All of Us

 Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church

 A warm welcome to each worshiper today. We celebrate you and offer you our friendship and love. We are a congregation of people who seek to grow spiritually, to become more like Christ in His compassion and acceptance of everyone while growing more aware of what it really means to be Christians today.

As a Reconciling Congregation, EPUMC affirms the sacred worth of persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities and welcomes them into full participation in the fellowship, membership, ministries, and leadership of the congregation.

 

 

 

943 Palmer Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12309 / 518-374-4306 epumc943@gmail.com / www.easternparkway.org

Order of Worship

October 1, 2023

10:00 a.m.

*You are invited to rise in body or spirit.

 

Prelude

Greeting and Announcements

Mission Statement:

We are a faith community striving to be, to nurture, and to send forth disciples of Jesus Christ.

Call to Worship:

All heaven and earth proclaim the majesty of God’s creative power!

Praise God for the amazing and awesome beauty.

God has given to us codes by which to live together in harmony and peace.

In these commandments, God has summed up the ways we must respect one another.

Rejoice in the goodness of God.

Praise God for God’s complete and steadfast love for us. AMEN.

*Hymn              Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart       #160, v 1-3

Prayer of Confession:

How quick we are to say yes to you, O Lord, and then we turn around and forget our bold words of commitment. We really want to serve, but we are very weak and are easily drawn away by cares and fears. We pledge ourselves to working for your kingdom but find ourselves pulled this way and that by other demands on our time and energy. Forgive us, O Lord, when we so quickly drop our commitments to serving you. Heal our spirits and give us the bold courage to truly be your disciples. For we ask these things in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

Assurance:

God knows our hearts and our spirits. God sees our struggles and forgives our weakness. Know that it is in God’s healing love that you live and move and have your being. Rejoice, for God is with you always. AMEN

Scripture Reading Matthew 21: 23-32

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father[a] went to the second and said the same, and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, and even after you saw it you did not change your minds and believe him.

Sermon                                 All of Us

Vater unser im Himmel, geheiligt werde dein Name; dein Reich komme; dein Wille geschehe, wie im Himmel so auf Erden. Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute. Und vergib uns unsere Schuld, wie auch wir vergeben unsern Schuldigern; und führe uns nicht in Versuchung, sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen. Denn dein ist das Reich und die Kraft und die Herrlichkeit in Ewigkeit.

Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos Santificado sea tu Nombre Venga tu reino Hágase tu voluntad En la tierra como en el cielo Danos hoy el pan de este día y perdona nuestras deudas como nosotros perdonamos nuestros deudores y no nos dejes caer en la tentación sino que líbranos del malo.

Shu no Inori

Ten ni orareru watashi-tachi no Chichi yo,

minna ga sei tosaremasu yo ni.

Mi kuni ga kimasu yo ni.

Mi kokoro ga ten ni okona wareru tori chi ni mo okonawaremasu yo ni.

Watashitachi no hi goto no kate o kyo mo oatae kudasai.

Watashitachi no tsumi o yurushi kudasai.

Watashitachi mo hito o yurushimasu.

Watashitachi o yuwaku ni ochi irasezu, aku kara o sukui kudasai.

天におられるわたしたちの父よ、

み名が聖とされますように。

み国が来ますように。

みこころが天に行われるとおり地にも行われますように。

わたしたちの日ごとの糧を今日もお与えください。

わたしたちの罪をおゆるしください。わたしたちも人をゆるします。

わたしたちを誘惑におちいらせず、

悪からお救いください。

国と力と栄光は、永遠にあなたのものです

アーメン

If you didn’t pick it up from context, that’s the Lord’s Prayer in German, Spanish, and Japanese.

Eleven years ago, this weekend, I led my first Sunday services in my very first big girl pastoral appointment. It was very unexpected, and if you know how United Methodists pastors get sent to churches, you know why. Some denominations, like our American Baptist friends, make those decisions as a congregation, and when they need a new pastor, say because their current one is planning to retire, they announce that position will be open, and they invite applicants to mail them cover letters and resumes.

United Methodists, on the other hand, don’t get hired. We get sent. So I had just graduated from seminary, and the Cabinet didn’t think they had an appointment for me just yet, so I waited for that to change, and while I did I kept myself busy with two different part time retail jobs, and with an internship as a chaplain at Strong Hospital. One weeknight in September, I had just come home from a long day of dealing with belligerent customers at Sears, and I pulled up Netflix on my computer, and I was settled in for a night of binge watching a series I’ve already seen every episode of while waiting for my laundry to be done in the basement. I left my desk for a second to check on the dryer, and when I came back I had a missed call on my phone, an unfamiliar 315 number. There was a voicemail that said “Natalie. This is Dick Barton, DS of the Finger Lakes Region. Call me back. Now.”

Dick sent me to the Vine valley and Benton churches, two lovely country churches waaaaaay deep in farming territory. I felt like I was driving through a painting to get to them, and if you’ve driven through the Finger Lakes, you know exactly what I mean. The Finger Lakes have the most beautiful backdrop in Upstate New York. I was taking over effective October 1st after a colleague of mine realized she needed to step out of the ministry for a while, and my local District Committee on Ordained Ministry scrambled to get me a valid pastor license post haste because I was going to need it to serve communion on my very first Sunday, World Communion Sunday. It was more than a little nuts, but so is everything else in the ministry. God only seems to call those who are up for some insanity. When I met the spprcs of both churches, one gentleman asked if I could use some of my German in worship, and I told him “uh…but then you wouldn’t understand me?” And he replied “well we would if you translated.” And you can’t argue with that logic. 

In the eleven years I’ve now been doing this, I’ve learned I need to stop putting arbitrary limits on which pieces of myself I might be able to use in this work. God can call a 26 year old sarcastic nerd from Rochester to commute an hour one way to serve two little country churches, and God can call me to use the German words my Grandma taught me decades ago. Others may wonder by what authority I’m up here, but I need to stop asking that of myself, and instead just trust. Most importantly, if i can embrace all of myself, and stop questioning why I belong here, then I can do the same for others, and so can you.

God doesn’t put limits on what any of us can do for this church family. We heard Spanish and Japanese this morning. We’ve heard singing, and multiple different musical instruments. We have math wizzes and people who are great with money and budgets, and we have artists who excel at connecting the beauty they see and hear with the Divine. We have skilled teachers who are mentoring our little ones, even if on a lot of Sundays that’s just my own kids. The work of being a church family requires optimism. We’re from different races and national origins, and I’m guessing there’s even more languages represented in this room than the three we heard at the top of this sermon. We have people who live just down the street and people who drive here from a few towns over because it feels right. We have people who pull into the parking lot in their SUVs, people who walk, and the occasional skateboard. 

We’re beautiful.

We strive a little more every day to be the kind of family that Jesus wanted to see. Mind you, I don’t think he intended to launch a whole new religion. He and his disciples were all Jewish, Paul and his earliest followers were all Jewish, and Jesus was far less concerned with labels like Jewish or Christian, let alone Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Catholic, nondenominational, Evangelical, Seventh Day Adventist, Quaker, Shaker, Mormon, Amish…you get the idea…and far more concerned with relationships. He wants to know us, and he wants to know all of us.

In this morning’s Gospel story, Jesus is challenged, once again, by folx who don’t get it yet. This time it’s the chief priests and the elders who get in his face, and what to know by what authority he’s going around making all this noise. He answers a question designed to get him in trouble with a question that could get them in trouble: did John’s baptism come from God, or from a person, namely Jesus? Are they going to diminish John’s baptism in order to take Jesus down a notch, but then make all of John’s followers angry? Or are they going to appease John’s followers by calling his baptism divine, but in the process affirm Jesus’ authority? 

They refuse to answer.

Jesus smirkily says, If you don’t have to answer my entrapment question, I don’t gotta answer yours, either.

Then he goes into a parable: a man asks both of his sons to go work in the family vineyard. One turns him down, but then feels bad about it and goes to work later on. The other one enthusiastically agrees to work, but then ghosts him. Which son did the right thing? The one who goes to work. Jesus was feeling extra salty that day, and tells those priests and elders that there’s tax collectors and sex workers who understand what it means to belong to God’s family more than they do. Stop gatekeeping, and start making the world a better place.

Can we take Jesus’ advice? Can we stop gatekeeping, class shaming, and holding arbitrary rules over one another, and just create spaces where all of us are welcome? It starts with loving all of ourselves, so we can embrace all the qualities we see in other people. And this room is the best place to start.

Amen.

Offering

Offertory

*Doxology #94

*Prayer of dedication           

Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer

Lord as we gather around this wonderful meal 

everywhere and in every place; 

bless us all your children.

As we eat this bread and drink this cup

linking arms around the world,

pour your grace into us all.

Grace us with your presence

as we quietly and loudly pray to you.

May we see in each other

your light, your love and you.

May it not matter our differences,

our names, our languages,

our looks, and our way of doing things.

May what matter today and everyday be that we are one in you.

And as we pray many we call to mind our brothers and sisters

who are unable to be with us today whether in body or spirit.

May you bring comfort to those who are grieving, lonely,

heartbroken, ill or broken of spirit.

May you strengthen those whose lives feel shattered,

don’t make sense, in crisis, and experiencing  loss.

May you say the healing word to those who need it.

May you bring the human touch of love

to those who have not been touched.

May you love the unloved through us.

May you shine your light

into those whose world is covered in darkness.

May you use us to feed the hungry,

clothe the ones who need clothes,

give a cup of water to those who are thirsty,

shelter the homeless, visit the sick and those in prison.

May lives be awakened to you, Lord,

to your love and to your kingdom

whose door is always open to all.

~ written by Rev Abi and posted on A Place for Prayer. http://revgalprayerpals.blogspot.ca/

Our Father, Mother, Creator God, 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 trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.

*Hymn                                       Come, Share the Lord                    #2269

The Lord’s Supper

*Hymn                             O God of Every Nation                              #435

Benediction

Postlude

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Staff

Natalie Bowerman Pastor

Betsy Lehmann Music Director

Joe White Custodian

Cassandra Brown Nursery Attendant