Worship Service August 15- Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

Welcoming: comments from Rev. Susan
Prelude: "Be Thou My Vision,” Irish hymn tune, offered by Tom Ajack, guitar.
Opening Prayer: offered by Rev. Greta

God of all, Wise and Holy, we long for wisdom and truth, but are often seduced by the clamor of the world and its foolishness. Help us hear your clarion call to wise and righteous living. Move the Spirit boldly through our lives so we live as children of truth with hearts and minds set on the things above. Feed us with the bread of compassion and the wine of joy so we dance through your world with hope, honesty, and love and for all, in the name of the One Living Bread who gives life for the life of the world. Amen.
Opening Hymn: “In the Singing.”
Words: Trad. (Isa, 6:3; Matt. 21:9)
Music: Iona Community (Scotland)
Greg Carpenter, baritone
John Sheaffer, organ
In the singing, in the silence,
in the hands expectant, open,
in the blessing, in the breaking,
in the Presence at his table
Refrain:
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
be the bread of peace:
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
be the bread of peace.

In the question, in the answer,
in the moment of acceptance,
in the heart’s cry, in the healing,
in the circle of your people

Refrain:
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
you’re the wine of grace:
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
you’re the bread of peace.

Pastoral Prayer (with Lord’s Prayer): offered by Rev. Greta.

Special Music - David Dancey Scholarship Winner
Amazing Grace, arr. Larry Clark
Trey Wisner, trombone
Annie Schmidt, piano
Instrumental - “Thy Word”
Scripture reading: John 6:51-58 (The Message): offered by Veronica Radowicz.
[Jesus said:] “I’m telling you the most solemn and sober truth now: Whoever believes in me has real life, eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate the manna bread in the desert and died. But now here is Bread that truly comes down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever. I am the Bread—living Bread! who came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this Bread will live—and forever! The Bread that I present to the world so that it can eat and live is myself, this flesh-and-blood self.”
At this, the Jews started fighting among themselves: “How can this man serve up his flesh for a meal?”
But Jesus didn’t give an inch. “Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you. The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and ready for the Final Day. My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. By eating my flesh and drinking my blood you enter into me and I into you. In the same way that the fully alive Father sent me here and I live because of him, so the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me. This is the Bread from heaven. Your ancestors ate bread and later died. Whoever eats this Bread will live always.”
Message: “A Living Bread” offered by Rev. Susan
Contemplative Music: (A Time to Reflect and Commit).
Ministry Moment: offered by Rev. Greta.
Prayer of Dedication: Offered by Rev. Susan.
Spoken in unison;
As we offer our treasure and hearts to you, O God, may they be used to pass on the promise of hope, of peace, of life, of community to all in need of your gifts and presence in their lives. Amen.
Closing Hymn: O God, Our Help in Ages Past
(#117, UMH - red - Verses 1,2,4, and 6)
O God, Our Help In Ages Past
Words: Isaac Watts
Music: Attr. to William Croft: harm. by W. H. Monk

Greg Carpenter, baritone.
John Sheaffer, organ.

O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home!

Under the shadow of thy throne,
still may we dwell secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone,
and our defense is sure.

A thousand ages, in thy sight,
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night,
before the rising sun.

O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
be thou our guide while life shall last,
and our eternal home.
Benediction: offered by Rev. Susan.

Postlude: "Fanfare on O God, Our Help in Ages Past" by Charles Callahan
Prepare for worship next Sunday: by reading John 6:56-69.
Flowers Donated by: Bonnie Marcks.

May God bless you as you bask in these lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, so typical of this time of year.