Prelude - Partake the Bread of the World by Ruth Elaine Schram, Jan Green
We are a community seeking to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms, building community in a fragmented world.
Opening Scripture - 1 Peter 4:10-11
10Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
*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 - Roger Cram
ONE: Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you are called:
ALL: We cannot do this alone, we dare not try this alone, so we gather as God's people.
ONE: Lead a life worthy of your calling, a life filled with service and meekness.
ALL: We come to build up Christ's Body, in humility and gentleness, with patience and love.
ONE: Lead a life which reflects your calling, that life of peace grounded in the Spirit.
ALL: We rejoice in our oneness in Christ; we would share the grace offered to us.
ONE: Live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
ALL: We gather as God's family at the Table prepared for us, waiting to be fed by the Bread of life.
~ written by Thom Shuman
Opening Hymn - O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing #5
O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise,
the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of God's grace!
My loving Savior and my God, assist me to proclaim,
to spread through all the earth abroad the honors of thy name.
Invitation to Generosity - Roger Cram
The Good Lord has bestowed upon us all special talents where our abilities stand out among others. You might be excellent at writing, or painting, or music composition. You may have been given a beautiful voice, superior athletic ability, or a scientific mind capable of great understanding and creativity. In any case, if God has blessed us with exceptional abilities, should we not use these special talents as we do His work?
One of my God-given talents is the ability to preserve the peace. It is my calling. I have written a book about peaceful heroes. I have taught peaceful crisis management at Hiram College for fifteen years, and I have been a police officer, or as I prefer to say a peace officer, for fourteen years in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Hiram, Ohio.
I always felt it was more important to preserve the peace than enforce the law. In Fort Lauderdale, after I accumulated several years of police experience, I was asked to train a rookie cop who was assigned to ride with me in my patrol car. At 2:00 AM on a Saturday night, we were dispatched to a loud disturbance where people were shouting in the courtyard area of a housing project. When we arrived, a twenty-year-old female was fighting with her father who refused to allow her to spend the night in his house with her boyfriend unless they were married. They were screaming very loudly. Neighbors were shouting out their windows demanding “QUIET!” Many dogs were barking, alarmed by all the commotion. I only saw one way to bring peace to this situation. I asked them if they wanted to get married. They both said, “Yes.” I then said, “Both of you, raise your right hand”
Do you solemnly swear to take this woman as your lawful wife, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and health? If so, respond by saying “I do.”
The boyfriend said, “I do.”
Do you solemnly swear to take this man as your lawful husband, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and health? If so, respond by saying “I do.”
The woman said, “I do.”
Now, by the power invested in me by the local constabulary of the municipality of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, I hereby officially pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
The boyfriend was happy. The girlfriend was happy. The father was happy. The fighting stopped. The neighbors quit shouting out their windows. The dogs quit barking. I had created peace. I had done my job as a peace officer.
The rookie cop was very confused.
One week later, the same rookie cop was assigned to ride with me again. We were dispatched to a loud disturbance where people were shouting in the courtyard area of a housing project. Upon arrival, I found the couple I had married the week before screaming at each other in a terrible disagreement. The bride’s father wanted the couple to quit fighting or move out. The neighbors were shouting out their windows demanding “QUIET!” Dogs were barking at the disturbance. The couple said they hated each other and were sorry they ever got married.
I asked them if they would consider a divorce. They both enthusiastically said, “YES.”
I then said to them both, “Raise your right hand.”
After the divorce ceremony was over, the woman was happy. The boyfriend was happy, and he left the area. The father was happy that peace had been restored in his home.
The rookie cop turned to me and inquired, “Cram, is it always going to be this nuts every time I ride with you? Aren’t you supposed to set an example for me to follow!”
I replied to the rookie, “Tonight, I created peace. I took a volatile situation and calmed it. The neighbors quit shouting out their windows. The dogs quit barking. The couple quit fighting. The boyfriend left the area peacefully. The father quit fighting with his daughter. No one was hurt. No one was arrested. Everyone is happy. Weren’t you paying attention??
“We are peace officers; we created peace. It’s what we do.”
Let us pray:
Dear Lord, we thank you for giving us all special talents. We want to use these talents in helping your people, in being able to do your work by serving others. Many of us have special talents that we are not utilizing in your service. We pray for your guidance in this area so we may serve you to the best of our abilities. We pray for this in His name,
AMEN
Children’s Moment - Ally Bozeka
Installation of the Elders
Today we are recognizing and blessing God’s gift of Elders to serve the church in Christ’s ministry. All ministry is a gift from Jesus Christ who is the Good Shepherd and great high priest of the entire people of God. While the whole people of God through baptism is commission to share in this servant ministry, the church from earliest times has set some persons apart with prayer to serve in designated ministries.
In shared responsibility these will seek to re-present the reconciling work of Christ in the whole church and this part of the body by:
- Teaching and expressing the nature of the church in the spirit of Christian living
- Giving wise counsel or a listening ear to individual members who are facing hardship and difficulty
- Representing us through meditations and prayers at the Lord’s Table
- By setting forth to the people of God an engaging vision of the congregation’s mission and ministry. Seeking to live out through their example what it means to have Open Minds, Open Hearts, and Open Arms...to live and love like Jesus.
VOWS
Call forth the Elders to stand or come forward
The church has with prayer and deliberation affirmed your call to the eldership of this congregation. Each of you have accepted this call as God’s intention for your life. We therefore now proceed to install you to the office of elder.
In the Light of your calling to this new responsibility, do you reaffirm your faith in Jesus Christ; and do you promise to follow him and to seek to do and to bear his will to the best of your ability all the days of your life? I do
Will you listen intently for the word of God in scripture, discerning carefully under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that the Word might grow your faith and be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path? I do
Do you commit yourself to the well-being of the church through God’s grace fulfill a servant ministry of care and concern for all the church’s members? I do
May the Lord bless you and give you grace to keep and fulfil these vows!
In the Name of Jesus Christ, we affirm and bless you as installed elders at the Mantua Center Christian Church.
PRAYER: Chad
Gracious God, the giver of every good and perfect gift, we thank you for raising up these elders in our midst to serve you and the church in strengthening the church. By your grace assist them in the building up of the church into the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ. We thank you for their yes, their commitment, and their love of you. Be with each of them in service and love, in Jesus Name, Amen.
Pastoral Prayer - Rev. Chad Delaney
God of Life and Spirit and Love,
Take us from where we are, to where you want us to be; make us not merely guardians of a history in this place, but living signs of your coming Kingdom; fire us with passion for justice and peace between all people;
fill us with that faith, hope and love which embody the Gospel; Inspire within us a desire to serve and love in our community in ways that help transform lives. Give us hope in the face of despair and pain and through the power of the Holy Spirit make us one to serve as your Body with all the gifts you have given us. We commit ourselves to love you, serve you,
and follow you as pilgrims not strangers.
God of Love we bring you the pains and concerns of our hearts. We lay before you our joys and gratitude. There are those hurting in our church and community. There are those who are tired and lonely. We are grateful for all the gifts given -- of time, of talent, of treasure. We lift all our joys and struggles to you now in silent prayer….
Communion
Meditation - Sue Wright
Communion Hymn - Here at Thy Table, Lord #384
Here at thy table, Lord, this sacred hour,
O let us feel thee near, in loving power;
calling our thoughts away from self and sin.
As to thy banquet hall we enter in.
Prayer & Lord’s Prayer - Sue Wright
Words of Institution - Rev. Chad Delaney
Scripture - Ephesians 4:11-16
11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
Homily - Equipping the Saints - Rev. Chad Delaney
During the snowstorm last week we did a good bit of shoveling at the Delaneys. The driveway twice and helped out a neighbor. Many hours and quite a bit of soreness for their old man. Grateful for the kids’ hard work too.
We did have options in those moments. I looked over to my neighbors and saw they both had gas-powered snow blowers. I saw a guy up the road who had a blade on the front of his truck. Likely I could have gone to ask someone for some help. I could have stopped and called someone and paid them to do it. BUT…I was cold, tired and didn’t want to have to call and coordinate or have that awkward moment of asking or worry about this and that and …
…in the end, it was a matter of getting it done, so I went the roll-up-the-sleeves route and the kids and I got it done. Just do it.
In some ways, that was a good thing. Good, hard work never hurt anyone and it is great for the kids to do too. At the same time, clearly I was neglecting to utilize the resources around me to get the job done. Maybe they would have been thrilled to help and I took that opportunity away.
Now, of course, this got me thinking about the church and our ministries together as a congregation. In this season of ministry, we can feel tired, distant and uncertain. It has been very hard to plan ahead in a pandemic. What we have done in the past…the ways we have used our gifts may have changed and shifted. Maybe we’re doing more, maybe we are doing less. But things have changed.
Whether we are worshipping online or in-person. Whether attending once in awhile or every week…we are all part of the Body of Christ. At our baptism and commitment of faith we became part of something much bigger than ourselves. We are in covenant with one another, with other congregations, with those who are committed to Christ to work together for the good of all God’s children.
We are hands reaching out to feed the hungry and give water to the thirsty, arms of love to hold close the lonely and the lost, feet to walk by those who are struggling and in pain.. As we share the love of God in living, breathing, tangible ways--in the sharing of meals, prayer shawls, smiles, zoom calls, chat rooms, listening ears, and with extraordinary generosity--we do ministry together in Jesus’ Name.
We need to remember that we don’t have to do it alone. We are the church together. May we see the gifts of the people around us. To not be afraid to invite people to join us in making a difference. ALL of us have something to offer. For those of us leading ministries…we must remember to encourage, lift up, and equip those around us. We need to work ourselves out of job so that others might realize their own gifts to serve their creator. For those of us who aren’t leaders but gifted and called to action, is it time to step up and volunteer your time and energy? Is it time to say “Yes” when before you may have been content to observe before?
Can we share wisdom? Share Mercy and Compassion? Teaching? Faith and Prayer? Preaching? The Gift of Helping others, Administration, Leadership? Is it listening? Praying? Giving?
In a few moments I want you all to join me in the Litany of Ministry found in your bulletins. But first…let’s take a few moments for Prayer to consider the ways God has gifted us for the work of ministry. What might God be calling you to pursue? SILENCE
Litany of Ministry - #451
O God, who sent Jesus into the world
Not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
And to give his life to set others free
Shape us for your ministry.
Claim us, O God, for your service, and direct us toward your will.
You have graced all members of Christ’s body, one by one, with gifts of the Spirit to fulfill their vocation:
To lead lives worthy of your calling
To be workers who have not reason to be ashamed,
To shine as lights to your glory.
You have granted each of us the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good
You give grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift,
And some are called to be apostles,
Some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers
To equip the saints for the work of ministry,
For building up the body of Christ.
Grant that together we may all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of your Son, to the full stature of Christ.
Through your grace, O God, may we lead a life worthy of the vocation to which you call us.
Claim us, O God, for your service, and direct us toward your will.
Closing Hymn - Called as Partners in Christ’s Service #4
Called as partners in Christ's service, called to ministries of grace,
we respond with deep commitment fresh new lines of faith to trace.
May we learn the art of sharing side by side and friend with friend,
equal partners in our caring to fulfill God's chosen end.
Christ's example, Christ's inspiring, Christ's clear call to work and worth,
let us follow never faltering, reconciling folk on earth.
Men and women, richer poorer, all God's people young and old,
blending human skills together gracious gifts from God unfold.
Benediction - Rev. Chad Delaney ~ written by Rev. Elizabeth Dilley
Go now in peace, for Christ has called you to live in peace among your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Go now in courage, for Christ has called you from the places of your life to be agents of redemption and partners in healing.
Go now in joy and thanksgiving, for Christ is our light!
Go now as one body, to love and serve God as you love and serve the world!