Stewardship: Faithful, Hopeful, Loving
Greetings Church Family! Welcome to the Mantua Center Christian Church. We are part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): A movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. This morning is our second Sunday in our Stewardship series and today we are thinking about taking a hopeful way of being into the world. Our God is a God of HOPE and we want to share that! If you have any questions about our faith community or want to connect in a new way, don’t hesitate to reach out to Pastor Chad at pastormccc@gmail.com or 330-569-4926
Introit - “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” -Sarah Park
Welcome to Mantua Center Christian Church -- a community seeking to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms.
- Whether online or in the house this morning, we want to welcome you….
INVITATION FOR MISSION UPDATES:
Ministry Leaders and congregants are welcome to come forward to the mic, to give a mission update or share ways for people to get involved in missions and ministries.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Thanksgiving Plunge coming up…
- Children’s Pageant -- Singing led by Carli Calapa and Cheryl Delaney
- Bring the kids and grandkids! Practice will be after church starting next week…
- Clara Kim - friend of Sarah. Junior at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying Violin Performance
Scripture - Philippians 4:12-13 - Rev. Chad Delaney
12I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. 13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
*Response - Weave #495
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
One: The presence of the Holy is here. Come, let us gather with hope, for with God blessings abound.
All: God has blessed each one of us abundantly in ways that are evident and in ways that are still unfolding.
One: We come here to listen to God’s story and to grow in faith.
All: May our story and God’s stories come together.
One: When we leave this place may we go and tell God’s story.
All: May we be filled with hope and become bearers of Good News!
*Opening Hymn - “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” #67, v.1, 3, 6
1 O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!
3 Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame,
from everlasting thou art God, to endless years the same.
6 O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
be thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home.
Invitation to Generosity
Invitation - Linda Idoine
Offertory - “Give thanks” [by Henry Smith] Clara Kim & Sarah Park
Response - “Give Thanks” #528
Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One,
give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ his Son. Give Thanks!
Offering Prayer
Children’s Moment - Rev. Chad Delaney
Special Music
“III: Andante - Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, D. 574” [by F. Schubert] - Clara Kim & Sarah Park
Pastoral Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer - Rev. Chad Delaney
God of Life and Hope,
You are the living breath that sustains us. You are the rock in whom we take refuge. You are the one in whom we take shelter. Thank you for your loving compassion on all of your creation.
We pray for hope for those who have been displaced, by flood and fire, war and famine. For those who have experienced loss--of homes, jobs, good health, and of loved ones. For those whom their journey in life has led them to feel distant from you--who feel forsaken, forgotten, or fearful. May the Body of Christ and all the human family feed and care for the least of these. May we find and give kindness on our journeys. We lift up the conflict in the Middle East and world leaders. We lift up the conflict in Ukraine. Be with the divisions and pain within our own country. Be with the tired, anxious, and alone.
Lord, together we lift the joys and concerns of our hearts to you in silent prayer…..
Living God, May we all find that you are not so far off after all. In our living and loving, help us to be good stewards, filled with gratitude, generosity, and servanthood. Fill us with your love and power so that in every season of our lives we may never cease singing. That we may never cease praying. That we may never cease serving. That we might always have hope. In the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Holy Communion
Meditation - Beth Schabel
*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 - Pete Pruszynski
Special Music - “You raise me up” [by Brendan Graham] - Clara Kim & Sarah Park
Scripture - Exodus 35:30-36:7
30 Then Moses said to the Israelites: See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31he has filled him with divine spirit, with skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft, 32to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 33in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of craft. 34And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35He has filled them with skill to do every kind of work done by an artisan or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of artisan or skilled designer.
Bezalel and Oholiab and everyone skilful to whom the Lord has given skill and understanding to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded. 2 Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and everyone skilful to whom the Lord had given skill, everyone whose heart was stirred to come to do the work; 3and they received from Moses all the freewill-offerings that the Israelites had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill-offerings every morning, 4so that all the artisans who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task being performed, 5and said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.’ 6So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp: ‘No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.’ So the people were restrained from bringing; 7for what they had already brought was more than enough to do all the work.
Sermon - “HOPEFUL Anticipation” - Rev. Chad Delaney
A few months ago is when I first heard about Neighborhood Bridges. I was invited to a zoom call with the Crestwood local schools social workers and school counselors. There was a new program being proposed that would lend a helping hand to families in our local school district.
Neighborhood Bridges was started in Westerville, OH on Martin Luther King, Jr. day in 2017. Their mission is as follows:
“To bridge communities with schools in providing basic needs, removing barriers, and seeking equity for students so they can engage and succeed in school and life.”
Since its founding, Neighborhood Bridges has been a gateway for kindness in 48 school districts in Ohio, Alabama, and Mississippi. They have impacted over 407,941 kids and filled 9,227 needs.
A kid needs a pair of shoes. That need gets connected with and filled by a generous community member.
A kid needs their school fees paid. Need is filled by community member.
A single mom needs a car. Need is filled by community member. Over 20 cars have been donated through this program.
As we’re listening to this presentation, you can feel both the excitement, curiosity, and skepticism in the room. There is a “Wow, this is amazing!” and…..there are questions…
Will people really respond if they hear about a need?
Won’t people be skeptical?
What if we put it out there and can’t fill it? What happens then?
Will this really work?
I’ve learned over the past several years living in this pandemic-informed world, that many of us actively wonder about humanity’s capacity for kindness and generosity. There’s a lot of evidence to the contrary. Divisions politically, economically, and socially. Lost connections with family, friends, and loved ones…maybe even within themselves. Racism and religion-based hate on the rise. Rampant apathy and difference. A residue of discouragement has remained with many…is there hope in humanity for a better future?
As I read our passage for today I couldn’t help but consider how the discouraging residue may have been on God’s people as they traipsed around the desert. Though they escaped the hand of a cruel and oppressive Egypt they were coping with the trauma of violence, slavery, a daring escape, and desperate survival in the desert wilderness. They knew the whole time that God was with them….and….they were still deeply discouraged. Exodus 16:3 says, “3The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’
God’s people -- in this part of the scripture story -- don’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence in terms of their faithfulness. They are traumatized and exhausted. They are grumpy and are constantly complaining to their leaders. They have even gone so far as to build an idol to worship just 3 chapters before our scripture today! The people are a mess.
So, we would think that when Moses put out the request for help in building a portable sanctuary he would get a lot of crickets. Bezalel and Oholiab would have no interest -- they were happy to keep their artistic talents to themselves. The artisans were tired and didn’t want to have to worry about carrying all that stuff around. In general the people would just want to hold on to what they have in case things got even rougher later.
Instead, it's the complete opposite. Bezalel and Oholiab are pumped to offer their creative vision to the design. The artisans are excited to share their gifts and talents to help build. And the people are ridiculously generous. So much so that Moses has to issue an official decree from God to STOP GIVING SO MUCH. These are the same folks who were complaining and building idols...yet now the Bible says their “hearts were stirred to come to do the work;” “bringing much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” God’s abundance was still working within and through them.
What we see here is the profound example of how much capacity humans have for being selfish pains in the neck…AND how much more capacity we have to be people of abundant love, compassion, and generosity. So when we venture out into the wilderness of our own lives…what do we anticipate finding? What posture and attitude do we take to the world?
Do we -- as a church, as a family, as an individual -- live and think in a way that anticipates selfishness and division, pain and grief? Have we completely lost faith in humanity?
Or do we live and serve anticipating joy…generosity…compassion….and kindness? Do we anticipate the transformative, enduring power of the Spirit of the Living God? Do we really trust that the God of Resurrection continues to work, inspire, and call us despite the pain and tribulation in the world? Do we anticipate being part of it believing ALL of us have something to offer to DO the work of God?
At the Neighborhood Bridges meeting, the presenter Rick calmly listened to our questions and skepticism. He even said that he shared the same suspicions himself -- he really wasn’t sure if people would respond to the needs of these children. He still took a step of faith. Now, 7 years later he can confidently say that it is extremely rare they ever have a need go unfilled. Their official percentage is a 97% rate regardless of what is asked for. In the month of October alone, neighborhood bridges communities raised over $250,000 for the sake of children and their families. Once unsure, now he fervently believes in the goodness of people. Put out the need and people will respond. People want to help, they just need an avenue to do it.
Every year, too, we come together as a community acting on faith that we will have more than enough time, talent, and treasure to be God’s church in this time and place. Together we nurture a vision of kindness and joy as we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with acts of love and generosity. We are eagerly looking for a few folks to work with our Children’s Ministry. We are looking at our building and ways we can enhance our mission as a congregation. We are discerning ways we can be more inclusive and welcoming to all of God’s people.
We are moving forward together with Hopeful Anticipation of what God can and will do through EACH of us when we use our gifts and talents for the Good of all. Ephesians 2:10 - “For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”
The Spirit of God is still at work…stirring our hearts to love and serve in creative ways. May we continue to listen, listen, listen for that CALL from God….
*Closing Hymn - Go, My Children, with My Blessing #431, vs. 1-3
1 Go, my children, with my blessing, never alone.
Waking, sleeping, I am with you; you are my own.
In my love's baptismal river I have made you mine forever.
Go, my children, with my blessing—you are my own.
2 Go, my children, sins forgiven, at peace and pure.
Here you learned how much I love you, what I can cure.
Here you heard my dear Son's story;
here you touched him, saw his glory.
Go, my children, sins forgiven, at peace and pure.
3 Go, my children, fed and nourished, closer to me;
Grow in love and love by serving, joyful and free.
Here my Spirit's power filled you;
here his tender comfort stilled you.
Go, my children, fed and nourished, joyful and free.
Benediction
- Thank you for joining us online and in the house.
- Please join us downstairs for coffee downstairs
- SARAH AND CLARA
- NO WEDNESDAY PROGRAMMING
- HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Go forth,
strengthened to do the work of Christ,
standing in the gap, rejoicing in God.
Living with HOPEFUL anticipation of the feast for which we wait
Let your gentleness be known to everyone
and don’t worry about anything.
The God who created you,
the Christ who redeems you
and the Spirit who empowers you
is with you today and ever more.
Amen.
Postlude “IV: Allegro Vivace- Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, D. 574” [by F. Schubert] Clara Kim & Sarah Park