Celebrate Our Shadow Rock Saints and Be Inspired by Their Vision!

Order of Worship

03 November 2024

WELCOME TO SHADOW ROCK UCC!

Prelude ~ Nearer, My God To Thee arr. Ken Medema

Shared by Christine Kyhn

WELCOME! Thanks for making Shadow Rock your chosen

spiritual family.

GATHERING IN THE SPIRIT’S PRESENCE

Centering Affirmation: Which Shadow Rock saint walks beside you?

Welcome and Announcements

Led by Pastor Ken

Opening Words

One: Who are we and what are we called to do?

All: We are the sensitive and responsive ones

called to create a world where every person

is radically affirmed and barriers between

people become bridges of inclusion, justice,

and spirituality.

Call to Worship and Singing Our Faith

Led by Peter Johnston

One: The dimple in your right cheek,

the child playing peek-a-boo from his stroller,

the grandmother who spends her afternoons in the

park by Lookout Mountain School;

All: “thank you, Spirit of Life, thank you, Spirit of Love!

One: the teenagers on the subway who cannot control

their laughter;

Neil, my neighbor, who always asks about you,

the mother who whispers a dozen times a day,

All: “thank you, Spirit of Life, thank you, Spirit of

Love!

One:: the saxophone player at Safeway’s parking lot,

the poets,

the artists,

the garden volunteers;

the metro bus driver who sticks his head out the

window to make sure we’re all aboard;

the person who gave up their seat on the light rail,

the kid in the dinosaur pajamas who cannot be

convinced they’re not school aĴire;

the teachers, the nurses, the taxi cab drivers;

the woman at the end of the block with her yappy

dogs and her books in the window,

All: “thank you, Spirit of Life, thank you, Spirit of

Love!

One: the lovers that lay sprawled out on park blankets,

the runners,

the daydreamers,

the sidewalk chalk artists;

John from upstairs whose favorite flowers are

yellow tulips,

the Hispanic woman at the grocery who tells me to

be safe when I leave,

my grandmother in Iowa;

my neighbor,

the stranger;

All: “thank you, Spirit of Life, thank you, Spirit of

Love! We are grateful for all the saints and living

signposts of our world.

Singing Our Faith

~ For All the Saints by W.W.How and R.V. Williams

1. For all the saints, who from their labors rest,

Who thee by faith before the world confessed

Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

2. Thou wast their rock, their compass and their might

Thou, God, their captain in the stormy night

Thou, in the darkness dreary, their one true light.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

3. And when the strife is fierce, the days grew long,

Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,

And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Centering Prayer

Shared by Pastor Ken

Special Music for Thinking of You Cards

We Are God's People

Shared and arr. by Christine Kyhn

In the pew racks are cards with the title “Thinking Of You”. Please use these cards to write a note to someone so they know they are remembered and cared for. Put the card in the offering plate when it comes by and the church office will forward the cards to the person you addressed in the card. This was one of the elements of our time together you lifted up as important for all of us. Thank you! 

This is also a good time for you to get a piece of bread and some juice out of your kitchen and have it ready for communion so we can all share together.

Communion Prayer

Shared by Rev. Ken Heintzelman

Holy Creator, Source of Life and Love, you made us with a

heart like yours: expansive and made to love deeply. We

hold so many people in our hearts this day. We name them

now.

One: These saints are those who have passed and those

left behind,

All: those who have laid a foundation for our faith and

those who will build on the foundation we have

laid, those who are grieving the loss of a loved one

and those who are celebrating a new life entering

this world.

One: In your wisdom beyond our understanding, you

have placed a veil around this life. We don’t know

what was before; we don’t know what’s after.

All: All we know is the passing from one to the next

and the holy in-between in which we live all of

our days.

One: Our lives are only a brief glimmer in your eternal

glory, one flickering candle with a borrowed flame.

We pray that you would keep our flames strong.

Give us a fire that burns for justice, warms cold

hearts, and comforts those living in an endless

night.

All: Let our brief flames ignite and inspire others,

passing on what we have received from the saints

you have placed in our lives. And as our lights

dim, grant us the peace of rest in your holy

darkness and your eternal glory.

One: May we then come to fully understand the mystery

of our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ

will come again. We proclaim this mystery with all

the saints. Amen.

(Everyone is invited to the Table of Love to share the

bread and cup. Take a piece of bread, dip it into the cup,

and eat it. Come up by way of the center aisle and return

by way of the side aisles. Our communion offering goes to

our UCC national Neighbors In Need offering.)

Communion Song~ Let Us Break Bread Together

arr. Christine Kyhn

Invitation to Rededicate Ourselves to The More of Life Shared by Peter Johnston

We prepare ourselves for experiencing the act of giving of ourselves and our offerings with the reading of this reflection.

Reflection ~ "For All the Saints"

Shared by Peter Johnston

Through the ages and in many places,

saints of God have witnessed in God's name;

through the ages, prophets, poets, martyrs, sages,

have witnessed in God's name.

We come together in the cloud of witnesses

as one communion;

we raise our voices to God, the Source of Life.

We bless the earthly memories

of those who now shine in God's glory

and join the whole company on earth and in heaven

singing unending praise, and sharing boundless hope and

love.

Offering and Offertory~ Siyahamba

(We Are Marching In the Light of God)

Shared by Christine Kyhn

Dedication of Our Offerings

Led by Peter Johnston

One: Holy God, you knit us together, threading our

lives to the generations before us and the

generations after us.

All: May these gifts be used to continue the work our

ancestors began and to build on what we are

doing now. Into your hands, we entrust these

gifts so that our unfinished work will one day be

complete. Amen.



Words For Mission

Led by Peter Johnston

One: Saints of God, as you leave this place, know that

you are not alone. You are surrounded by the

company of the saints, held by the God who made

you, and led by the Spirit who binds us all

together. These are the times!

All: We are the people!

One: All of Creation is blessed.

All: May we love all and serve all.

One: May God be with you.

All: And also with you.

One: Amen.

All: Amen.



EMPOWERING AND SENDING

Sending Forth Song ~ Hymn of Promise by Natalie Sleeth

1. In the bulb there is a flower, in the seed, an apple tree;

In cocoons, a hidden promise: buĴerflies will soon be free!

In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,

Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

2. There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;

There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.

From the past will come the future, what it holds, a mystery,

Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

3. In our end is our beginning, in our time, infinity;

In our doubt there is believing, in our life, eternity.

In our loss is hope emerging, bringing possibility,

Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Thank you for being with us!

Sermon Reboot is ON for today.

This is a time to talk about the message and explore together using the ORID Art Form Conversation methodology. What is ORID? It stands for Observation, Reflection, Interpretation, and Decision. You will get the hang of it.