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Welcome Opening Meditation Sojourner Truth “Because of them I can now live the dream. I am the seed of the free, and I know it. I intend to bear great fruit.” Prelude & Passing of the Peace Call to Worship ONE: God rules over the nations of the earth: MANY: Peoples of the Pacific, families on farmlands, all worship God Almighty! ONE: This One is God of our ancestors and our descendants. MANY: In Jesus, we are connected to one another in a vine of covenant. ONE: Bear and share the fruit of Christ’s love MANY: That we may proclaim a just world for all! Hymn “Many Are the Lightbeams” #163 Prayer of Transformation MANY: Abundant God, we desire to be a part of your Vine of Love. Yet we confess how we have too often tried to assume your role as Holy Vine Grower: we have judged other branches as unworthy to be connected to us and we have tried to prune them off the True Vine saying “You don’t belong; you don’t produce fruit; you don’t produce the right kind of fruit; your fruit smells funny; you belong in the compost heap.” ONE: By living in our comfort zones and our arrogance, we have failed to see our own bad fruit of smug self-righteousness. Can we even begin to ask forgiveness for ourselves so that the sins of our ancestors might not become the legacy of our descendants? MANY: Graft us back to abide in the true vine: entwine us in your lei of perfect love. Amen. Words of Assurance ONE: God's love was revealed among us in this way: God’s own beloved Child was sent into the world to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins, so that we might live through Christ. On behalf of the God whom no one has ever seen, look into the eyes of the persons sitting next to you who you can see, and extend your arms as symbols of branches of Jesus, the true vine, and proclaim: “In God’s love, you are forgiven.” Many: We are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Hymn “Halleluja” #236 The Message for Younger Disciples Kids, families, those young at heart, are encouraged to come forward to the steps to spend a few minutes together. Hymn “Halleluja” #236 To Share of Ourselves… Prayers of the People Thank you, God, for delicious fruit from your Creation. Thank you for sun, soil, water and farmers that help plants produce fruit for us to enjoy. And thank you that we can be connected to Jesus like branches on a grapevine. Help us to produce your fruit of love and peace. Amen. We pray for… Those struggling to find a job, those in recovery and rehabilitation, Elizabeth - wedding stress, Family of Paul Weaver We seek health and healing with… Connor Doherty, infant with health issues - extended family of Desiree Schelling, Mike Ryan - lung cancer, Christy Fisher, those impacted by cancer, including King Charles and Princess Catherine, Deb - starting cancer treatment, Sandy Ollie - recovery after surgery, Jane Smith, compression fracture We continue to pray with… Carol Ann Simpson, Lisa Williams, Tammy Smith, Jan Mindish, Debbie Husser, Debbie, Andrea, Becki, Pam, Dan Brouse, Frank Harpel, Kim Sterner, John Burk, Brad Stermer, Ruth Harpel, Ray Kinard, Alia, Mary Lohr, Nancy S. We celebrate with gratitude… Linzy Carson, coming home from Navy The Lord’s Prayer MANY: Our Creator/Mother/Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Announcing Missions and Ministry Centering on Generosity ONE: We praise God by sharing the abundant fruit of God’s love with our sisters and brothers throughout the world, so that every empty bowl may be filled with enough rice, every empty plate covered with enough tortillas, every empty stomach satisfied with enough taro. Let us live in God’s love so that our joy may be complete. Musical Reflection Sung Response # 780 Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God for all that love has done Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Prayer of Dedication MANY: Dear God, Holy Vine Grower, you are love. May the offerings we share today be a source of hope for the poor. Help us to live out your commandment to love others, not just because we reach out to them as our sisters and brothers, but also because as our sisters and brothers, they reach out to us as well. Amen. Hymn “Golden Breaks the Dawn” #470 To Open to Wisdom… GOSPEL John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” PSALM Psalm 22:25-31 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who love God The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek God shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before God. For dominion belongs to the LORD, who rules over the nations. To God indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before God shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for God. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord and proclaim deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that God has done it. ACTS Acts 8:26-40 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Sermon “True Story” Pastor Beth Rogers To Extend Love to the World! Closing Hymn “Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song” #270 Benediction We love because God first loved us. You who love God must love your siblings also. Love one another. E aloha kekahi i kekahi. [Hawaiian] Ia outou fealofani! [Samoan] Mag-ibigan sa isat-isa. [Tagalog] Iakwe im iakwe ro jet. [Marshallese] 互いに愛し合いなさい。(Tagaini aishiai nasai.) [Japanese] 서로 사랑하라. (Saw-roh sa-rang-ha-rah.) [Korean] Aménse los unos a los otros. [Spanish] Postlude Today in Worship Liturgist: John Horn Tech: Jim Anderson-Greenover Usher: MJ Farr-Stine & Wendy Whitehaus Cole Acolyte: Sophia Farr-Stine The altar flowers are placed in memory of Jean and Joel Henery. About PAAM Sunday: Pacific Islander & Asian American Ministries (PAAM) was organized in 1974 at a gathering in San Francisco, California, of representatives from different regions throughout the United States. The vision was to unite and move forward at the national, regional, and local levels as Pacific Islanders & Asian Americans in the United Church of Christ, sharing our unique gifts with one another. This year marks PAAM’s 50th Anniversary! PAAM was voted into existence at the 10th General Synod, in 1975, as a recognized Special Interest Group within the UCC. The 17th General Synod adopted the pronouncement, “A United Church of Christ ministry with Pacific Islanders & Asian Americans” calling to establish an implementation committee to make requests about the ministries of the PAAM churches. The 18th General Synod passed a resolution designating the last Sunday of April as PAAM Sunday when all UCC churches recognize and celebrate the gifts and contribution of Pacific Islanders & Asian Americans in the life of the UCC. PAAM has initiated, sponsored, supported and participated in many activities at all levels of the conference, worked for greater PAAM representation on all levels of the conference boards, committees, and staff. PAAM continues to address institutional racism within the church and society, is concerned with issues of human rights and justice, and helps to support and strengthen clergy and lay leadership at the local level
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