Easter 5 Worship

Today's scripture was the appointed first reading, the one from Acts 11, in which Peter has a vision in which God declares clean that which had previously been thought of as unclean. The sermon was the first installment of a two-part series entitled Comings and Goings. It is about the way we open and close worship. Today we talked about our words of welcome: We are disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. United in spirit and inspired by God's grace, we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all. Next week's sermon will be the second and concluding installment, and will talk about the way we close worship, with the song God Now in Peace. What follows is a video of this service (click on "read more") as well as a complete transcript of the sermon.

Easter 4 Worship

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is always Good Shepherd Sunday. This year it is also Mother's Day. And so our worship highlights both occasions. The sermon is based Isaiah 40:9-11. Our hymns are old classics that highlight a mother's care. The children distributed flowers to the women of the church. And the choir sang The Gift of Love.

Here is a video of the worship service (click on "read more"), and beneath the video is a manuscript of the sermon.

Mother's Day Prayer

Eternal God, who created us in the divine Image;
God of Eve, our first mother; God of Sarah and Hagar,
God of Ruth and Naomi, God of Mary the Magdalene;
and of Mary, the mother of our Lord;
God of Hildegard of Bingen and Catherine of Sienna;
God of Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks:

Good Shepherd Benediction

Go forth this day
    knowing that you are in the care
        of a Good Shepherd who fulfills your needs.
As you go through the sunlit meadows
        and the dark valleys of the week to come,

Easter 3 Worship

On the Third Sunday of Easter, our theme was Saul on the Road to Damascus. 

We celebrated the Lord's Supper, and our hymns were Blessèd Assurance, Open My Eyes That I May See, and Be Thou My Vision. Dave Morrow was presiding elder.

Here is a video of this worship service (click on "read more"), and beneath that is a manuscript of the sermon.

Easter 2 Worship

This Sunday fell during the week of the Geauga County Maple Festival. Ten o'clock worship is not possible for two reasons. First, the streets leading to the church are all closed and all the parking spaces are filled by 9 AM, so none of our members could find their way to our doors at that hour. Second, our church hosts a gigantic pancake breakfast on the Saturday and Sunday of the festival, so most of the faithful are busy working in the kitchen and social hall. So today we held a simple, half-hour worship service at 8 AM. Jenny Gilles was elder and also the musician. The message was the second half of John 20—the passage known to many as Doubting Thomas. The video is below (click on "read more").