30 September 2025 – Chapel – Drew Theo Chapel

Gathering Music

Holy is the Refugee
Words: Hannah C. Brown, Music: Mark A. Miller

Holy is the refugee, holy is the guest,
Holy those who wander far from home.
Holy is the body seeking safety, warmth, and rest;
Beloved, find a welcome as your roam.

Holy are the questioning, holy are the queer,
Holy those who challenge, dance, and dear.
Holy are the bodies choosing joy instead of fear;
Beloved, claim a freedom all can share.

Singing holy, holy, holy! God who made us in their likeness,
Holy everybody, breath and soul.
Singing holy, holy, holy! God who made us in their likeness,
Holy everybody, breath and soul.

Holy are the dispossessed, holy are the spurned,
Holy are the profiled and patrolled.
Holy are the bodies harmed by hatred taught and learned,
Beloved now be shielded and consoled.

Holy is the enemy, holy is the friend.
Holy every spirit as it flames.
Holy is each body, held by love until the end,
Beloved may we know what God proclaims:

Singing holy, holy, holy! God who made us in their likeness,
Holy everybody, breath and soul.
Singing holy, holy, holy! God who made us in their likeness,
Holy everybody, breath and soul.

Breath and soul, every body, breath and soul.
Breath and soul, every body, breath and soul.

Call to Worship

Crystal James

(from The United Methodist Book of Discipline)

Leader: God in the Spirit revealed in Jesus Christ,
calls us by grace
All: to be renewed in the image of our Creator,
that we may be one
in divine love for the world.
Leader: Today is the day
God cares for the integrity of creation,
wills the healing and wholeness of all life,
weeps at the plunder of earth’s goodness.
All: And so shall we.
Leader: Today is the day
God embraces all hues of humanity,
delights in diversity and difference,
favors solidarity transforming strangers into friends.
All: And so shall we.
Leader: Today is the day
God cries with the masses of starving people,
despises growing disparity between rich and poor,
demands justice for workers in the marketplace.
All: And so shall we.
Leader: Today is the day
God deplores violence in our homes and streets,
rebukes the world’s warring madness,
humbles the powerful and lifts up the lowly.
All: And so shall we.

Leader: Today is the day
God calls for nations and peoples to live in peace,
celebrates where justice and mercy embrace,
exults when the wolf grazes with the lamb.
All: And so shall we.
Leader: Today is the day
All: God brings good news to the poor,
proclaims release to the captives,
gives sight to the blind, and
sets the oppressed free.
And so shall we. Amen.

Opening Song

God of Grace and God of Justice (UMH 577)
Words: Harry Emerson Fosdick, adapted, Music: John Hughes

1 God of grace and God of justice,
on the people pour thy power;
crown thine ancient church’s story,
bring its bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.
2 Lo! the hosts of evil round us
scorn thy Christ, assail his ways!
Fears and doubts too long have bound us;
free our hearts to work and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.
3 Cure thy children’s warring madness,
bend our pride to thy control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal,
lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal.
4 Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore;
let the search for thy salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving thee whom we adore,
serving thee whom we adore.

Opening Prayer

Jackson Ramadhan

(adapted from Alan Paton, South Africa)

Leader: O God, sharpen our perception, that we may see the needs of others.
Strengthen our listening, that we may hear their cries;
Open our hearts, so that they need not be without succor;
Let us not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong,
Nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.
Show us where love and hope and faith are needed,
And use us to bring them to those places.
And so open our hearts
That we may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for you.
All: Amen.

Scripture Reading – Luke 17:5-10

Vincent Yohanna

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 Jesus replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

7 “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? 8 Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me; put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? 9 Do you thank the servant for doing what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless servants; we have done only what we ought to have done!’ ”

Leader: The Word of God for the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God.