11th Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 13 (Year B)

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Call to Worship

    There is one body and one Spirit,                                                                                     Eph. 4:4-6
    just as you were called to the one hope of your calling.
    One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
    one God and Parent of us all, 
    who is above all and through all and in all.
    We are gathered today to worship God
    and to gather at the Lord’s table.
    To share with one another the grace
    that is showered upon us from heaven.
    Come, let us worship God!

Prayer of the Day

    Gracious and merciful God,
    ground us in your love this day
    that we might be rooted in your wisdom
    and renewed by your wonder.
    Make us into one body,                                                                                                        Eph. 4:16
    joined and knit together
    by your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Call to Confession

    Friends, we are beloved and broken at the same time.
    Let us confess to God and one another
    the sins that have kept us apart.

Confession

    Have mercy upon us, O God, according to your steadfast love.                                             Ps. 51
    According to your mercy blot our our transgressions.
    Wash us, cleanse us, and free us from our sins.
    For we have sinned against you and against our neighbor.
    We have been quick to pass judgment on others
    but slow to admit our own failings.
    Create in us a clean heart, O God, 
    and renew our spirits
    that they may be upright and faithful.  Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

    Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
    God has heard our plea for forgiveness
    and has met us with mercy.
    In the name of Jesus Christ,
    we are forgiven and freed.
    Alleluia!  Amen.

Prayer for Illumination

    Abundant God,                                                                                                                    Exo. 16:15
    as you rained down manna from heaven upon your people,
    shower us with the presence of your Holy Spirit
    that she may guide us in the reading of your word.  Amen

Prayers of the People

    Let us pray to God saying:                                                                                                   Eph. 4:15
    Gracious God, help us speak the truth in love.
    
    God of all Goodness and Grace,
    we pray this day for those who are in positions of power,
    teachers, preachers, and politicians,
    community organizers, journalists, and others.
    Help them seek the truth and speak the truth.
    For truth is not an opinion.  Truth isn’t a matter of convenience.
    Truth is something that we find in you.
    Gracious God, help us speak the truth in love.

    God of Gentleness and Steadfast Love,
    we pray this day for those who,
    instead of hearing truthful words of love,
    have heard false words of hate.
    For the teenager who is being bullied,
    for the immigrant who hears hurtful phrases,
    for the black boy who is told that he’ll amount to nothing,
    for the child that compares her body to the model in the magazines.
    Help us speak words of truth that heal and hold
    and mend the broken places of our hearts.
    Gracious God, help us speak the truth in love.

    God of Hope and Healing,
    we pray this day for those who have heard truths
    they never hoped to hear.
    For those who have learned of the diagnoses,
    the death, the depression, the loss of employment,
    the addiction, or the divorce.
    May we speak the greatest truth to them:
    that nothing in life or in death
    can separate us from your love.
    Gracious God, help us speak the truth in love.

    Hear us now as we lift up to you those who are in our hearts today…
    Gracious God, help us speak the truth in love.

    Giver of every mercy,
    thank you for your providence and care
    in all that we do and all that we are.
    Carry us forth this day in your steadfast love.
    Hear us as we pray as you taught us to pray saying:  Our Father...

 

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Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.