Liturgy

As we join together, we confess
it can be, at times, hard to remember
what love does.
Love waits, it is patient, it does not force itself.

We confess, our fears and our egos
can cloud our direction and judgment.
Where is love?
Love doesn’t keep score and doesn’t look back.

When we feel unworthy and unwelcome,
we confess, we forget our identities
and our voices.

Love clothes,
Love speaks the best,
Love never gives up.

Remind us of your trustworthiness, so we can be trustworthy.
Show us how to hope, so we can show others how to have hope.
Give us all of your love, so we can give others all your love.

We pray in the name of
our Creator,
our Redeemer,
and our Sustainer,
amen.

(Ellynne Tredway)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from the Gospel of Mark 7: 7-8, 14-15, and 21-23.

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.
You abandon the commandments of God and hold to human tradition.”

“Listen to me, all of you and understand: there is nothing outside a person
that by going in can defile, but the things that come out is what defile.”

“For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions
come; fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness,
deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil
things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!

The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

Homily and Reflection

Homily Podcast – Our Heart is Central to Our Faith 08.29.2021

Reflect

Are there areas of my heart that are hardened and shut off?

How do I invite God in my life and heal my heart?

How can God’s love be central in my heart?

Benediction

Vox, let us make guideposts
of the elements of love.

When life strikes us with heavy blows
We will roam.
We will forget we were ever loved,
ever seen, ever known.

Hold fast to the truths of love.
When we walk through the sands,
we will find our foundational guides:
Trust, Hope, and Love.

They will renew us,
They will assure us,
They will bless us.

Let us go forth in the name
of the Helper,
the Cornerstone,
and the Omega.
Amen.

(Ellynne Tredway)

Go in peace, and live the church.
May you find belonging and community this week.

[Photo by JC Deal Cuesta]