Bulletin for May 4th 2025
Niccolls Memorial Presbyterian Church
Old Forge, New York
Third Sunday of Easter
May 4, 2025
PRELUDE
WELCOME
Gathering Prayer:
ALL: Spirit of Resurrection,
meet us in our longing and our hope.
Gather the scattered pieces of our hearts,
and teach us again to live in love.
Amen.
INTROIT: Alleluia, Alleluia! Give Thanks (vs.3) #240
CALL TO WORSHIP:
Leader: Come, all who are weary of carrying heavy burdens.
Come, all who long to be made new.
People: We come to lay down our shame, and to rise in love.
Leader: The risen Christ meets us on the road, in our doubts and in our longing.
People: We are not alone. Love is already here, welcoming us home.
OPENING HYMN: Morning Has Broken (#664)
(You are invited to stand if willing and able)
MEDITATIVE MOMENT
Be Still and Know That I Am God
In this moment of meditation, you are invited to breathe deeply and rest in God’s presence. If at any point you find this time unsettling or need to step away mentally, please feel free to do so. You are loved and held just as you are.
(Moment of silence.)
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 24: 13-35
SECOND SACRED STORY: The Tree of Peace: A Haudenosaunee Story
HOMILY: Living the Resurrection: Releasing Shame, Receiving Love
HOLY COMMUNION:
INVITATION TO THE TABLE
PRAYER OF THE PEOPLE
We will continue to pray as your son taught us to pray, saying…
*Our Father, 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
ANTHEM: “Seek the Lord”
DOXOLOGY: “Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia” (verse 3) #251
(You are invited to stand if willing and able)
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
CLOSING HYMN: Amazing Grace (#649)
(You are invited to stand through the extroit, if willing and able)
DISTILLATION
(A brief opportunity for the congregation to shout out a word or phrase that distills their experience with the service.)
BENEDICTION
Leader:
Go as those who are loved beyond measure,
and love this world into something new.
Congregation:
Amen.
EXTROIT: “Be Not Afraid” #243
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Worship Leader: Lee Vance (he/him)
Choir Director: Miyako Schanely
Pianist: Judy Barker
Liturgist: Kathryn Godley
