A Service of Worship for
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Full worship service video for August 2.
Adult Education - TODAY, 10AM
For Adult Education Sarah Winter will give a presentation on therapeutic horseback riding at 10am via Zoom. Zoom links are available on the Online Gatherings page on our website: https://www.covenanthouston.org/covenant-gatherings.html Worship notes are included at the bottom of this page.
With this link you can make a donation to Covenant through PayPal or a credit card.
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Prelude
“Cantilene” from Sonata No. 11 in B minor, by Josef Rheinberger, Patrick Parker, organ. Call to Worship Opening Prayer The Hand transforms nature, and brings bread to the table. The rain along the road, transforms grapes into wine. And God makes Godself into food, and gives life for all children. Scripture Lesson: Matthew 14:14-21 Time for Children Call to Confession Unison Confession
Gracious God, who made the covenant promise with our ancestors, we gather here today a rebellious people. We want to act out your intentions for us, but we keep getting mixed up by all the glitter of the world around us. You tell us to honor creation, and we use other people and animals and plant life only to meet our wants. You offer daily bread to every living creature, and we steal that bread from our brothers and sisters in the name of our greed. You promise us new life, and we shrink back from it in fear. Heal us, God, lest we destroy ourselves. We need your presence among us. Amen.
Prayer For our prayer today, I invite you to listen to the words of Rep. John Lewis’ final public statement, “Together, you can redeem the soul of our nation." |
Invitation
Prayer of Dedication O God, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others; open my ears that I may hear their cries; open my heart so that they need not be without succor' let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, let me not be afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich. Show me where love and hope and faith are needed, and use me to bring them to those places. And so open my eyes and my ears that I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for you. Amen CELEBRATION OF COMMUNION
Invitation to the Table Sharing the Bread and the Cup
You are welcome to use whatever elements you have for communion this Sunday. Music “Eternal Grace” Shannon Stewart and David Lee, by Lloyd Pfautch, Carl McAliley, organ. Affirmation of Faith We believe that God is present in the night before dawn; in the waiting and uncertainty where fear and courage join hands, conflict and caring link arms, and the sun rises over barbed wire. We believe in a with-us God who sits down in our midst to share our humanity. We affirm a faith that takes us beyond the safe place: into action, into vulnerability and into the streets. We commit ourselves to work for change and put ourselves on the line; to bear responsibility, take risks, live powerfully and face humiliation; to stand with those on the edge; to choose life and be used by the Spirit for God’s new community of hope. Amen Benediction And so go in peace, my friends; be at peace knowing that you are part of the miracle, knowing that there is no magic, but there is you and me and the work of God. Amen Postlude “Antiphon: How Fair and Pleasant,” Marcel Dupré, Patrick Parker, organ. |
Worship Notes
The worship leader is Jay Hooker.
The banner pictured at the top of this page was created by Nancy Henry.
The Call to Worship is by Huub Oosterhuis.
The Opening Prayer is “The Hand Transforms Nature” by D. Pedro Casaldaliga, Jaci Maraschin, and Milton Nascimento in Earth and All the Stars: Reconnecting with Nature through Hymns, Stories, Poems, and Prayers from the World’s Great Religions and Cultures, edited by Anne Rowthorn.
The Unison Confession is from the U.N. Environmental Sabbath.
“Eternal Grace” by Lloyd Pfautch is sung by Shannon Stewart and David Lee.
The Prayer of Dedication is a prayer by Alan Paton from Life Prayers from Around the World, edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon.
The Communion video was created by the Deacons, edited by Bill Howze, and the music is the Covenant Singers.
The Affirmation of Faith is from the 2020 Montreat Worship and Music Conference.
The worship leader is Jay Hooker.
The banner pictured at the top of this page was created by Nancy Henry.
The Call to Worship is by Huub Oosterhuis.
The Opening Prayer is “The Hand Transforms Nature” by D. Pedro Casaldaliga, Jaci Maraschin, and Milton Nascimento in Earth and All the Stars: Reconnecting with Nature through Hymns, Stories, Poems, and Prayers from the World’s Great Religions and Cultures, edited by Anne Rowthorn.
The Unison Confession is from the U.N. Environmental Sabbath.
“Eternal Grace” by Lloyd Pfautch is sung by Shannon Stewart and David Lee.
The Prayer of Dedication is a prayer by Alan Paton from Life Prayers from Around the World, edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon.
The Communion video was created by the Deacons, edited by Bill Howze, and the music is the Covenant Singers.
The Affirmation of Faith is from the 2020 Montreat Worship and Music Conference.
Copyright (c) 2020, Covenant Church
