5^th Sunday after Pentecost – PRIDE SUNDAY

July 13, 2025, 9:30 a.m. in the Chapel and on Facebook Live

Classic Communion Service 

We honor the Kumeyaay Nation, on whose ancestral lands we have made our home.

Holy Communion will be part of this service. Here at Gethsemane we practice open communion, meaning all who believe in the power of Jesus Christ to bring salvation are welcome to join in. In our Lutheran understanding, both sacraments—Baptism and Holy Communion—are best conducted among the gathered assembly. If you are present on this live-stream, you are present in our assembly. The body of Christ is not limited by place or time, so even if you are on the replay of this service, you are part of our assembly. Any bread and any wine or grape juice will do. If you are celebrating as a family or group, please feel free to break the bread into the right number of portions or have a separate piece for each person. Same with the cup. You may have one cup for all or each member gathered uses a separate cup. We believe the Christ is fully present in both Word and Sacrament, in both the bread and the wine/grape juice so if you only have one or the other, or even if you refrain from communion, you are not missing out on the grace of God. We understand both the Word and Sacraments as the means of grace. Remember it is not the type of bread or wine, nor is it the quantity, but it is your faith in taking the elements that is the window for the Holy Spirit to enter your life.

In the interactive part of the liturgy, the leader’s part is in regular text. The people’s response is in bold. All people are welcome to sing along with the songs where the lyrics are printed.

GATHERING 

WELCOME

                                    “Jesus Calls Us; o’er the Tumult”        ELW #696, vss 1, 3, 4, 5 

1    Jesus calls us; o’er the tumult

      of our life’s wild, restless sea,

      day by day his clear voice sounding,

      saying, “Christian, follow me“:            

3    Jesus calls us from the worship

      of the vain world’s golden store,

      from each idol that would keep us,

      saying, “Christian, love me more.”

4    In our joys and in our sorrows,

      days of toil and hours of ease,

      still he calls, in cares and pleasures,

      “Christian, love me more than these.”

5    Jesus calls us! By your mercy,

      Savior, may we hear your call,

      give our hearts to your obedience,

      serve and love you best of all.

Text: Cecil Frances Alexander, 1818-1895 

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

In the name of the Father,

and of the ☩ Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

We belong to Christ Jesus

and we are God’s children through faith.

In the cross of ☩ Christ,

and through the power of the Holy Spirit,

our sins are forgiven.

Clothed with Christ, we are a new creation.

Baptized into Christ, we dare to confess how we have failed to live as the body of Christ.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Merciful God,

you free us to love others,

but we neglect our neighbors and follow our own way.

You lead us by the Spirit of joy and peace,

but we turn away from the abundant life you offer.

You surround us with patience, kindness, and generosity,

but we grow weary in doing what is right.

In your mercy, forgive us.

Do not give up on us.

Heal us. Break our bonds.

Show us the path of life and give us the will to follow.

Amen.

LITANY FOR PRIDE

Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are the sacred weird ones.
Blessed are the holy wholly different.
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 trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming children.
Blessed are your children who we are all learning to name, describe, and know.

Sung Response 

Halle, hallelujah. Halle, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are you who have come out.
Blessed are you who cannot.
Blessed are you who are still finding your way.

Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are you who feel boxed in.
Blessed are you who feel shackled by tradition.
Blessed are you who are suffocated by the roars of expectation.

Sung Response
Halle, hallelujah. Halle, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are you who struggle with self-harm and self-hatred.
Blessed are you who strive to accept the person they see in the mirror.
Blessed are you who strain each day just to survive.

Blessed are your children, God.
Blessed are you who persist.
Blessed are you who persevere.
Blessed are you who prove to the world each day that diversity is divine.

Sung Response
Halle, hallelujah. Halle, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

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.

Sung Response
Halle, hallelujah. Halle, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. 

Blessed are your children, God.
Every single one of them.

And blessed are we 

as we Tirelessly,
Courageously,
Imaginatively,
Co-create with you.
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.

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, and calls us to shatter them too. 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. 

Refrain from All Creation Sings, Hallelujah, #1088. Published by Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis 2020.

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

O Lord God, your mercy delights us, and the world longs for your loving care. Hear the cries of everyone in need, and turn our hearts to love our neighbors with the love of your Son, Jesus, the Christ, our Savior. Amen.

WORD

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

                        “When Our World Is Rent by Violence”                      ACS #1052

1    When our world is rent by violence

      and our lives are marred by grief,

      when our songs of calm assurance

      turn to cries of unbelief:

      God, we raise our lamentation

      seeking refuge and relief.

2    When our cities stand forsaken

      and the poor must beg for bread,

      when the pris’ner sits forgotten

      and the homeless find no bed,

      God, we raise our lamentation:

      waken justice from the dead!

3    When our lives are burnt to ashes

      and our hopes fade like a dream,

      when our stories lose their meaning

      and despair becomes their theme,

      God, we raise our lamentation:

      Come, Lord Jesus, to redeem!

4    Raise up beauty from the ashes;

      end our violence; tend our peace.

      Give us visions of a future

      where all captives find release,

      where oppression is evicted,

      and all works of hatred cease.

Text: David Bjorlin, b. 1984

Text © 2015 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved.

GALATIANS 6:7, 9-10 

In the close of his letter to the Galatians, Paul encourages them to live as people made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Here Paul offers practical advice about how believers exercise common concern for one other in “the family of faith.”

LUKE 10:25-37

Jesus is challenged to explain what is involved in obeying the greatest commandment. He tells a parable rich in surprises: those expected to show pity display hard hearts while the lowly give and receive unexpected and lavish mercy.

“God, We Gather as Your People”                    ACS #1038

For All the Children

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. 1961

Text © 2007 Welcome Song Music, admin. Augsburg Fortress

SERMON                                                                                                       Pastor Karla

PRAYERS OF THE

Prayer Response:

Remember us according to your steadfast love 

and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.. (Psalm 25:7)

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…

All: 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 forever and ever. 

        Amen. 

DISTRIBUTION

POST COMMUNION BLESSING

SENDING

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

BLESSING

                                                “As We Gather at Your Table”               ELW #522    

1    As we gather at your table,

as we listen to your word,

help us know, O God, your presence;

let our hearts and minds be stirred.

Nourish us with sacred story

till we claim it as our own;

teach us through this holy banquet

how to make Love’s vict’ry known.

2    Turn our worship into witness

in the sacrament of life;

send us forth to love and serve you,

bringing peace where there is strife.

Give us, Christ, your great compassion

to forgive as you forgave;

may we still behold your image

in the world you died to save.

3    Gracious Spirit, help us summon

other guests to share that feast

where triumphant Love will welcome

those who had been last and least.

There no more will envy blind us

nor will pride our peace destroy,

as we join with saints and angels

to repeat the sounding joy.

Text: Carl P. Daw Jr., b. 1944

Text © 1989 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. 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 GO IN PEACE. LIVE BY THE SPIRIT. THANKS BE TO GOD!  

Confession and Forgiveness, Reading synopsis, and Prayer of the Day (altered) from Sundays and Seasons. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Please visit our Web site at www.augsburgfortress.org. All music is used with permission under CCLI #3225965.

Deuteronomy 30:9-14

Moses calls the people who are about to enter the promised land to renew the covenant God made with their ancestors. Through this covenant God gives life and asks for obedience. God’s commandment is neither burdensome nor too far off, but dwells in the people’s hearts.

Psalm 25:1-10

Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. (Ps. 25:4)

Colossians 1:1-14

The letter to the Colossians was written to warn its readers of various false teachings. The first part of the letter is an expression of thanks for the faith, hope, and love that mark this community, including a prayer for strength and courage.