GATHERING MUSIC
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE Colleen Coughenour, liturgist
Thank you, dear Oceans. Thank you, dear Mountains.
Thank you, dear Earth. Thank you, dear Animals.
Thank you, dear Plants. Thank you, dear Minerals.
Thank you, dear Water. Thank you, dear Air.
Thank you, dear Sun. Thank you, dear Planet Earth.
May Peace Prevail on Earth.
The Fuji Sanctuary, Japan
PRELUDE I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say Tallis
CALL TO WORSHIP Based on Job 12
Turn to the animals,
and let them teach you.
The birds of the air
will tell you the truth.
Listen to the plants of the earth,
and learn from them.
Let the fish of the sea
become your teachers.
In God’s hand is the soul of every living thing.
In God’s hand is the breath of all humankind.
In God are wisdom and strength,
In God are counsel and understanding.
MUSICAL REFLECTION That Lucky Old Sun Smith
SCRIPTURE READING
Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture.
Our hearts and minds are open.
Matthew 6:24-34
For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God among us, for the word of God within us.
Thanks be to God.
CONTEMPORARY READING- 1991 VIII Wendell Berry
SERMON Back to Nature Rev. Kim P. Wells
RESPONSIVE READING Ute Prayer
Earth teach me stillness
As the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
As old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
As blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring
As the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
As the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation
As the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
As the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
As the leaves which die in the autumn.
Earth teach me regeneration
As the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
As melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
As dry fields weep in the rain.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE Le cygne (The Swan) Camille Saint-Saëns
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:
- Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
- Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
- Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.
MORNING OFFERING
Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar.
Offertory Baby Elephant Walk Mancini
Prayer of Dedication Mary Oliver, The Summer Day
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean–
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down–
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?
Amen.
PREPARATION FOR PRAYER
You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar. Please observe physical distancing.
MORNING PRAYER-SAVIOR’S PRAYER
Fathering and Mothering God, lover of us all, most holy one.
Help us to respond to you
To create what you want for us here on earth.
Give us today enough for our needs.
Forgive our weak and deliberate offenses,
Just as we must forgive others when they hurt us.
Help us to resist evil and to do what is good.
For we are yours, endowed with your power to make the world whole. Amen.
* BENEDICTION Native American proverb
May your life be like a
wildflower,
growing freely in the
beauty
and joy of each day.
*POSTLUDE The Lion Sleeps Tonight Weiss, Creatore, & Peretti
Announcements
Facebook Live The 9:30 a.m. service is being streamed on Facebook Live.
Service time change ahead The first Sunday of September, the service will be at a NEW TIME. Services will begin at 10:30 a.m. Masks and distancing will remain in place. The church will continue to offer the Facebook Live option on Sunday mornings with the bulletin posted on the website so that virtual participants can follow along.
Please do what feels safest and most comfortable for you. If the church can be of assistance, please contact the church office.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 