Zoom Cluster Worship - February 13, 2022
Welcome!
This is designed to be participatory; we need folks to help with each of the following worship elements:
VT 145: Touch the
earth lightly
Call to Worship
(Light a candle if you have one)
Leader: We come to worship a God who speaks to us in many ways.
All: We are here, YHWH. Open our ears.
L: We come to worship a God who challenges us to take new perspectives.
A: We are here, YHWH. Open our hearts.
L: We come to worship a God who calls us to action.
A: We are here, YHWH. Open our arms.
Birthdays
Auggie Nafziger Rhodes (College Kindergarten) turns 6 on February 13! He’s looking forward to celebrating up at Camp Friedenswald and will have a rock party and rock cake. He loves reading books, especially fantasy books for older kids. He enjoys playing with Lego and his new astronaut robot.
We are so glad that Auggie is part of Assembly!
Interviews with Assembly Prophets
Elena Fischer and Carol Good-Elliott
Please hit CC
Modern day prophet-Sumana Roy
“Slow [,tree] time is no laziness – who would be foolish enough to call a plant lazy? My need to become a tree, then, is a need to return to slow time.”
Scripture
Jeremiah 17:5-10 CEB
5 The Lord proclaims:
Cursed are those who trust in mere humans,
who depend on human strength
and turn their hearts from the Lord.
6 They will be like a desert shrub
that doesn’t know when relief comes.
They will live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in a barren land where no one survives.
7 Happy are those who trust in the Lord,
who rely on the Lord.
Scripture
8 They will be like trees planted by the streams,
whose roots reach down to the water.
They won’t fear drought when it comes;
their leaves will remain green.
their leaves will remain green.
They won’t be stressed in the time of drought
or fail to bear fruit.
9 The most cunning heart—
it’s beyond help.
Who can figure it out?
10 I, the Lord, probe the heart
and discern hidden motives,
to give everyone what they deserve,
the consequences of their deeds.
Sermon
Our sermon this Sunday is from Aaron Sawatsky-Kingsley. Aaron has been the Goshen City Forester since 2006.
(Tech Hosts, please turn on closed captions before starting sermon)
Sharing our reflections
What are the calls and challenges you’re hearing from God and the prophets this morning?
What have you heard from the prophets?
Let’s take some time to reflect together
Prayer for our reflections
Let’s gather up all the ways we offer of ourselves – our reflections, our gifts – in prayer, through the words of Walter Brueggemann:
We confess you to be the God who calls,
who wills,
who summons,
who has concrete intentions for your creation,
and addresses human agents who do your will.
We imagine ourselves called by you …
Yet a strange lot:
called but cowardly,
obedient but self-indulgent,
devoted to you, but otherwise preoccupied.
In our strange mix an answering and refusing,
We give thanks for your call.
We pray this day,
for ourselves, fresh vision;
for our friends, great courage,
for those who search for you in places more dangerous than ours, deep freedom.
As we seek to answer your call,
may we be haunted by your large purposes,
We pray in the name of the utterly called Jesus.
Amen.
“An answering and refusing” in Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth
VT 171 Nothing Can Separate Us
Sharing from our lives
Share Prayer Requests by filling out the online form in the Assemblyline. You may continue to do this throughout each week. Prayer requests are sent out to the congregation via the Assembly listserv on Wednesdays. This will be especially important to use in the coming weeks if you want to share beyond those present in your cluster on Sunday morning
Take this time to share within your group what is on your hearts.
Prayer VT 1000
Save us, God,
From being self-centered in our prayers,
And teach us to remember to pray for others.
May we be so caught up in love
for those for whom we pray
that we may feel their needs as keenly as our own,
And pray for them with imagination, sensitivity and knowledge.
We ask this in Christ’s name. Amen
Announcements
Electives: After this worship service head back into the main room for electives at 11:15.
Volunteer for Sunday morning tasks! We will be worshiping in person and indoors starting Feb 27, and we need volunteers for: Greeters, Attendance Takers, Cash Offering Counters, Lock Up, and Nursery Volunteers. Contact office@assemblymennonite.org to volunteer, or sign up on the Google Sheet linked in the Assemblyline.
Congregational Meeting Next Sunday Feb 20 at 7pm on Zoom - There have been significant changes to the 2022 Spending Plan, so we are doing another “first reading”. Please review the draft spending plan via the link in the Assemblyline, and come discuss it at next Sunday’s meeting.
Small Groups! Your Leader Selection forms are due by Sunday Feb 20. If you haven’t already met to fill out your forms, please communicate with each other, and with your rep, as soon as possible! Ask your rep, or one of the pastors, if you have questions. Thanks for participating in the leader selection process.
MCUSA Special Delegate Session. The agenda at the upcoming Special Delegate Session in May 2022 includes four resolutions, two of which pertain to inclusion of queer folk in the Church. Anna Yoder Schlabach is on a planning committee for this delegate assembly and has written a letter to the Assembly congregation about her hopes for the upcoming assembly and how we might prepare for the potential outcomes. It’s in the Assemblyline, along with more info about the delegate session and all of the resolutions.
VT 209 We Dream
of a Turning
Benediction
May YHWH bless you and keep you.
May YHWH’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May YHWH look kindly upon you and give you peace.
Return to the main room for electives which will begin at 11:15 or leave meeting if you do not want to stay for electives.
It may be helpful to confirm who from your group is tech hosting and worship hosting next week.
Welcome to Zoom Cluster worship.
WORSHIP STARTS AT 10AM
Head into your break out room. Look for your small group
or if you’re not in a small group,
look for your group by alphabetical last name.
Cluster Group #1�Small Groups Auklet, B, Groupyndor�Household's last name starts with A-C*
Cluster Group #2
Small Groups Beta, CE&FL, Maple
Households D-G
Cluster Group #3
Small Groups Almond Joy, 8th St, Polar Bear
Households H-J
Cluster Group #4
Small Groups Bees, Bugles, Grape
Households K-M
Cluster Group #5
Small Groups Crisalida, Grateful, Hygge
Households N-Q
Cluster Group #6
Small Groups Alpha, Ring of Fire, Well-Seasoned
Households R-T
Cluster Group #7
Small Groups Cardinal, Cicada, Hug, Zed
Households U-Z
CHILDREN CAN HEAD TO ROOM 8
Welcome to Second Hour Electives
Electives begin at 11:15.
Click on Break Out Rooms. The elective options are all the way at the bottom.
Harry Potter- Hosted by Lora Nafziger
Sermon Response -Hosted by Scott Coulter
Defund the Police? An Abolition Curriculum -Hosted by Karl Shelly
Need help getting there? Just unmute and say what room you’d like to be put in.