PAUSE FOR REFLECTION
“Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to God’s power that is at work within us….”
― Ephesians 3:20
CALL TO WORSHIP | Lamentations 5:1-10 – “Prayer of Lament”
1 Remember, Lord, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace.
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.
3 We have become fatherless, our mothers are widows.
4 We must buy the water we drink; our wood can be had only at a price.
5 Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are weary and find no rest.
6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.
7 Our ancestors sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment.
8 Slaves rule over us, and there is no one to free us from their hands.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our live because of the sword in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven, feverish from hunger.
OPENING HYMN | “Let Every Voice Sing” – The Black National Anthem
“All In” HYMN
Through all our living, we our fruits must give.
Good works of service are for offering.
When we are giving, or when receiving,
We belong to God.
We belong to God.
We belong to God.
We belong to God
HEBREW READING | Lamentations 5:11-22
11 Women have been violated in Zion,
and virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes have been hung up by their hands;
Elders are shown no respect.
13 Young men toil at the millstones;
boys stagger under loads of wood.
14 The elders are gone from the city gate;
the young men have stopped their music.
15 Joy is gone from our hearts;
our dancing has turned to mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our hearts are faint,
because of these things our eyes grow dim
18 for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,
with jackals prowling over it.
19 You, Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures from generation to generation.
20 Why do you always forget us?
Why do you forsake us so long?
21 Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
renew our days as of old
22 unless you have utterly rejected us
and are angry with us beyond measure.
THEME MUSIC | Psalm 65 – Psalter 171 – God in Nature
Christian Reading | Revelations 3:14-17
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
SERMON
“How Will I Respond to the Waitperson”
By Wayne Potter
Click here to read Wayne’s Sermon.
Sharing the Peace
- Would you describe yourself as a pessimist, optimist in the face of the climate crisis?
- How do you feel about establishing an “Creation Tithe?.”
- What challenges are there in promoting “allyship” around the issue of the climate crisis?
GUIDED MEDITATION & PRAYER
CORPORATE PRAYER | Written by William J. Wallace, 2014
O God of sky and God of Earth, we honor your presence within us and beyond. As we eat, may we share your gifts of hope and compassion with all the life of Earth. Give us, O God, forgiving hearts, affirming each other with humor and with grace. May we grow beyond narrow needs to join in the spreading of just and loving peace. You greet us here and everywhere, in moments of oneness and spaces of delight. To all this we now say “Amen”.
