January 8, 2023
Words of Welcome
Pastor Amanda Miller Garber
Nomofomo
Ordination Candidacy Meeting Next Sunday. Our very own Abby Butler-Cefalo has discerned that she is being called to full time ordained ministry! She has begun the process in the UMC, and we need to have an official RISE meeting to approve her candidacy. So, please plan on joining us upstairs after worship next Sunday (January 15). The entire meeting should last 15-20 minutes tops.
New Year Worship Schedule. We are trying out a new rhythm for our worship gatherings in the New Year. On the first Sunday of each month, we will be meeting for brunch upstairs in Suite 203. On the other Sundays we will be meeting at Pale Fire.
Requests for care and/or prayer can always be sent via e-mail to cares@riseharrisonburg.org, texted to 833-803-0868, or submitted online via our RISE Cares form.
Connect:
If you would like to connect more deeply with RISE, you can start by submitting this short form to Get Connected!
Sign up for texting services:
Text “RISE” to 833-803-0868 to join the primary list and receive weekly community updates and alerts
Text “RISEcares” to receive prayer requests, care needs, and community concerns and celebrations
Please continue to check social media/the website for all updates and information!
SONG
Brent Holl
“Take Me to the water”
~Spiritual
Take me to the water (x3)
To be baptized.
None but the righteous (x3)
shall see God.
I love Jesus (x3)
Yes I do.
In the name of Jesus (x3)
We shall be saved.
I know I got religion (x3)
Yes I do.
Glory, Hallelujah (x3)
To be baptized.
THEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION
Amanda Miller Garber
Chris Zepp
SHARE YOUR Thoughts and QUESTIONS OR TEXT THEM TO 833-803-0868!
Where did this practice that we now call “baptism” come from (pre- Jesus)?
What did/does baptism “do” or mean? (Soooo many different beliefs about baptism …)
What is your personal understanding of baptism? Who shaped or influenced that understanding? How would you explain baptism to a child?
How have you seen baptism used in ways that are harmful? How has this idea been distorted or misunderstood in a modern context?
What needs to be reclaimed re: baptism?
Matthew 3:13-17 (CEB)
13 At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River so that John would baptize him. 14 John tried to stop him and said, “I need to be baptized by you, yet you come to me?”
15 Jesus answered, “Allow me to be baptized now. This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness.”
So John agreed to baptize Jesus. 16 When Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on him. 17 A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him.”
SHARE YOUR QUESTIONS OR TEXT THEM TO 833-803-0868
COMMUNION
“Beginning with Beloved - A Blessing”
~Jan Richardson
Beloved.
Is there any other word
needs saying,
any other blessing
could compare
with this name,
this knowing?
Beloved.
Comes like a mercy
to the ear that has never
heard it.
Comes like a river
to the body that has never
seen such grace.
Beloved.
Comes holy
to the heart
aching to be new.
Comes healing
to the soul
wanting to begin
again.
Beloved.
Keep saying it
and though it may
sound strange at first,
watch how it becomes
part of you,
how it becomes you,
as if you never
could have known yourself
anything else,
as if you could ever
have been other
than this:
Beloved.
Amen.
SONG
Brent Holl
“river still running”
~Andy Murray
Eight good brothers and sisters went down to the river before first light
Living peace being free, doing what was right.
The river made them one, graceful, brave and whole
And today I think that a little of the river is running in my soul.
(REFRAIN)
My heart in the Lord, my hand in yours,
My mind in gear and my feet in a bowl.
The colors of my life sewn together with love........
and a little of the river still running in my soul.
As the years go rolling by their gifts to us are sewn,
In a tapestry of faith so rare, we can call our own.
The pieces become one, sharing what they’ve built.
And to-day I think the Colors of my life are showing in that quilt.
-REFRAIN-
FINAL BLESSING
“for Belonging”
~John O’Donohue
May you listen to your longing to be free.
May the frames of your belonging be generous enough for your dreams.
May you arise each day with a voice of blessing whispering in your heart.
May you find a harmony between your soul and your life.
May the sanctuary of your soul never become haunted.
May you know the eternal longing that lives at the heart of time.
May there be kindness in your gaze when you look within.
May you never place walls between the light and yourself.
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world to gather you, mind you and embrace you in belonging.
Amen.