18 Apr Worship Bulletin: 4/21/24
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.
Sunday, April 21, 2024 @ 10:15 a.m. EARTH DAY WORSHIP
We need a healthy Planet Earth to thrive, and Planet Earth needs us. Together, every day can be an Earth Day.
Gathering Music | “All Creatures of Our God and King” | arr. Larry Shackley
Ellen Gilbert, piano
Video Welcome
Sharing Time | Joys & Concerns | Roger Schrock
♫Centering Music | “Let All Praise the Name of the Lord” | Jeanne Cotter
Worship Band
Let all praise the name of the Lord. x3 Repeat
Praise the Lord from the heavens, sing your praises in the heights.
Praise God, all you angels, sing your praise, all heaven’s pow’r.
Let all praise the name of the Lord. x3
Sing your praises, sun and moon, praise God, you shining stars.
Praise God, you highest heavens, and you waters in the sky.
Let all praise the name of the Lord. x3
Hills and mountains, sing your praise, orchard trees and all you cedars,
Sing praise you tamed and wild, creeping things and you with wings.
Let all praise the name of the Lord. x3
All who govern, all who lead, sing praise, all you people.
Praise God, young men and women, and the old ones with the young
Let all praise the name of the Lord, x3
Let all praise the name of God, who alone deserves our praise.
God’s might reigns over earth and sky. God’s people rise in pow’r.
Let all praise the name of the Lord. x3
Scripture Focus | Psalm 124:1-2
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
2 for God founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.
Responsive Opening Words | Creation Justice.org
We who too often lose our way gather today to say,
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
for (God) founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.”
And yet those same waters are polluted by the plastics we have made and discarded.
We pause to ask ourselves again what it would be like to see creation liberated and
experiencing freedom and glory.
Along with all creation we wait for the glory of God to be revealed and we commit to playing our part,
as the children of God.
May we find liberation from our plastic addiction and healing for our land and water.
♫Opening Song | “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” | #46
Story for the Children | Barbara Wagoner
Video Invitation to Give
Give online or send a check made payable to “McPherson Church of the Brethren,” 200 N. Carrie, McPherson, KS 67460
♫Musical Offering | “He Is Among Us” | Piercy, Wardell, Swinton, Palmer & Zach
Worship Band
[Intro]
Ooh, ooh – Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
[Verse 1]
You’ll find Me with the broken and the weak – In the spaces in between
You’ll hear My voice cry out with those who weep – Only if you’re listening
[Chorus]
Whatever you do for the least of these – You do it unto Me
[Verse 2]
You’ll find Me with the ones without a voice – The forgotten and ignored
My blessing is on those who love the poor – Will you open up the door
[Chorus]
Whatever you do for the least of these – You do it unto Me
Whatever you do for the least of these – You do it unto Me
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, He is Among Us! He is Among Us! X2
By this the world will know the Father’s love, we will know the Father’s love
Scripture Focus | I John 3:16-24
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in God’s presence:
20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and God knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from God anything we ask,
because we keep God’s commands and do what pleases God.
23 And this is God’s command:
to believe in the name of the Son, Jesus and to love one another as Jesus commanded us.
24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in God, and God [lives] in them.
And this is how we know that God lives in us: We know it by the Spirit God gave us.
♫Scripture Song | “Come and Give Thanks to the Giver of Life” | #57
Message | “Planet vs. Plastics” | Kathryn Whitacre
♫Sending Song | “Use us, God” (Bless our Eyes)
Worship Band sing first verse and chorus
THEN Congregation & Worship band sing entire song together
Sending Words
♫Sending Music | Postlude on “Terra Beata” | arr. Jason Payne
Ellen Gilbert, organ
Earth Day
Globally
EARTHDAY.ORG’s founders created and organized the very first Earth Day on April 22, 1970.
Since then, EARTHDAY.ORG has been mobilizing over 1 billion people annually on Earth Day, and every other day, to protect the planet.
U.S.A.
Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, urban dwellers and farmers, business and labor leaders.
By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first-of-their-kind environmental laws,
including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. Two years later congress passed the Clean Water Act.
Currently groups and individuals in the U.S. advocate and fight against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways,
the loss of wilderness and the extinction of wildlife uniting on Earth Day around these shared common values.
Plastics
60% Reduction of Plastic Production by 2040
To achieve a 60% reduction by 2040, EARTHDAY.ORG’s goals are:
(1) promoting widespread public awareness of the damage done by plastic to human, animal, and all biodiversity’s health and demanding more research be conducted on its
health implications, including the release of any and all information regarding its effects to the public;
(2) rapidly phasing out all single use plastics by 2030 and achieving this phase out commitment in the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution in 2024;
(3) demanding policies ending the scourge of fast fashion and the vast amount of plastic it produces and uses; and
(4) investing in innovative technologies and materials to build a plastic-free world.
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