29 May BULLETIN – MAY 29, 2022
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER
LUTHERAN CHURCHES
The Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Music Director
Sunday May 29, 2022
Seventh Sunday of Easter
GREETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome Cub Scout Pack 156. Thank you for showing us how to fold the American flag and for your participation during today’s service.
PRELUDE
THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM
Please remember your baptism by making the sign of the cross.[☩]
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Refreshed by the resurrection life we share in Christ, let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.
We thank you, risen Christ, for these waters where you make us new, leading us from death to life, from tears to joy.
We bless you, risen Christ, that your Spirit comes to us in the grace-filled waters of rebirth, like rains to our thirsting earth, like streams that revive our souls, like cups of cool water shared with strangers.
Breathe your peace on your church.
Clothe us with your mercy and forgiveness.
Send us companions on our journey as we share your life.
Make us one, risen Christ.
Cleanse our hearts. Shower us with life.
To you be given all praise, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God, now and forever.
Amen.
ENTRANCE HYMN Son of God, Eternal Savior #364
1 Son of God, eternal Savior,
source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us
hallows all our human race,
you our head, who, throned in glory,
for your own will ever plead:
fill us with your love and pity,
heal our wrong, and help our need.
2 As you, Lord, have lived for others,
so may we for others live.
Freely have your gifts been granted;
freely may your servants give.
yours the gold and yours the silver,
yours the wealth of land and sea;
we but stewards of your bounty
held in solemn trust will be.
3 Come, O Christ, and reign among us,
King of love and Prince of peace;
hush the storm of strife and passion,
bid its cruel discords cease.
By your patient years of toiling,
by your silent hours of pain,
quench our fevered thirst of pleasure,
stem our selfish greed of gain.
4 Son of God, eternal Savior,
source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us
hallows all our human race:
by your praying, by your willing
that your people should be one,
grant, oh, grant our hope’s fruition:
here on earth your will be done.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty God, you secured our family’s journey to this good and fruitful land. Make us remember the generous opportunities afforded us and to constantly do your will. Bless our people with honest industry, truthful education, and an honorable way of life. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride, arrogance, and every evil course of action. Make us who came from many nations united. Defend our liberties and give those whom we entrust with power and authority the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace. When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful. In troubled times, do not let our trust in you fail. We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING WISDOM 3:1-5, 9
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.
PSALM 46
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea;
though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its tumult.
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be overthrown; God shall help her at the break of day.
The nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are shaken; God has spoken, and the earth shall melt away.
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Come now and look upon the works of the Lord, what awesome things he has done on earth.
It is he who makes war to cease in all the world; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
SECOND READING EPHESIANS 6:10-20
In conclusion, be strong in the Lord, draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him and in the power of His boundless might. Put on the full armor of God for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier, so that you may be able to successfully stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood contending only with physical opponents, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.
Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to successfully resist and stand your ground in the evil day of danger, and having done everything that the crisis demands, to stand firm in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious. So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness , and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news. Above all, lift up the protective shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. With all prayer and petition pray with specific requests at all times on every occasion and in every season in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition, interceding in prayer for all God’s people. And pray for me, that words may be given to me when I open my mouth, to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news of salvation, for which I am an ambassador in chains. And pray that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly and courageously, as I should.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia. Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Alleluia. (John 14:23)
GOSPEL JOHN 17: 20-26
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
SERMON followed by Meditation
HYMN OF THE DAY Eternal Father, Strong to Save #467
1 Eternal Father, strong to save,
whose arm has bound the restless wave,
who bade the mighty ocean deep
its own appointed limits keep:
oh, hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.
2 O Savior, whose almighty word
the winds and waves submissive heard,
who walked upon the foaming deep,
and calm amid the storm didst sleep;
oh, hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.
3 O Holy Spirit, who didst brood
upon the chaos dark and rude,
and bid its angry tumult cease,
and give, for wild confusion, peace:
oh, hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.
4 O Trinity of love and pow’r,
all trav’lers guard in danger’s hour
from rock and tempest, fire and foe,
protect them wheresoe’er they go;
thus evermore shall rise to thee
glad hymns and praise from land and sea.
PROFESSION of FAITH/NICENE CREED Page 64
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Set free from captivity to sin and death, we pray to the God of resurrection for the church, people in need, and all of creation. A brief silence.
Almighty God, form the minds of faithful people into your one will. Make us love what you command and desire what you promise, that, amid all the changes of this world, our hearts may be fixed where true joy is found on your Son, Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father, guide the church into ways of justice and truth. Establish among it peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that our world may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, it is your will to hold both heaven and earth in a single peace. Let the design of creation and your great love shine on the waste of wrath, greed and sorrow. Grant safety and security to the living, stability to the planet and universe, peace in our homes and peace in our hearts. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, may your holy and life-giving Spirit move every human heart. May barriers which divide us crumble, suspicions disappear and hatreds cease. With our divisions healed, help us live in justice and peace. Keep in our minds those who have died as a result of war or its aftereffects, as military or civilians’ casualties (especially those we name). May we honor them by seeking peaceful solutions to conflicts. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, you created all people in your image. We thank you for the astonishing variety of skin tones and cultures in this world. Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of fellowship, and show us your presence in those who differ most from us, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, bless those who hold office and serve the government of Pennsylvania as either civilians or military personnel, bless those who serve on school boards, who serve and lead as administrators in counties, cities, townships, boroughs and on councils everywhere. Help them do their work in a spirit of wisdom, kindness, and justice. Help them use their authority to serve faithfully and to promote general welfare. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, look with pity upon people in this land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as constant companions. Have mercy and help us eliminate cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the abundance of this land. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
In your mercy, Almighty God, respond to these prayers, and renew us by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
PEACE
OFFERING
OFFERTORY “Create in me…” Page 75
THE LORD’S PRAYER Page 76
BLESSING
May God, the Author of life, Christ, the living Cornerstone, and the life-giving Spirit of adoption, [☩] bless you now and forever. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN Battle Hymn of the Republic #332
1 Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
he has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword:
his truth is marching on.
Refrain
Glory, glory! Hallelujah!
Glory, glory! Hallelujah!
Glory, glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
2 He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
he is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat.
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him; be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on. Refrain
3 In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
with a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me.
As he died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,
while God is marching on. Refrain
DISMISSAL Page 74
POSTLUDE
Revised Common Lectionary copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts. Used by permission. Prayers adapted from Sundays and Seasons, copyright © 2019, Augsburg Fortress. Used with permission. Psalm readings from Lutheran Book of Worship, copyright © 1978. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual Subscription #SB160715 Other quotations from Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, National Council of Churches in Christ in the United States of America. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Altar flowers have been presented by Jean Zimmerman, to all my loved ones.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR JUNE
4 Strawberry Festival St Peter’s Pavilion 4:00 PM until ??
5 Day of Pentecost
POT PIE SUPPER A SUCCESS
Thanks to everyone who supported the Election Day Pot-Pie Supper at St. Peter’s. Everything tasted delicious and was enjoyed. It was not only a successful fundraiser for the church, but lots of fun to see happy faces as some folks who missed out two years in a row ate their fill!
BABY BOTTLE CAMPAIGN RESULTS
The Baby Bottle Campaign initiated by St. Peter and participated in by both churches to benefit Lifeline Pregnancy and Family Counseling Center was also a success. Our total exceeded last year’s by about a hundred dollars. With everything being more expensive now, I’m sure the extra will be appreciated!
COMMUNITY GARDEN HELP
Messiah’s community garden could use your help throughout the summer. If you are not familiar with the Messiah’s community garden, it is located on the rental property next to the church, with the wooden picket fence. The garden has provided vegetables to local food banks since 2015. If you have garden tools and gloves, please feel free to bring them along.
Keep in mind that the garden is a great place to honor social distancing, while serving your community. If you would like to be a regular or occasional “garden helper” please contact Beth Hogan at 717-896-2269. Thank you.
MORE INFO
Please visit our website: halifaxmessiah.church for weekly updates and archived materials, bulletins with hymn lyrics, articles, descriptions of various programs and ministries, newsletters, recorded services, text versions of sermons, a monthly calendar, and way to give online.
Our 10:00 AM (and joint services) are available every week as a live streamed event via Facebook and available later in the day on YouTube. Please let us know if you watch online, have any questions, or would like to meet with the pastor in person.