The Day of Kindness
This is the Day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! Welcome to our online worship ministry at the Mantua Center Christian Church. We are excited to have you with us and if you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you for being a part of our worshiping and praying community! This morning we are celebrating the Day of Kindness. Following our worship service we will have a potluck and then participate in acts of kindness in the church and in the community. We hope the service today inspires you to reach out with an act of kindness to someone who needs it in the name of Jesus Christ. God’s grace and peace be with you and welcome to worship!
Prelude “The God of Abraham Praise” Sarah Park
Welcome to the Mantua Center Christian Church
Good Morning!
Welcome to the Mantua Center Christian Church
We are a community seeking to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms.
Share something you are grateful for….
Thank you for joining us here in the house and online. Welcome to everyone!
- ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Day of Kindness week! Thank you to Kathleen and Roger!
- Card Station
- Welcome Statement - Thanks to the O + A Team. The members were Rick , Brian, Steve, Margie, Ally Bozeka, Nancy Humes, Jon Secaur and Linda Idoine. Thank you for your service and all the time and thought you gave to the process.
- Baptism
Scripture Reading Matthew 5:13-16 Rev. Chad Delaney
13‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no 1 longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
*Welcoming Song “Here We Gather” #294
Here we gather as God’s people with our friends from far and near;
Let our voices sound with praises knowing Christ has called us here.
Now we seek and greet each other, now in joy approach our friends.
Here we mingle, bound together as to all our love extends.
*Call to Worship (based on Matthew 5:16, Micah 6:8) Kathy Meier ONE: Children of God, it is time to let our lights shine into the darkness
ALL: For a city built on a hill cannot be hidden
ONE: We are called to share God’s light and worship in God’s truth.
ALL: How shall we worship the Lord? What is required of us?
ONE: To leave empty talk and pride behind. To walk the walk of faith.
ALL: God knows where we might need to go and will show
us the way.
ONE: Jesus will guide our steps, teaching us to do justice,
ALL: To love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.
Let us worship the Lord!
*Opening Hymn I have Decided to Follow Jesus #344, v.1-2, 4
1 I have decided to follow Jesus,
I have decided to follow Jesus,
I have decided to follow Jesus--
no turning back, no turning back.
2 The world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me--
no turning back, no turning back.
4 Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
No turning back, no turning back.
Invitation to Generosity
Invitation Kathy Meier
Offertory
Music: “Come Into my Heart, Blessed Jesus” Sarah Park
[by H. D. Clarke]
*Response Accept, O God, The Gifts We Bring #379, 2 lines
Accept, O God, the gifts we bring of spirit and of clay,
transform them into blessings on those we serve today.
Offering Prayer Kathy Meier
Children’s Moment Rev. Chad Delaney
- Video on Kids and Kindness
God of Life and Love!
Today, we lift up the children of our church, community, and world to You. Bless them with hearts full of joy and laughter. Let their days be filled with good times of discovery and play. Guide them as they learn about the world You have created, exploring its wonders and mysteries with curious minds and open hearts. May they always feel the warmth of Your presence and the assurance of your love. Bless their friendships and family bonds, and let your light shine brightly in their lives. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Kathleen Lewarchick
Communion
Meditation Katie Baird
Communion Hymn Where He Leads Me #346, v.1
1 I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
"Take thy cross and follow, follow me."
[Refrain]
Where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow—
I'll go with him, with him all the way.
Prayer Kathleen Lewarchick
Words of Institution Kathleen Lewarchick
Music: “Saviour! Thy Dying Love” Sarah Park
[by R. Lowry]
Scripture Acts 9:36-40
36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ 39So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
Sermon “Pando Kindness” Rev. Chad Delaney
Pando Kindness
Have you ever heard of Pando? It is one of the world’s biggest organisms. It is over 13 million pounds. And it lives in the Fishlake National Forest in Fish Lake, Utah.
Well…guess what? Pando is a tree. One single quaking aspen tree. It has been checked via DNA testing and confirmed to be from one root system underground. It’s possible to be over 1 million years old with shoots numbering around 70,000. It is known as the whispering giant because its leaves rustle in the wind.
Through Pando’s interconnected root system, the individual stems (trunks) share water, nutrients, and other resources. When one trunk dies, new trunks sprout from the root system, ensuring the survival and continuation of the colony.
Scientists call the tree Pando….because in Latin that means “I spread.”
Amelia Earhart once said, “"A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees."
And that’s exactly what we want to do today. Make kindness Spread.
In our scripture today we catch a very short glimpse into the life and ministry of one of the very early disciples and ministers of the Gospel -- Tabitha (or Dorcas). If you grew up in a church with a Dorcas Guild and wondered what in the world that meant, hopefully you’ll have a better idea today.
The bible says that Tabitha was a disciple devoted to good works and acts of charity. The Greek word there for “good” is agathos which can also be translated as “kindness.” The New Living Translation of this passage says, “She was always occupied with doing kind things for others and helping the poor.” Sadly, however, she fell ill and died and she had so much clout that word was sent to Peter to come. The rock on whom Christ built the church came running. Why? Was she some kind of big wig? Was she CEO of the First National Bank of Joppa? Was she a wealthy donor they needed to revive to keep the church going? Did she have a lot of instagram followers? Why did Peter come running?
We get a better sense of it when the scene moves to the house where Tabitha has died. A whole group of widows gathered around her bedside and in her home. Perhaps these were women she had ministered to over the years and probably in their time of greatest need. When Peter got there they wanted to show him something. So they took him into another room and showed him all the “tunics and other clothing” Dorcas had made for them. The Greek words here are chitón (khee-tone') and himation (him-at'-ee-on). Chitons were undergarments and himations were wool robes or cloaks. Dorcas was making clothes for people who were in need. No small task and a labor of love in the name of the One she had given her life to.
All her acts of kindness in the course of her life mattered. I want to share with you a short video on the impact kindness can make…
Simon Sinek - Acts of Kindness Video
Tabitha’s acts of kindness, the life she led, the gifts she gave made a deep imprint on her community! Look how Peter came to her. Look how many came to weep for her life. Look how they wanted to show the works of her hands. Look at the ways people celebrated her life and gave thanks for the ways she gave to the Lord.
AND…we can also say that though not mentioned in the scripture…undoubtedly there were Kindness bystanders, too. People in the community, watching and marveling at how she lived and gave. Every act of kindness was a testimony of faith inspiring those around her to do good and to look outside themselves. To be a little more kind, a little more generous than they were before.
As a church, we want to be like Tabitha! For together, we are the Body of Christ. We are TRULY one organism, a network of those who love God, who share resources, care for the hurting, celebrate with the rejoicing, and who want to spread kindness every chance we get. Together, our genuine acts of kindness will matter. They will matter to us, matter to those who receive them, and it even matter to those who witness it today and always.
At the end of the story Peter prays and says, “Tabitha, get up” and Tabitha is risen from the dead. She lived embodying the love of Christ, she died as all must do, and then she rose. As with her, may the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus be known in us as we live a little more like Jesus, as we die to greed and selfishness, and then as we GET UP and get movin’ to spread the Gospel of Kindness, Compassion, and Love. May it be so. Amen.
*Closing Hymn “Ours the Journey” #458, 1-2, & 4
1 In the midst of new dimensions, in the face of changing ways.
Who will lead the pilgrim peoples wandering in their separate ways?
[Refrain]
God of rainbow, fiery pillar, leading where the eagles soar,
We, your people, ours the journey now and ever, now and ever more.
2 Through the flood of starving people, warring factions and despair,
Who will lift the olive branches? Who will light the flame of care? [Refrain]
4 Should the threats of dire predictions cause us to withdraw in pain,
May your blazing phoenix spirit, resurrect the church again. [Refrain]
Benediction Roger Cram
- Feel free to hang around a bit or join us for the potluck at downstairs!
- Afterward we will be doing some random acts of kindness together
- Feels so good to throw open the doors of our church
Postlude “Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus” Sarah Park
[by W. J. Kirkpatrick]