Good Morning and Welcome to the Mantua Center Christian Church! We are a church that seeks to have Open Minds, Open Hearts, and Open Arms and we are so glad you have joined us. First, we want to acknowledge and celebrate the fathers and spiritual fathers of our lives who helped us grow as people...Happy Father's Day. Also today, Pastor Chad will be talking about his recent trip with the youth to do tornado relief in Mayfield, Kentucky. Together we will hear the Jacob's Ladder story and wonder what we can learn from it. Also, today we will be doing the official vote on our revised MCCC Welcoming Statement that will make us an Open & Affirming congregation. Thank you for being here and welcome to worship!
Prelude “Love Divine, all Loves Excelling” Sarah Park
[By J. Zundel]
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.
Thank you for joining us here in the house and online. Welcome to everyone!
- ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Good to be back after Mission Trip. Today I’m looking forward to sharing with you a reflection from the trip. Later we will hear from the whole group and especially the youth!
- Today we are having a vote after our worship service on our MCCC Welcoming Statement. This Statement, if approved, will make us an official Open & Affirming congregation in the Christian church disciples of christ. A designation that is Open to the inclusion of the LGBTQ community being a part of our church family and affirming that each our beloved children of God and fully welcomed in faith and ministry.
Scripture Reading Psalm 92:1-4 Rev. Chad Delaney
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
*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 Rev. Nancy Humes ONE: God calls us to new opportunities for love and service,
ALL: To be ready to serve our neighbors with grace and humility.
ONE: God’s love knows no boundaries,
ALL: And we’re called to reflect that boundless love!
ONE: Open our Minds, Hearts, and Arms to our community in need of grace!
ALL: Ready our hearts and spirits to live and love in the likeness of
Christ. Let’s worship the Lord!
*Opening Hymn Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee #2, vs. 1-2
1 Joyful, joyful, we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive our fear and doubt away;
giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.
2 All thy works with joy surround thee, earth and heaven reflect thy rays,
stars and angels sing around thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in thee.
Invitation to Generosity
Invitation Rev. Nancy Humes
Offertory
Music: “A Wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord ” Sarah Park
[by W. J. Kirkpatrick]
*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 Rev. Nancy Humes
Children’s Moment Rev. Chad Delaney
- We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder
- Every Round goes Higher Higher
- If you Love God, Why not serve God?
Children of the Cross
Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Rev. Chad Delaney
Prayers for Veronica Turpel
Prayers for Cyf Camp
Emmy
Loving and Gracious God, We come before You with hearts full of gratitude for this day, and for the blessed opportunity to gather together in worship. Thank You for the gift of community and the joy to worship You in spirit and in truth. Your presence fills this place, and we are humbled by Your grace and love.
Today, we lift up the people of Mayfield, KY, who are still recovering from the devastating tornado that struck their community. We thank you for the 22 youth and adults who represented us last week as a congregation. We ask for Your continued comfort and strength for those who lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods. We give thanks for the Week of Compassion and all organizations that tirelessly offer disaster relief around the world. Bless the hands and hearts of those who serve in these missions of mercy.
On this day of worship, we also celebrate and acknowledge Father's Day. We thank You for the fathers and father figures in our lives who have nurtured, guided, and supported us. Bless them with Your wisdom, patience, and love as they continue to fulfill their vital roles in our lives. Be with those who struggled with their fathers, who May they feel appreciated and cherished not just today, but every day, for the countless ways they enrich our lives.
We also lift up our church to you today, Lord, as we discern our call to be an Open & Affirming congregation. Be with us as we seek to be a church who offers a grace-filled and abundant welcome, especially to those who have been hurt and cast out by the church. Thank you for this opportunity and thank you for being with us…
In our own congregation, we bring before You the concerns and burdens that weigh heavily on our hearts. For those who are sick, we pray for healing. For those who are grieving, we ask for comfort. For those who are struggling with anxiety, depression, or any form of distress, we pray for Your peace and strength. May we, as a community, be a source of support and love to one another, reflecting Your love in all we do.
We also take a moment to silently lift up our personal prayers and petitions to You, trusting in Your unfailing love and care.
Lord, we thank You for hearing our prayers, both spoken and unspoken. Please hear us as we pray…
Communion
Meditation Nora Brant
Communion Hymn #393, vs. 1-2
[Refrain]
One bread, one body, one Lord of all,
one cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.
1 Gentile or Jew, servant or free, woman or man, no more. [Refrain]
2 Many the gifts, many the works, one in the Lord, of all. [Refrain]
Prayer Katie Baird
Words of Institution Katie Baird
Music: “My Life, my Love I Give to Thee” Sarah Park
[by C. R. Dunbar]
Scripture Genesis 28:10-17 Rev. Chad Delaney
10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Sermon Ladder to Heaven? Rev. Chad Delaney
In the quiet corners of Mayfield, KY way back in 1837…where homes and barns once stood, a small group of believers gathered. Their faith was so bright and gripping that they decided they needed a place to gather. They built a little church—a sanctuary for worship and fellowship. Of course, over the years, that modest beginning blossomed. Stained glass replaced rough-hewn logs, and the First Christian Church of Mayfield became a beacon of hope in the center of their town. Like any church community they have a story of faith and service and relationship with their community. They had ups and downs and learned about how they can better serve others in the name of Christ.
Though we belong to a different church, we share a history as part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Only 10 years younger than us, they too have been pillars in their little corner of the world. Our roots intertwine with theirs, our story with theirs
In 2021, COVID hit, but sadly this was not the worst thing that they faced. On December 10, 2021, a catastrophic tornado struck Mayfield, causing significant damage to the town and its infrastructure, including the First Christian Church. The tornado was classified as an EF4 tornado wind speeds ranging from 166 to 200 miles per hour.
We were in Mayfield, KY this week and had a chance to explore different parts of the city as our groups went to different worksites and traveled to town. On the first day we were taken through the main part of the city and saw where the deadly tornado tore through. We were solemn as we passed by each empty lot, still crumbling buildings, and bank vaults yet to be moved sitting there over two years.
Though it was shocking and incredibly sad, there were also powerful symbols of hope and resilience. There were beautiful new buildings or older buildings with brand new roofs. There were freshly mowed lawns and landscaped flower beds and businesses starting and restarting. There are vehicles of people going back and forth from worksites representing the Week of Compassion and our churches here in Northern Portage County. There were Long-Range Recovery Group volunteers, site coordinators, and volunteers from all over the country.
One of the most powerful physical symbols that stood out to me was a solitary stairwell in the middle of town with only a field surrounding it. A stairway that had the word Hope in front of it.
What I didn’t realize until day 3 was that these were the stairs of the First Christian Church of Mayfield. The only remaining vestige of their beautiful building that served that downtown area for so long. Yet still bearing witness to God’s stubborn insistence that even in the midst of pain and turmoil, even darkness and death…there is always hope.
In the book of Genesis there is this beautiful passage that most people are familiar with because of our beloved Camp Song….We are climbing Jacob’s ladder…We are climbing Jacob’s ladder. .
As a Chi-Rho and CYF Camper we would sing this song to get into our closing circle. For me it was like climbing a big extension ladder all the way to heaven. As every “round goes higher, higher” I would be that much more close to God. Every good deed, every prayer, every holy movement leading me upwards.
But there’s a different way of seeing it based on the passage. You may have noticed that that the Angels of God were ascending and DESCENDING on the ladder. It wasn’t “up only.”
The Hebrew word for “angels” here is “messenger.” It is commonly understood in our minds and culture as a white robed angelic being with wings and halos. But in ancient Hebrew it simply meant “messenger” or “envoy” or “ambassador” of God. These ambassadors of God weren’t just trying to get to heaven, they were carrying God’s message back into the world. The verse would go…“We are climbing back down into the world to bring God’s Love”...but it just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
In truth the steps of First Christian Church Mayfield are the perfect symbol for inspiration in this community comeback. Many people go there from all over the country working through organizations like the Week of Compassion passing through Mayfield climbing up those steps and climbing back down again to offer their hands, feet, gifts, and passions for the work of HOPE in the Name of Jesus Christ. All of them God's messengers who don’t see their religion as a transactional mechanism to get into heaven, but to share a deep faith and HOPE that God’s will can and will be be done on EARTH as it is heaven.
The First Christian Church of Mayfield is still worshiping, serving, and rebuilding. Currently they are worshiping at a local middle school gym, but through federal and state relief as well as their own hardwork, funding, and determination they will be coming back to the center of Mayfield. In the meantime, the steps are still there to remind people of what it takes to share HOPE in the face of incredible odds.
In my belief, we are all Angels of God, Messengers of God, Ambassadors of God living life in a rhythm of climbing closer to God through worship and music and prayer and devotion...and then climbing closer to the world to love our neighbors and nurture God’s vision for a better world. Together we serve with our time, our talents, our treasure, our energy, our resources to listen deeply and serve our community. We seek to have Open Minds, Open Hearts, and Open Arms to love like Jesus. We are seeking to be more intentional about how guests and visitors and members are welcomed into our community physically and spiritually. We are finding ways to grow deeper in our walk with Christ and to share love and hope with our neighbors in the name of Jesus Christ.
Family of God, let’s keep climbing both directions…together. May it be so.
*Closing Hymn Help Us Accept Each Other #487, vs. 1 & 4
1 Help us accept each other as Christ accepted us;
teach us as sister, brother, each person to embrace.
Be present, Lord, among us and bring us to believe
we are ourselves accepted and meant to love and live.
4 Lord, for today's encounters with all who are in need,
who hunger for acceptance, for righteousness and bread,
we need new eyes for seeing, new hands for holding on;
renew us with your Spirit; Lord, free us, make us one!
Benediction Rev. Chad Delaney
- In Christ we are made whole. In Christ we are sent forth in love."
- Thank you for joining us for this time of worship
- Please stay around for after for our brief congregational meeting and vote…
- Please have some coffee and join us for conversation (Today is the LAST Sunday for coffee until the Fall!)
VACATION
Henri Nouwen said, “The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it."
May we go deeper into our spiritual life and draw deeper into loving the world.
Go in Peace!
Postlude “Encamped Along the Hills of Light” Sarah Park
[by I. D. Sankey]