Join us online for worship
July 5, 2020
To access our worship service online, please visit our website at www.umcw.org/sermons
(The service has been pre-recorded.)
Order of Worship
July 5, 2020

Gathering as the Body of Christ

Welcome and Sharing of Announcements

Call to Worship 
(Jill Lohmeier)
Liturgist: Come, walk in green pastures.
People: We follow the Shepherd.
Liturgist: Come, lie down in green pastures.
People: We trust the Shepherd.
Liturgist: Come, dine at the table of abundance.
People: We are fed by the Shepherd.
Liturgist: Come, dwell in God’s house.
People: We live in the Shepherd’s care.
(Psalm 23)

Opening Prayer
(Jill Lohmeier)
Loving Shepherd, you know our names; you care for us. When we face darkness and death, walk beside us. When we hunger for your love, fill us with your presence. When we are fearful, feed us at your table. May we dwell in the house of goodness and mercy all the days of our lives. Amen.

Opening Hymn - “He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought - UMH #128
Based on Psalm 23

Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer 

Prayer Response - “Lead Me, Lord” UMH #473 (two times)
Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness,
make thy way plain before my face.
For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only,
that makest me dwell in safety.

Online Communion

Pastor: The Lord be with you
People: And also with you
Pastor: Lift up your hearts
People: We lift them up to the Lord
Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Pastor: It is our privilege and our joy to give you thanks and praise,
Lord God, because you created all things in order to dwell in covenant love with your people.

When that covenant was broken, you promised to make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, in which you would put your law within them and write it on their hearts; you would be their God, and they would be your people. They would all know you, from the least of them to the greatest; for you would forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. In the body and blood of Jesus you made that new covenant, and in his death and resurrection we are bound to you and you to us for evermore. And so we join with all the company of heave in the song of your everlasting glory.
 
Together: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
 
Pastor: Abiding God, you shape us through this holy meal to be your companions, to befriend one another, and to be reconciled with the whole earth. Send your Spirit on your church, that your people may enduring suffering, and that, being encouraged, they may proclaim your truth and learn to live in your good patience. Sanctify these gifts of bread and wine that they may be for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; who, at supper with his disciples, took bread, gave you thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to them, saying, “Take, eat: this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” After supper he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Drink this, all of you: this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
 
Great is the mystery of faith.
People: Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again!
 
Pastor: God of justice, your children call upon you like a window pleading her cause. As you constantly knock on the door of our hearts, inviting us to embrace your ways, so we seek to wear you out with our longing for you to grant justice to your children who cry to you day and night. Give hope to any who are close to losing heart. Bring consolation to all who can hardly continue another day. Uphold those who have nowhere to turn. Hasten the day when every tear turns to joy and all sorrow to dancing, when you are all in all, One God, Trinity of peace and love. Amen.
(Eucharistic Prayer by Samuel Wells and Abigail Kocher)
 
Sharing of the Gifts of Bread and Cup
Look. Here is your Lord, coming to you in bread and wine.
The gifts of God for the people of God.
 
Prayer After Communion
God, your bread and your cup renew our spirits. No matter the times we have failed to show up to your call, or to our own needs, or to the cries of our neighbors, you receive us again. May your unending grace be our foundation as we journey with Christ towards justice. Amen.

Scripture Readings
(Peter Seymour)
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures;he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
(NRSV)

Romans 8:28-32
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
(NRSV)

Message - " All Shall Be Well! " - Pastor Seok-Hwan

Special Music
“Angels Among Us" - Larry Guilmartin, soloist
Used with permission
 (©2017 Marcia McFee and Chuck Bell, All Rights Reserved 
www.chuckbellmusic.com ~ info@chuckbellmusic.com)

Offertory Prayer 
God of love, you abide with us; you provide for all our needs and guide us in your ways. Out of gratitude for your care, we bring our gifts before you. Use them for your work of caring, that all may feast at the table of abundance, walk without fear, and drink deeply from the cup of compassion. Amen.

Closing Hymn - " It Is Well with My Soul " - UMH #377, vss 1,3,4

The Blessing and Sending Forth
Nourished by the Shepherd’s abundant love,
go forth to walk in the paths of righteousness.
Love one another in truth and action.
May God’s abundant blessings abide in you forever.

(From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2012,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press.)
Our Mission Statement
“God calls us to be disciples of Jesus, building community through service and fellowship and sharing the love of Christ with all.”

Our Openness Statement
“The United Methodist Church of Westford is an open and welcoming community of Christian Faith. Without any exceptions, we welcome anyone who seeks to love and to serve God.”
Please click here for “A Statement of Our Openness”.