A Service of Worship for
November 22, 2020

His disciples said to him, “When will the kingdom come?”  Jesus said, “It will not come by waiting for it.  
It will not be a matter of saying ‘here it is’ or ‘there it is.’  Rather, the kingdom of the father is spread out upon the earth, and you do not see it.”

The Gospel of Thomas

Worship notes are included at the bottom of this page and in the Worship Order located at the link below.
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Adult Education - TODAY,  9AM
Laura Mitchell will talk about ways that we are taking care of ourselves and learn new ways to care through breathing and mindfulness movements. We are a community that takes care of each other and our world around us. In order to continue doing that in these difficult times, we must learn how to take care of ourselves. We need to look inward to ourselves in order to look outward to our community. Be ready to do some simple movements either standing or sitting in a chair. Also, I encourage you to have a journal/paper, pens/markers with you to express your creativity as we move through the process of taking care of ourselves and others.
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​Zoom link is available on the Online Gatherings page on our website: https://www.covenanthouston.org/covenant-gatherings.html
Full worship service video:
COFFEE TIME Gathering on Zoom
Today, 11AM
We will begin as a large group and discuss the elements of worship we find particularly meaningful. We will share communion together during this time. Please have on hand the bread and drink elements that you would like to use. After that, we will transition into “rooms" for coffee time. 
​Log in details on the Online Gatherings page. 
Prelude
"Nun danker alle Gott," by J. S. Bach; Patrick Parker, organ.

​Call to Worship

Opening Sentences
O Thou, whose kingdom is within,
may all thy names be hallowed.
May no one of them be turned against the others
to divide those who address thee.
 
May thy presence be made known to us
in mercy, beauty, love, and justice.
May thy kingdom come to be in the life
of all humankind.
May it come with peace, with sharing,
and in a near time.
 
Give us this day our daily bread,
free from all envy and alienation,
broken and blessed in the sharing.
 
Keep us from trespass against others,
and from the feeling that others are
trespassing against us.
Forgive us more than we have forgiven.
 
Deliver us from being tempted by lesser things
to be heedless of the one great thing:
the gift of thyself in us.

​Scripture Lesson: Matthew 25:31-46

​Time for Children

Confession
Unison Confession
We will be known as a culture that 
feared death and adored power,
that tried to vanish insecurity for the few 
and cared little for the penury of the many. 
 
We will be known as a culture 
that taught and rewarded 
the amassing of things, 
that spoke little, if at all, 
about the quality of life 
for people, for dogs, for rivers. 
 
All the world, in our eyes, 
they will say, 
was a commodity. 
 
And they will say 
that this structure 
was held together politically, 
which it was, 
and they will say also 
that our politics was no more 
than an apparatus to accommodate 
the feelings of the heart, 
and that the heart, in those days, 
was small, and hard, 
and full of meanness.

Music
"Come, Ye, Who Are Thirsty," J. S. Bach, arr. Hal H. Hopson, The Covenant Singers, led by Fran Avera; Carl McAliley, organ.
​Proclamation

​Hymn
"O Yahweh, Eternal Comforter," words by Jim Avera, Tune: Thaxted, led by Carl McAliley, organ and the Covenant Singers. 
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​Prayer
Holy one, we are faced with so many choices: choices of the empire with its victory crown of laurels or choices of following Jesus with his justice crown of thorns. May we be wise in our choosing. May we work for the Kingdom of God.

May we seek to be peace-makers rather than war mongers, may we work for liberation not exploitation, may we seek sacrifice rather than subjugation, mercy and not vengeance, care for the vulnerable instead of privileges for the powerful, generosity instead of greed, humility rather than hubris, embrace rather than exclusion.  

Shalom. Holy one, your peace, may we work for it, may we live for it. “Your Kingdom come,” you taught us to pray. May we join our prayer with yours; our action with yours.

We pray this day for all who are sick. We pray for recovery. We pray for healing. We pray for hope. We pray for scientists, and doctors, and nurses. We pray for wise decisions.
​
Hold us all in your embrace, Holy one.
Amen
- Laura Mayo
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​Invitation
​
​Prayer of Dedication
If the Kingdom of God is within you,
   then everywhere you go 
            you should leave a little heaven behind.
People will know you to be a heaven leaver.
You can learn to love your crooked neighbor
   with your crooked heart
            because you’re connected to a power and grace
            greater than your ego.

Doxology

​Affirmation of Faith
The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show; 
neither shall they say, Lo here! or, Lo there! 
for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Benediction

Postlude
"Nun danker all Gott," by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Patrick Parker, organ.
Worship Notes

​The worship leader is Joshua Apple.

The prelude is played by Patrick Parker, organ.

The Call to Worship is adapted from Man Is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion by Abraham Joshua Heschel.

The Opening Sentences are from Jacob Trapp in Rejoice Together: Prayers, Meditations, and Other Readings, edited by Helen Pickett.

The Unison Confession is from “Of the Empire” in Red Bird by Mary Oliver.

"O Come Ye to the Waters" is sung by The Covenant Singers, Fran Avera directing. from February 4, 2018.

The Prayer of Dedication is from Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom by Cornel West.

The Affirmation of Faith is Luke 17: 20-21.

The postlude is played by Patrick Parker, organ.
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Sunday schedule for today: 
9:00 - Adult Education with Zoom
10:00 - Worship via videos on the Worship Page
11:00 - Transition from worship to communion & coffee time with Zoom

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