Dear Church Family,
As always, please find attached the order of worship for this Sunday, July 5, 2020. It is Communion Sunday so please have bread and juice ready for you to partake in, during worship.
Happy July 4th and “see you” on Sunday during worship!
God bless you,
Pastor Liz Aguilar, Senior Pastor
Order of Worship for July 5, 2020
Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
On-line Worship Service
Community Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
P.O. Box 5574 Chula Vista, CA 91912
www.chulavistachurch.com
Call To Worship
Pastor: Out of the fullness of the lives God has given us we have come to worship and to praise.
People: With thanks we offer to God the creativity of our minds, the warmth of our hearts, and the joy of our spirits.
Pastor: We love because God has first loved us, freeing us from the power of sin and death.
All: With glad hearts let us join together in singing praises to God; Creator, Word, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer of Invocation (In Unison; Alludes to Matthew 11:28-30)
We come before you O God, ever mindful of our fragility and yet our strength; strength, which we find in our identity as your children. We thank you for your constant faithfulness in our lives. As we begin to worship you now, may your Holy Spirit draw us to you and to one another, even across the miles that separate us. May we focus our time on you, O Lord, for you are worthy to be praised! Receive our “burdens” now Jesus, and give us “your rest.” In Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.
Hymn of Praise “Battle Hymn of the Republic”
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lighting of His terrible swift sword,
His truth is marching on!
Refrain:
Glory, glory, hallelujah! (3x)
His truth is marching on!
I have seen Him in the watchfires of a hundred circling camps,
They have build-ed Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps,
His day is marching on!
Refrain
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his being that transfigures you and me.
As He died to make us holy let us live to make all free!
While God is marching on!
Refrain
Prayers of the People and The Lord’s Prayer
Scripture Reading Matthew 11: 28-30
Communion Meditation “Giving God Our Burdens”
Holy Communion
Invitation (Read responsively)
Come to a table not defined by wood or stone
but by what rests upon it —
which is the “me” of Christ.
Come unto me because any burden is heavy
to the one who is under it.
Come unto me with the burden
of a crowded life or a lonely one.
Come unto me with a burden
of grief —
for the death of a beloved person
or a companion animal,
for an ability you have no longer,
or a relationship
needing reconciliation.
Come unto me with the burden
of a disappointment,
even one
that doesn’t seem significant enough,
or a fear deeper than words.
Come unto the “me” of Christ
with any burden —
for here is rest for the weary,
lightening of suffering, gentleness,
and guidelines for becoming gentle.
Here is a yoke of responsibility
that can be lifted
because of a small piece of bread
and a sip of the cup of hope.
Prayer of Consecration
In your many kitchens, and living rooms, rest your hands lightly upon these elements which we set aside today to be a sacrament. We ask God’s blessing on them and on us and on all those who are in our prayers this morning.
Unison:
God of the open hand and the gentle yoke, we await your gift and your service. Send your Spirit of life and love, of power and blessing upon your children in every “house of worship,” so that this Bread may be broken and gathered in love and this Cup poured out to give hope to all. Risen Christ, live in us, that we may live in you. Breathe in us, that we may breathe in you. Amen.
Words of Institution
Sharing of the Elements
Leader: Let us at many tables receive the gift of God, the Bread of Heaven.
Unison: We come unto Christ in the Bread we share.
Leader: Let us in many places receive the gift of God, the Cup of Blessing.
Unison: We come unto Christ in the Cup we share.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Leader: In thanksgiving for this meal of grace and in the holy dispersion of virtual worship, we claim the risen Christ’s love and gentle yoke are found in all houses of worship. Let us pray …
O Holy One, we have come unto you with our weariness and we have let go of all in our lives that is heavy. We thank you for the rest and strength of this communion so now we can lift up all that is light and gentle, humble and easy, and learn from you how to change the world. Amen
Closing Hymn “Lead Me to Calvary”
King of my life I crown Thee now- Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorn- crowned brow,
Lead me to Calvary.
Refrain:
Lest I forget Gethsemene, Lest I forget this agony,
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.
Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid, Tenderly mourned and wept.
Angels in robes of light arrayed.
Guard Thee whilst Thou slept.
Refrain
May I be willing, Lord, to bear daily my cross for Thee;
Even Thy cup of grief to share-
Thou hast borne all for me.
Announcements
Special Music “God Bless America” Sung by Lionel Jasmine
Benediction: Go forth in peace to live into Jesus,’ most joyful command: Come to me!
And may we follow him into a rest that bears fruit in justice, love and peace for each of us, and all of us! Amen.
~~
(“The Call to Worship” Comes from Flames of the Spirit, Ruth C. Duck, Pilgrim Press, New York, NY. 1985. “The Communion Liturgy” for today was written by Marin Taribassi, UCC pastor and author. Used with permission by her. “The Benediction” was written by Rev. Susan Blain, for Worship Ways, on-line worship. Used with permission by the United Church of Christ.)