Presider:The Reverend Jill Wiley
Assisting Minister: Nina Sousa
This is the first of three special services while Pastor Jeff is on vacation. Come experience these with us.
Presider:The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Katarina Sousa
Called to contemplate the cost of discipleship, we might be helped by translating Paul’s request to Philemon into our prayer of the day: Refresh my heart in Christ. Strengthened by the company and forgiveness of Christ in holy communion and recalling God’s grace in remembrance of baptism, we can be strengthened in this hour to “choose life”—to choose life in God as our own.
Presider:The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Sue Newberg
Invited and inviting—that is the nature of the church. By God’s grace in holy baptism we have a place at Christ’s banquet table. When, by the power of that same Spirit, humility and mutual love continue among us, the church can be more inviting still.
Presider:The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Chris Newman
Remember the sabbath day. Call the sabbath a delight. This is the Lord’s day, and the Lord will do for us what the Lord does: feed us, forgive us, help and heal us. Rejoice at all the wonderful things God is doing.
Presider:The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Pete Randall
The word of God is a refining fire. Jesus is the great divide in human history. He invites our undivided attention and devotion. Today in worship we are surrounded by a great “cloud of witnesses.” In the word and in holy communion we are invited yet again to look to Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”
Presider:The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Bill Kiesel
Jesus says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” It is God’s promise from the beginning—to Abraham, to the early church, and to the “little flock” of which we are a part in today’s assembly. Faith, God’s baptismal gift, trusts the promises of God. Have no fear.
Presider:The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Sue Newberg
Temple Talk: Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Today’s texts offer instruction and encouragement for all who are occasionally overwhelmed by the “unhappy business” of life. Jesus urges us to take care and be on guard against all kinds of greed. We who have died with Christ in holy baptism have also been raised with him and are encouraged to elevate our thinking, seeking the “things that are above.” To that end we seek the sustenance of the Lord’s supper and the encouragement of God’s word.
Presider:The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Pete Randall
Temple Talk: Nancy Imai
Persistence in prayer is encouraged by Jesus and wins the attention of God when Abraham intercedes for Sodom. The life of the baptized—to be rooted and built up in Christ Jesus—is to be nurtured with prayer. God hears and answers prayer and so strengthens God’s own. “When I called, you answered me; you increased my strength within me.”
Presider:The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Dawn Caffelle
Perhaps the church, at its best, is “all ears.” God urges the faithful, again and again, to “listen up!”—to heed the word that gives life. So it was with Abraham and Sarah, Mary and Martha, and the early church at Colossae. So it is today as we join the assembly to hear the word of God, the word of life.
Presider: The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Jeanne Govoni
Bulletin Cover: “Good Samaritan with a Lily” by
Olga Bakhtina
To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind is to reflect God’s mercy in responding to one’s neighbor. That mercy found its most profound expression in the “gospel that has come to you”—namely the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That gospel mercy comes to us again today: at the font, at the table, and from the pulpit. It is very near to you.
Presider: The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Jeanne Govoni
God is the source of our nourishment. Jesus’ invitation to “take and eat . . . take and drink” is a repeated one. In holy communion, in the word read and proclaimed, in the assembly of the people of God, the dominion of God has come near. Rejoice! Your name is written in heaven.
Presider: The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Chris Newman
We have no good apart from God. That makes Jesus’ call to follow him an invitation to freedom. This is freedom to revel in the Spirit’s fruit: love, joy, peace, and patience. This is freedom to not be imprisoned by anything that would keep us from the fullness of the life God has given us. This is the path of life.
Preacher: The Reverend Nathan Pipho Bishop, New England Synod
Presider: The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister: Jeanne Govoni
Acolyte: Juliette Carlson
Lay Reader: Dennis Govoni
Guest Musician: Sarah Pillow
The central characters of today’s gospel are the Ethiopian Eunuch and Philip, an apostle, deacon, and follower of Jesus. The Ethiopian Eunuch, having been sexually mutilated, cannot enter the Temple in Jerusalem for worship. He indeed, is a “stranger at the gate.” Upon a Spirit-filled meeting between the Eunuch and Philip, the faith demonstrated by the Eunuch compels Philip to baptize him. Both depart from each rejoicing and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. Such is the celebration today, of MUTUAL ministry, ordination, and anniversary. To God alone be Glory!
The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister:
Bill Kiesel
Guest Speaker: Jamie Hodges,
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a federal holiday celebrated on June 19th. It commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed by Union troops that they were free, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
The Reverend Jeffrey C. Johnson
Assisting Minister:
Sue Newburg
On Pentecost, we celebrate that we have been given an Advocate to accompany us. Poured out in wind and fire, water, wine, and bread, the Holy Spirit abides in and among us. We give thanks that God speaks to each of us, no matter our origins, language, or life path. Filled with the Spirit of truth, we go out from worship to proclaim the saving power of Christ’s love and the freedom of God’s grace with all the world..
