Loaves and Fishes

Sunday, August 1, 2021
10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

Google Calendar ICS

There is a miracle, an event, a happening that was so important to the early church, it finds its way into scripture six different times in four gospels: the feeding of the multitudes. What does this story tell us about Jesus? About God? About us, and our call as followers of Jesus’ Way?

Join us for worship outside on our Liberty Avenue parking lot, as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and experience again God’s miraculous penchant for feeding God’s people. Worship with us in person at 10:30 AM, or watch the video, available after 1:00 PM. You are invited!

Bulletin

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Union Presbyterian Church

August 1, 2021

Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Liturgist: Diane Sommerville Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube

Prelude Colin DeLap, Keyboard

“O God Beyond All Praising,” Mark Hayes

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.  

Welcome Rev. Pat Raube

Call to Worship Diane Sommerville

Every day I will bless the Lord, and call upon God’s holy name.

Let us bless the Lord.

Great is the Lord, whose goodness is unsearchable:

Let us praise the Lord.

We heed the call of the One whose hand is open,

who satisfies the desire of every living thing.

Let us come to the table of the Lord.

Hymn #649 W & R

“Gather Us In,” Marty Haugen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.  

Here in this place, the new light is streaming,

Shadows of doubt are vanished away.

See in this space our fears and our dreamings,

Brought here to you in the light of this day.

Gather us in, the lost and forsaken;

Gather us in, our spirits inflame.

Call to us now, and we shall awaken;

We shall arise at the sound of our name.

We are the young, our lives are a mystery;

We are the old, who yearn for your face.

We have been sung throughout all of history,

Called to be light to the whole human race.

Gather us in, the rich and the haughty;

Gather us in, the proud and the strong;

Give us a heart so meek and so lowly;

Give us the courage to enter the song.

Here we receive new life in the waters;

Here we receive the bread of new birth;

Here you shall call your sons and your daughters,

Call us anew to be salt for the earth.

Give us to drink the wine of compassion;

Give us to eat the bread that is you;

Nourish us well, and teach us to fashion

Lives that are holy and hearts that are true.

Not just in buildings, small and confining,

Not in some heaven, light years away,

Here in this place the new light is shining;

Now is God present, and now is the day.

Gather us in and hold us forever;

Gather us in and make us your own;

Gather us in, all peoples together,

Fire of love in our flesh and our bone.

Call to New Life

Prayer for Wholeness and Peace

God, we come to your table—sometimes eager; sometimes careless; sometimes joyful; sometimes hesitant. What is it about your grace that we fear? What is it about your love that overwhelms us? What is it about your table that confronts us, and reminds us of all those who have been kept away? Who have we excluded from the bounty of your care? Open our hearts, O God. Heal our hearts, we pray.

~silence~

Your love, O God, is from everlasting to everlasting. Your care is immeasurable. And there is always enough. Enough for us. Enough for the stranger. Enough for the refugee. Enough for our neighbor. Enough, even, for us. We pray in your holy name. Amen.

Assurance of God’s Grace

Hear the reassuring words of Holy Scripture:

God is kind and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Hear the comforting words of Jesus:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.

Nothing can separate us from God’s love.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

Sharing of the Peace

…May God’s peace be with you.

And also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.

Scripture Psalm 145:10-18 ECLA Psalter

All your works shall praise you, O Lord,
     and your faithful shall bless you.
They shall tell of the glory of your kingdom,
     and speak of your power,
that all people may know of your power,
     and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
     your dominion endures throughout all ages.

You, Lord, are faithful in all your words,
     and loving in all your works.
The Lord upholds all those who fall down,
     and lifts up those who are bowed down.
The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord,
     and you give them their food in due season.
You open wide your hand,
     and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
You are righteous in all your ways,
     and loving in all your works.
You are near to all who call upon you,
     to all who call on you faithfully.

Children’s Message Rev. Pat Raube

  “Take Time to Be Holy”

Public Domain #483 W&R

Scripture John 6:1-14

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:

Thanks be to God!

Meditation Rev. Pat Raube

Anthem Dana Sullivan, trombone

Colin DeLap, keyboard

“Let Us Break Bread Together,” arr. Dana Sullivan

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper/ Prayers of the People

Our Great Thanksgiving and Words of Institution excerpted from

Rachel Held Evans, Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2015.

The Invitation

The Great Thanksgiving and the Words of Institution

The Lord be with you. And also with you.

Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.

…Grateful for the mystery that gathers us to this table,

we join with the great and eternal chorus

of prophets and saints and those still to come,

who sing to the glory of your name:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

Heaven and earth are filled with your glory:

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord:

Hosanna in the highest.

…Let us proclaim the mystery of our faith:

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

Prayers of the People

The Lord’s Prayer

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

The Communion

The body of Christ is the bread of heaven.

The blood of Christ is the cup of salvation.

The gifts of God, for the people of God. 

Prayer After Communion

Bountiful God, we give you thanks that you have refreshed us at your table by granting us the presence of Christ. Strengthen our faith, increase our love for one another, and send us forth into the world in courage and peace, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Hymn #698 W & R

“Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ,” Fred Kaan, Doreen Porter

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.  

Let us talents and tongues employ,

Reaching out with a shout of joy:

Bread is broken, the wine is poured,

Christ is spoken and seen and heard.

Jesus lives again, earth can breathe again,