AMEN!
THE SERMON: Strength in Numbers, Donna M. Field
WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Offering
Offertory: The King of Love My Shepherd Is, John Ness Beck
The King of love my shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His, and He is mine forever. Where streams of living water flow, my ransomed soul He leadeth, and where the verdant pastures grow, with food celestial feedeth. In death's dark vale I fear no ill, with Thee, dear Lord, beside me, Thy rod and staff my comfort still; Thy cross before to guide me. And so through all the length of days, Thy goodness faileth never. Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise within Thy house forever. Amen.
* The Doxology (pew card)
* Prayer of Dedication
* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH —Adapted from the Belhar Confession
We share one faith, have one calling, are of one soul and one mind.
We have one God, are filled with one Spirit, and are baptized with one baptism. We eat of one bread and drink of one cup, confess one Name, are obedient to one Lord, work for one cause, and share one hope. Together we come to know the height and the breadth and the depth of the love of Christ. Together- we are built up to the stature of Christ to the new humanity.
Together- we know and bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ that we need one another, build up one another, admonish and comfort one another, and suffer with one another for the sake of righteousness. Together we pray. Together we serve God in this world. Amen.
* HYMN No. 692 Faith of Our Fathers
* BENEDICTION
Response John Yarrington
The peace of God which passeth all understanding, be with you now and evermore. Amen.
POSTLUDE:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
WE WELCOME DONNA MARIE FIELD to the pulpit. Donna graduated from the New Brunswick Theological Seminary with a Masters in Divinity degree. She will be leading our worship services until a permanent minister is in place.
OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:
Van Driver: Royce Gothelf
Coffee Hour Host: Marion Durney
Greeter: Debra Rossi
Ushers: Sally Ann Castle, Nancy Gessner, Jayne Halley and Jerry Good
Children and Worship: Sharon Rivilli and Michael Rivilli
Childcare: Adriene Toy
CHILDCARE during the worship hour
Children thru age 3 in the Educational Building, 1st floor, in Room 1A.
Children ages 3 thru 2nd grade will share in the service through the Junior Sermon, then go to Room 2E for the Children and Worship Program.
COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – Please pick a date on the Sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in Gessner Hall or see Rhoda Jabbour.
VAN MINISTRY: We offer van service for Sunday worship and grocery shopping every other Tuesday. If you need a ride to church on Sunday or would like to join them for grocery shopping, speak with Gina Lombardo at (917) 767-2923.
PRAYER REQUESTS: Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Robert Keller, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, John Molino, Ed Moores, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright, Joan Werbel.