02-Invite

Entrance and Word

"Come, Let Us Dream," Worship & Song, 3157 (Text, alt.)

1. Come, let us dream God’s dream again,
Come, one and all, let us descend,
Come to the shore where those of old
Saw God’s new day on earth unfold.

The Word in our Hearing: Mark 2:13-17 (3 voices)

Reader 1: Mark 2: 13-14

Silence

Reader 2: Mark 2: 15

Silence

Reader 3: Mark 2: 16-17

Silence

"Come, Let Us Dream"

2. Where love flows on in ceaseless waves,
The lost are found, the outcast saved,
The enemy becomes a friend,
All hatreds cease, love never ends.

Inviting
Jesus invited Levi to leave his own way of life and follow him.
Jesus invites us all to do the same.

Confessing

With Levi we confess our need of a physician.
We are not righteous, but sinners in your sight.
We have cheated others for our own gain.
We have made threats to get our way.
And we have stayed where we are
to maintain our own importance.

Have mercy and forgive us.
Call us to leave our lives behind and follow you, Jesus.
Then give us the courage to do it!

Silence

Pardoning and Peace
Jesus came to dinner at Levi’s house with Levi’s friends.
You are more than forgiven.
You are healed, and the welcome mat is laid.
The peace of Christ is with us. Share it!

Great Thanksgiving
Bishop raises hands to orans position.

May God’s symphony of the surf
lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.

In the warmth of sun and shore, we give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is right, and a joyous and swelling thing,
always and everywhere to give thanks to you,
Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth,
of oceans and seas, rivers and streams, raindrops and dewdrops.

You have created us one people,
from seashore and desert,
open field and mountain peak,
city sidewalk and country lane,
to live on all the face of the earth.

And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven
we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ
who, when he went to gather his followers,
walked along the seashore and chose fishermen and tax collectors as disciples.
who, as he sat at the well,
offered living water to the Samarian woman. who, when he met with Nicodemus, under cover of night,
became our womb-water so that we could experience
a spiritual rebirth.
who, in an act of humility and service,
took towel and basin of water
and washed the feet of his disciples.
who, as he hung on the cross,
poured out water from his wounded side,
and by whose baptism of suffering, death and resurrection
you gave birth to your church,
delivered us from slavery to sin and death
and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.

Now here, as we feast our senses on your mighty power
in the lapping of this river
flowing into the crash and sizzle of breaking waves,

Bishop holds up the bread.

we recall the night in which he gave himself up for us,
took bread,
gave thanks to you,
broke the bread,
gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."

Bishop holds up the cup.

We remember when the supper was over he took the cup,
gave thanks to you,
gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Drink from this, all of you;
this is my blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

Bishop returns hands to orans position.

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Bishop gestures blessing on the people

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,

Bishop gestures blessing on the gifts

and on these gifts of bread and wine.

Bishop returns hands to orans position.

Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we may be for the world the body of Christ,
redeemed by his blood.

Tumble us in the waves of your Spirit,
until we are smooth and beautiful,
and reflect your image in the world.

Gather us as children gather shells on beaches,
and give us away to become one in ministry to your world.

Through your Son Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit
in your holy Church,
all honor and glory is yours, almighty God,
now and for ever. Amen.

Breaking and Sharing

Sending

"As We Go," Worship & Song, 3183 -- Verse 1: Taylor Burton-Edwards

Thank you, God, you have fed us by the waters,
Bread of life, you have filled us with your love!
May we live what we have learned,
share the message we have heard,
and be light in all the world, as we go.

As we go, may your Spirit go before us.
As we go, may we follow where you lead.
May we live what we have learned,
share the message we have heard,
and be light in all the world, as we go.

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Acknowledgments

"Come Let Us Dream," Verse 1, Words Copyright © 2004 by John Middleton. Used by permission, LICENSE TYPE AND NUMBER. Verse 2, Words Copyright © 2011, Discipleship Ministries. Used by permission of Discipleship Ministries.

"As We Go," Verse 1, Words Copyright © 2011, Discipleship Ministries. Used by permission of Discipleship Ministries. Verse 2 and Tune by Jeremy Johnson, © 2007 Vanne Ness Press, Inc., admin by LifeWay Worship. Used by permission under LICENSE TYPE AND NUMBER.

Great Thanksgiving, © 2009, The Rev. Rina Terry. Rev. Terry is a United Methodist Elder in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, and has served as a pastor and prison chaplain. This service is based on the Great Thanksgiving from "A Service of Word and Table, II" © 1989, The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission. Published 2009 by Discipleship Ministries. This Great Thanksgiving may be reproduced by any means, print or electronic, but may not be sold, altered or published on another website without the written permission of the author, Discipleship Ministries, and The United Methodist Publishing House. To obtain permissions for these or other uses not specified above, contact [email protected] and [email protected].