To worship with us
TO UNITE IN FAITH TO DO MORE GOOD TO JOIN A COMMUNITY TO MAKE A CHANGE TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY
June 19, 2022 • 11 AM
COVID-19 Guidelines Our current COVID-19 safety policy is “masks recommended.” We recognize that while many people are ready to get rid of masks altogether, many others would prefer to keep wearing them. We will be respectful of both decisions as we move forward. To learn more about the new policy, visit asburyfirst.org/news/2022/3/covid-masking-update. FIRST TIME HERE We are so glad you are joining us, whether in person or online. If you’re out there watching, check in through the website or take a picture and post it on social media using #asburyfirstathome. If you're in the pews, please sign in on the red fellowship pad and pass it down your pew. Our hope is to get to know you better and help you find your place within our community. Additionally, drop us an email at info@asburyfirst.org. Need prayer? We invite you to share with us how we can be praying for you by emailing prayers@asburyfirst.org or by filling out one of our prayer cards found in the pews. All prayer requests are prayed over by our Ministers and Intercessory Prayer Team. Children We believe children are a sacred gift, and they are welcome in our worship. Children will be invited forward during worship for a Children’s Time. Following this, children ages 4 through 5th grade are invited to go with our children’s educators for further enrichment or return to their caretaker for the remainder of the service. If there is more our Children's Ministry can do, please contact Paula Dugan at pdugan@asburyfirst.org. RECONCILING STATEMENT We are a reconciling congregation and seek to be a fully inclusive church, believing that all people are God’s children. We encourage full participation in our community for all, regardless of age, race, origin, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, marital status, family structure, education/economic background, and physical/mental ability. We recognize that we hold a variety of opinions. We do not seek to erase our differences, but to journey together in faith toward greater understanding and mutual respect. We believe that reconciliation to God and to one another is central to our mission and ministry. GIVE TO ASBURY FIRST There are multiple ways to make a gift to Asbury First. Each gift supports the everyday ministries and operations of this church, allowing us to live into our vision to Do More Good. Cash/Check—We welcome you to send a gift of cash/check in the mail or in the basket on your way out of the sanctuary following the service. Text to Give—You may give a gift with a debit/credit card by texting the dollar amount to 206-222-1050. Online—Online giving is available on our website at asburyfirst.org/give. Venmo—You may give a gift through Venmo by finding “@givingasburyfirst” or by scanning the QR code to the right. Watch and listen Tune into the live video stream of the 11 am service at asburyfirst.org/live-stream. To listen to the service tune into WRFZ 106.3 FM Rochester Free Radio, or call our toll-free number at 833-829-1050. A video archive of past services is also available at asburyfirst.org/archive.
* please stand as you are able
Prelude
“Aria”, Opus 51 – Flor Peeters “Cantabile” – César Franck
*Call to Worship
All are invited to read the bold-faced type; the reader will read the unbolded type. The Lord our God is great. The Lord is worthy of our praise. Come; let us remember the great things God has done for us. Let us not neglect to teach our children the greatness of God. Let us not forget our past and those who have gone before us. We remember our ancestors and our history, as we face the future together. Let us lift up our voices in song, and open our hearts in gratitude. Let us greet God with our hymn of praise.
*Processional Hymn
#548 "In Christ There Is No East or West" (Note: Online users may click the link of the title to access the hymn)
*Greeting and Passing of the Peace
*Gathering Hymn
#140 "Great Is Thy Faithfulness", v. 1
Prayer of Confession
Almighty God, Source of all that is, you create all people in your image. You call us to love one another as you love us. We confess that we have failed to honor you in the great diversity of the human family. We have desired to live in freedom, while building walls between ourselves and others.
11 am • June 19, 2022
The community gathers As the community gathers, may the music of the prelude draw your hearts and minds to God.
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Second Sunday after Pentecost
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Presentation, Vows, and Baptism
Ayla Mirna Plaza, child of Asia and Juan Plaza, born July 20, 2021 (prerecorded Saturday, June 18, 2022)
Congregational Response
Members of the household of faith, I commend to your love and care this child whom we this day recognize as members of the family of God. Will you endeavor so to live that they may grow in the knowledge and love of God, through our Savior Jesus Christ? With God's help we will so order our lives after the example of Christ, that this child, surrounded by steadfast love, may be established in the faith, and confirmed and strengthened in the way that leads to life eternal.
Hymnal #611, v. 1
Child of blessing, child of promise, baptized with the Spirit's sign; with this water God has sealed you unto love and grace divine.
Prayer of Confession (cont'd)
We have longed to be known and accepted for who we are, while making judgments of others based on the color of skin, or the shape of features, or the varieties of human experience. Forgive us, Holy God. Give us eyes to see you as you are revealed in all people. Restore us in your image, to be beloved community, united in our diversity.
Silent Confession
Words of Assurance
Jesus, who came to serve rather than be served, helps us in our weakness. He has shown us what is good: to seek justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with the God who saves us. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Amen.
*Gloria Hymnal #102, v. 3, alt.
All glory be to God, all praise and thanks be given; Whose Son and Spirit reign as one in highest Heaven; Our one eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore; For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
11 am
TO CELEBRATE BAPTISM
Scripture Luke 8:26-39
Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
Anthem Summer Choir
"Your Hands, O Lord, in Days of Old" — Carson Cooman; words by Edward Plumptre Your hands, O Lord, in days of old were strong to heal and save; They triumphed over pain and death, o’er darkness and the grave. to you they went, the blind, the mute, the palsied and the lame, The leper set apart and shunned, the sick and those in shame. And then your touch brought life and health, gave speech and strength and sight; And youth renewed, with health restored, claimed you, the Lord of light. And so, O Lord, be near to bless, almighty now as then, In every street, in every home, in every troubled friend. O be our mighty healer still, O Lord of life and death; Restore and strengthen, soothe and bless with your almighty breath, On hands that work and eyes that see, your healing wisdom pour, That whole and sick and weak and strong may praise you evermore.
To hear the word
To Renew Commitment
Children's Time
Children of all ages are invited to join us in this special moment.
Lord's Prayer
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
*Hymn
#193 "Jesus, the Name High Over All", vv. 1-4
Sermon
Fit for a Horror Flick
Call to Prayer
Someone needs you, Lord; come by here. Oh Lord, come by here. (traditional Spiritual)
Pastoral Prayer
Introduction to Discipleship, Membership, and Commitment
We are delighted you have joined us and ask that you sign and pass the ritual of friendship pad from the center aisle down the pew. We invite you to prayerfully consider making a gift to support the everyday ministries and operations of this church, allowing us to live into our vision to Do More Good. There are multiple ways to make a gift to Asbury First: Cash/Check—We welcome you to send a gift of cash/check in the mail or place it in the offering plate as it is passed to you. Text to Give—You may give a gift with a debit/credit card by texting the dollar amount to 206-222-1050. Online—Online giving is available on our website at asburyfirst.org/give. Venmo—You may give a gift through Venmo by finding “@givingasburyfirst” or by scanning the QR code to the right.
Offertory Summer Choir
"As Longs the Deer" — Mark Schweizer; words based on Psalm 42 (Psalms of David, 1642) As longs the deer for cooling streams in parched and barren ways, so longs my soul, O God, for thee and thy refreshing grace. For thee, my God, the living God, my thirsty soul doth pine: O when shall I behold thy face, thou majesty divine? Why restless, why cast down, my soul? Hope still, and thou shalt sing the praise of him who is thy God, thy health’s eternal spring. To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the God whom we adore, be glory as it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
*Doxology Hymnal #94
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise God, the source of all our gifts! Praise Jesus Christ whose power uplifts! Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
*Prayer of Dedication
Thankfully we praise you, O God, for your liberating power that broke shackles of oppression and restored humanity to the disenfranchised. Make us instruments of grace to resist oppression in all manifestations, that no soul shall be denied the right to thrive and fully realize their divine purpose in you. Amen.
*Closing Hymn
#519 "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
*Benediction
Benediction Response
Send a blessing, Lord; come by here. Oh Lord, come by here. (traditional Spiritual)
Postlude
Festival Postlude on “Westminster Abbey” – George Towers
Participants In the Service
Preacher: Rev. Pat Dupont Liturgists: Rev. Kathy Thiel, Rev. Rachel Dupont; Rev. Dr. Timothy James Johnson Director of Children's Ministry: Paula Dugan Organist: Duane Prill Summer Choir Section Leaders: Bess Phillips, Brenda Nitsch, Dan McInerney, Jordan Bachmann Director of Music Ministry: Dr. Carl Johengen Head Usher: Brian White Audio Operator: Rick Church Video Operator: Kenny Bailey Graphics Operator: Harper Nelson Technology Support Team: Deb Bullock-Smith, Carolyn Curran, Ted Skomsky Technical Consultant: Justin Ocello
““Your Hands, O Lord, In Days of Old” and “As Longs the Deer” © 2010 St. James Music Press; Hymns © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House; OneLicense.net #A-721053. Some of the liturgical elements have been adapted from the 2022 Abingdon Worship Annual. Illustration Credits: Designed by Sarah Brubaker and Freepik and Vecteezy.
To Disperse in Mission
Permissions:
Meetings & Rehearsals JUNE 19–25
For a full list of events with links, visit our online calendar at asburyfirst.org/events
Celebrations and concerns
Sunday 9 am Worship Service Outdoors—1040 Front Lawn 9:45 am 6th–12th Grade Youth Sunday School —1040 Youth Room 11 am Worship Service In-Person and Livestream 1 pm Dining & Caring Center Sunday Lunch—1040 Welcome Hall MONday 9 am Monday Morning Crew—1040 4 pm NOTA Farmers Market—1050 Granger Lawn 7:15 pm Yoga on the Lawn—1050 Granger Lawn Tuesday 8:30 am Lectio Divina—Zoom (zoom.us/j/8347173468) 9:30 am Tuesday Morning Women's Fellowship —Zoom (zoom.us/j/8347173468) 12:30 pm Asbury Art Class – Hot Textiles —1040 Room 205 ($30 per person) 3 pm Gentle Yoga—1040 Gathering Center 6:45 pm Discipleship Project Class—1040 Library Wednesday 10 am A Year of Biblical Womanhood: Summer Study —Zoom (zoom.us/j/6174865464) 3 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry—1040 Library 5 pm 400 Souls Discussion —Zoom (zoom.us/j/8347173468) Thursday 6 pm UR Well Clinic—1040 Welcome Hall SATURDAY 9 am Yoga on the Lawn—1050 Granger Lawn
ALTAR FLOWERS The flowers on the altars are given to the glory of God and in gratitude for past and present Church members. If you would like to place flowers on the altar, please contact Jeanne Ristau at 585-223-4356, preferably two weeks ahead of requested date. Prayers and Concerns We offer our prayers and concerns for all those who are ill at home, hospitalized, or in hospice care, and for all those affected and infected by the global pandemic. We offer our prayers and concerns to Glenn Peck and his family, on the death of his mother, Jean, on June 16, 2022. We offer our prayers and concerns to Sharon Crouch and her family, on the death of her husband, John, on July 11, 2021. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 9 at 2 pm. We offer our prayers and concerns to the friends and family of Rev. Roger Nicholson, who passed away on May 28 in Connecticut. Roger was "pastor to young adults” at Asbury First in 1957.
Open to All We believe we are all equal in God’s eyes and are all one in Christ. We extend hospitality and encourage full participation for all regardless of any perceived defining characteristic. Worship We believe we are at our best when we connect to God together through preaching, prayer, and song. We strive for excellence in all we do, especially in our worship experience. Community We believe we are better together; fellowship and care are keys to love and life. Outreach We believe everyone deserves hope and fullness of life. We endeavor to practice mercy and work for justice in our local and extended community. Discipleship We believe we—adults, youth, and children alike—are called to grow in our faith both as a community and as individuals through education, regular worship, meaningful fellowship, a commitment to service, and celebrating rites of passage together. Generosity We believe what we have is a gift from God. We share our gifts with an open heart to help meet needs at Asbury First, the Rochester community, and throughout the world. Stewardship We believe we must care for the human, physical, and financial resources with which we have been entrusted.
Our values represent a description of our guiding principles. These statements are standards of behavior, which are inherent in all we do.
We are so sorry we had to cancel the Carnival, but we have rescheduled it for Tent Sunday, August 7th, immediately following the 11 am service. What better way to kick off Tent Week than with hot dogs, bouncy house, and a talent show! The church-wide carnival is free to all and it's not too late to be a part of our talent show. Contact Paula Dugan at pdugan@asburyfirst.org to participate!
RESCHEDULED!
Tent Sunday, August 7, following the 11 am service
CHURCH-WIDE CARNIVAL
NEW CLASSES AND STUDY OPPORTUNITIES!
Give Online at www.asburyfirst.org/GIVE, text to give at 206-222-1050, OR MAIL IN YOUR CHECKS TO 1050 EAST AVENUE, ROCHESTER, NY 14607
A Year of Biblical Womanhood
Wednesdays, June 22 – August 10, 10 am, Zoom
Two evenings of conversation on Zoom, Wednesday, August 3 from 7-8 pm; Thursday, August 4 from 7-8 pm
Thursdays, June 23 – July 28, 1 pm, Gathering Center
Faithful Politicking
Learn more at asburyfirst.org/adults
Bible Study on the Book of Judges
JOIN US FOR VBS!
August 8–11, 9 am–12 pm, Register online at asburyfirst.org/vbs-2022 All children age 4 through 5th grade are invited this Summer to our Vacation Bible School themed "Under Construction" where we will highlight the work being done on 1010 to better serve our community. We will have a week full of music, crafts, games and science. We hope to see you there!
#548 "In Christ There Is No East or West" Words: John Oxenham, Laurence Hull Stookey Tune: McKee, Spiritual, adapt. and harm. by Harry T. Burleigh
#193 "Jesus, the Name High Over All", v. 1-4
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*Recessional Hymn