October 11, 2020

October 11, 2020 

Thank you for worshipping with us at Calvary Moravian Church.   To support our ministries, you can mail the office a check (948 N. 21st St. Allentown 18104).   An online giving portal is at: https://mmfa.info/calvary-moravian-church-pa-donation-form/.

Worship with us on Sundays: 

9:30- 10:15 a.m. Zoom Sunday school/Community  Check-in. (Zoom into to chat and see our church family anytime between 9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.) 

10:45 a.m. Inside, limited capacity seating (physically distancing, masks required) 

Also at 10:45 a.m. Livestream service found at Calvary Moravian Church Allentown’s YouTube Channel.   Email us for the address.    

ANNOUNCEMENTS:   

–Wednesdays – Mid-Week Sanctuary Prayer Time

Each Wednesday from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. our sanctuary will be open for anyone.  Pastor Janel will lead a prayer and mediation at 12:00 – 12:15 p.m., also on Facebook.

– This Sunday – Crop Walk, Sunday, October 11th.  Raising money for: the Allentown Ecumenical Soup Kitchen (of the Lehigh Conference of Churches), the Allentown Ecumenical Food Bank, and international hunger relief through Church World Service.  

This year, we are avoiding a large crowd by not having the traditional Crop Walk through Allentown.  Instead Calvary Moravian is doing a walk around our neighborhood at 1 p.m.    Choose your own distance – 1 mile or longer.   Let people know that you are taking part in this action and help us raise money!  

Want to Donate?  Sponsor Calvary Moravian and help our drive-by and walkers by donating to our Crop Walk page.  Go to https://www.crophungerwalk.org/allentownpa/calvarymoravian to make a donation to our page.    Or to donate – write a check to Calvary Moravian Church (memo: Crop Walk) and send it or drop it off to the office.      Or drop money into our Joyful Noise container at the back of the sanctuary. 

Prelude    

BWV 925   Bach 

Jesus Makes My Heart Rejoice  

Liturgy for Stewardship  (pg. 154 with some edits). 

©1995 Interprovincial Board of Communication, Moravian Church in America. All Rights Reserved, used with permission.   

(Standing)

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, creator of all things visible and invisible, powerful beyond measure, good beyond all understanding.

God’s steadfast love endures forever.

“Join Hearts and Voices” by  Jane Parker Huber.     tune: Duke Street (22Q). 

Join Hearts and voices as we lift, Our gratitude for every gift,
And multiply each gift with praise, To God who gives us all our days.

All praise to Christ, the living bread, By which our hungry souls are fed.
Salvation’s cup is offered too, As God in Christ makes all things new.

Lord, our God, you bring forth and nourish every living being.

We lift up our hearts to you.

We assemble here celebrating the joys of human life, shared one with the other. We recall the ministry of Jesus, crucified and raised up for our salvation, still present among us through the mystery of the Holy Spirit.

We praise you for new life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Confessing that we have strayed from your holy will, we humbly acknowledge our sins before you.

(Kneeling or sitting)

Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned in many ways, times, and places. We have mishandled this good earth entrusted to our care, and we have misused our personal gifts, hurting both ourselves and others. Forgive our false pride which hides our negligence, and forgive our careless acts which destroy your handiwork. In your mercy correct our faults and restore us to responsible, compassionate living.

(Silent confession)

Hear and know that the Lord is good. God forgives those who are contrite in heart. Live in peace, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.

Let us taste and see that the Lord is good. Let us be grateful for all that God has provided.

Inspire us, God of mercy, to be thankful for what we have received.

Let our lives resound with the wonder and beauty of all that God has been creating from the beginning. As caretakers of creation, may we learn anew to enjoy the land, preserve the water, respect all living creatures, and meditate upon the grandeur of open sky and sea.

Teach us, God of creation, to walk the earth with gratitude and wisdom.

Let our eyes be opened to the needs of all people, especially the poor.

Move us, God of justice, to share what we have and to be just and merciful in our nation and the world.

Let us hear God’s call to the urgent tasks of our time: studies to pursue, projects to begin, communities to build, individuals to support, damages to restore.

Use us, God of the covenant — use our time, our talent, our treasure.

Prayers of the People 

Pastoral Prayer/Lord’s Prayer.

Special Music.     “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”   

Scripture   Exodus 32:1-14, Philippians 4:1-9 

Sermon   “Decision Fatigue: Bringing God and Gratitude into the Process”

Our Creator God calls us to become the servant body of Christ, ministering to the world, and grants us the blessings of membership in the holy, universal church.

We thank you for our place in the church.

The Spirit of the Lord fills this house. God delights in its beauty, and sings through the music of the faithful. God speaks by the reading and proclamation of the word, stirs in the waters of baptism, nourishes through the gifts of bread and wine. God hears the prayers of the people and rejoices in our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.

We thank you for your presence and power among us.

The Lord gathers us into the fellowship of this congregation. Here we share our spiritual gifts and employ them to build up the body. Some of us teach and proclaim, some shepherd and heal, some lead and administer, some serve, prophesy, and evangelize. All of us dwell in God’s love, and all pray for one another in the peace of Jesus Christ our Lord.

We offer our gifts to honor your holy name and to strengthen one another in faith.

God calls us to commit our financial resources to the building of the kingdom, to tithe, and to give generously of our wealth in proportion to the blessings we have received.

Search our hearts and try our ways that we might give to your glory, O God.

Jesus leads us onward in the high mission of the church. We proclaim the gospel to all nations by word and deed, that people everywhere may find new life in God.

We hear your call. We pledge the best of our labors that your glory may be known in all the earth.

Let us now rise to serve God. Let us renew our commitment to Christ’s call for servanthood, obedience, and sacrifice to establish a world of justice, prosperity, and peace.

We rise as one to love and serve the Lord!

“Join Hearts and Voices” by  Jane Parker Huber.     tune: Duke Street (22Q). 

Our gifts no matter what their worth,
We give as stewards here on earth.
Called and empowered by God’s command,
We multiply the gifts at hand.

So may we answer Christ’s clear call
To offer talents, treasures, all.
God’s love abounding, grace on grace

Enriches life in every place.

Benediction: 

May the words of our lips and the meditations of our hearts —

May the deeds of our hands and the action of our lives —

Be pleasing in your sight, O God our Creator.

Through Christ our Lord, and the Holy Spirit,

One God of all, world without end.

Amen!

Postlude.