The Tower Weekly

Sunday, March 14, 2010
Fourth Sunday during Lent
Morning Worship at 11 o’Clock

Sometimes mornings after drinking bouts
(he hid the pints behind a two-by-four),
...he thought he almost might endure
his exile yet another year or more.
But evenings the first star came to warn.
The farmer whom he worked for came at dark
to shut the cows and horses in the barn
beneath their overhanging clouds of hay,
with pitchforks, faint forked lightnings, catching light,
safe and companionable as in the Ark.
The pigs stuck out their little feet and snored.
The lantern - like the sun, going away -
laid on the mud a pacing aureole.
Carrying a bucket along a slimy board,
he felt the bats’ uncertain staggering flight,
his shuddering insights, beyond his control,
touching him. But it took him a long time
finally to make his mind up to go home.
                                    Elizabeth Bishop

 

The Church Gathers

Organ Prelude: “Lento”                                          Handel-Marks

Words of Welcome and Announcements (by the minister)

Choral Introit: “Cast Thy Burden”                   Felix Mendelssohn
Cast thy burden upon the Lord,
And He shall sustain thee.
He never will suffer for the righteous to fail;
He is at thy right hand.

Call to Worship
A new day has dawned, God’s gift to us;
the fruits of the land are ours to enjoy.
We are a new creation in Jesus Christ;
the old has passed away, the new has come.
This is a day for forgiveness and reconciliation;
celebrate God’s love for the lost who are found.
The glad cries of deliverance surround us;
shouts of joy arise from our hearts.
Let all who are faithful offer up prayers;
may all who are in Christ give thanks.
We will be glad and join the dance of life;
with the upright of heart, we rejoice and sing.

Hymn: No.126, “Sing Praise to God”                              Mit Freuden Zart
Sing praise to God who reigns above,
the God of all creation, 
the God of Power, the God of love,
the God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled
and every faithless murmur stilled:
to God all praise and glory.

The Lord is never far away,
but through all grief distressing,
an ever present help and stay,
our peace and joy and blessing.
As with a mother’s tender hand,
God gently leads the chosen band:
to God all praise and glory.

Thus, all my toilsome way along
 I sing aloud thy praises,
that earth may hear the grateful song
my voice unwearied raises.
Be joyful in the Lord, my heart,
both soul and body bear your part:
to God all praise and glory.

Let all who name Christ’s holy name
give God all praise and glory;
let all who own his power proclaim
aloud the wondrous story!
Cast each false idol from its throne,
for Christ is Lord, and Christ alone:
to God all praise and glory.

Morning Prayer
Welcoming God,
your love for us is sometimes so hard to accept,
for we know how often we disappoint you.
We have wandered so far away from our true home.
We have spent our money on what does not satisfy.
We have given in to despair
and let a river of tears fall from our eyes.
We have been too proud to ask for help. Forgive us.
Loving God, always waiting, yearning
and looking for our return,
speak to our hearts and quicken our steps back to you.
You do indeed remember us and welcome us home.
In grateful response, we offer you the praise of our hearts;
through Jesus Christ who shows us the way. Amen

To Hear The Word

A Reading from the Prophets: Joshua 5:9-12
                      Elizabeth Hines is the reader.

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.

While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

An Act of Praise: p. 766, Psalm 32 (with sung response)
           
              Lee Enos is the acolyte and reader.
           Response:  Be glad in the Lord and rejoice;
                                shout for joy, you upright in heart.

Blessed are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed are those whom the Lord does not hold guilty,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
When I did not declare my sin, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of the summer.
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
then you forgave the guilt of my sin.    Response:

Therefore let those who are godly
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of great waters
shall not reach them.
You are a hiding place for me,
you preserve me from trouble;
you encompass me with deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you
the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like an unruly horse or a mule,
without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle.
Many are the pangs of the wicked;
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous;
shout for joy, all you upright in heart!    Response:

Anthem: “And Didst Thou Travel Light”            Richard Shephard
And didst Thou travel light, dear Lord,
was Thine so smooth a road,
that Thou upon Thy shoulders broad
could hoist our heavy load?
Too frail each other's woes to bear
without Thy help are we;
can we each other's burdens share,
if we not burden Thee?

O wonder of the world withstood!
That night of prayer and doom,
was not the sunset red with blood,
the dawn pale as a tomb?
In agony and bloody sweat,
in tears of love undried,
O undespairing Lord, and yet
with man identified.

As in dark drops the pitting rain
falls on a dusty street,
so tears shall fall and fall again
to wash Thy wounded feet.
But Thy quick hands to heal are strong,
O love, thy patients we
who sing with joy the pilgrims' song
and walk, dear Lord, with Thee.

A Reading from the Gospels: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!’ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes; you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

Sermon: “Shift of Focus”         Rev. Nancy Nedwell, preaching

To Respond in Faith

Hymn: No. 340, “Come, Ye Sinners”                         Restoration
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
full of pity, love, and power.

    Refrain: I will arise and go to Jesus;                   
                  he will embrace me with his arms;
                  in the arms of my dear Savior,
                  O there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
true belief and true repentance,
every grace that brings you nigh.  Refrain:

Come ye weary, heavy laden,
lost and ruined by the fall;
if you tarry till you’re better,
you will never come at all.  Refrain:

Let not conscience make you linger,
nor of fitness fondly dream;
all the fitness he requireth
is to feel your need of him.   Refrain:

Affirmation of Faith
We believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ,
who comes to free the captives, heal the sick,
and proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.
We believe in a creating God who calls us to costly love.
We believe in a caring Christ whose example encourages us
to risk ourselves for the sake of the gospel.
We believe in a healing Holy Spirit
whose power enables us to share one another’s burdens.
We believe in a caring community called the church,
which is the physical presence of Christ in the world.
We believe in a redeeming gospel
that brings wholeness and healing to each child of God.
We believe in committing our lives
to freedom and justice and healing,
sharing our belief that the God who created us calls us still.
We believe in participating in Christ’s mission
to live out the gospel in the world.

Prayers of the Congregation with The Lord’s Prayer
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. Amen.

Offertory: “He That Keepeth Israel”             Adolphe Schloesser
                             Lauren Maxwell, Mezzo Soprano
He that keepeth Israel, slumbers not, nor sleeps.
He will give his Angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways.
Put thy trust in Him and call upon Him,
for His ears are open unto thy pray'rs.
He that keepeth Israel, slumbers not, nor sleeps.

Presentation of Offerings with the Doxology: No. 298 (stz.1)
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

And Scatters to Be the Church in the World

Hymn: No. 422, “Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love”                        Azmon            
Jesus, thine all-victorious love shed in my heart abroad;
then shall my feet no longer rove, rooted and fixed in God.

O that in me the sacred fire might now begin to glow;
burn up the dross of base desire
and make the mountains flow!

O that it now from heaven might fall
and all my sins consume!
Come, Holy Ghost, for thee I call,
Spirit of burning, come!

Refining fire, go through my heart, illuminate my soul;
scatter thy life through every part and sanctify the whole.

Dismissal with Blessing

Choral Response: “Amen”                                              Donald Moore

Ringing of the Bicentennial Bell

Organ Postlude: “Allegro Fiero”                                           Gault

 

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