Order of Service
ORDER OF SERVICE
May 19th, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
Pentecost Sunday
A Time for Centering: We use this time to make the transition between “getting here” and “being here.” Take these few minutes of quiet time to get in touch with the calm places, the still, deep places in you; the spirit. Relax your body, quiet the inner dialogue of your mind. Focus on feeling, on being. Be receptive to your center—your reservoir of inner peace, strength, love. Be aware of being with others. Feel the spirit of community.
PRELUDE Make Me a Channel of Your Peace M. Hayes
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
INTROIT Wake, the Dawn is Now Full Rising W. Walker
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Who calls us to this house of prayer?
All: We hear an urgent voice crying for our presence.
Leader: Where is the sound of this voice lifted up?
All: On the peaks of our joys, on the pathways of our daily life, at the crossroads of our choices, this cry reaches out to us.
Leader: Who is wanting us to listen?
All: Wisdom wants a voice in our life; discernment longs to be heard.
Leader: How shall we listen?
All: With ears open to truth made real by Wisdom; with eyes open to beauty made visible by discernment; with delight that we are called by the voice of God’s Holy Spirit.
*HYMN 237 On Pentecost They Gathered
*OPENING PRAYER
Spirit of God, Lord and Giver of Life,
moving between us and around, like wind or water or fire;
breathe into us your freshness that we may awake;
cleanse our vision that we may see more clearly;
kindle our senses that we may feel more sharply;
and give us the courage to live as you would have us live,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
*THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
*GLORIA PATRI
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
After the Children’s Message, children may leave for Church School.
SCRIPTURE LESSON Acts 2:1-8, 12-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
— New Revised Standard Version
SERMON Intangible But Powerful The Rev. Dr. Ed Horstmann
*HYMN OF THE MONTH
The soloists will sing it through once, and then the congregation is invited to sing it twice more:
INVITATION TO OFFERING There are three ways to give an offering:
In-person: Offering plates will be passed throughout the congregation at this time.
Website: Click on the Donate button at the top right corner of the homepage.
Mail: write a check to RHCC, mail to 395 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, 06831
OFFERTORY ANTHEM Come Down, O Love Divine Spalding
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
*DOXOLOGY
*HYMN My Country ‘Tis of Thee
Our fathers’ God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light;
protect us by thy might, Great God, our King.
PASTORAL PRAYER
CHURCH PRAYER
Our Heavenly Father, shed forth thy blessed spirit upon all our lives. Make each one of us an instrument in thy hands for good. Purify our hearts, strengthen our minds and bodies, fill us with Christian love. Let no pride, no self-conceit, no rivalry, no ill will ever spring up among us. Make us earnest and true, wise and prudent, giving no just cause for offense; and may thy holy peace rest upon us this day and every day throughout the coming week, sweetening our trials, cheering us in our work, and keeping us faithful to the end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
*HYMN 248 Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE Maestoso from Dans la Gloire des Invalides M. Dupré
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We Welcome the Naziri Family today.
THANK YOU
to Leslie Lee for hosting Coffee Hour this morning. Please join us in the parlor following worship. If you want to host a coffee hour, please sign up in the parlor.
to Gail Parker for arranging the flowers.
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NEW AND UPCOMING EVENTS
5/26 SPECIAL COMMUNION SERVICE Next Sunday we celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion in the Parlor at 10:00 a.m. Our gathering will give us an opportunity to experience the meal-time atmosphere that would have distinguished first-century gatherings. With table prayers, scripture readings, songs, and delicious breakfast foods (including gluten-free and vegan options), we will celebrate the presence of Christ within us and among us in the breaking of the bread.
6/2 BIBLE STUDY Please join us in the Meeting Room following Coffee Hour. We will discuss the story of Caleb from the Book of Numbers.
SUNDAY FUNDAY: There is a signup sheet on the Secretary in the Parlor if you would like to bring a dessert to share.
WHAT MATTERS MOST:
A YEAR-LONG OPPORTUNITY FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH
The first words that Jesus used to describe his purpose made it clear what mattered most to him. “Seek first the kingdom of God.”
Throughout the year, we will continue to focus our attention at Round Hill Community Church on “what matters most” for love, compassion, and justice to thrive and flourish in our own lives and beyond. We will demonstrate our commitment to that kind of faith by delving deeply into twelve values that we cherish and plan to teach to the generations that will follow us. Values like imagination, love, justice, and humility. We will take one month to explore each value and will use our preaching, teaching, podcast, music, and online resources to help us make this exploration come alive. Please visit roundhillcommunitychurch.org for more information on the theme.
—The Rev. Dr. Ed Horstmann
During the month of May, we are exploring the theme of Teamwork.
“To turn from everything to one face is to find oneself face to face with everything.”
—Elizabeth Bowen
“The universe and all beings are saturated with Spirit. To recognize its presence in every corner of the cosmos is the work of spirituality …”
—Leonardo Boff
“Despite overwhelming pressure to conform to the culture of lovelessness, we still seek to know love...My belief that God is love—that love is everything, our true destiny—sustains me. I affirm these beliefs through daily meditation and prayer, through contemplation and service, through worship and loving kindness.”
—bell hooks, all about love: NEW VISIONS
Please support our efforts to care for the planet by recycling.