GATHERING
WELCOME
God, We Gather as Your People ACS 1038
1 God, we gather as your people to raise our song above,
and we dare to claim the promise of your love.
Though the day may not yet be here,
we trust it soon will be, when your children will be free.
Refrain
Oh, may our hearts and minds be opened,
fling the church doors open wide.
May there be room enough for ev’ryone inside.
For in God there is a welcome, in God we all belong.
May that welcome be our song.
2 Oh, we sing for all the children, that one day they be free;
and we sing for generations yet to be,
that they never have a reason to doubt that they are blest.
May they, in your love, find rest. Refrain
3 Oh, we pray for all the young lives cut short by fear and shame,
so afraid of who they are and whom they love.
May the message now be banished that your love is for the few;
may their faith in you renew. Refrain
4 God, we’re working for the future when children far and wide
can live their lives with dignity and pride.
As they grow in strength and stature, may they join us hand in hand,
as against all hate we stand. Refrain
Text: David Lohman, b. 1961Text © 2007 Welcome Song Music, admin. Augsburg Fortress
A LITANY FOR PRIDE (adapted from last years’)
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are the sacred weird ones.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are the holy and wholly different.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are the ones who are too loud, too bold, too wild, too much.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are your gay, lesbian, and bisexual children.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are your trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming children.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are your children who we are all learning to name, describe, and know.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are those who have come out.
Blessed are your precious children who cannot.
Blessed are those who are still finding their way.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are those who feel boxed in.
Blessed are those who feel shackled by tradition.
Blessed are those who are suffocated by the roars of expectation.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are those who struggle with self-harm and self-hatred.
Blessed are those who strive to accept the person they see in the mirror.
Blessed are those who strain each day just to survive.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are those who persist.
Blessed are those who persevere.
Precious are those who give up. We trust that you receive them into the arms of your mercy.
Blessed are your children, Lord.
Blessed are those who prove to the world each day that diversity is divine.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are the chosen families who have taken in the lost and forgotten.
Blessed are the friends and family who have helped rewrite the stories of lives.
Blessed are the allies who have loved those unable to love themselves.
Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are those whose ancestral queer footsteps we walk in.
Blessed are those who marched and marched and marched before us.
Blessed are those who have dared to dream and dared to demand justice.
Blessed are your children, God.
Every single one of them.
And blessed are we as we tirelessly, courageously, imaginatively, co-create with you.
All: We are co-creating a world where all people know and feel and have love. All sexualities. All genders. All gender expressions. All families. All bodies.
We pray…Holy One,
guide us toward your strange, boundless, undefinable love. And when we are met with the sneers, side-eye, and shame of the world, remind us that You walk this journey with us. You: the One who has shattered every norm, every box, every shackle that holds us down, and calls us to do the same. Amen.
Adapted from a litany written by Rev Sam Lundquist for LGBTQ Pride Month 2021 worship at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA. Used with permission.
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
We pray together:
Almighty God, we thank you for planting in us the seed of your word. By your Holy Spirit help us to receive it with joy, live according to it, and grow in faith and hope and love, through Jesus, the Christ, our Savior. Amen
WORD
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
“We Are A Rainbow”
We’re the light of all the world, we are a city on a hill,
We’re a candle on a stand proclaiming light,
We will not hide our lamp beneath a bushel any more,
We will shine a ray of hope that’s burning bright.
Chorus:
We are a rainbow, sign of covenant and peace
For the flood of tears will fin’lly cease to be,
Come shine your rainbow, splash your hues across the sky,
Paint the world in colors proud and bold and free.
We’re a coat of many colors, sewn from many diff’rent threads,
Cov’ring all in warmth, in welcome and in grace,
God said “Let there be light”, created ev’ry varied shade,
In the rainbow each of us can find a place. Chorus
Words and music by David Kai, copyright 2017.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-27
the Apostle Paul compares the church to a human body. Just as a physical body has many interconnected and equally vital parts (hands, feet, eyes), all believers, regardless of their backgrounds, form a single, unified “body of Christ” where every single person is necessary
SERMON Pastor Karla
One Bread, One Body ELW 496
Refrain
One bread, one body, one Lord of all;
one cup of blessing which we bless,
and we, though many throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.
1 Gentile or Jew, servant or free,
woman or man, no more. Refrain
2 Many the gifts, many the works,
one in the Lord of all. Refrain
3 Grain for the fields, scattered and grown,
gathered to one for all. Refrain
Text: John Foley, SJ, b. 1939
Text © 1978 John B. Foley, SJ and OCP Publications, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, OR 97213. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
O hope of all the ends of the earth…
you make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy. (Psalm 65:5,8)
MEAL
OFFERING OUR GIFTS FOR THE MISSION
AND MINISTRY OF GOD’S CHURCH
We have prayed. We have sung. We have heard the Word. Now, being thankful for the ministry we are called to do, we are invited to offer ourselves; our time, talents and treasure in faithful witness of the good things God has done for us and in confidence that our worship extends beyond this place and time. Your financial contributions are gratefully accepted to further the life and ministry of Gethsemane Lutheran. Thank you.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
AND WORDS OF INSTITUTION
LORD’S PRAYER
And now, join me in praying as Jesus taught us…
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
DISTRIBUTION
POST COMMUNION BLESSING
SENDING
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
BLESSING
All Are Welcome ELW 641, vss 1, 3, 4, 5
1 Let us build a house where love can dwell
and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell
how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,
rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
Refrain
All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
3 Let us build a house where love is found
in water, wine and wheat:
a banquet hall on holy ground
where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus,
is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us: Refrain
4 Let us build a house where hands will reach
beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger
bear the image of God’s face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger: Refrain
5 Let us build a house where all are named,
their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed
as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter,
prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter: Refrain
Text: Marty Haugen, b. 1950
Text © 1994 GIA Publications, Inc., 7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638. www.giamusic.com. 800.442.3358. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
OUR DECLARATION OF MISSION
You are the body of Christ.
We are the body of Christ in the world!
So go in peace
To explore the faith
Live in peace
To express our faith to others
Share the peace
By inviting others to join us on this journey.
WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD, SO LET’S TELL EVERYBODY: WE HAVE GOOD NEWS! HEAVEN HAS COME NEAR! THANKS BE TO GOD.
Confession and Forgiveness, Reading synopsis, Prayer of the Day, and cover art from Sundays and Seasons. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Please visit their Web site at www.augsburgfortress.org. All music is used with permission under CCLI #3225965.
LECTIONARY READINGS FOR TODAY
Readings and Psalm
Isaiah 55:10-13
The growth of the word to accomplish God’s purpose
Psalm 65:[1-8] 9-13
Your paths overflow with plenty. (Ps. 65:11)
Romans 8:1-11
Live according to the Spirit
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
The parable of the sower and the seed
Prayer is important to us. We are a people of prayer, and our prayer leads us to know God more completely. Knowing God reassures us that God’s love is sufficient for all we need. Knowing God leads us to action, to working for justice and peace. We dedicate ourselves to making our little corner of the world a better place. We dedicate ourselves to welcoming all of God’s people. We dedicate ourselves to trusting God in all phases of life.
