THE GATHERING
Words of Welcome and Introduction
Tonight, we rejoice and give thanks for the arrival of summer. We celebrate God's glorious creation, we express gratitude for a season of accomplishments in school and at work, and we offer thanks to God for his gift of leisure that we will enjoy in the vacation days ahead.
Call to Worship
God's Greeting
Psalm 148
Praise the Lord, Sing Hallelujah [with organ and trumpet]
Prayer for the Service
CELEBRATION OF GOD'S BEAUTIFUL CREATION
Hymn: All Creatures of Our God and King St. Francis of Assisi [with organ; trumpet descant on final stanza; stanzas 1, 3, 5 by everyone; stanza 2 by women and children; stanza 4 by men)
Responsive Reading
(from Psalm 104:1, 10, 12-15, 24 a, 31 and Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 9)
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
The birds of the air nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.
He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
He makes grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for human cultivation—
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens the heart of humanity,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains her strength.
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works!
God formed sky, land, and sea;
stars above, moon and sun,
making a world of color, beauty, and variety—
a fitting home for plants and animals, and us—
a place to work and play,
worship and wonder,
love and laugh.
God rested
and gave us rest.
In the beginning
everything was very good.
Reflection on God's Good Creation
[Both this reflection and the one in the next segment of the service were commentary or testimony by a young person. Each reflection lasted several minutes and was concluded with a prayer that strongly emphasized thanksgiving.]
Prayer
Hymn: All Things Bright and Beautiful Alexander
[with piano and guitars; refrain and stanza 1 by children; then rest of hymn by everyone]
CELEBRATION OF ACHIEVEMENT IN SCHOOL AND WORK
Bible Song: Clap Your Hands, All You People [with piano, guitars, and hand clapping; sing as a 2-part round between left and right sides of church]
Responsive Reading
(from Proverbs 4:5-6,8-9; Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 47; Ecclesiastes 3:12-13; Colossians 3:17; and Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 48)
Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or swerve from them.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
Esteem her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.
She will set a garland of grace on your head
and present you with a crown of splendor.
Serving the Lord
in whom all things hold together,
we support sound education in our communities,
and we foster schools and teaching
in which God’s truth shines in all learning.
All students,
without regard to abilities, race, or wealth,
bear God's image
and deserve an education
that helps them use their gifts fully.
I know that there is nothing better for people
than to be happy and do good while they live.
That everyone may eat and drink,
and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Our work is a calling from God.
We work for more than wages
and manage for more than profit
so that mutual respect
and the just use of goods and skills
may shape the workplace.
While we earn or profit,
we love our neighbors by providing
useful products and services.
In our global economy
we advocate meaningful work
and fair wages for all.
Out of the Lord’s generosity to us,
we give freely and gladly
of our money and time.
Reflection on a Past Season of Achievement
Prayer
Bible Song: I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord Fillmore [with piano and guitars]
CELEBRATION OF GOD'S GIFT OF LEISURE
Hymn: Praise the Lord with the Sound of Trumpet Sleeth [with organ and trumpet; sing stanza 2 as a two-part round between males and females]
Responsive Reading
(from Ecclesiastes 4:4-8; Matthew
6:25-26, 33-34; and Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 49)
Leader 1: I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from human envy of our neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
The fool folds his hands and ruins himself. Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless—a miserable business!
Leader 2: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Rest and leisure are gifts from God
that relax us and set us free
to discover and to explore.
But we confess
that often our addiction to busyness
allows our tools and toys to invade our rest
and that an internet world with its temptations
distorts our leisure.
Reminding each other that
our Maker rested and gave us rest,
we seek to rest more trustingly
and to entertain ourselves more simply.
Sermon
Prayer
(mostly a prayer of petition for various blessings on the summer activities in the church and on family and personal vacations)
Hymn: O God, Your Constant Care and Love Lanier
SENDING FORTH TO SERVE
Thank Offering
Hymn: Forth in Your Name, O Lord I Go Wesley
[with organ and trumpet; stanzas 1,2 and 3 only]
