Organ Prelude
Allegro moderato e serioso from Organ Sonata No. 1
Felix Mendelssohn, 1845
Call to Worship
Leader: How very good and pleasant it is when sisters and brothers live together in unity!
Circle: It is like the precious oil on the head, like the dew that falls on the mountains of Zion!
(Psalm 133)
Leader: Together, let us worship God!
Gathering Hymn
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
tune: Nicaea
(James Bacchus Dykes 1861)
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns
around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name
in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity! Amen!
Reginald Heber, c. 1820, altered
Call to Confession
Leader: We strive to be strong and self-sufficient, but in truth we are in constant need of grace.
In penitence and faith, let us confess our weakness
to God and to one another.
Prayer of Confession
All: Most merciful God, forgive us.
We imagine that we can live without you, when you give us our very breath.
We seek control over others rather than strive to live in unity.
We allow fear to overtake us, even though our lives are in your hands.
Draw us back into your steadfast love and shape us into the likeness of your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
(Mark 4: 35-41)
Declaration of Forgiveness
Leader:
Sisters and brothers, the good news is this:
grace is poured out like water;
mercy flows like a never-ending stream,
bathing us in goodness and love.
Live, then, as those who have received new life, rejoicing in your baptism.
Anthem
Rescue the Perishing
William H. Doane,
arr. Amy Tate Williams, 2004
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
snatch them in pity from sin and the grave.
Weep over the erring one, lift up the fallen,
tell them of Jesus the Mighty to save.
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying.
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.
Though they are slighting him, still he is waiting,
waiting the penitent child to receive.
Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently.
He will forgive if they only believe.
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying.
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.
Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,
feelings lie buried that grace can restore,
cords that are broken will vibrate once more!
Rescue the perishing, duty demands it,
strength for your labor the Lord will provide.
Back to the narrow way, patiently win them.
Tell the poor wanderer a Savior has died to save.
-Fanny J. Crosby, 1869
Pastoral Prayer and Intercessions
Good and gracious God…
O God, on this day we offer special intercessions for…
The Prayer Jesus taught
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, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn
Jesus, Lover of my Soul
Aberystwyth
Joseph Parry, 1876
Jesus, lover of my soul,
let me to thy bosom fly,
while the nearer waters roll,
while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior hide,
till the storm of life is past.
Safe into the haven guide,
O receive my soul at last!
Other refuge have I none,
hangs my helpless soul on thee.
Leave, ah! leave me not alone;
still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed;
all my help from thee I bring.
Cover my defenseless head
with the shadow of thy wing.
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
more than all in thee I find.
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is thy name;
I am all unrighteousness.
False and full of sin I am;
thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with thee is found,
grace to cover all my sin.
Let the healing streams abound;
make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art;
freely let me take of thee.
Spring thou up within my heart.
Rise to all eternity.
-Charles Wesley, 1740
Invitation to the Offertory
We are invited, even urged, to open our hearts wide and to
place no boundaries on our affection for God’s people.
Let us then share generously our provisions with others.
With tithes and offerings give thanks to the Lord;
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Let us pray:
Prayer of Thanksgiving
How grateful we are, O God, that you call us to serve
with the Holy Spirit, who fills us with patience and generosity and genuine love.
We pray that all we return to you will be used faithfully in ministry to the world.
(2 Cor. 6:6)
In the name of Christ, we ask it.
Amen.
Anthem
Be Still, My Soul
Jean Sibelius, arr. Mack Wilberg, 2005
Be sill, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
With patience bear thy cross of grief of pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide; in every change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly Friend through thoyn ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake to guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know his voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on when we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
-Katharina von Schlegel (b. 1697),
trans. Jane Bothwick,1855
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise God all creatures here below,
Praise God above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Scripture Reading: Mark 4: 35-41
Reader: Amit Taneja
Today’s Sermon
“Do you not care that we are perishing?”
The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Preacher
Closing Hymn
Materna
John Bacchus Dykes, 1861
Eternal Father, strong to save,
whose arm has bound the restless wave,
who bade the mighty ocean deep
its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.
O Savior, whose almighty word
the winds and waves submissive heard,
who walked upon the foaming deep,
and cal amid its rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.
O Holy Spirit, who did brood
upon the chaos wild and rude,
and bade its angry tumult cease,
and gave, for fierce confusion, peace:
O hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.
O Trinity of love and power,
all travelers guard in danger’s hour;
from rock and tempest, fire and foe,
protect them wheresoe’er they go,
thus evermore shall rise to thee
glad praise from air and land and sea.
William Whiting, 1860, altered
Benediction/Blessing
The Creator of all that is upholds your life;
Christ himself walks by your side;
The Spirit gives you breath
To speak God’s grace and sing God’s praise.
Benediction Response
John Rutter
Postlude
Toccata, Op. 53, No. 6
Louis Vierne, 1926