An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
February 19, 2023
10:30 a.m.
Lent
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE Colleen Coughenour, Liturgist
Few find inner peace but this is not because they try and fail, it is because they do not try. Peace Pilgrim, 1908-1981
PRELUDE Prayer from Hansel and Gretel Humperdinck
*OPENING SENTENCES Ruth Burgess, contemporary
The desert waits,
ready for those who come
who come obedient to the Spirit’s leading;
or who are driven,
because they will not come any other way.
The desert always waits,
ready to let us know who we are —
the place of self-discovery.
And whilst we fear, and rightly,
the loneliness and emptiness and harshness,
we forget the angels,
who we cannot see for our blindness,
but who come when God decides
that we need their help;
when we are ready
for what they can give us.
*HYMN Great Is Your Faithfulness 423
SCRIPTURE LESSON
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 4:1-11
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!
MODERN READING Belden Lane, contemporary
* SONG Don’t Be Afraid John Bell
SERMON Give Me Lent Rev. Kim P. Wells
UNISON READING Ann Lewin, 1940-2023
Lent is a time to learn to travel
Light, to clear the clutter
From our crowded lives, and
Find a space, a desert.
Deserts are bleak: no creature
Comforts, only a vast expanse of
Stillness, sharpening awareness of
Ourselves and God.
Uncomfortable places, deserts.
Most of the time we’re tempted to
Avoid them, finding good reason to
Live lives of ease; cushioned by
Noise from self-discovery,
To stave off fear.
But if we dare to trust the silence
To strip away our false security,
God can begin to grow his wholeness in us,
Fill up our emptiness, destroy our fears.
Give us new vision, courage for the journey,
And make our desert blossom like a rose.
* SONG Take, O take me as I am Iona Community
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. 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. If you would like assistance, please turn to someone seated near you.
Offertory Viennese Ladies’ Ländler Schubert
* Time of Dedication from Worship in an Indian Context
Servant Christ,
help us to follow you into the desert,
with you to fast, denying false luxury,
refusing the tempting ways of self-indulgence,
the way of success at all costs,
the way of coercive persuasion.
Servant Christ, help us to follow you.
* PREPARATION FOR PRAYER Through our lives and by our prayers
Iona Community
MORNING PRAYERS – SAVIOR’S PRAYER
Holy One, our only Home, hallowed be Your name.
May your day dawn, your will be done,
Here, as in heaven. Feed us today, and forgive us
As we forgive each other. Do not forsake us at the test,
But deliver us from evil. For the glory, the power,
And the mercy are yours, now and forever. Amen.
* HYMN Teach Me, O Lord, Your Holy Way 465
* BENEDICTION
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE (please form a circle) Rosemary Crow
Weave, weave, weave us together; Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together in unity and love. Weave us together, together in love.
*POSTLUDE Mazurka in A Minor Chopin
Circle of Concern
Samantha Wassmer and Family – The Family and Loved Ones of Beulah Coughenour – Tony and Jim Larson
Erik Johnson – George and Jane Diven and Family – Katherine Conover
Sherry Santana – Ann Quinn is under Hospice care – Maggie Brizendine
Janet Hall
Schools: Students, families, teachers, and staff
Lakewood United Church of Christ 2601 54th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33712
727-867-7961 lakewooducc@gmail.com lakewooducc.org
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
A Just Peace Church
Lakewood United Church of Christ 