Gathering Our Spirit to God's Spirit

There is a table in the center of the room with a pitcher, a chalice, and a plate with bread on it for a communion visual. There will be one communion station for the early service and four for the late service.

• “One of Us” by Joan Osborne plays
• A Journeyer steps up to light the lamp and another rings the bell
• David (E) and Leslie (L) make announcements

Worshiping with Our Children

• A Journeyer leads our children in talking about how understanding what our pictures of God are (whether they are of a parent or a grandparent or teacher or coach) helps form what we believe about ourselves and how we will act and behave in relation to others.

Welcome and Breathe

• David welcomes, has us breathe…

From Our Spirit to God's Spirit

• A Journeyer reads an excerpt from Journeyer Julie Clawson’s book Everyday Justice

“Justice, at its very core, deals with relationships—our relationships to God, to each other and to the world. The Bible tells us that we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), implying that we, in a sense, represent God to the world. This responsibility of bearing God’s image ought to define our relationships, as we are to reflect God’s image to each other and have that image reflect back to God in everything that we do. And if God’s character is love, as we are told in 1 John 4:16, then to reflect God’s image is to reflect love to others in the form of care, compassion and concern for their wellbeing. To act justly, then, is to represent God’s love to each other and thereby honor the image of God in the other person as well.

But because of sin, our relationships are broken and in need of healing. Whether we intend to or not, our everyday actions hurt others and damage those relationships. Through anger and malice, self-centeredness and greed, we deny the image of God in others and fail to reflect God’s love to them. We treat others unfairly or unequally, using them as objects that can be exploited for personal gain. We oppress them, torture them and kill them—or simply ignore them—instead of seeing them as our brothers and sisters, created in the image of God, just like us. In other words we treat them with injustice.”

• Three Journeyers read some descriptions of God from the Jewish and Christian scriptures
  • Ehyeh asher Ehyeh -- I AM that I AM
  • Healer of the brokenhearted -- Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
  • El-Elyon -- The Lord Most High
  • God our Creator -- Gen. 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
  • Jehovah-Gaul -- The Lord our Redeemer
  • God our Midwife -- Psalm 22:9 “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you .”
  • El-Olam -- The Everlasting God
  • The Bread of Life -- John 6:35 “Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
  • El ha-Gibbor -- God the strong one
  • God as Sophia -- The Lady of Wisdom
  • El-Shaddai -- Almighty God, giver of abundance, fertility, and blessing
  • God as Potter -- Isaiah 64:8 “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
  • Jehovah-Shalom -- The Lord our Peace
  • God as Justice worker -- Psalm 103:6 “The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”
  • Shekhinah -- She who is imminently present
  • The Light of the World -- John 8:12 “Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”
  • Jehovah-Elohim -- The Eternal Creator
  • God who gave us birth -- Deuteronomy 32:18 “You deserted the Rock, who bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.”
  • Adonai-Jehovah -- The Lord our Sovereign
  • God our refuge and strength -- Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
  • Jehovah –Jirah -- The Lord our Provider
  • El Hai -- The Living God
  • El Ro'i -- The God who Sees
  • God as comforting mother -- Isaiah 66:13: “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”
  • Jehovah –Jirah -- The Lord our Provider
  • Jehoval-Rophe -- The Lord our Healer
  • The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
  • The God of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel

Telling The Story and Our Story

• Julie Clawson talks (text and images on screen)
• Rick leads a discussion

Giving -- To Help God Do God's Work in This World

• A Journeyer leads an offertory prayer
• Renee sings as the ushers pass the baskets and then take them to the foot of the cross

Telling The Story and Our Story

• Three Journeyers (same readers as earlier) list a few of the things that Jesus did in his 33 years on the planet…
  • He mostly obeyed his parents.
  • He learned an apprentice’s trade, like how to smooth boards as well as smooth lives.
  • He was willing to spend time in the desert
  • He did lunch with many people he wouldn’t have been able to write off on the company expense report.
  • He touched people with contagious diseases.
  • He healed people with maladies of the body and the soul.
  • He made homeopathic eye packs with spit and dirt.
  • He loved his friends.
  • He loved his enemies.
  • He fed people who were hungry.
  • He blessed children.
  • He valued and empowered women.
  • He liberated the possessed, the enslaved, and the forgotten.
  • He gave forgiveness and restored dignity to the shamed.
  • He told compelling, simple, yet intricate stories.
  • He yelled at the weather.
  • He knew where the fish were.
  • He washed feet.
  • He brought his friend back to life after he had already been buried.
  • He creatively rearranged the items at the kiosk for the moneychangers in the temple
  • He could make a mean broiled fish and bread campfire breakfast.
  • He could handle the press, the paparazzi, the religious big boys and the Romans, all with equal calm and authority.
  • He sometimes broke the rules if it meant helping someone.
  • He resisted the temptation to get anointed as a king when he knew he was a servant.
  • He knew how to pray.
  • He knew how to sacrifice.
• Julie talks
• Julie invites the community to participate in the observance of communion.

Go Out to Serve with Mercy and Grace

• Renee leads the community in singing
• David dismisses
• “One of Us” plays again as folks depart