In-person Worship*
Where? Our worship services are currently inside the sanctuary. Please use the sanctuary entrance that faces Stockley Gardens.
*COVID-19 Mitigation Plan Our fully vaccinated guests do not have to wear a mask; everyone else must wear masks that are well-fitted. 6 feet of physical distancing must be maintained by everyone, except for those who are in the same household group. Hugs and handshakes are not allowed. All are required to stay home when sick, and we ask everyone to self-check in at each entrance with our health acknowledgement poster. Mitigation measures, such as wearing a mask, may be reinstated if there is a surge in the positivity rate.
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Online Worship
- There are 3 different ways you can access our Facebook live service:
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Click here to go to our Facebook page, then scroll down until you see the video of worship,
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Or click here to go to our Facebook page, then click on “More” on the page menu, then click on “Live”,
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Or click here to go directly to our “Live” page.
- The link and video are viewable even if you don't have a Facebook account!
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Please complete a Connection Card or write your name in the comments so we know you are worshiping with us.
Streaming licenses: Ghent UMC is licensed to stream our FB Live worship services with permission under CCLI #20175590 and One License A-727358. All rights reserved.
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Connect with us: Please click here to let us know you are worshiping with us today. Also, if desired, you may give or update your contact information, make prayer requests, indicate ministry interests, and/or request more information about the church or Methodism.
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Thank you!...
To Gary Bonnewell for leading today's worship service and delivering the message while Pastor Ryan is on vacation! Gary has been an active member of our church for 37 years, and currently serves as our leadership team chairperson & lay leader.
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Gathering & Prelude: "Who Is the Alien?;" Tune: Star in the East; Words and Music: One License #A-727358
- Click here to view the sheet music.
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Words:
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1. We were the alien, we were the outcast. Captive in Egypt, our parents were slaves. We knew the anguish, and then the deliverance, freed by our Maker, whose mighty hand saves.
- Refrain: Who is the alien? Who is the outcast? Who is the hungry one barred from the feast? Who is the widow, the slave, and the orphan? These are our neighbors, the last and the least.
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2. Different in practice and patterns of loving; partnered in ways that seem strange to our own: these are the outcast we bar from the table, failing to witness the grace we were shown.
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3. Women, and others our labels belittle; people whose bodies bear limits of skill: these are the outcast whose gifts we discourage, closing our hearts to God's open-armed will.
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4. Christ is the outcast who calls to the table, stretching his arms from the cross to enfold all of God's children, alike in God's image, breaking his body to make us all whole.
Greeting & Announcements
- God of gentle rains and warm sun, God who encourages growth;
- We are creatures who sometimes grow quickly, and sometimes get stuck.
- God of freedom, of liberation, of binding ropes being cut;
- We are bound in ways we don't always understand or recognize.
- God of exodus and exile and homecoming, God who calls us to leave where we are and come home;
- Help us to have the courage to make the journey and to trust in the path.
- God of health and healing, God who wants us to be made whole;
- We come as people who are wounded in body and in spirit, people who seek healing.
- God who has laid out a way for us to live, who has given us rules for living in community;
- We come as people who sometimes go astray, people who stretch the rules.
Opening Prayer Written by Valerie Bridgeman Davis, The Africana Worship Book for Year B, Discipleship Resources, 2007, 159.
Merciful God, we have not loved you with all our being. In your kindness, you formed the world as one glorious, diverse, many-colored place; in our stubbornness and sinful pride, we have distorted your intention for humanity and for all creation. As your church, we have often perpetuated the divisions Christ came to destroy. In your grace, forgive us and free us from the grip of sin. Help us to worship and serve you joyfully for the sake of the salvation of the entire world through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Opening Hymn #515: "Out of the Depths I Cry to You;" Tune: Aus Tiefer Not; Words and Music: One License #A-727358
- Out of the depths I cry to you; O Lord, now hear me calling. Incline your ear to my distress in spite of my rebelling. Do not regard my sinful deeds. Send me the grace my spirit needs; without it I am nothing.
- All things you send are full of grace; you crown our lives with favor. All our good works are done in vain without our Lord and Savior. We praise the God who gives us faith and saves us from the grip of death; our lives are in God's keeping.
- It is in God that we shall hope, and not in our own merit; we rest our fears in God's good Word and trust the Holy Spirit, whose promise keeps us strong and sure; we trust the holy signature inscribed upon our temples.
- My soul is waiting for the Lord as one who longs for morning; no watcher waits with greater hope than I for Christ's returning. I hope as Israel in the Lord, who sends redemption through the Word. Praise God for endless mercy.
Children's Message
Sermon: "Are You Lost?"
Sermon Hymn #479: "Jesus, Lover of My Soul;" Tune: Aberstwyth; Words and Music: Public Domain
- Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly, while the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high. Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past; safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.
- Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on thee; leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me. All my trust on thee is stayed, all my help from thee I bring; cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing.
- Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in thee I find; raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind. Just and holy is thy name, I am all unrighteousness; false and full of sin I am; thou art full of truth and grace.
- Plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cover all my sin; let the healing streams abound, make and keep me pure within. Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of thee; spring thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.
The Apostles' Creed (Traditional Version)
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;* the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic** church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
*Traditional use of this creed includes these words: "He descended into hell."
**universal
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Our 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Offering Today and on all 4th Sundays, if you feel so led, in addition to any monetary tithes and offerings, we are collecting offerings of non-perishable food to help stock the food pantry at Wesley Community Service Center. To view a shopping list of the most needed items, click here. Please place your offerings by the altar or make arrangements to bring them to the church office.
Doxology #95: "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow;" Tune: Old Hundredth; Words and music: Public Domain
- Click here to view the sheet music.
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Words: Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Closing Hymn: "Who Is the Alien?;" Tune: Star in the East; Words and Music: One License #A-727358
- Click here to view the sheet music.
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Words:
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1. We were the alien, we were the outcast. Captive in Egypt, our parents were slaves. We knew the anguish, and then the deliverance, freed by our Maker, whose mighty hand saves.
- Refrain: Who is the alien? Who is the outcast? Who is the hungry one barred from the feast? Who is the widow, the slave, and the orphan? These are our neighbors, the last and the least.
-
2. Different in practice and patterns of loving; partnered in ways that seem strange to our own: these are the outcast we bar from the table, failing to witness the grace we were shown.
-
3. Women, and others our labels belittle; people whose bodies bear limits of skill: these are the outcast whose gifts we discourage, closing our hearts to God's open-armed will.
-
4. Christ is the outcast who calls to the table, stretching his arms from the cross to enfold all of God's children, alike in God's image, breaking his body to make us all whole.
Benediction
Postlude
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Daily Prayer Starter
Please set aside time each day to pray for 2-3 minutes. This week's prayer starter is:
"God our Shepherd, we are like a lost sheep. Help us to find You. Guide us to where You want us to be. Let us rejoice with you and tell others about our path to you..."
For more information about Ghent United Methodist Church, please click here to visit our website.
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." -Matthew 11:28
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