7th Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 9 (Year B)

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Liturgy for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 9 (Year B)

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Prayer for Illumination | Easter Sunday | Year C | March 27th, 2016

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    Living God, today’s Good News is so wondrous, so magnificent,
    that we struggle to wrap our heads around it.
    Give our hearts the wisdom to receive
    that which our heads cannot fully understand.
    Send your Spirit to fill our whole bodies with your resurrection promise.
    This we pray in your holy and good name.  Amen.

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Confession | Easter Sunday | Year C | March 27th, 2016

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   Even the obstacle of death has been removed between us and God.
    If death no longer stands in our way,
    we can be sure that our sin does not either.
    Let us confess our sins
    that they may be washed away by the mercy of our risen Lord.

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Prayer of the Day | Easter Sunday | Year C | March 27th, 2016

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    Resurrecting God,
    this week has had within it such trials, such tribulations, and such sorrows.
    But they are all washed away.
    They are washed away by the grace
    that gushes from that empty tomb.
    Your creation relentless; it will not be ended by death’s devices.
    We gather for there is a story that needs to be told,
    a joyful song that cries out to be sung!
    Jesus Christ is risen today!  
    Amen!

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Call to Worship | Easter Sunday | Year C | March 27th, 2016

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    Friends, the tomb is empty!  The stone has been rolled away!
    Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!
    For three days he lay in that cold and lonely cave.
    But God’s love cannot be contained by anything, not even death!
    Thanks be to God, who gives us victory throughout our Risen Lord.
    Death has been swallowed up in victory!    
    Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?
    Christ is risen!
    He is risen, indeed!
    Come, let us worship the Risen Christ!

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Prayer of the Day | Holy Saturday | Year C | March 26th, 2016

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God of the tomb,
your Son has entrusted his life to you      
in the moment when all is dark and hope seems nothing but a memory. 
The body that was broken has been buried and the song that we had sung is now silent.

God of love, 
When death seems to have the final word, give us courage. 
When hope seems to be buried, give us endurance. 
When stones seal us from the light, give us love. 
Above all, give us the trust
that now is the only companion for your Son in that lonely tomb. 
In the name of the One whose death will give us life, we pray. Amen.

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Prayer for Illumination | Good Friday | Year C | March 25th, 2016

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    On this solemn evening,
    come, Holy Spirit,
    that we might be comforted by your presence
    and that our reading of this story
    might be filled with wisdom, compassion, and understanding.  Amen.

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Prayer of the Day | Good Friday | Year C | March 25th, 2016

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    God of the cross,
    For us, sinners though we are, you were nailed to a cross.
    For us, you took a  final breath, and walked willingly into the darkness.         
    For us, you were broken.  For us, you lived. For us, you died.
    
    You do not deserve this death. We do not deserve your life.
    
    God of grace, give our hearts courage to accept your grace
    and to respond to the life that was given for all.
    Guide us through the darkness ahead
    that we might be renewed by the light that is to come.
    It the name of the Blessed One who was taken and broken, we pray.             
    Amen.  

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Call to Worship | Good Friday | Year C | March 25th, 2016

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As the sun gives way to darkness, the shadows of death are upon us.
    This evening brings the last leg of Jesus’ journey to the cross.
    Our Savior has broken the bread of life and poured the cup of salvation.
    Tonight, his body will be broken and his life poured out.
    Jesus was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities.
    Upon him was the punishment that made us whole;
    our lives come at the cost of his death.
    In solemn remembrance,
    we remember the saving death of our Teacher and Friend.
    We linger in this dark hour,
    waiting for its story,
    trusting that death will not have the final word…

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Morning Prayer | Maundy Thursday | Year C | March 24th, 2016

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Morning Prayer

Maundy Thursday (Year C)

March 24th, 2016

Abundant God,    
     in this Lenten wilderness      
     you take, break, and bless.
You take the bread, that holy manna of God,      
     and give it to us, your beloved.
You break the bread, your very body,      
     and give it to us, your servants.
You bless the bread, which is given for us,    
     and share it with all      
     that we might be sustained for the days ahead.

God of the covenant, fulfill the promise that you have made with us;
the promise that you have made and kept with those that have gone before us.
Gather us around this blessed table that we might go forth in the difficult days ahead
assured of your unshakeable grace and your steadfast love.
In the name of the One who takes, breaks, and blesses, we pray. Amen.

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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.

Prayer of Great Thanksgiving | Maundy Thursday | Year C | March 24th, 2016

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    The Lord be with you. And also with you.
    Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
    Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
    It is right to give our thanks and praise.

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Prayer for Illumination | Maundy Thursday | Year C | March 24th, 2016

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    Gracious God,
    give us the wisdom of your Spirit
    to understand and receive the depth and breadth
    of the love that Christ showers upon us.
    Bless this reading of your Word
    that we might be transformed by its grace.  Amen.

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Confession | Maundy Thursday | Year C | March 24th, 2016

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     As Jesus prepares his body to be broken on our behalf,
    let us confess to the ways that we have betrayed him in word and deed.

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Prayer of the Day | Maundy Thursday | Year C | March 24th, 2016

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    Holy Lamb, we gather at your table as beloved friends,
    invited by nothing less than your everlasting grace.     
    As the bread is broken and the cup is poured,
    may our hearts break at your betrayal,
    and our souls pour out the love that you have poured upon us.
    This we pray in your holy and good name.  Amen.

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Call to Worship | Maundy Thursday | Year C | March 24th, 2016

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As the sun gives way to moonlight,
as the earth settles to slumber on this night,
we awaken to God's presence among us.
     We lift up the cup of salvation
     and call upon the name of the Lord.

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