We are a community seeking to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms, building community in a fragmented world.
Prelude - “He Included Me” [Lucy Ann Warriner], Jan Green
Opening Scripture - Matthew 6:1-4
‘Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 ‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
*Response - Weave
Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together, in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together,
weave us together, together in love.
*Call to Worship - Nora Brant
ONE: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
ALL: Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
ONE: We have not seen the risen Christ,
ALL: But we see him in the lives of those transformed by grace.
ONE: We have not seen Jesus face-to-face,
ALL: But we have seen him in the faces of everyone whose love encourages us.
ONE: We have not touched the wounds from the cross,
ALL: But we have been called to bring healing to the scarred of the world.
Written by Thom Schuman
*Opening Hymn - Crown Him with Many Crowns #234, v.1-2
1 Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died for thee
and hail him as thy matchless King through all eternity.
2 Crown him the Lord of life, who triumphed o'er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife for those he came to save;
his glories now we sing who died and rose on high,
who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.
Invitation to Generosity - Nora Brant
Invitation
Offertory - “Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus” by Terry Osman
The Doxology #46
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Offering Prayer
Children’s Moment Rev. Chad Delaney
- “Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord”
- Shhhh Cards
Pastoral Prayer - Rev. Chad Delaney
Lord, in your Mercy, FILL US WITH YOUR LOVE
God of Life and Compassion,
Together we have taken this journey with Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection. Yet, even in the face of this extraordinary joy…like the early disciples…
We are wrestling with doubts and fears,We are looking for answers,We are seeking strength and consolation, We are hungry and thirsty for justice
We long for peace…
Lord, in your Mercy, FILL US WITH YOUR LOVE
God of Storm and Stillness,
Your word says the hungry will be filled.And we ask today for you to fill us. Fill us with the breath of life,Fill us with thankful heartsFill us with calmness, courage and most of all, with the knowledge of your presence.
Lord, in your Mercy, FILL US WITH YOUR LOVE
God of Comfort andProvision,
There are others we know and love who are ill and we ask O God that you would surround them with your strong healing presence. We lift them to you…
Grant wisdom to those who need answers to difficult questions. Grant hope to those who despair and friendship to those who feel lonely. We lift them to you…
God of Mercy and Strength, may we know your love, your great love for each one of your children. You know the hairs on our head, you count each beat of our heart. You are familiar with all our ways. May we not lose sight of your constant care.
Lord, in your Mercy, FILL US WITH YOUR LOVE
We look to you O God to be present in our communities and in our world.
Continue to show us how we can be part of your work in the world. To be with those brutalized by war and violence. To be with those hurting from abuse and neglect. To be with the children of our world trying to find their place.
We ask O Lord that you would bless the work of our hands.
and gather all our prayers together, as we seek to live and love in the name of the Risen Christ. Amen.
Communion
Meditation - Steve Hurd
Communion Hymn - In the Garden #227, v.1-3
1 I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses;
and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
Refrain:
And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own,
and the joy we share, as we tarry there, none other has ever known.
2 He speaks, and the sound of his voice, is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
and the melody that he gave to me within my heart is ringing. [Refrain]
3 I’d stay in the garden with him though the night around me be falling,
but he bids me go; through the voice of woe his voice to me is calling. [Refrain]
Prayer & Lord’s Prayer - Steve Hurd
Words of Institution - Rev. Chad Delaney
Music: “Here in the Bread and Wine” by Paul Davis
Special Music - Beth Schabel & Jon Secaur
“Arise” by Claire Cloninger & Kathy Frizzell [Arr. Gary Rhodes]
Sermon - SSSSH Sunday - Roger Cram
Matthew 6:1-4 - Giving to the Needy
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in
the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. … But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving
may be in secret. Your Father will see what you do in secret.
Camden Ross, founder of Reflective Bible Study Journal comments on Mathew 6 1-4:
There is a practical reason for being anonymous other than simply to avoid receiving praise from others.
When we give and help others privately, it changes us as individuals. Jesus wants us to be givers by nature. He wants giving to be a central part of our character...
Our good deeds should be common place in our lives, not one or two big fanfare-laced events…
I am here today to talk about SSSSH.
S S S S H, the Secret Society of Serendipitous Service to Hal.
On February 20, 1991, Chief Warrant Officer Hal "Hooper" Reichle 27, was killed while piloting a helicopter during the Desert Storm war. Hal was returning from a reconnaissance mission. Hal's death has started a slowly spreading movement across the world involving a secret society performing anonymous good deeds for strangers. Why? Who was Hal?
When someone first heard about Hal Reichle and his giving nature, one often pictured a quiet, mild-mannered individual considering the priest hood as a calling. Upon learning that Hal was a rambunctious rascal with a love for life tantamount to Robin Hood and his merry men, many people were somewhat mystified.
No, Hal Reichle was not a saint, but rather a cross between John Wayne and a leprechaun. He was filled with patriotism and loved America, yet he was an impish prankster, a devil-may-care adventurer, and never missed an opportunity to do everyday things in a most unconventional way.
Among the laughter of this cavalier individual there was hidden a most unusual spirit, for Hal spent much of his time giving to others, anonymously, under the cloak of incognito and often accompanied by the stealth of darkness. But when Hal gave his time or money to someone else, he did not write out a check and mail it to a charity. Instead, most of Hal's good deeds involved planning, some risk, and lots of adventure.
Hal's deeds were deliberately made into a sport, a form of entertainment for himself, a personal undertaking rewarded by a special inner peace and satisfaction. Most of his chosen recipients were total strangers, and their financial status was often not a factor in becoming a target for one of Hal's exploits. Rich or poor, you had an equal chance of being graced with Hal's adventurous escapades.
The basis of SSSSH is giving to total strangers anonymously. Creating more goodness in the world just for the sake of creating more goodness, that’s what SSSSH is all about – giving to strangers while partaking in little adventures and giving without stroking our egos. SSSSH members call this ego-free compassion.
SSSSH provides us with the benefits of giving anonymously emphasizing that performing good deeds without reward can be a special experience. This is an especially wonderful and enlightening act for our children.
SSSSH is designed to promote a healthy, peaceful society that will welcome and celebrate diversity, embrace all humanity, and through acts of kindness, instill in ourselves compassion, creativity, imagination, and sacrifice - the true values of being human.
SSSSH is a special and secret society that has quietly woven its members into the very fiber of anonymous goodness. The distinctive 50,000 members of our clandestine league are among you, everywhere, secretly and quietly performing serendipitous acts of kindness throughout our communities - worldwide! And because our members are anonymous, we do not know who any of them are.
What are SSSSH members doing anonymously to improve the world?
· A paraplegic in California received a new van with hand controls and a SSSSH card was attached to the title.
· A family of 5 in Florida only had a crockpot to cook. Sears delivered to them a new stove with a SSSSH card attached.
· A young couple in Kent received a free 100-guest wedding and a Caribbean-honeymoon anonymously. A SSSSH card was found on the honeymoon pillow.
· A family in the Windham housing projects found, in the spring, that their house was surrounded by tulip and daffodil flowers from secretly planted bulbs five months before.
· Twelve cars in downtown Cleveland found SSSSH cards under their wiper blades explaining that money had been placed in expired parking meters.
· In Iowa, a box of paid groceries and a SSSSH card was waiting at the cash register for a young mother and her 5-year-old child who were gathering their food stamps hoping they could afford a meal.
· On a Native American Indian Reservation in Montana a school teacher found a SSSSH card on her desk stating that all the blackboard erasers had been cleaned.
· Following a knock on her bedroom door at 8:00 AM, a mother of two children found a breakfast tray outside her bedroom door with cereal, pancakes, toast, and a SSSSH card wishing her happy Mother’s Day.
· On Christmas eve in 2004, a four-foot weed growing in the medium section of Brook Park Road by the Cleveland Airport, was decorated with ornaments, tinsel, and Christmas-battery-operated lights. A SSSSH card took the place of the star at the top.
SSSSH is one of the most unique organizations in the world – for we are intangible, yet everywhere, structured by pure spirit and governed only by benevolent goodness. SSSSH exists solely in the compassionate spirits of our anonymous members, for we have no address or telephone, no bank account, no headquarters, no employees, or membership cards. Our assets are the generosity of our colleagues, and our future growth is bound only by the limits of imagination and love in our members' hearts.
When Hal was killed in 1991, I decided to continue his anonymous giving to others coupled with his sense of adventure. In this way, Hal's virtuous deeds would continue, and his loving spirit would live on to benefit the lives of thousands. After forming SSSSH in 2003, people all over the world are now doing anonymous good deeds for total strangers in Hal's spirit. Germany started two of its holiday Christmas seasons with a celebration of Hal’s goodness. I have received letters of support from Switzerland, Canada, France, Tanzania, and South Africa. SSSSH has been promoted by the Discovery Channel, CNN, Good Morning America, People Magazine, and many other media.
You have been given two SSSSH cards as you entered our church. If you choose to participate, I wish you happy sssshing!
Let’s learn more about the growth of SSSSH and understand its legitimacy.
Carol Video …..
After Video,
Let us pray:
Dear Lord, we thank you for the unlimited opportunities you have provided us to spread your love through anonymous giving. Let us learn to recognize and cherish the unique sensation received when we openly give anonymously often not knowing our recipient and without receiving recognition. May we learn to serve you anonymously.
Amen
*Closing Hymn - Fill the World with Love #467, v. 1-4
With the vision in our minds of how the world could be
And the fullness of our heart from the suffering we see
When we make all that we are and have part of God’s destiny
We can fill the world with love. We can fill the world with love.
All the people in this world living lives of pain and fear
Crying out into the night, wondering when someone will hear
While there are so many others having so much they can share
Can we fill the world with love? Can we fill the world with love?
We whose spirits long to share, long to comfort and to heal
Know that when we act alone, hope is difficult to feel
But together as we labor God’s compassion to reveal
We will fill the world with love. We will fill the world with love.
Let us hesitate no longer in our doubt and our dismay
There’s a power at work within us that has promised a new day
Benediction - Rev. Chad Delaney
Go now, and embrace the hope to which God has called us.
Share the Good News.
Recognize Christ in friend and stranger, and as Christ has been gracious to you, so be gracious to all those in need.
Postlude - Recessional - Jan Green