Nov. 14 (No stream) – Praise the Holy One

Today we gather in our beautiful, windowed sanctuary to praise God for the spectacular beauty of autumn and all the gifts He lovingly shares with us.

Worship begins at 10 a.m. Sunday. Due to a technical glitch, there is no livestream for this week. We hope to be back up and running next week. Thank you for your patience and understand, and have a good week.

Here are this week’s order for worship and scripture readings:

WELCOME

 PRELUDE – Children of the Heavenly Father – Hustad

*CALLING ONE ANOTHER TO WORSHIP                                                                     

      One:  Works of God are all around us!   

      All:  Praise God for the spectacular beauty of autumn!  

      One:  May we strive to live as giving servants in the manner of our Savior. 

      All:  Jesus Christ is our Master and our Savior.   

      One:  At the name of Jesus, let every knee bow.    

      All:  Let every tongue proclaim Jesus Christ is Lord! 

      One:  Have faith.  God provides.  

      All:  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  

*HYMN – Praise to the Lord, the Almighty – #10   

*OPENING PRAYER                                                     

       Living God, you rose from the dead on Resurrection day. Nothing compares to the promise we have in you! You are the Giver of everlasting life. Thank you, Christ Jesus, for the wonders of your mighty love.

       Long ago, you made yourself known through commonplace acts of kindness as well as spectacular miracles. You are among us this morning, O Tower of Refuge and Strength. The deepest human hungers are satisfied by you and you alone. We praise you for being with us, day by day, Faithful God; gently teaching us that Ivy Chapel United Church of Christ is your church. May we exalt you and honor you, Jesus, by joyfully giving away your love. Amen.

*PRAISE RESPONSE – Shout to the Lord – worship booklet, pp. 80-81

 CHILDREN’S MESSAGE – Tara Lowry                                                                               

 GOD’S WORD – Psalm 16                                     

SPECIAL MUSIC – Since Jesus Came Into My Heart – Hamilton  

 GOD’S WORD – 1 Samuel 1:1-20 – Pastor Dan

SERMON – Pastor Dan 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER –  Pastor Dan 

*RESPONSE – UCC Statement of Faith – worship booklet, p. 5

*HYMN – The Greatest Thing – #106  

*SENDING OUT – God sends us into the world to love and serve. – Pastor Dan

*POSTLUDE – Toccata in G Major – Pachelbel 

Blessing of the Animals, Sep. 10

One of the highlights of the fall at Ivy Chapel is the Blessing of the Animals. This is our tenth year of welcoming all of God’s creatures to our beautiful grounds.

Join us on Sept. 10 from 1 to 3 p.m. … and bring your pet for a special, personalized blessing.

Each year we team up with an animal-related charity. This year we are proud to work with the Bi-State Pet Food Pantry, a St. Louis-based volunteer organization  whose mission is to keep animals with their “people” during difficult financial times by providing emergency assistance with pet food, litter and other necessities.

We will be accepting donations at the Blessing of the Animals for the pet food pantry. Their most needed items include:

• dry dog/cat food* any size
• canned cat/dog food, dog/cat treats
• cat litter
• ziploc 1 and 2 gallon re-sealable bags
• gift cards to gas stations, Target, PetSmart® or Sam’s Club®, or cash donations.

*please ensure meat is the first ingredient as corn is tough on tummies.

For more information on the food pantry, visit: http://www.bistatepetfoodpantry.org/