February 13, 2022 (Love Sunday)
THE FIRST CHURCH OF DEERFIELD
“The Brick Church” / “The Brickless Church”
Good morning (or afternoon, or evening) and welcome to worship.
Whoever you are, wherever you may be (figuratively or literally), you are welcome here.
ORDER OF WORSHIP
February 13, 2022
PRELUDE
O Waly Waly Barbara Harbach (2007)
CALL TO WORSHIP
Love bade me welcome. Yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lacked any thing.
A guest, I answered, worthy to be here.
Love said, You shall be he.
(George Herbert, Love III)
HYMN
Hymn 367 Come Down, O Love Divine
Thomas, organ and soloist
READING
The Gospel According to Mark 12:28-34
(NRSV translation)
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
(we invite you to read these words aloud)
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Love, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
READING
1st Corinthians, 13: 1-13
(NRSV translation)
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
READING
1st Corinthians 13: 1-3
(as paraphrased by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1969)
read for us by Bruce B.
INTERLUDE
Interlude The Water is Wide trad., arr. Marc Dancer
Marc, guitar & recorders
SERMON
Real People
Rev. Liza B. Knapp
(Sanitation Workers’ Strike, Memphis, 1968. Detail of photo by Ernest Withers.)
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
We ask for prayers today
for all those sick or recovering,
in hospital or at home.
We do not know the suffering of others
as you do, God
you whose love formed us
you who know each beat of our heart
you to whom even the fall of a sparrow matters
be with those who are in pain
of body or soul
and with those who care for them
may we tend to one another
as if to our own bodies
in sickness or health,
may we draw comfort
from knowing we are not alone
amen
These are the prayers of the people;
Let the people say, Amen.
OFFERING
The Mission Committee is asking for donations towards church sponsored Community Meals. The church is currently paying for the hire of a restaurant to provide the meal. Any donations will help with that cost. You may pay by checks (made out to the First Church of Deerfield with “Community Meals” in the memo line) or by Online donation through Breeze (click HERE and choose “Community Meals”)
DEDICATION
beloved:
we offer these gifts to you
accept them, and use them
to make your love
real
to those who need to know
Amen.
HYMN
Hymn 372 Though I May Speak vv. 1 & 3
Maddalena, Choral Scholar & Soloist
BENEDICTION
May the strength of God uphold you,
May the love of God enfold you,
May the spirit of God embolden you,
as you go forth to serve God’s world.
AMEN.
POSTLUDE
Wedding March from a Midsummer Night’s Dream Felix Mendelssohn
