21 Apr Worship Bulletin: 4/24/22
Welcome to Worship at the McPherson Church of the Brethren
We invite your active participation in the life of this congregation, as together we continue to grow in grace and seek justice for God’s creation.
The McPherson Church of the Brethren Leadership Team approved unanimously to open the church building to all functions with masks being
optional at the discretion of each individual beginning March 6, 2022.
Sunday, April 24, 2022 | Earth Day
First held on April 22, 1970, Earth Day is a worldwide event, annually scheduled for April 22, to demonstrate support for environmental protection.
It now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.
Weathering the Storm: Faithful Climate Resilience: 2022 theme
The last five years have shown that the climate crisis is no longer a future worry – it is affecting our communities right now. Record-breaking storms,
extreme weather, and the slow violence of sea level rise are tearing at the physical and social fabric of our society. So-called “natural” disasters in the
United States have increased in frequency and intensity in the last two decades. In 2021, there were at least 18 weather disaster events in the U. S. A.
with losses exceeding $1 billion each, 11 events more than the average since 1990.
Gathering Hymn
Video Welcome
Sharing Joys and Concerns | Dan Lichty
Centering Music
Ellen Gilbert & Dan Masterson, keyboard & piano duet
Opening Unison Prayer | CreationJustice.org
Like Job in the whirlwind, or Jonah in the storm at sea, we come before you in awe of your power, God. We recognize that today’s storms and
whirlwinds are not your judgment on your people, but the distortion of natural systems through our own sin and hubris. As the storms and
whirlwinds of the climate crisis accelerate around us, may our sanctuary be a place of refuge and resilience, where all of God’s creation might
be protected and sustained, and from which we, People of God, might be sent forth to bring healing and justice. AMEN
Opening Song | “For Beauty of Meadows”
Verse 1
For beauty of meadows, for grandeur of trees,
for flowers of woodlands, for creatures of sea,
for all you created and gave us to share,
we praise you, Creator, extolling your care.
Verse 2
As stewards of beauty received at your hand,
as creatures who hear your most urgent command,
we turn from our wasteful destruction of life,
confessing our failures, confessing our strife.
Verse 3
Teach us once again to be gardeners in peace;
all nature around us is ours but on lease;
your name we would hallow in all that we do,
fulfilling our calling, creating with you.
Story for the Children | Barbara Wagoner
Video Invitation to Give
Musical Offering | “This is My Father’s World” | arr. Alice Jordan
Ellen Gilbert, organ
Give online or send a check made payable to “McPherson Church of the Brethren,” 200 N. Carrie, McPherson, KS 67460
Scripture Foci
Genesis 18:1-5
18 God appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre [mam-reeh’] while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed
low to the ground. 3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, God, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may
all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way – now that you have
come to your servant.” “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
Matthew 25:40
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
CreationJustice.org
Our churches care deeply about hospitality. When we welcome the stranger or the migrant it is as if we are welcoming God. These passages from
Genesis 18:1-5 and Matthew 25:40 call our churches and our homes not only to be places of hospitality for those we know and love, but also for our
new neighbors, those who are forced to move or migrate due to reasons of persecution or disaster. The climate crisis is driving migration around the
world. As weather patterns become more erratic, bringing drought to some areas and flooding to others, people are forced from their land and
community, and forced to find refuge elsewhere. These migrants, who are expected to number in the hundreds of millions in the next century, do not
have the same protected status of refugees because their situation does not meet the definition of persecution. This makes it easier for countries to
reject environmental migrants from the border. Historically, though, the Church has played a huge role in ensuring just policies and welcoming spaces
for migrants. Now is the time to extend that same hospitality to climate migrants. This is not merely an international problem. In the United States, the
Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw band of Indians of the Isle de Jean Charles in Louisiana is the first group of climate-displaced people in the United States.
More internally-displaced people are expected to be forced out of their homes along the coasts or in wildfire-risk areas. They will largely settle across
the Midwest, far from their community and home. Our faith communities can be hubs of hospitality for these neighbors, welcoming them with love and
generosity.
Message | “Climate Response in the Neighborhood” | Eric Johnson & Kathryn Whitacre
Please take a moment to contemplate the scripture and message
Unison Prayer of Forgiveness | CreationJustice.org
Creator, forgive us for our sins against you and your Creation.
In your name, may we turn from our sins and work towards a new creation, one in which all creatures are freed from the bondage of greed and
accumulation and are able to flourish into their – ‘creatureliness’.
May this church be a site of revitalization, resilience, and hospitality; an extension of your love to all who are affected by the climate crisis.
In this land, this structure, this community, this worship – may we love you more fully by seeking justice for our neighbors? AMEN
Sending Song | “We are Called to be God’s People“
Verse 1
We are called to be God’s people, showing by our lives God’s grace,
one in heart and one in spirit, sign of hope for all the race.
Let us show how God has changed us, and remade us as God’s own,
let us share our life together as we shall around God’s throne.
Verse 2
We are called to be God’s servants, working in God’s world today;
taking God’s own upon us, all God’s sacred words obey,
Let us rise, then, to God’s summons, dedicate to God our all,
that we may be faithful servants, quick to answer now God’s call.
Verse 3
We are called to be God’s prophets, speaking for the truth and right,
standing firm for godly justice, bringing evil things to light.
Let us seek the courage needed, our high calling to fulfill,
that the world may know the blessing of the doing of God’s will.
Sending Words
Sending Music | “Break Forth into Joy” | J.S. Bach
Ellen Gilbert, organ
Videography and Editing: Eric Goering
Music Coordinator: Ellen Gilbert
Choir Director: Becky Snell
Technical Crew: Eric Goering, Ryan Goering, Shane Kirchner, Steve Lolling & Chris Whitacre
Chancel Decoration Team: Jill Brax, Colleen Gustafson, Michele Johnson, Shane Kirchner & Lara Schoming