General Synod 34 Community Worship
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Prelude 
Handbell Choir

Praise and Worship 
“Every Praise” 
Every praise is to our God.
Every word of worship with one accord
Every praise every praise is to our God.
Sing hallelujah to our God
Glory hallelujah is due our God
Every praise every praise is to our God.

God my Savior
God my Healer
God my Deliverer
Yes God is, yes God is

God my Savior
God my Healer
God my Deliverer
Yes God is, yes God is

God my Savior
God my Healer
God my Deliverer
Yes God is, yes God is, 

Text: David Bratton
Tune J. David. Bratton

Call to Worship – freestyle, joyful, open, incorporate Isaiah 65: 17-18 Common English Bible (CEB) – “scripture says God is creating a people of joy as a source of gladness for the world”
17 Look! I’m creating a new heaven and a new earth:
    past events won’t be remembered; they won’t come to mind.
18 Be glad and rejoice forever in what I’m creating,
    because I’m creating Jerusalem as a joy and her people as a source of gladness.

Opening Song 	Play transition music until scripture reading starts
“Called To Gather As God’s People” 
Called to gather as God's people, we assemble in this place to unite our hearts and voices in thanksgiving for God's grace: for the birthing of creation, for Christ's rising from death's hold, for the coming of the Spirit, week by week claimed and retold. 

Taught and formed by proclamation, we await God's promised word: song and story, psalm and precept, all the range of scripture heard. By this ancient, living witness we are summoned to confess how we fall short, yet can trust that God will hear, forgive, and bless. 

Fed at Christ's abundant table, we partake of holy food, wake the gifts of hope and memory, taste and see that God is good. So our mingled lives are taken, blessed and broken for Christ's sake, given out to feed and comfort bodies, minds, and hearts that ache. 

Sent to share the Spirit's blessing, we go forth renewed, restored, humbled by the task before us, strengthened by the Love out-poured. Finding faith confirmed in action, led by hope through each new day, we are called to be God's people, living what we sing and pray.

Text: Carl P. Daw, Jr. Tune: Nettleton © 2001 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted/Streamed under ONE LICENSE #A-719582

Choral Reading of Jeremiah 65: 19-24 
Voice One:                “Listen for what the scripture is saying to the church”
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad about my people.
                 No one will ever hear the sound of weeping or crying in it again.
Voice Two:                No more weeping.
                No more crying.

Voice One:                20 No more will babies live only a few days,
                   or the old fail to live out their days.
The one who dies at a hundred will be like a young person,
    and the one falling short of a hundred will seem cursed.
Voice Two:                Life.  A long life.
               Life.  An abundant life.

Voice One:                21 They will build houses and live in them;
                   they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They won’t build for others to live in,
    nor plant for others to eat.
Voice Two:               Enough.
               Enough for everyone to eat to their fill.

Voice One:                Like the days of a tree will be the days of my people;
                 my chosen will make full use of their handiwork.
23 They won’t labor in vain,
    nor bear children to a world of horrors,
Voice Two:                No more children born into a world of horrors.
                No more gun violence, 
                No more cruelty for fun to rile up a base, 
               No more bullying and book bans,
               No more restrictions to gender-affirming health care,
                No more restrictions to diversity, equity, and inclusion or teaching our history,
               No more children will be born into a world of horrors.

Voice One:                    because they will be people blessed by the Lord,
    they along with their descendants.
24 Before they call, I will answer;
    while they are still speaking, I will hear.
Voice Two:              God listens.
               God hears.
              Let the church listen.
               Let the church hear.

Participating in the Heartbeat of God 
– a freestyle combination of confession and intercession that invites physical and verbal responses led by Pastor, Preacher, or Worship Leader – reflecting on the words of Isaiah just read, such as no more bearing children to a world of horrors, everyone a house to live in, living a full life.  “We come with pain from the realities of our lives and the brokenness of the world, and yet we still have joy” – music underneath, slight drumbeat to give impression of a heartbeat, but not noticeable.  When leader is finished, transition…

Response – Revelation 19 
Hallelujah, salvation and glory
Honor and power unto the Lord our God
For the Lord our God is mighty
Yes,  our God is omnipotent
Our  god He is wonderful

All praises be To the King of Kings
And the Lord our God is wonderful

Words and Music: A Jeffrey La Valley,  ©2011 Hope Publishing Co.; All rights reserved. Reprinted/Streamed under CCLI #11417377.

Scripture Reading – Isaiah 65: 17, 25 CEB – Voice Two
“The Prophet Isaiah proclaimed”
17 Look! I’m creating a new heaven and a new earth:
    past events won’t be remembered;
    they won’t come to mind.
25 Wolf and lamb will graze together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
    but the snake—its food will be dust.
They won’t hurt or destroy at any place on my holy mountain,
    says the Lord.

Message for All Ages – using the above text about wolf and lamb for reference

Song – We Are the Church
We are the church, We are God’s hands and feet. 
The church, called to deliver and set free
The spirit of our God is upon you and me
We are the church, We have been called to heal.
Called to serve, Called to give: Let’s do the work
Let’s live out the purpose of the Church
Music and Tune by Kevon Carter

Gospel Reading – John 15: 9-14 – First Nations Version – Voice One

“Listen for what the scripture is saying to the church”

[participants enter from the rear of the stage and walk toward the center)
In the same way as the [Mother]/Father loves me, I have loved you.  Never stop walking this road of love.  

[participants freeze in tableau and hold their pose]
By doing what the [Mother]/Father has told me, I have remained in [God’s] love.  As you walk in my ways, my love will remain in you.  I am saying this so your hearts will be filled with the same joy I have.

To walk the road with me, you must love each other in the same way I have loved you.  There is no greater way to show love to friends than to die in their place.  You are my friends if you walk in my ways and do what I say.

[Voice One leads the participants in exiting stage on the ramp]

Scripture Reading – Isaiah 65: 17-18 CEB 
17 Look! I’m creating a new heaven and a new earth:
    past events won’t be remembered; they won’t come to mind.
18 Be glad and rejoice forever in what I’m creating,
    because I’m creating Jerusalem as a joy and her people as a source of gladness.

Sermon

Song – Revelation 19 – alter for inclusive language – make it a song for the congregation to sing or at least refrains
Hallelujah, salvation and glory
Honor and power unto the Lord our God
For the Lord our God is mighty
Yes,  our God is omnipotent
Our  god He is wonderful

All praises be To the King of Kings
And the Lord our God is wonderful

Words and Music: A Jeffrey La Valley,  ©2011 Hope Publishing Co.; All rights reserved. Reprinted/Streamed under CCLI #11417377.

Communion for Synod Sunday 7/2
Invitation
John: The Spirit of Creation is with you!
Many: And the Spirit of Creation walks next to you.
Traci: Open wide your souls.
Many: We open them to the Creator’s love.
Karen Georgia: Let us give thanks to the God of Earth and Rain.
Many: With joyous voices, hearts, and hands, we exclaim to God our praise.

Prayer of Communion
Carmen:
We delight with our Holy God on this earth, and we rejoice forever in what God has created, is creating, and will be created.  The Spirit of Creation built this vast universe, including our beautiful, strong, and fragile planet.  The earth held the plants and animals in the Garden of Eden.  Later, the earth carried the Israelites on their wilderness journey and while they danced joyously in the promised land.  The earth absorbed the tears of Job, supported the steps of the prophesying Elijah, and carried David in the shadow-filled valleys. Jesus taught on mountains and plains, walked throughout the land healing the aching, and prayed in gardens late at night.  In times of exile and times of return, the land held the stories of our ancestors in faith.  

Karen Georgia:
Today, we abide on this earth in houses of worship, in homes, and in halls.  We know this land we share today is sacred.  It bears much fruit.  It holds the flora of friendships.  And deep within its cells are the stories of its ancestors - parents, guardians, and leaders of the faith.  We know their footprints are still felt by the earth.  

Traci: And we remember the ones who held this land as their own centuries ago.  They were the first to tend to the land, to nurture it as a parent would nurture their child.  The winds of occupation seared the land and crushed the hearts and lives of its first inhabitants.  Through the hydrating tears of our God, the land remembered its strength from its ancestors.  In our spaces today, we remember their place on the land and their care for creation.

From the strength of those who have gone before comes the seeds for grains and grapes.  The land has given birth to the fruits of our sacrament.  

With glory to our God, we praise the Spirit of Creation:

All: Holy, Holy, Holy, Spirit of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water,
Heaven and Earth delights in your glory,
Hosanna, Hosanna.
Blessed is the one who brings love and light to our world.
Hosanna to our God.  Alleluia!

John:
On the night before Jesus walked the ground carrying the tree to Golgotha, he gathered with faithful friends.  From the grain in the ground came the bread that Jesus took and broke in his hand.  He blessed the bread and said to his friends “This is my body broken for you.  When you eat this bread, remember me.”

Karen Georgia: And then after supper, Jesus took a cup filled with the fruit of the vine.  Knowing they were all connected like the vine and branches, Jesus said to them “This cup is the new covenant (in my blood).  As you drink from the cup, remember me.”

Traci: Spirit of God, just as you hovered over creation and renewed your church at Pentecost, surround these elements.  Encircle us, energize our souls, and connect us with each living being here on earth.  Just as you have delighted in humans since creation, may your presence create joy in our spirits, transforming us into new beings.

Carmen: Bless the soil that birthed the grains and grapes that we share today.  May these elements be transformed into a meal that connects us all.  Like the lion and ox, like the lamb and wolf, we eat together - whether near or far, whether well or ill, whether marginalized or privileged.  May this meal be one in which we embrace the power we have and strengthen the world with justice and peace, kindness and love.  Amen.

Distribution of the Elements -- John

Prayer of Thanksgiving 
Unison: Holy God, Divine Designer- With gentle compassion, you unite us as vine and branches, whether near or far.  
Karen Georgia : For your meal we share our gratitude.  
John :With thanksgiving we voice our joy for our siblings in faith who shared the table with the Christ and with us.  
Traci: Our souls are rejuvenated with your Holy Refreshment.  
Carmen: Send us into the world today with joy in our hearts and excited to proclaim your radical love in this world.  
Unison:  Amen.

Offeringi

I get excited when I get an invitation in the mail or an evite invitation in my email.  Invitations get my attention, and they often get me excited about whatever occasion I am being invited to!

	Friends, we are invited.  

We are invited to make an impact and a difference today in sharing a portion of our resources for the Annual Fund of the United Church of Christ.  We are invited to express our generosity.

	When I think about it I am reminded that the whole testimony of scripture is a witness to the generosity of God. 

God’s acts in creating the world, calling forth a people, forging a covenant, sending a savior, and empowering the church and so much more – these are all acts of divine generosity. 

We know that our God is a giving God because we experience God’s generosity. 

We know the wondrous gifts of creation, of the gift of life itself, of the material bounty of the earth, and of the blessings of love, grace, and forgiveness. 

In a world so torn apart by rivalry, anger, and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds. 
Henri Nouwen 

We don’t just talk about love in the United Church of Christ; we bring it to life in ministry: we offer hospitality, we build community, we act in compassion, we do justice work, and in all these things we worship and love God, and we offer our love to our neighbor. That is what this ministry, and our gifts through the Annual Fund, are about, and all of it is centered on our vision of “United in Christ’s Love, a Just world for all.”

So today we are invited!  I invite us now to share a portion of the abundance which God has entrusted to each of us as we are able for the upbuilding of our ministries of the United Church of Christ.

Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

On the screen is the QR code for today’s offering.  You can point your cell camera at the code and it will bring you to the website where you can make your donation online.  You can also choose the text to give feature by texting your gift to the displayed number.  If you prefer to write a check there are baskets at the back of the plenary hall in which to place your checks following worship.

Benediction 

Closing Song – Stay Connected 
I am the true vine, and my God is the gardener
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit
Remain in me as I also remain in you
I am the true vine, stay connected
Stay, stay, stay connected
God is the vine, we are the branches
Stay, stay connected

Music and tune by Kevon Carter

GS Community Worship written by David Bahr and Michelle Torigian (Communion Liturgy) with editorial support by Cheryl A. Lindsay for General Synod 34 and use by UCC local churches.