Church Family, today we are celebrating MCCC’s 196th birthday. We were founded on January 27, 827 and last year we started the tradition of acknowledging that day in anticipation of our 200th birthday coming us in 2027. Thank you for being here for this celebration as we consider how we might continue the dynamic witness of those who came before us. We hope and pray you will be blessed today by the music, silence, word, and fellowship…may God bless you!
Prelude - “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!” [by J. B. Dykes] - Sarah Park
Welcome to Mantua Center Christian Church! We are a community seeking to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms. Welcome to our FOUNDER’S DAY as our church turns 196.
Scripture - 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.
*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 - Allie Owen
ONE: We have come to worship God, the living God,
ALL: Who calls prophets and teachers to bear witness.
ONE: We have come to praise God, the almighty God,
ALL: Who answers the forces of hatred and hurt with the power of grace.
ONE: We have come to worship God, all-gracious God,
ALL: Who chooses even you and me, to receive and carry the Word of life and hope. All glory to God!
*Opening Hymn - “We Gather Together” #276, v. 1 & 3
1 We gather together to ask for God’s blessing, To turn to a wisdom surpassing our own;
The pow’rs that oppress us no cease to distress us. O’God, be present with us, and make your will known.
3 May all sing your praises, Redeemer triumphant, defend us, befriend us, whatever may be.
May your congregation escape tribulation. Your name be praised forever, O God, make us free!
Invitation to Generosity
Invitation - Allie Owen
Offertory
Music: “I Have Found a Friend in Jesus” [by J. R. Mirray]
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 - Allie Owen
Children’s Moment - Rev. Chad Delaney
- Slate from Church Roof
- Happy Birthday to MCCC
Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer
Gracious and loving God,
On this Founder’s Sunday, we thank you for those persons you have poured your spirit into over the centuries of our church’s founding. We thank you for the loving support of all in the Body of Christ who have prayed for us and supported our work together as your people. We thank you that you are still at work in the life of the church reforming us reshaping us, and remaking us into your image.
One of the ways we reflect your image and be the church, Lord, is how we care for one another with love, care and prayer. We pray for those who are in the hospitals today. We pray for those at home with illnesses, and recovering from treatments and/or surgeries. We pray for those in nursing homes and those who are homebound. We pray for their families during these times. We pray for those who are facing death. We pray for those who have died and for those who are grieving. We pray for their Doctors, nurses, health care workers and care takers. Lord may we reflect your image in our love, care and prayer that we put to action for these your children in our midst.
We also reflect your image in how we love, care and pray for our world. We pray for those around the world whose countries are torn by war. We pray for those living in poverty. We pray for those who live in starvation. We pray for those who are being used in slave labor, child labor and sex trafficking. We pray for those who have been affected by disasters. We pray for those in disaster areas who face outbreak of diseases. We pray for our environment and how we take care of it. Lord, may we put into action our love, care and prayers for the world.
Lord, we pray for your whole church that we be a beacon of hope, grace, love and light in this world. May our open doors reflect your open arms to all. May our arms and hands reaching out to those in need reflect your love for all. May our forgiveness of one another reflect your forgiveness for all.
We lift the names of those on our hearts and minds to you this day aloud and in silence…..
Now unite us together as we pray the prayer you taught us to pray saying….
Communion
Meditation - Pete Pruszynski
Hymn - Come, Share the Lord #408, v. 1-3
1 We gather here in Jesus’ name, his love is burning in our hearts like living flame;
for through the loving Son the Father makes us one:
Come, take the bread, come, drink the wine, come, share the Lord.
No one is a stranger here, everyone belongs;finding our forgiveness here, we in turn forgive all wrongs.
2 He joins us here, he breaks the bread, the Lord who pours the cup is risen from the dead;
the one we love the most is now our gracious host:
Come, take the bread, come, drink the wine, come, share the Lord.
We are now a family of which the Lord is head;
though unseen he meets us here in the breaking of the bread.
3 We'll gather soon where angels sing; we'll see the glory of our Lord and coming King;
now we anticipate the feast for which we wait:
Come, take the bread, come, drink the wine, come, share the Lord.
Prayer - Pete Pruszynski
Words of Institution - Rev. Chad Delaney
Music: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” [Arr. by L. Mason]
Scripture - Acts 1:6-9
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ 9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
Sermon - Dynamic Witness
Upon Jesus' earthly exit, those left behind to be witnesses to the end of the earth needed to decide what they would bear witness to. The Life and ministry and message of Christ to be shared in various ways to inspire and transform lives. What in particular needed to be passed on? And how to do it?
Several years ago, I was asked to speak at the Spring Retreat of our Advance Conference. The topic they asked me to speak on was “how Christianity changed from an underdog movement to an empire around the 4th Century. What happened when Constantine made Christianity the religion of the Empire?” Did not expect that!
After some research and thought, I ended up taking the Advance conferees through a tumultuous exercise. I got them into groups of 10 and said that each group had to make a presentation on the 5 Core Beliefs, 5 Songs and 3 Traditions that would remain at Camp Christian into the future. All others would be vanquished as heresy.
So each group internally debated, argued, compromised, and bartered and then had to make a presentation to the whole group on their choices. Would “Tom the Toad or Sanctuary make it? Would Table Games? The Serenade? Consecration on Friday? Would the cheese cloth survive Chi-Rho?
It was great fun and hilarious to hear the presented arguments and after it was over we talked about how horrible it would be if this would really take place. Whittle down beliefs and then excommunicate anyone who thought or believed differently.
But, in the 4th century that’s basically what Constantine called for. Christianity has too much diversity of opinion/belief--whittle it down. Find one way of believing. I have an empire to run. Constantine wanted uniformity. Authoritarian power HATES diversity---too hard to control what people think and believe. Sadly, great ideas, beliefs, traditions were cut off in the interest of Empire.
Well, since then Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant folks have pushed back on an absolutely uniform witness--people like St. Francis, Julien of Norwich, Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, Dr. King, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero (and so many more) confronted empire with liberation.
Our founders as a denomination had their own hand in that as well. Barton Stone, Walter Scott, Thomas and Alexander Campbell pushed the envelope about what was acceptable in their own time and place. They challenged creeds, “tests of fellowship” to the Lord’s Table. They urged a reasonable, rational approach to faith. They advocated unity and an open table. Their movement--born on American soil--would later be called the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Believe it or not, our church here -- the Mantua Center Christian Church -- was right in the thick of that early movement of rebellious disciples. Some of those early founders -- like Alexander Campbell -- may have spoken right here in this room. James Garfield spoke here for sure. 1827 we were founded and here we are 196 years later. Very likely the OLDEST wire-to-wire Disciples of Christ church in the whole world.
Founder’s Day is an opportunity for us to appreciate our history and to pledge ourselves to continue a dynamic, living, and relevant witness in this time and place. In our Re-enactment today (put beautifully together by Nancy Humes and Katie Baird) we will hear the commitment and covenant made by our earliest founders in their time and place. Some of it will be familiar, some different. We will hear the traces of how they pushed back on the beliefs and practices of their time. We will hear the language they used to articulate their faith and what parts of their faith were MOST essential to them.
As a believer today…what resonates with you? What would you want to continue? What would you push back on? What new way could you imagine? There is always comfort in the familiar, yet to be stagnant is to die. To conform is to bow to Empire. As we Re-Center together as a church today, how can we continue to strike the balance of tradition and innovation as we have Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Arms?
We have been here 196 years because those who came before us heard Christ’s call to be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In 1827, the folks we will hear from heard that call and did their best to live on the principle of faith and what they believed. They did not conform to the status quo in their time and found a way to meet people right where they were.
Today we continue their legacy of being witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ to offer a dynamic, lively, faith-filled expression of what it means to live and love in the likeness of Jesus in this time and place. Let’s celebrate our history and continue to make our own. May it be so Amen.
Now to begin our Founder’s Day Re-Enactment I would like to invite the esteemed John Rudolph to come forward. The year is 1827 and our founders are on the cusp of signing our origination document….let’s hear from them…
Founder’s Day Re-Enactment
- John Rudolph (Steve)
- Good morning, I’m John Rudolph.
- We belonged to the Bethesda Baptist Church but were unhappy with having confessions of faith and rules of faith and practice as opposed to viewing the Bible as the supreme authority. It seemed as if The Articles of Faith had become as important as the Holy Scriptures.
- (go sign the document and then return to sit in a chair by Chad.)
- John Rudolph Jr. (Vince)
- Good morning. I’m John Rudolph Jr.
- I too was part of the group opposed to these being used as rules for fellowship and we separated from the Bethesda congregation to create what was often called the Rudolph Party.
- I did have reservations though about how we would survive without being part of the Baptist Association. My fellow charter members assured me that if we supported each other and listened to the Scriptures, we would be all right.
- (go sign the document and go sit in the congregation)
- Zeb Rudolph (Mike)
- Hello, I’m Zeb Rudolph.
- I believe we don’t need letters to show our moral standing.
- (go sign the document and go sit in the congregation)
- James Rudolph.(Jon)
- Good morning. I’m James Rudolph.
- As a group, we found the writings of Alexander Campbell compelling – we wanted to create a church based on the foundation of ‘no creed but Christ, no book but the Bible’.
- In creating our church, we were one of the first four original Campbell groups.
- (go sign the document and go sit in the congregation)
- Cleona Rudolph (Linda)
- Good morning. I’m Cleona Rudolph
- Can you believe it? At the Baptist Association meeting – we as a group were ‘kicked-out’ of the church. Imagine kicking people out of the church because they didn’t agree with you! I imagine that Jesus’ disciples didn’t agree on everything.
- (go sign the document and go sit in the congregation)
- Elizabeth Rudolph (Cathy)
- Hello, I’m Elizabeth Rudolph.
- Our typical service was hearing/reading from the Scriptures, singing hymns and a sermon.
- (go sign the document and go sit in the congregation)
- Darwin Atwater (Brian)
- Hello, I’m Darwin Atwater.
- Brothers & Sisters, we have gathered this evening to make a new covenant with each other and with God to establish ourselves as a separate and independent church to serve God insofar as we understand in this place.
- (go sign the document and go back to sit by Chad.)
- Laura Atwater (Pat)
- Hello, I’m Laura Atwater.
- Where do we look for spiritual guidance without any articles of faith?
- Patta Blair (Sandi)
- And I’m Patta Blair.
- What if I interpret a passage differently than someone else?
- (Laura & Patta (Pat & Sandi) pause for Darwin to speak)
- Darwin Atwater (Brian)
- This is your privilege. We believe our church should be built on the principle that each Christian has the right – in fact, the obligation, to establish his or her own personal relationship with God and Christ.
- “Where the scriptures speak, we speak,” and “in essentials, unity; in nonessentials liberty; and in all things, charity.”
- Being of like minds – we hereby unanimously establish a new congregation, based on our faith in and understanding of the word of God. May God help us.
- Laura & Patta (Pat & Sandi) go now to sign the document and then go sit in the congregation.
- After Laura & Patta leave the platform Darwin & John (Brian & Steve) shake hands and go sit in the congregation.
Pastor Chad: Let us stand, all who are able.
And now, like these folks, our founders, let us covenant to continue the work they started when they made the first covenant with God and each other.
The church of the Disciples of Christ at Mantua was formed at the schoolhouse in the south part of Mantua, January 27, 1827, on the principle of faith in Jesus Christ, the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and the New Testament as the rule of conduct and the book of discipline.
People: We affirm the principle of faith in Jesus Christ and the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. We stand firm with our Founders and re-establish this covenant with God and each other to be a church which serves God insofar as we understand our calling in this time and place. Amen.
Pastor Chad – let us sing together:If you are a ministry leader and would like to invite people to an opportunity, please come down front during the hymn.
*Closing Hymn - We Call Ourselves Disciples #357, v.1, 4-5
1 We call ourselves disciples, as pilgrims on the way
We seek the truth in wisdom, and beauty in each day
As women, men, and children, we serve Christ’s path to clear
In joyful expectation we see God’s reign draw near.
4 We join with all disciples to live the Word in deed
To share the cup of wine and the bread with all in need;
To work ‘til God’s compassion and righteousness prevail
‘Til all this planet’s people know justice without fail.
5 So now the vision brightens, the light of Christ burns still
In hearts of all disciples to be the church God wills.
From quiet meditation, and joyous hymns of praise
We go to do God’s mission! Christ, lead us all our days!
Benediction - Rev. Chad Delaney
Spirit of the living God, we give you praise on this day of founding for receiving us as part of the body of Christ. Passed down from generation to generation, our church here is a gift received through the fullness of your grace. Empower us anew, we pray, with tongues of fire and hearts of love to proclaim your reconciling word among people. May we, as the body of Christ in this place, offer living, breathing evidence of your love. Remind us that we are all members of the one body and if one member suffers, we all suffer. We give thanks that all of us are Christ’s body, and rejoice in each one being a part of it. As we depart this place, move us by your Spirit to live and love in Christ’s name. Amen
Postlude - “The Trusting Heart to Jesus Clings” [by W. J. Kirkpatrick] - Sarah Park