PRELUDE:
The Celestial Banquet, Olivier Messiaen
Amazing Grace, arr. Gilbert M. Martin
WELCOME
*Call to Worship and Salutation, Jeanne Sarran (Sign Language)
Choir: We stand before you, God, with ready arms reaching for you.
People: We bow before you, God, with humbled hearts seeking you.
Choir: We sing before you, God, with glad voices raised to meet you.
People: We kneel before you, God, with open souls lifted to greet you.
Leader: Draw your Church together, O God, into one great company of disciples, together following our Lord Jesus Christ into every walk of life, together serving him in his mission to the world, and together witnessing to his love on every continent and island.
Choir: Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
*HYMN No. 779: Great God, Your Love Has Called Us
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Mark 14: 22-25, Rosa Weed (Spanish)
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’
Acts 2: 2-13, Nina Proschel (Russian), Helga Brenner-Khan (German), Linda Diez (French)
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
JR. SERMON
ANTHEM: Amazing Grace, arr. John Rutter
Maureen Saepia-Chen, soprano
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and peace.
When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun.
SERMON: A Mouth-full, Donna M. Field
*WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Offering
Offertory: In Remembrance, Buryl Red
In remembrance of me, eat this bread, in remembrance of me, drink this wine. In remembrance of me, pray for the time when God's own will is done. In remembrance of me, heal the sick. In remembrance of me, feed the poor. In remembrance of me, open the door and let your brother in.
Take, eat, and be comforted. Drink, and remember, too, that this is my body and precious blood, shed for you. In remembrance of me, search for truth. In remembrance of me, always love. In remembrance of me, don't look above, but in your heart for God. Do this in remembrance of me.
*The Doxology (pew card)
*Prayer of Dedication
MORNING PRAYERS AND LORD’S PRAYER
LORD’S PRAYER, New Zealand Book of Common Prayer
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.
INVITATION TO THE LORD’S SUPPER Donna Field & Emerson Chen
Christ invites us all to this Holy Feast. As we gather this morning, we remember our sisters and brothers from above and below the equator, from the North and from Down Under, from every time zone around the globe. As today's sunlight inches across land and sea - Christians gather to celebrate their place in God's family. All who are baptized in Christ are invited and are welcome.
One: What do you understand by “the communion of saints”?
All: First, that believers one and all as members of this community, share in Christ and in all his treasures and gifts. Second, that each member should consider it a duty to use these gifts readily and joyfully for the service and enrichment of the other members. Come, for the meal is ready!
Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 55.
Prayer of Preparation
Confession
One: To God be the glory: great things God has done!
To prepare ourselves to partake of this Holy Meal, let us pray:
Healing God, we come before you broken, yet seeking wholeness, isolated, yet seeking community, overwhelmed, yet seeking simplicity, shamed, yet seeking grace:
All: God, we yearn for the healing you promise.
One: God of Justice, we come before you selfish, yet seeking a generous heart, arrogant, yet seeking humility, responsible for injustices, yet seeking forgiveness.
All: God, we yearn for the justice you promise.
One: God of Peace, we come before you afraid, yet seeking assurance, agitated, yet seeking serenity, angry, yet seeking a forgiving heart.
All: God, we yearn for the peace you promise.
Words of Assurance
Apostles Creed (pew card) Jeanne Sarran (Sign Language)
One: Knowing that through Christ all things are made new, we come to this communion table to be recreated through the bread and cup, and to be renewed in our faith and commitment.
All: God, we submit ourselves to renewal through you. This we pray through Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
One: Loving and gracious God who summons galaxies into being, we give thanks and blessings to you. We bless and thank you for our world. The diversity of our planet amazes us from the prairies and pampas of the Americas to the dusty deserts of Africa and Asia, from the majestic mountains of Europe to the vast outback of Australia. We give you thanks for the multiplicity of humanity with our complexity of color and culture yet called into oneness-of-being through Christ. With many tongues, yet with one voice, we honor you saying:
SANCTUS (pew card)
One: Loving and gracious God who surrounds creation with abundant love, we give thanks and blessings to you. We praise you for your love made known to us through Jesus, which reassures and reconciles us to you, to ourselves and to one another. As Christ is our light to you, may we be lights to others illuminating the path toward communion with you the Holy Spirit and Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Together we proclaim the Mystery of Faith -
All: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again!
Words of Institution Jeanne Sarran (Sign Language)
Blessing of the Elements
One: God, may this bread connect us more closely with you and with our neighbors near and far.
All: Bless this bread, we pray.
One: May this fruit of the vine remind us of the inter-connectedness of people around the world.
All: Bless this cup, we pray.
One: May this simple meal bring us into union with you, your people and your world united in the One Body of Christ.
Sharing the Elements
Prayer of Thanksgiving
All: Praise God from whom all blessings flow! With thanksgiving, let us celebrate our new life in Christ giving thanks to God our creator and sustainer: Loving and gracious God, thank you for this holy meal. Thank you for Jesus and his all-inclusive love for humanity. Thank you for this day which we worship and serve you. Amen.
*HYMN No. 697 In Christ There Is No East or West
*Benediction (unison) 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. Let us all go in peace. Amen.
Postlude: We All Believe in One God, Johann Sebastian Bach
Pastor Donna gives thanks to Emerson Chen, Rosa Weed, Nina Proschel, Helga Brenner-Khan, Linda Diez, Jeanne Sarran, and the Chancel Choir for participating in this morning’s service.
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.
MEMORIAL SERVICE for Hank Brunjes, brother of Donald Brunjes, this Saturday, October 12, 2013, 11:00 A.M. in the sanctuary. Collation following.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to do crafts for the Harvest Festival on November 16th. See Helen Lucas after the worship service or call (718) 353-2940.
OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:
Van Driver: Gina Lombardo
Coffee Hour Host: Rhoda Jabbour
Greeters: Nancy Gessner and Eva Munoz
Ushers: Ginny and Hong Chan, Marion Durney, Marie Mark, Jeanne and Steve Sarran, Adriene and Bill Toy and Jerry Good
Children and Worship: Kathy Bracken and Michael Iovale
Childcare: Judie Kellaway
YEAR-ROUND COLLECTIONS –
- Donations for the Food for Kids Ministry should be brought to the Church Office. This food will be given to families in need in Jamaica, New York.
- Christmas cards (with Forever Stamps on the envelopes) are collected in a basket in back of church. These cards will enable inmates at the Nassau County Correction Center to correspond with their loved ones.
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.