COMMENCEMENT EUCHARIST
SERVICE OF THE WORD AND TABLE
*GATHERING MUSIC
“When There’s Trust In the Room” – Words: John Thornburg, Music: Mark Miller
RESPONSIVE CALL TO PRAISE AND PRAYER
Paola Márquez
Leader: Loving God,
call us together as your people;
transform us with your love.
Transform our hearts,
All: that we may love generously.
Leader: Transform our vision,
All: that we may behold your grace.
Leader: Transform our hands,
All: that we may serve others.
Leader: Transform our spirits,
All: that we may be the body of Christ,
Leader: gathered to worship
All: and sent out to serve. Amen.
*HYMN OF PRAISE
“Cantemos a Dios” UMH 149 – Words and Music: Carlos Rosas
Cantemos al Señor, un himno de alegría, un cántico de amor al nacer el nuevo día.
Él hizo el cielo, el mar, el sol y las estrellas y vio en ellos bondad, us su pues sus obras eran bellas.
¡Alleluya! ¡Alleluya! Cantemos al Señor. ¡Alleluya!
Cantemos al Señor, un himno de alabanza que exprese nuestro amor, nuestra fe y nuestra esperanza.
En toda la creación pregona su grandeza, a si nuestro cantar va anunciando su belleza.
¡Alleluya! ¡Alleluya! Cantemos al Señor. ¡Alleluya! Cantemos al Señor. ¡Alleluya!
SCRIPTURE READING – Romans 12
Brigid Dwyer
12 I appeal to you therefore, siblings, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ 20No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Leader: The Word of God for the People of God.
All: Thanks be to God.
SONG
“Just Such a Time” – Words: Laurie Zelman, Music: Mark Miller
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
Dean Tanya Linn Bennett and Dr. Althea Spencer-Miller
Leader: Community of saints, beloveds of God,
we are invited to come and gather at the table of love and liberation,
to feast on the dreams of God,
to be nourished by but a taste of what God desires to do among us.
Leader: God calls us from institutional halls of power,
All: From shelters and the streets;
Leader: God calls us from classrooms and pulpits,
All: Gay bars and prison cells.
Leader: God calls us as we are, from wherever we are,
to come and be in solidarity with Christ,
who lives and loves on the margins.
God whispers “come”and live abundantly,
turning from all that claims blessings flow from money, power, or control.
Leader: Come,
All: and love relentlessly;
Leader: following Christ on paths of uncertainty,
All: taking risks for one another,
Leader: calling down unjust power from its throne
All: and lifting up the lowly, the impoverished, the burdened.
Leader: To answer the call of Christ is to find ourselves
no matter our social location,
choosing to align ourselves with the causes
of the marginalized, the oppressed,
the outcast, and the isolated,
with the faith that
together,
we might enflesh new possibilities
of healing,
of connection,
of freedom from all that destroys.
When these are the desires of our hearts,
we open ourselves to God.
All: Blessed are those, Jesus said, who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
(The celebrants continue with words of remembrance.)
Leader: And so we pray,
Come Holy Spirit,
Breath of God,
Renewer of life,
settle on these gifts and all who gather here,
that we might be transformed in our remembrance
of your radical love,
your eternal embrace,
and your grace that makes all things new.
All: For the sake of our shared lives,
the life of this land on which we live,
and the lives of those yet to come,
nourish us and renew our hope
that soon Christ may rise again among us.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Leader: In collective longing for a taste of your Kindom on earth,
we join together in echoing the prayer of Jesus:
All: (singing)
Our God in heaven, Holy is your name
Your reign come, Your will done
On earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread
And help us forgive as we have been forgiven
In the time of trial, Lead us into life
For yours is the kindom
and the power and the glory
For ever!
Our God in heaven
Holy is your name, holy is your name.
SHARING THE GIFTS
[Invitation to the Table is open for all. You are invited to come forward, processing down the center aisle and returning by the side aisles. You will receive a cup to receive the wine/juice as you proceed down the aisle. At the front, the servers will give you a gluten-free cracker and pour either juice or wine into your cup. Then you may return to your seat. The pitcher with the ribbon contains wine. The plain pitcher contains juice.]
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
FACULTY BLESSING OF GRADUATES
Professor Mark Miller
CLOSING SONG
“We Will Understand It Better By and By” UMH 525
Words & Music: Charles Albert Tindley
- We are tossed and driven
on the restless sea of time;
somber skies and howling tempests
oft succeed a bright sunshine;
in that land of perfect day,
when the mists have rolled away,
we will understand it better by and by.
Refrain: By and by, when the morning comes,
when the saints of God are gathered home,
we’ll tell the story how we’ve overcome,
for we’ll understand it better by and by.
- We are often destitute
of the things that life demands,
want of food and want of shelter,
thirsty hills and barren lands;
we are trusting in the Lord,
and according to God’s word,
we will understand it better by and by.
Refrain: By and by, when the morning comes,
when the saints of God are gathered home,
we’ll tell the story how we’ve overcome,
for we’ll understand it better by and by.
- Trials dark on every hand,
and we cannot understand
all the ways that God would lead us
to that blessed promised land;
but he guides us with his eye,
and we’ll follow till we die
for we’ll understand it better by and by.
Refrain: By and by, when the morning comes,
when the saints of God are gathered home,
we’ll tell the story how we’ve overcome,
for we’ll understand it better by and by.
- Temptations, hidden snares
often take us unawares,
and our hearts are made to bleed
for a thoughtless word or deed;
and we wonder why the test
when we try to do our best,
but we’ll understand it better by and by.
Refrain: By and by, when the morning comes,
when the saints of God are gathered home,
we’ll tell the story how we’ve overcome,
for we’ll understand it better by and by.
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Worship Notes:
The Great Thanksgiving is adapted from enfleshed, “God Calls Us,” https://enfleshed.com/liturgy/communion-liturgies/.
The Responsive Call to Praise and Prayer adapted from Mary Petrina Boyd, Ministry Matters,
https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/5313/worship-elements-august-23-2020.
Drew Theo Chapel 