Today’s service will be held outdoors at the woods stage as an in-person service and also live streamed at this link. Click on “live” for live stream. Bring a chair. Join us!
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Gathering Music Polly Dunford
Welcome and Announcements Ann Blackwood
Call to Worship
Leader: Let us remember what our God has done!
People: God created the world out of formless chaos.
Leader: Let us remember what our God has done!
People: God made every animal and plant, bird and fish.
Leader: Let us remember what our God has done!
People: God created people in the image of God.
Leader: Let us remember what our God has done!
People: God has made us caretakers of the earth.
Leader: Let us celebrate our place in God’s good creation. People: Even when we feel most alone and everything seems hopeless, Leader: We remember the faithfulness of God and our hope is restored. All: Let us worship the God of creation.
Opening Hymn “Song of Hope” Handout
Words and Music by Jim Strathdee
1985. Desert Flower Music. All rights reserved.
1) When the darkness overwhelms us to dim our sight and mind,
When all roads lead to confusion and hope’s impossible to find,
Free our minds for dreaming of a time when war shall ever cease,
Free our eyes for vision that leads us to the ways of peace.
2) When the fear of war’s destruction paralyzes heart and breath,
When our songs and laughter vanish in terror of the sounds of death,
Free our hearts for loving this life so precious and so dear,
Free our voice for singing the songs that overcome our fear.
3) When in weary isolation we’ve lost our courage to care,
When our captive spirits perish in the bondage of despair,
Free our arms for action reaching for another’s hand,
Free our feet for marching or to boldly make a stand.
4) When our sisters are in slav’ry, when our brothers are in need,
When the cost is human mis’ry for the nation’s pow’r and greed,
When the ties are broken when we’ve lost our human soul,
Free our lives for serving to make the human fam’ly whole.
5) Let the mountains ring with freedom, let the valleys sing with peace,
Let the rivers swell with justice, let our unity increase,
May the sun’s warm healing and the ocean’s mighty roar
Bring the day of justice when peace shall reign forevermore.
Scripture Reading First Reading: Psalm 137:1-4
By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 But how can we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
Second Reading: Genesis 1:1-5
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Sermon “Let There Be Light!” David Johnson
Joys and Concerns
Prayers of the People
Closing Hymn and Offertory “Morning Has Broken” Handout
Words by Eleanor Farjeon. Arrangement by Cat Stevens.
1971. All rights reserved.
1) Morning has broken like the first morning, blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing, Praise for the morning, Praise for them springing fresh
from the Word.
2) Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven, like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, Sprung in completeness where God’s feet pass.
3) Mine is the sunlight, Mine is the morning, born of the one light Eden saw play.
Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day.
4) New life has bloomed here. God’s love has warmed us. Now the world calls us all to go forth.
God’s peace go with you. May it sustain you for recreation of God’s new world.
Benediction
Discussion
Shalom (“May you be well and whole and in communion with all creation.”)
Shalom, my friends, Shalom, my friends, Shalom, Shalom.
Till we meet again, Till we meet again, Shalom, Shalom. ******************************
Reprinted with permission under One License #A-625711. All rights reserved.
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Calendar of Service -
June 7 - Rev. Beth Templeton; Potluck Meal
June 14 - Cordney Burgess, Upstate Fatherhood (outdoors)
June 21 - Dr. Keith Ray
June 28 - Rev. Dr. Steve Morgan (outdoors)
Choir members have a hymn practice on May 31 at 9:45 am at the outdoor stage (weather permitting). Otherwise, meet in the choir room.
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On Saturday, May 30, from 8:00 am to 12 noon, there will be a joint Yard Sale and Bake Sale with PFLAG and NACCP! All proceeds will be contributed to the Shower Fund.
Yard Sale SetUp - Plans are to meet Thursday evening at 6:30 pm to make final checks on all the tables. Bring bake sale items Saturday morning - packaged for sale.
Saturday workers need to be at the church at 7:00 AM. Doors open at 8!
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Looking ahead! The next gathering of the Meet and Eat group will be on Wednesday, June 3, at 5:30 pm at Doolittle’s Restaurant in downtown Anderson. All are welcome to join!
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Rob Gentry will make coffee mugs one more time. If you would like one, PRINT your name on a note paper and give it to Rob.
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NACCP has received a Mary Hemphill grant of $3,500, facilitated by the Inspire Committee of the Synod of the South Atlantic, to partially fund the new shower in the handicap bathroom at the estimated total cost of $7,100.
We are SO grateful for a total of $6,282 so far! If you have not yet made a contribution or want to do more, please consider joining us to raise about $818 more to make it happen!
If you choose to donate with a check, write it to NACCP, and make a note in memo for “Shower” or place cash in an envelope with a notation for the shower!
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Three Nights of Nature speakers:
July 21 - Jessica Bell - Split Creek Goat Farm - Goat species brought from near extinction
July 22 - Jay Keck - SC Wildlife Federation’s Industry Habitat Education Manager, a passionate nature and bird lover since his early teens.
July 23 - Robby Morrow - Geologist with SC Department of Natural Resources - Geological Survey. Co-authored a book, Geology of the Foothills Trail.
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Keep up with the latest news from Foothills Presbytery here.
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Bible Study meets on Mondays at 6:30 pm through Zoom. The topic is Apocalyptic Eschatology along with the Book of Revelation. Dave says he will try to make sense of it! If you’d like to be added to the Zoom invite list, contact Cynthia at cynthiakwarner@mac.com.
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Please remember to donate non-perishable food items to AIM (Anderson Interfaith Ministries). An extra item when you shop is a great help to others in our community.
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Remember in prayer: Bonnie Marsden; Steve and Brenda Swearingen; Jay Lyn Martin and Jerry Meehan; Mary Alice Mundy; Latha Semones; Immigrant families; Victims of all violence, oppression, and injustice; People of the World in ALL walks of life and strife.