A Reconciling Congregation
224 Forest Home Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850
+ (607) 257-4329
Virtual Sunday Worship
THE CHAPEL'S MISSION STATEMENT
Embracing God’s will for our community through education, compassion, and justice.
What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.”
~ Micah 6:8 ~
We join together this Sunday May 30, 2021,
to honor Memorial Day and partake in Holy Communion
(bring bread and cup with you to zoom worship)
Service starts at 10 a.m. - zoom opens at 9:45
https://zoom.us/j/98083312667
Meeting ID: 980 8331 2667
+16465588656,,98083312667# US (New York)
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/asnIOsm1b
ORDER OF WORSHIP
GREETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Rebecca Dolch, Pastor
TIME WITH YOUNG CHRISTIANS
PRELUDE
Maria Rabbia, Music Director
CALL TO WORSHIP
On this day of memory, we gather to sing and to pray,
we remember the past and look to the future.
On this day when the guns once fell silent,
we come before you God, praying with all our hearts:
Open our eyes and the eyes of the nations
to find a different path through the disagreements of life in this world.
In this time of story, song, and prayer,
may we be re-committed to being people of Peace, true peace.
May we catch a vision of how the world could live together.
And so we echo the old prayers,
Make us channels of your peace.
Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with us!
by Gord Waldie
HYMN ~ Battle Hymn of the Republic
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 hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! (3x)
His truth is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet
That shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before His judgement seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him;
Be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! (3x)
His truth is marching on.
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 die to make men free;
While God is marching on.
Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! (3x)
His truth is marching on.
SCRIPTURE READING — Revelation 14: 17-20
Lee Bailey, Reader
SHARING JOYS AND CONCERNS
LORD’S PRAYER
SPECIAL MUSIC
Kristy Shuck
SERMON — Remembering Memorial Day
Rebecca Dolch
WE CELEBRATE
THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
INVITATION
Christ invites all who are seeking this truth that keeps marching on, in spite of us or through us, to participate in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Let us prepare ourselves with a time of silence
A TIME OF SILENCE FOR CONFESSION AND GRACE
WORDS OF GRACE
This is the time to remember with all the saints, the Truth, keeps marching on, and that God is present with us to help us turn and reorient our lives towards wisdom, honor, transformation, holiness, and freedom.
For all the gifts that the presence of Christ brings to us,
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
(with responsive selections from Lincoln’s address at the cemetery in Gettysburg, 1863.)
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere give thanks to you,
almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth.
At the beginning of time, you brought order out of chaos.
Abraham Lincoln: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
At the beginning of time you brought light out of darkness.
Lincoln: Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation,
or any nation so conceived and dedicated, can long endure.
We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
When your people suffered loss,
you sent prophets to comfort them with your word of hope and healing.
Lincoln: We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven
we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest!
Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.
He stilled the storm and cast out evil.
Lincoln: It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us –
He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He raised the dead to life and delivered your word of deliverance to the suffering.
Lincoln: that from these honored dead we take increased devotion
to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion —
By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection
you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death,
and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.
Lincoln: that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom —
When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always
in the power of your Word and Holy Spirit.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
.......And so, we ask that you
pour out your Holy Spirit on us, gathered here,
and on these gifts of bread and wine.
that we may continue his work of healing, hope, and reconciliation.
By your Spirit make us one with Christ,
one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world:
Those near to us and far from us, those suffering and those rejoicing —
until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.
And now with the confidence of children let us pray:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
BREAKING THE BREAD
SHARING THE BREAD AND CUP
SPECIAL MUSIC
Maria Rabbia
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Eternal God, we thank you for this holy mystery of communion in which you have given yourself to us. Send us into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to share your gift of grace and hope with others, in the name of Jesus Christ, whose living Presence is among us. Amen.
HYMN ~ Let There be Peace on Earth
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let There Be Peace on Earth
The peace that was meant to be
With God as our Father
children all are we
Let us walk with each other
In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With ev'ry step I take
Let this be my solemn vow:
To take each moment and live
Each moment in peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Songwriters: Jill Jackson and Sy Miller
BENEDICTION
BREAK OUT GROUPS
Announcements
Garden Party, Wednesday, JUNE 8, 9-11 a.m.
At the fabulous home garden of Elizabeth and Tim Mount, 303 East Upland Road, Ithaca, NY. One of our long- distance Zoom Church members, Jan Hammond of Alabama will be the guest of honor. Please drop in and greet your Chapel friends in person!
Reconciling Congregation News
Last week, the church discussed publicly stating that our church welcomes all people for all the rites and sacraments of the church, including marriage. Same-sex weddings are not allowed in the United Methodist denomination, but there was overwhelming support from our congregation to go against this denominational policy. Forest Home Chapel, a Reconciling Congregation finds this policy both unjust and against our Baptismal vows "to resist injustice and oppression in all its forms."
Opening the Chapel for Worship
Sunday, August 1st marks the date when Forest Home Chapel will officially open the Chapel for worship. In the meantime, we will be experimenting with how to continue zooming with our Chapel family who cannot be present in person. Thanks to Joseph Haefeli and Mark Hartsuyker for working out some of the technical issues related to in-Chapel zooming.
Our first experiment with the new equipment will be Sunday, June 13, so tune in, either in person on or zoom! Read the weekly email to find out when in-person experiments are taking place. Remember this is a work in progress!
