Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 17, 2006

The Approach to God

The Prelude
The Church Bell
The Introit: “This Is The Day”
The Call to Worship
L: In Christ, the God of heaven has made his home on earth.
P: Christ dwells among us and is one with us.
L: Highest of all creation, he lives among the least.
P: He journeys with the rejected and welcomes the weary.
L: Come now, all who thirst,
P: and drink the water of life.
L: Come now, all who hunger,
P: and be filled with good things.
L: Come now, all who seek,
P: and be warmed by the fire of love.
* The Hymn: “Let All Creation Bless the Lord” . . . Please see insert.
* The Salutation -- from Isaiah 42:6-8
L: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people;
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord, that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
U: AMEN!

The Prayer of Confession
Lord, as you have taught us, we bow down before you in all humility, gentleness and patience, supporting each other with love and trying to keep the unity of the spirit by the bonds of peace, that we may become “one body and one spirit,” according to our common calling and vocation.
With one voice, repenting of our divisions, we commit ourselves to working together for reconciliation, peace, and justice, and we stand together in imploring you: help us to live as your disciples, overcoming selfishness and arrogance, hatred and violence; give us the strength to forgive. Inspire our witness in the world, that we might foster a culture of dialogue, and be bearers of the hope which your gospel has implanted in us.
Make us instruments of your peace, so that our homes and communities, our parishes, churches, and nations might resonate more fully with the peace you have long desired to bestow upon us. Amen.
from the World Council of Churches’ liturgies for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 2004; used by Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches
(Let the worshippers consider their lives in silence.)

The Kyrie -- The congregation will repeat each English verse after the cantor.

The Words of Assurance -- from I John 1:5, 7
L: This is the message we have heard from God
and proclaim to you,
that God is light and in God there is no darkness at all.
If we walk in the light, as God is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
The Law of God -- from Philippians 2:1-4
If then there is any encouragement in Christ,
any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit,
any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete:
be of the same mind, having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,
but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
Let each of you look not to your own interests,
but to the interests of others.

The Morning's Psalm: “Create in Me” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Muskrat

The Word of God

The Children’s Sermon

* The Hymn: No. 386 “O for a World”

The Lesson
John 4:1-30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 97
L: The Word of the Lord.
P: Thanks be to God.

The Sermon: “Sisters in Exclusion”
(Reference in Sermon: Call me Woman, Ellen Kuzwayo, San Francisco, Spinsters Ink Publishing, 1985.)

This morning’s sermon is the first in a five part series on the Belhar Confession. A copy of this morning’s sermon is available at hdelhagen.blogspot.com.

* The Affirmation of Faith The Belhar Confession parts 1 and 2
Men: We believe in the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects and cares for his Church by his Word and his Spirit, as he has done since the beginning of the world and will do to the end.
Women: We believe in one holy, universal Christian Church, the communion of saints called from the entire human family.
Men: We believe that Christ’s work of reconciliation is made manifest in the Church as the community of believers who have been reconciled with God and with one another;
Women: that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the Church of Jesus Christ; that through the working of God’s Spirit it is a binding force, yet simultaneously a reality which must be earnestly pursued and sought: one which the people of God must continually be built up to attain;
Men: that this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity and hatred between people and groups is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly that anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the Church and must be resisted;
All: that this unity of the people of God must be manifested and be active in a variety of ways:
Men: in that we love one another;
Women: that we experience, practice and pursue community with one another; that we are obligated to give ourselves willingly and joyfully to be of benefit and blessing to one another;
All: that we share one faith, have one calling, are of one soul and one mind; have one God and Father, are filled with one Spirit, are baptized with one baptism, eat of one bread and drink of one cup, confess one Name, are obedient to one Lord, work for one cause, and share one hope; together come to know the height and the breadth and the depth of the love of Christ; together are built up to the stature of Christ, to the new humanity; together know and bear one another’s burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ that we need one another and upbuild one another, admonishing and comforting one another; that we suffer with one another for the sake of righteousness; pray together; together serve God in this world; and together fight against all which may threaten or hinder this unity;
Women: that this unity can be established only in freedom and not under constraint; that the variety of spiritual gifts, opportunities, backgrounds, convictions, as well as the various languages and cultures, are by virtue of the reconciliation in Christ, opportunities for mutual service and enrichment within the one visible people of God;
Men: that true faith in Jesus Christ is the only condition for membership of this Church;
All: Therefore, we reject any doctrine
Women: which absolutises either natural diversity or the sinful separation of people in such a way that this absolutisation hinders or breaks the visible and active unity of the church, or even leads to the establishment of a separate church formation;
Men: which professes that this spiritual unity is truly being maintained in the bond of peace whilst believers of the same confession are in effect alienated from one another for the sake of diversity and in despair of reconciliation;
Women: which denies that a refusal earnestly to pursue this visible unity as a priceless gift is sin;
All: which explicitly or implicitly maintains that descent or any other human or social factor should be a consideration in determining membership of the Church.

The Anthem: “Come to the Water” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Foley

The Response to God

Presentation of Tithes and Offerings

* The Doxology -- Tune: Old Hundredth
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!
Praise him, all creatures here below!
Praise him above, ye heavenly host!
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!

* The Prayer of Dedication
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts. With them we offer ourselves to your service and dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that you have made, for the sake of him who gave himself for us- Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The Life of the Church

Sending of Callers (for the Every Member Canvas)
Leader: How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news,
All: who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns. Isaiah 52:7
Leader: Sisters and Brothers you have been called to the Ministries of Deacon and Elder in order to serve Christ and Christ’s Church. In your ordination you committed yourselves to the care of this church which Christ loves and these people for whom Christ gave his life. You have now been called to service in the ministry of visitation in order to encourage these, your brothers and sisters, in cheerful giving and heartfelt devotion. Will you go out among us as messengers of good news and ambassadors of Christ?
Callers: We will, the Lord being our helper.
Leader: Will you encourage, challenge and speak Christ’s truth in the visits you are called to make? Will you seek the things which make for unity, purity and peace and therefore those things which glorify our God?
Callers: We will, the Lord being our helper.
Leader: Will you offer a listening ear and an open heart to those you visit and will you encourage us in a spirit of grace and truth?
Callers: We will, the Lord being our helper.
Leader: Will you the members of this congregation receive these persons as the presence of Christ in your homes and welcome their message of encouragement?
Cong.: We welcome you not only as our guest but as ambassadors of Christ. We welcome your message as you seek to expand the Circle of Caring with our church family.
Leader: Join me in blessing our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Cong.: The Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Our Gratitude Expressed

Our Concerns Raised Up

The Church’s Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . using ‘debts’ and ‘debtors’

* The Hymn: “Lord, Make Us Servants” . . . . . . . . . Please see insert.

* The Benediction

* The Choral Response: “Send Us Out”

* The Postlude


Pultneyville Reformed Church
7784 Hamilton Street
P.O. Box 94
Pultneyville, NY 14538
315-589-2703
prc@pultneyville.org
http://www.pultneyville.org/