ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST AUGUST 8, 2021 PRELUDE Two Settings of We Shall Overcome African-American spiritual I. Maestoso arr. Adolphus Hailstork II. Trio (b. 1941) PRAYER OR READING OF THE DAY “God, grant us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.” The Serenity Prayer, written by Reinhold Niebuhr, 1943. “The prayer my father wrote for the Heath church has become so associated with the “twelve-step program” of Alcoholics Anonymous that most people construe it as expressing only what, in our self-help culture, we think each one of us must aim for, day after day, in our personal self- improvement projects… But the Serenity Prayer was composed in wartime, and it also addresses the inconsolable pain, loss, and guilt that war inflicts on the communities that wage it; it goes to the heart of the possibilities and impossibilities of collective action for collective betterment—that is to say, to the heart of the possibilities for peace. These take us across a terrain where one cannot walk alone…” Elizabeth Sifton, The Serenity Prayer: Faith and Politics in Times of Peace and War . (New York: WW Norton, 2003), p. 111. GREETING AND ANNOUNCEMENTS The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you.
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ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
AUGUST 8, 2021
PRELUDE
Two Settings of We Shall Overcome African-American spiritual I. Maestoso arr. Adolphus Hailstork
II. Trio (b. 1941)
PRAYER OR READING OF THE DAY
“God, grant us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things that should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.”
The Serenity Prayer, written by Reinhold Niebuhr, 1943.
“The prayer my father wrote for the Heath church has become so associated with the “twelve-step
program” of Alcoholics Anonymous that most people construe it as expressing only what, in our
self-help culture, we think each one of us must aim for, day after day, in our personal self-
improvement projects…
But the Serenity Prayer was composed in wartime, and it also addresses the inconsolable pain, loss,
and guilt that war inflicts on the communities that wage it; it goes to the heart of the possibilities
and impossibilities of collective action for collective betterment—that is to say, to the heart of the
possibilities for peace. These take us across a terrain where one cannot walk alone…”
Elizabeth Sifton, The Serenity Prayer: Faith and Politics in Times of Peace and War. (New York: WW
Norton, 2003), p. 111.
GREETING AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
[Throughout the bulletin, texts in bold type are to be said together by the congregation; plain text will be read by
the liturgist or minister, following the model of The Book of Common Worship. The numbered hymns included are
from The Presbyterian Hymnal (blue) found in the pew]
stand for CALL TO WORSHIP Rev. Christian Iosso
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortals, in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
Happy are those whose hope is in the Lord their God,
who made heaven and earth, who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
God upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Let us worship God!
HYMN OF PRAISE 485
To God Be the Glory TO GOD BE THE GLORY
be seated for
CALL TO CONFESSION Nusrat David, liturgist
Confession is part of our dialogue with God: we do what we can to adjust the scale and nature of
our attention. In humility, we ask God to meet us where we truly are. Please join in the prayer of
confession.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (from Reinhold Niebuhr) Nusrat David, liturgist We give you thanks, O Lord, for life and love and the joy of existence…
We confess that we are not worthy of the riches of life for which the generations have
labored...
We confess the sorry confusion of our common life, the greed which disfigures our
collective life and sets us against each other.
We confess the indifference and callousness with which we treat the sufferings and the
insecurity of the poor, and the pettiness which mars the relations between us.
May we with contrite hearts seek once more to purify our spirits and to clarify our reason,
so that a fairer temple for the human spirit may be built in human society.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
KYRIE both verses sung in Guarani ORÉ PORIAJÚ VEREKÓ
ASSURANCE OF OUR PARDON Nusrat David, liturgist
“Wisdom has built her house…(with) its seven pillars… She has also set her table…to eat her food
and drink… is to walk in the way of insight.” In Jesus Christ, we see the Wisdom of God. By God’s
grace, we are forgiven, renewed, and restored.
stand for
RESPONSE TO OUR FORGIVENESS sing twice with joy Taizé Community
In the Lord I’ll Be Ever Thankful
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
God of insight, illuminate us through reflection on these texts. Amen.
FIRST SCRIPTURE READING Jeremiah 23:16-20, 29, 32
Nusrat David, liturgist
Thus says the LORD of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you; they are deluding you. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They keep saying to those who despise the word of the LORD, “It shall be well with
you”; and to all who stubbornly follow their own stubborn hearts, they say, “No calamity shall come upon you.” For who has stood in the council of the LORD so as to see and to hear his word? Who has given heed to his word so as to proclaim it? Look, the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his mind. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? See, therefore, I am against the prophets, says the LORD, who steal my words from one another... See, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, says the LORD, and who tell them, and who lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or appoint them; so they do not profit this people at all, says the LORD.
SOLO
O Rest in the Lord (from Elijah) Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847)
Lauren Redditt, mezzo soprano
Jason Kissel, piano
O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him,
And He shall give thee thy heart’s desires.
Commit thy way unto Him, and trust in Him,
And fret not thyself because of evil-doers. based on Psalm 37
SECOND SCRIPTURE READING 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not
many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to
shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low
and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no
one might boast in the presence of God.
SERMON Serenity & The Bomb Rev. Christian Iosso
stand for
HYMN OF RESPONSE 386
O for a World AZMON
be seated for MOMENT FOR MISSION Reflection by Sarah Rutherford, Summer Intern, The Center
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Please use the chat forum to enter your prayers and we will share those as a part of our communal worship.
PURPLE RIBBON LIST
08/04/2021 Raynard Booker 44 Male Unknown
08/02/2021 Jaquan Purvis 37 Male Unknown
07/30/2021 Corey Drake 33 Male Unknown
Each ribbon represents a life lost to homicide in Baltimore City. We name them each week and hang a purple ribbon on the
Park Avenue side of our building to remind us to pray for the victims, survivors, and perpetrators of these acts of violence,
and to remind us of our calling to challenge the systemic injustices of our time .
THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.
THE OFFERTORY
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