49TH ANNUAL GALILEAN SERVICE WE APPROACH OUR GOD Gathering Music - Marie Mularczyk, musician Welcome - Rev. Dr. Albert Potgieter, Pastor, Community Church of Douglaston Announcements Call to Worship L: Come, give to the Lord your praises of thanksgiving. P: We come this day, grateful for God’s wondrous gifts to us! L: Praise God with great enthusiasm for his mighty power and love. P: We celebrate that love that frames our lives. L: It is a wonderful thing to praise God! P: May God’s praise always be in our hearts and in our lives. Amen! Opening Hymn: Gather Us in, Marty Haugen Here in this place new light is streaming, now is the darkness 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, the blind and the lame. 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. Not in the dark of buildings confining. Not in some heaven light years away. But here in this place the new light is shining. Now is the kingdom, 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 bones. Fire of love in our flesh and our bones . Call to Confession If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn’t in our hearts. But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. 1 John 1:8-9 (CEV). Prayer of Confession (in unison) In the midst of our “summer” lives, O Lord, so many things have claimed our attention. We worked hard this year to earn a little rest and recreation, to break away from the stresses of our everyday living. But in the midst of all this change, we have too often pushed our worship of you aside. We have focused so much on our needs for physical change and peace that we have neglected our spiritual hungers and thirst. Forgive us when we are tempted to stray from our worship of you and focus entirely on ourselves and our own needs. As we celebrate this day, help us to remember all the wondrous things you continue to do for us. Let us look at the world as a place of delight. And when we encounter situations in which sorrow and hurt abound, help us to be ready to bring hope and peace. Be with us in this warm days of summer, preparing us for ministry and mission, in your holy name. Amen! Words of Assurance L: All you who seek God, and who have set your hope on Jesus Christ, hear the good news: we have received forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God’s grace. P: As forgiven and beloved children of God, let us set our hope on Christ, and live for the praise of his glory. Amen! Summary of the Law Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.” Matthew 22:37-40 (MSG). Psalm 107 (adapted) L: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. P: Let the redeemed of the Lord say so—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. L: Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. P: They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. L: For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. P: Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And he brought them out of their distress. L: He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. P: They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. L: Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love. P: Let us praise him for his wonderful deeds upon all the seas. Passing the Peace Praise Song: 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord), Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul; Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul; I’ll worship Your holy name. The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning, It’s time to sing Your song again. Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes. You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger. Your name is great and Your heart is kind. For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing; Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. And on that day, when my strength is failing; The end draws near, and my time has come; Still, my soul will sing Your praise unending, ten thousand years, and then forevermore! WE LISTEN TO GOD’S WORD Scripture Reading: Matthew 8:23-27 23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. 27 They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” Message: In the Eye of the Storm WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD Time of Offering and Thanksgiving You can also support CCD by sending a check in the mail to: CCD, 39-50 Douglaston Parkway, Douglaston, NY 11363, or digitally through Tithe.ly: https://tithe.ly/give?c=1332203 Offertory Music: How Can I Keep from Singing, Enya My life goes on in endless song above earth´s lamentations, I hear the real, though far-off hymn that hails a new creation. Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear its music ringing, It sounds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing? While though the tempest loudly roars, I hear the truth, it liveth. And though the darkness 'round me close, songs in the night it giveth. No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I´m clinging. Since love is lord of heaven and earth. How can I keep from singing? When tyrants tremble in their fear and hear their death knell ringing, When friends rejoice both far and near. How can I keep from singing? In prison cell and dungeon vile our thoughts to them are winging, When friends by shame are undefiled. How can I keep from singing? Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession – Concluding with the Lord’s Prayer in unison. 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. Dedication of the Memorial Wreath The beautiful memorial wreath is given in loving memory of family and friends who have passed away in the past year: Vida K. Vambutas Julia Forman Joseph Zawadzki Gail Shannon Closing Hymn: Eternal Father, Strong to Save, William Whiting Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm does bind the restless wave, Who bids the mighty ocean deep Its own appointed limits keep; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. O Savior, whose almighty word The winds and waves submissive heard, Who walked upon the foaming deep, And calm amid the rage did sleep; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. O Holy Spirit, who did brood Upon the waters dark and rude, And bid their angry tumult cease, And give for wild confusion peace; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. O Trinity of love and pow'r, Your children shield in danger's hour; From rock and tempest, fire, and foe, Protect them where-so-e'er they go; Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee Glad hymns of praise from land and sea. Benediction