Order of Worship

Prelude

Welcome 

Land Acknowledgement 

We acknowledge we are gathering on land where Miami, Osage, Shawnee, and other Indigenous peoples have lived and labored, fought, and loved. We continue to work and pray for justice and conciliation.      

Call to Worship

God who opens doors and dismantles barriers to cultivate beloved community

Open our hearts and minds this morning that we may contribute more fully

to this beloved community

That we might live as neighbors and friends, no longer strangers or enemies

Open our hearts to the transforming power of your love for self AND others

That we might forgive and reconcile, build each other up rather than tear down

That we might be your people, one body connected by one Spirit

To extend your grace and kingdom to all the world

Peace Candle 

VT 692 | Kyrie eleison

Children’s Time 

Offering/Dedication Prayer

VT 558 | Lord, I Want to Be a Christian

Scripture | Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon | Called to Sacrifice?: A Model for Beloved Community

Silent Reflection

VT136 | Santo (Holy)

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Pastoral Prayer 

Passing the Peace

Extinguishing the Peace Candle 

VT 621 | My Hope is Built

Benediction 

Announcements 

Cookie Sunday | 11:00 am

Thanks to everyone who helped lead today’s service

Sermon: Chaska Yoder

Worship Leader: Julie Hart

Music coordination: Paul Knapke

Children’s Time: Mark Rupp

Peace Candle, Scripture Reading: Elizabeth Martin

Sound: Tom Blosser

Camera Operator: Joel Copeland

Zoom Host: Mike Ryan-Simkins

Greeter, Worship Table: Ruth Massey

Usher & Sanctuarian: Dan Halterman 

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The video above includes the full service, except for the time for sharing.

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained through One License with license A-727859.

Order of Worship | August 1 | Cultivating Beloved Community 

Prelude

Welcome 

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge we are gathering on land where Miami, Osage, Shawnee, and other Indigenous peoples have lived and labored, fought, and loved. We continue to work and pray for justice and conciliation.      

Call to Worship

We join today with those worshiping all over the world, especially those in Thailand, Sudan and Colombia.

Some gather outdoors, some in churches, some at home.

We gather because here we find the one who gives us hope.

Hope for healing, hope for unity.

We gather under the banner of Beloved Community

Because all are children of the one who loves us.

We gather protected by vaccines, masks and distance.

We gather so that we can feel close to each other.

We are here because we have struggled with our own endurance.

In the end, we have been blessed with strength and hope.

We have come, let us worship God.

Let us celebrate the reality and becoming a Beloved Community.

Peace Candle 

As we worship in place today, we light a Peace Candle in our home. May this flame be a sign of our prayer for peace within us, among us, to the ends of the earth. The flame joins us in spirit across distance, along with our sister church in Armenia, Colombia.

VT 10 | Here in This Place

Children’s Time/Senior Blanket Blessing 

Offering/Dedication Prayer

VT 485 | Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands

Mission Moment: Colombia…

The video above includes the full service, except for the time for sharing.

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained through One License with license A-727859.

Moving Toward Transformation

There is a practice that I’ve experienced as part of Mennonite circles that I am not sure whether it is unique to us or not but which I find to be an interesting one.  That practice is sometimes called a “listening committee,” and it functions during bigger gatherings or meetings by appointing a few representatives who listen diligently and take note of what they hear.  Then at the end of the gathering, this listening committee gives its report with each person offering a recap of the things they heard during seminars, worship services, or even personal conversations that they found to be meaningful or important.  Different than official minutes for the meeting, these reports attempt to capture something deeper. Sometimes there is an attempt to synthesize these snippets into underlying themes, but often the report is simply a series of snippets in a sort of poetic list that offers brief glimpses into the experience that the whole group has just shared. 

Usually these reports contain their fair share of funny quotations that help remind people of the laughs that had been shared during the past few days.  And often there is an equal number of moments during these reports where a short quote or phrase from a sermon or an especially powerful seminar is shared, causing a more pensive moment to wash over the gathering as we remember and reflect on how that speaker challenged us to think deeply about where God is calling us next. 

My task for this morning is to give a sort of “listening committee” report to you about the Mennonite Church…

7-11-21–CMC service from Gwen Reiser on Vimeo.

The video above includes the full service, except for the time for sharing.

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained through One License with license A-727859.

Order of Worship | Christian Nationalism

Prelude | Terzetto Op. 74 for Two Violins and Viola, in C major, Movement I. Allegro ma non troppo by Antonín Dvořák. | Performance: Elizabeth Martin, violin 1; Marisa Tayal, violin 2; Gabriel Cassell Ramirez, viola.

Welcome 

VT 36 | Let us build the house  vs 1, 4, 5 | Debra Martin, Sarah Martin, Tom Blosser, and Galen Martin, vocals; Debra Martin, guitar.

Land Acknowledgement 

We acknowledge we are gathering on land where Miami, Osage, Shawnee, and other Indigenous peoples have lived and labored, fought, and loved. We continue to work and pray for justice and conciliation.      

Call to Worship

VT 592 | How Firm a Foundation | Sung by Debra Martin, Sarah Martin, Tom Blosser, and Galen Martin

Peace Candle 

Children’s Time 

Offering/Dedication Prayer 

Special music | Prelude Cello Suite 2 in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach. | Performance: Sarah Martin, cello.

Scripture | Luke 6:46-49 (NIV)

VT 440 | Ask the complicated questions | Debra Martin, Sarah Martin, Tom Blosser, and Galen Martin, vocals; Debra Martin, guitar.

Sermon | Love Builds Up

Silent Reflection

VT 42 | Could it be that God is singing | Debra Martin, Sarah Martin, Tom Blosser, and Galen Martin, vocals; Debra Martin, guitar. 

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Pastoral Prayer 

Passing the Peace

Extinguishing the Peace Candle 

Benediction 

Announcements 

Thanks to everyone who helped lead today’s service

Sermon: Bonita Croyle

Worship Leader: Phil Yoder

Music coordination: Debra and Galen Martin

Children’s Time: Galen Martin

Peace Candle: Chaska Yoder

Zoom Host: Sarah Werner

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