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FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Sunday School – 9:30 a.m.
Casual Worship – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship – 10:45 a.m.
April 9, 2009 – Maundy Thursday
Theme: Voicing Questions and Doubts
Worship Preparation Thought: “You choose to go voluntarily into the fire. The blaze might well destroy you. But, if you survive, every blow of the hammer will serve to shape your being. Every drop of water wrung from you will temper and strengthen your soul.”
Margaret Weis
PRELUDE “ Schmucke dich o liebe Seele ” by Johannes Brahms
WELCOME and INVITATION
CALL TO WORSHIP
ONE: Welcome to you who call upon the name of Christ. We gather tonight to recall
the story of the night Jesus was betrayed. Are you prepared to come to the
feast of Jesus, the Christ, whose life was poured out for you?
MANY: By the grace of God, we are.
ONE : Are you able to watch with Jesus at prayer in the garden—indeed, to struggle
yourselves to be in unity with God's will for you?
MANY: By the grace of God, we are.
ONE : Then let us praise God, even in this hour of darkness !
UNISON: God of all grace and steadfast love greatly is your name to be praised
in all the earth. Bring us to this feast of remembrance with open
hearts!
HYMN “ Lord of the Dance” Page #261
(verses 1 – 4, only)
PRAYER
ONE: As we prepare for these sacred acts, let us remember who we are.
UNISON: O Christ, in your presence we discover who we are. You wash our
feet, and we learn how reluctant we are to serve one another and
the world around us. We are so like your disciples, who looked to
their own self-centered interests even as you prepared to give
yourself for the sake of the whole world.
Our love scarcely suffices for those closest to us, and yet you
invite us to join all creation at your feast. Forgive us, and help
us treasure your presence more deeply, that we may find this
night a celebration of overflowing joy. Amen
ASSURANCE
ONE: God reaches out to heal, and to reveal again the love that will not let us go.
know that you are forgiven, to answer God's love with your praise, devotion
and service.
MANY: Know that you are forgiven; to answer God's love with your praise,
devotion and service.
WASHING
GOSPEL READINGS John 13:1-9, 12-15
SOLO “He Never Said a Mumblin ' Word” Dick Boyd
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
ONE: Almighty God, ruler of the universe, we thank you for your mighty acts of
deliverance. You enable us to cross over from despair to hope, from the
brokenness to wholeness, from the death to life.
MANY: We thank you for the deep love of Jesus, which moved him to give
himself for the redemption of all creation. We thank you for the
grace we experience in receiving this sign of the life Christ gave for
others, and for us. Amen.
HYMN “What Wondrous Love Is This” Hymn #292
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
UNISON: Creator God, we thank you for the nourishment you give us—for
bread, and fruit of the vine. God of freedom, we thank you that you
do not leave us in bondage, but act in power to liberate us from all
oppression. We thank you that Christ, acting in courage and faith,
has won for us the victory over sin and death. May the bread and
cup be signs of your renewed covenant with us, and may we be
ever faithful, until the coming of your final Shalom. Amen.
HOLY COMMUNION
ONE: Let us join Christ in the garden of prayer.
MANY: Let us join Christ in passion and victory.
HYMN “Were You There” Hymn #288
BENEDICTION
ONE : Go into the world in peace, knowing that God has made the ultimate sacreifice
through Jesus, who is the Christ.
MANY: Love one another, as Christ loves you, now and forever, Amen.
POSTLUDE
PLEASE DEPART IN VOCAL SILENCE
WORSHIP LEADERS
Joy Caschetta; Pastor Richard Boyd; Diaconal Minister of Music
Conrad Steinhoff; Worship Assistant Dr. Stephanie Owen; Musician
Usher & Greeter; Joe Zimmerlee