Smithville United Methodist Church

PO Box 293, 505 N Hwy 169

Smithville, MO 64089

816-532-3200

Celebrating Life through Divine Worship

Celebration Sunday

October 16, 2011

The time of centering:

Welcome! As we gather for worship today, we rejoice in God’s many blessings. With David, we can say, “I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good” (Psalm 52:9). We’re glad you are here on this Celebration Sunday!

PRELUDE Worship begins as the music is played

ENTRANCE OF THE LIGHT

INVOCATION

O give thanks to God for all the goodness we are shown! God’s steadfast love endures forever! We once were a wandering people, hungry and thirsty in a desert land. We cried to God to deliver us, and we were led to a new land rich in promise and harvest. We give thanks for God’s steadfast love! God quenches the thirsty, fills the hungry, and leads us from the desert land to a harvest home.

WELCOME

SONGS OF PRAISE

CALL TO WORSHIP

LEADER:  A community of faith conveys God's good news of love and leads its members along pathways of faith.

PEOPLE:  It sows seeds of life in the soil of our hearts, causing faith and hope to sprout in our souls.

LEADER:  This congregation has been a vehicle of God's grace, shining God's marvelous light across the years;

PEOPLE:  A place for growing in relationship with the Lord; for living, loving, and forgiving in the spirit of Christ.

LEADER:  We celebrate the many members of this family of faith who have walked with the Lord through their years.

PEOPLE:  We remember how they have blessed us so richly, conveying God's gift of love from their hearts to our hearts.

LEADER:  We celebrate the gift we are to one another, as we learn and grow along this spiritual journey.

PEOPLE:  We give thanks for the togetherness we feel with one another;

sharing in all of life's joys and sorrows, its celebrations and challenges.

LEADER:  It is a day of great joy in the life of this congregation, as we celebrate the many lives it has already touched.

PEOPLE:  We give thanks for the body of Christ that we are today

and for what God will inspire us to become tomorrow.  Amen.

CELEBRATION OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Celebrate Small Steps Pre-School

Celebrate Church Camp: Zach Shipp

CHILDREN’S SERMON

Celebrate teachers, small group leaders, youth sponsors

LEADER: We give thanks to God for these teachers and leaders who have accepted a commitment to serve God through the ministry of education and Christian formation. I commend to you these teachers and leaders of our children, youth, and adults. They are called and loved by God and seek your support for this vital ministry within this community of faith.

CONGREGATION: We thank God for your gifts and your willingness to serve. We commit ourselves to pray for you, to assist you in material ways, and to be open to your requests for personal help. We recommit our baptismal vows to uphold this ministry through our own walk of faith.

TEACHERS/GROUP LEADERS: We also give thanks to God for God's abundant gifts and for revealing and sharing those gifts among us. Together we will strive to guide our community into the ways of God's Spirit and leading; and with God's help, we will grow as Christian disciples.

ALL: O God, we rely on your goodness and your desire to be known. Reveal yourself to us with such power and grace that we cannot help but to invite and lead others into your holy presence. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

SPECIAL MUSIC "I Will Rejoice" Adult Choir

CELEBRATION OF SERVICE

               Celebrate SERVE 2011

               Celebrate the Ministry of Kathy Dibben

LEADER:  God, You said for us to follow you.

PEOPLE:  But where will You go? Where will you take us?

LEADER:  We sometimes hope that you would simply reside in the church but your heart always is drawn to the dark places that have never seen your light.

PEOPLE:  Where will You go? Surely not into the darkness.

LEADER:  Will you go to the forgotten people of our society who live without hope?  Will you go to the prisoners, the homeless, the hungry, the lonely, the frightened and the poor?

PEOPLE:  Where will You go? Must we follow you into homeless shelters and nursing homes and places of disasters?

LEADER:  Will you go to our homes?  Will you go to our offices?  Will you go to our schools?

PEOPLE:  Where will You go, God? Where must we follow?

LEADER:  You’ve called us to follow.  You said, “Go into all the world.” People of God, do you see the answer?  He states it clearly and he waits for our response as we ask ourselves. . .

PEOPLE:  We will face the question, "Where will we go?" And we answer, "Where He leads us we will follow.”

ALL: Lord, we want to follow you, to carry your light, to keep this great commission. Give us the courage to follow you as other saints have throughout history.

HYMN OF CELEBRATION "We Are the Church" 558

CELEBRATION OF VOLUNTEERS

Celebrate Holy Grounds

Celebrate Bud Warring

Litany of Thanksgiving for Volunteers in the Church:

LEADER: Almighty God, you have called us into fellowship as the Church of Jesus Christ in this place. You strengthen us and inspire us with your Holy Spirit to live lives of mutual love and service in the world. For all this, we give our heartfelt thanks and praise.