Welcome and Announcements
Introit: “The Call,” Ralph Vaughan Williams
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life!
Such a Way as gives us breath.
Such a Truth as ends all strife,
Such a Life that killeth Death.
Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength!
Such a Light as shows a feast,
Such a Feast as mends in length,
Such a Strength as makes his guest.
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart!
Such a Joy as none can move,
Such a Love as none can part,
Such a Heart as joys in love.
George Herbert
The poem names (calls) God according to attributes that describe the gifts offered to us, individually. These powers are grouped in threes, referring to the Trinity. Herbert then simply states how each gift renews, sustains, illuminates, and mends us.
Call to Worship
Mighty Wind, who danced over the deep and surveyed the shapeless world,
Dance over us now, and ready us for Your creative purpose.
Divine Word, who commanded unruly chaos and called forth light and life,
Call to us now, and open us to new expressions of grace.
Eternal Artist, who formed us in Your likeness and claimed us as kin,
Reform and refine us to be bearers of Your blessing.
Holy Trinity-Creator, Christ, Spirit-who gathered the primeval waters,
Gather us in, then send us out, our voices echoing creation’s song: How majestic is Your name in all the earth! LET US WORSHIP GOD.
Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy,” 1
Prayer of the Day
Prayer of Confession
Presence, Life, Fire, God who is Three in One, we confess that we have turned away from You. We gaze upon ourselves as if we were worthy of worship. We take Your creation into our hands, not to love and tend, but to use and then to discard. We go to the people of the land, not to serve, but to press them into our service. We do not deserve that You would even notice us, but we pray for mercy because You are merciful. Flame of love, purify us from sin; Eternal Now, lead us to Your truth; Risen One, baptize us into union with You. Transform us into faithful disciples who worship You alone, God who is Trinity. AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon and Commitment to Pass the Peace
Reopening Task Force Update, Mary Lang
Prayer for Illumination
Sing into our ears, O Spirit, the holy word of life. Tell us who we are and to whom we belong so that we may live with gratitude for all that You have done. AMEN.
Time for Children, Jenny Newman
Gospel Reading: John 4:1-26
Now when Jesus[a] learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” 2 —although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized— 3 he left Judea and started back to Galilee. 4 But he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)[b] 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you[c] say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am he,[d] the one who is speaking to you.”
Sermon: “Racism: It’s About Us,” Rev. Vincent Kolb
Hymn: “In the Midst of New Dimensions,” 315
Affirmation of Faith: Confession of 1967, 9.07
Jesus Christ is God with humankind. He is the eternal Son of the Father, who became human and lived among us to fulfill the work of reconciliation. He is present in the church by the power of the Holy Spirit to continue and complete his mission. This work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the foundation of all we confess about God, humanity, and the world. Therefore, the church calls all people to be reconciled to God and to one another.
Pastoral Prayer, Rev. Andy Greenhow
The Lord’s Prayer, 2019 Vatican Update
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 debts,
as we forgive our debtors;
do not let us fall into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.
Anthem: “Laus Trinitati,” Felicia Sandler
Laus Trinitati, que sonus et vita
ac creatrix omnium in vita ipsorum est,
et que laus angelicae turbe et mirus splendor archanorum,
que hominibus ignota sunt, est, et que in omnibus vita est.
Praise to the Trinity, the sound and life
and creativity of all within their life,
the praise of the angelic host and wondrous, brilliant splendor hid,
unknown to human minds, it is, and life within all things.
Hildegard von Bingen
Benediction
Announcements
We are an open and affirming community of faith in Jesus Christ. At home in an urban neighborhood of many faiths, we acknowledge that we are not alone on the path to understanding God. In worship, study, and fellowship, we celebrate our Presbyterian roots and find joy in our diversity. We strive for the grace to love one another as we seek deeper understanding of life in the Spirit, working for justice and serving as stewards of God’s wondrous creation.
We are a More Light congregation: “Following the risen Christ, and seeking to make the Church a true community of hospitality, the mission of More Light Presbyterians is the full participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people of faith in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA).”
Inclusive Language: Words matter. Jesus Christ, the living Word, reached out to all people to bring all people into God’s fold. The kingdom of God includes all types of people; therefore our language should reflect the inclusivity and equality among the people of God. To the end, when possible, we seek to eliminate the inherent bias of the English language towards the masculine gender without altering passages that reflect the historical situation of ancient patriarchal culture, out of which the Bible originated.
* The Session has closed the building until further notice to observe the governmental restrictions of social distancing.
* Many thanks to Patty Halverson, Mary Lang, and Rev. Andy Greenhow for being part of the service this week!
* Jubilee Caravans, Sunday, June 14, 2 pm: The PA Poor People’s Campaign will hold simultaneous car demonstrations across the state. Here in Pittsburgh we will need drivers to join us in a caravan downtown. We are declaring jubilee from debt, from rent, from sickness, and from imprisonment. We will be pushing the national and state COVID-19 demands. This is all in preparation for the national virtual Poor People’s Campaign Rally on June 20.
* Want to join Pastor Vincent’s Wednesday morning Bible study on the lectionary texts? Contact the office to get on the email list for connection to the Zoom meeting.
* Zoom confused? Set up a call with Amy, and we’ll work through it together.
* It’s not the same as the thrill of putting the envelope in the plate, but you can still pay on your pledges either through eGive (click here!) or by mailing your check to the church. We continue to need your support in this challenging time!
* Weekly Sunday school lessons and other resources are on Jenny’s Children and Youth blog (click here!)
* The Sixth Church Mouse Returns! For congregants who would like to participate in an email form of prayers of the people, please contact sixthchurchmouse@gmail.com to be added to the list. You can submit prayer requests to the same email address by Thursdays at 5 pm to be included in an email sent each Friday. Please remember that confidentiality still applies; we want this to be a safe place for both participants and those we love.
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