On Friday, the celebration committee met to start brainstorming around what it might look like for us to gather in person for celebration once the county allows us to do so. We had lots of good ideas—from meeting out of doors, to making use of several rooms on a Sunday—but really we have no idea what will happen because we don’t know when we can gather or what the terms of our coming back together will be. We do have a certain amount of confidence in two things, however. First, we know things will not be like they were before we began sheltering in place, at least not at the beginning, and we know that our online celebrations will continue for the time being.
You can submit comments and prayer requests via our Comments Form at mpcfamily.org/comments . We’d love to hear from you!
If you are visiting today, we hope you’ll fill out our online Visitor Card at mpcfamily.org/hello .
View May 17th Celebration online
- Marcia will play a prelude, “The Heavens Declare” by Benedetto Marcello
- Talitha will welcome us to celebration,
- Helen Hutchison will lead us in a call to celebration, using the Poem “Glass
- House Canticle” by Carl Sandburg,
- Marcia will lead us in the Hymn, “Now the Green Blade Riseth”, the words to which are printed below,
- Crystal Dykstra, one of our congregation’s newest members will lead us in a prayer for peace, using a liturgy from the World Council of Churches,
- Dolores will lead us in a Godly Play story,
- Sloan White will read Acts 17:22-31,
- Ben will preach a sermon,
- Kim will bring a special music offering,
- Talitha will lead us in a pastoral prayer,
- Kim will lead us in the hymn “Garden Song”, and
- Ben will lead us in the charge (words below) and will give the Benediction
NOW THE GREEN BLADE RISETH
Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain,
Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
In the grave they laid him, love whom men had slain,
Thinking that never he would wake again.
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green,
Forth he came at Easter, like the risen grain,
He that for three days in the grave had lain.
Quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
Thy touch can call us back to life again;
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
The Charge (say together) Go out into the world in peace. Have courage; hold on to what is good. Return no one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak, and help the suffering. Honor all people. Love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Looking forward, at 11 AM on Sunday please join us for family hour on Zoom (please email Rev. Ben or email Rev. Talitha for the password) and on Wednesday at noon, please feel free to join the pastor’s Bible study on Zoom.