12.05.27 Pentecost B English

Prelude:  Puer nobis (Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck)
Hymn:  O Holy Spirit, root of life (Jean Janzen, based on Hildegard of Bingen/PUER NOBIS, German carol) URW
Call to Worship RAEH

One:  Come, from every corner of the earth,
from every time and place
from south and north
from east and west,
gather...
gather...
gather...
gather...

For the spirit of God is being poured out upon us
even now
in this place
upon the young and the old
the women and the men
straight and gay
All:  upon each of us here.

One:  We come from different places to this sacred place
of communal caring and celebration.

In the time which we now share

may we be open to the creative spirit

of kindness and compassion.

And may we be enriched by the company of each other,

and drawn closer to the heart of life.
May it be so.
All:  May it be so with us.

Song:  Come, Holy Spirit, come (Asian Planning Group) WCC *
Prayer of Confession LL

Feel the Spirit of God moving in your soul. Listen
to the Spirit speaking to you of hope and wholeness.
Trust the promises God has made that new life is
our inheritance. Join me as we open ourselves to
God's healing Spirit, as we pray, saying

One:  Spirit of God:
you come, aflame with new life,
but our apathy threatens to douse your passion;
you come, on fire with love,
yet we limit our affections to a select few;
you come, surging with new dreams and new hopes,
but we still cling to the old ways of living;
you come, glowing with the vision of the kingdom,
yet we close our eyes to your future.

All:  Forgive us, Spirit of Truth, forgive us.
Come to us, anew, this day:
to shatter our hardened hearts with your tenderness;
to set our souls on fire with your love;
to send us into a world which aches
for the new joy, the new hope, the new life
offered in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

—Silent reflection—

One:  With a gentle breeze God enflames our spirits;
with a strong wind, God reminds us of our
need to forgive and be forgiven. Like a cleansing
storm, God takes away our past, revealing the
fresh, new life which is ours.
All:  Awakened, refreshed, renewed, made whole:
now we can dance with the wind, singing our
praises to the One who gives life to all.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Song of Praise:  Playful God (Andrew Pratt/EM) *
Prayer of the Day

Perplexing, Pentecostal God,
you infuse us with your Spirit,
urging us to vision and dream.
May the gift of your presence
find voice in our lives,
that our babbling may be transformed into discernment
and the flickering of many tongues
light an unquenchable fire of compassion and justice.  Amen.

Sh'ma Israel (Max Helfman)
Reading from Hebrew Scripture:  Joel 2:28-29 
Reading from the Early Church:  Acts 2:1-18 (Immanuel version)

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were devout people from every nation under heaven living in Los Angeles. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.

Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Angelenos? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Anglos, Hispanics, Asians and Africans, and residents of Korea, of Bangladesh and El Salvador, of the Americas and of Asia, of Canada and Hong Kong, of Ethiopia and the Phillipines, and visitors from Texas and Oregon, Jews and proselytes, Armenians and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with booze and drugs.’ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘My people and all who live in Los Angeles, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk or high, as you suppose, for it is only ten-forty-five in the morning.

‘People of Immanuel, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, -- attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know -- This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from God the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.  

Sermon:  Found in translation 
Song:  The backwash of rumor (Andrew Pratt/STREETS OF LAREDO, U.S. traditional)
A Pentecost Litany RAEH

One:  On this day of Pentecost, our stories tell how God sends the Holy Spirit
to come among us:
as dove
to move us,
as wind
to cleanse us,
as fire
to consecrate us.
All:  Spirit of the living God, come upon us.

One:  Fill us with your empowering strength,
empower us with your full love;
send us into the world
proclaiming your mighty works in every tongue.
Help us be the church that goes forward
to where there is need.

Build us into a place that makes a haven
for those discriminated against.
All:  Make us a church of disciples filled with the
wonder and creative imagination
of your love for ever more!

Prayer Song:  Tui amoris ignem (Taizé)
Prayers of the People
Announcements
Offerings
Song:  Loving Spirit (Shirley Erena Murray/ANGSANA, Swee Hong Lim)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Song:  Where the Spirit is (Per Harling) WCC

*taught "echo" style by the cantor.


Forces:
Soprano
Tenor/Guitar
Tenor/Bass Guitar
Organ/Piano