A Service of Remembrance and Holy Communion
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Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
Sunday June 14, 2009 7:00p.m.
(† All who are able are invited to stand.
Bold print indicates congregational response.)
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Opening Voluntary—Families of those remembered are escorted and seated.
†Greeting (Invite the assembly to stand)
Jinwook Oh and Lydia Rodriguez-Colon
The hand of the Lord is upon us;
God has brought us out by the Spirit and set us in this place.
God said, “Prophesy,
Say to them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!’”
하나님의 말씀 입니다 !
Esta es la palabra de Dios!
Hear the Word of the Lord! Amen!
(Based on Ezekiel 37: 1-4)
†Processional Hymns of Praise
“O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”
“For All the Saints” TFWS 2283
†Opening Prayer
We have gathered at your call, O God, from the north and south, the east and west.
We come to seek flesh for our dried bones,
Words for our parched souls.
In these moments,
as we hear your words,
as we rejoice in the witness of your faithful servants,
as we gather at your table,
we pray that you would put your Spirit within us.
May our spirits find renewal in this fellowship,
so we may faithfully attend to the work for which you have gathered us;
To celebrate all that you have done and continue to do
and to bring new life and new word to the dried places in our lives.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Choral Anthem
“Thankful Over A Few Things”
Norfolk UMC Mass Choir
Proclamation
Prayer for Illumination
Lydia Rodriguez-Colon
Gracious and merciful God
Father and Creator of all peoples and all cultures
God made flesh in Jesus Christ who loved and sacrificed himself to give abundant life
to every person regardless its race, color, national origin, status, economical condition
God that is present here through the Holy Spirit
Inspire your servant who is going to preach your powerful word with flaming love and
zeal.
Blow, wind of God
Take us out from the graves of injustice, apathy, division and lack of tolerance.
Renew our bones with faith and hope.
Put your holy breath in us in such a way that our lives, our deeds, and actions speak
justice, solidarity and compassion which every person, every land by your grace shall
understand.
In the name of Christ I pray,
Amen
Scripture Lesson: Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in
the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great
many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these
bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."
1
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5
This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to
life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put
breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound,
and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin
covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may
live.' " 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up
on their feet—a vast army.
Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are
dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will
bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open
your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle
you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the
LORD.' "
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Sermon
By The Spirit of the Lord!
Sherry Daniels
Response and Thanksgiving
A Prayer of Praise for God’s Servants
God, for all the saints I give you thanksFor grandparents and godparents,
For doctors and teachers,
For coaches and pastors.
Jinwook Oh
God, for all the saints I give you thanksFor authors of books that have moved me,
For friends who whose advise has guided me,
For strangers who proved an example,
For my children and the children of others
Who have given me courage.
God for all the saints I give you thanksFor those nearest and farthest away,
For those who have died,
And for those who are living,
For those who knew they made a difference
And those who never will.
God for all the saints I give you thanks. Amen.
Let us now thank God for those saints who have departed this life in the past year.
The Naming of Those Who Have Entered the Church Triumphant
As the secretary for the conference reads the names aloud, all are invited to stand for the entire reading
of the names of these servants. The bell is tolled and a candle is lit in memory of each one named.
At the conclusion of the reading of the names the secretary of the Conference says, “For each of these
who having answered the call of God ministered faithfully to the needs of whole communities
as well as the congregations to whom they were sent, who witnessed to the grace of Jesus
Christ with their words and actions, and who now rest from their labors, let us praise God.”
The people respond, “Thank you Lord for these your servants.”
The secretary of the Conference says, “For the call and ministry we have shared with all lay men
and women, boys and girls of this conference who have entered the church triumphant, let us
praise God.” The people respond, “Thank you Lord for these your servants.”
Service of the Lord’s Table
Invitation
God in Christ breaks down the walls
that make us strangers to ourselves
and divide us from one another.
We are the body of Christ.
Around this table, we enact our faith.
The body broken is restored to wholeness;
lifeblood poured out brings healing to our world.
Confession and Pardon
Jinwook Oh
Jinwook Oh and Lydia Rodriguez-Colon
Please sing the response at the direction of the leader.
Let us name before God and one another our dry bones and grave stones, and cry for
mercy.
Stones in our ears: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Stones of our prosperity for some: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Bones of dry busyness: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Bones of opportunities refused: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Partnerships resisted: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Church without martyrs: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
World without justice: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Cities of the faceless: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
The poor unheeded: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Gospel waiting for disciples: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Nations waging war and not peace: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Sin unforgiven: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Love ignored: Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
Here all may name before God and the community other things needing resurrection and mercy.
Hear the good news: Thus says the Lord God, I am going to open your graves,
O my people; and will bring you out.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven and alive.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven and alive.
Glory to God. Amen.
†The Peace
The risen Christ stands among us,
not only in this Holy Communion,
but through all the times and ways
that we will be together here.
In our celebrations and in our debate,
in our weariness and in our laughter,
may the peace of Jesus Christ be between us.
The peace of the Lord be with you.
Jinwook Oh
And also with you.
In silence let us pass the peace to one another
in the manner of Asia and south India.
The presiding ministers bow to each other and to the people.
(Here all are invited to pass the peace of Christ in the Southeast Asia tradition of stretching
hands out to each other and enclosing them as you bow.)
†Hymn of Invitation (Invite the assembly to stand)
"Come to the Supper"
All sing: Come to the table, come to the table, come to the table. (Low voices sing an
additional "Come to the table.")
You are invited to repeat this text under the stanzas of the hymn text by Charles Wesley.
†Taking the Bread and Cup
†The Great Thanksgiving
(Deacon receives the elements and places them on the table.)
(Written by Anna Blaedel from the Iowa Annual Conference)
Bishop: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Bishop: Lift up you hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Bishop: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is right and good always and everywhere to give thanks to you, O God. For in the
beginning, you made the Earth—round, rich, and fertile, the mother of all life. You bent low
and gathered up the dust of the earth, and out of it made us, human, the beginning of the
communion of saints. You breathed wind and spirit into flesh and bone, and speak through
the ages in the lives and voices of saints and prophets: Moses and Miriam, Deborah and
Isaiah, Jeremiah and Sarah, Mary and Elizabeth, Paul and Stephen, throughout our Holy
Scriptures. Then, St. Francis and Tyndale, Susannah Wesley and John Wesley, Thomas Merton
and Martin Luther King, Jr, Dorothy Day and Howard Thurman, Mother Teresa and Gandhi,
Archbishop Romero and Rosa Parks. We became like you, formed in your image, carrying the
stars in our eyes, the moon in our heart, and the cosmos in every breath. You touched us with
goodness and beauty, yet we resisted your blessing and stubbornly turn away. So we have
become chipped by greed, cracked by injustice, broken with grief. But again and again, you
send your Spirit, to renew us, to gather our brokenness and reshape our despair into new
hope. Turn us today, yet again, into an alleluia. Receiving your blessing, we praise you.
And so, with your people on earth and the whole company of heaven, we praise your name
and join in their unending hymn:
(See the worship booklet for the Sanctus).
Living God, in the fullness of time you sent us your best. You sent Jesus, who dared to feed
the hungry and welcome the outcasts, who comforted the afflicted and afflicted the
comfortable, who became your blessing to all who would receive, and who announced that a
new reign of love had come.
One night, on the night he was betrayed, he gathered his followers at table. He took the bread,
broke it, and shared it with all gathered. “This is my body, broken and given for you.” He
took the cup, offered a prayer of thanks, and shared it with them. “This wine is life, poured
out for you and for many, a sign of forgiveness and a new covenant. As often as you eat this
break and drink this cup, remember me.” And so we join our lives with this life, offer our
brokenness to this one broken body.
And so in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise
and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us, as we
proclaim the mystery of faith:
Music and text to the Memorial Acclamation, Musical setting A, are in Order of Service.
(The bishop invokes the present work of the Holy Spirit and then praises the Trinity, concluding:)
God, pour out your blessing on all the world. Send your peace to a world threatened by war
and violence. Send your Spirit to renew us, to reveal new hope, and to set us afire with justice
and joy. Through you and your communion of saints in this life and in life eternal, make us
one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until earth and
heaven are again one. Through Jesus our Christ, with the Spirit of Love, all honor and glory
are yours, almighty God, now and forever.
Music and text to the Great Amen, Musical Setting A are in the Order of Service.
The Lord’s Prayer
And now, with the confidence of children of God, let us pray:
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 trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Breaking the Bread --Bishop Kammerer
(Bishop breaks the bread while saying)
Because there is one loaf, we who are many, are one body, for we all partake in
one loaf. The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.
(Bishop lifts the cup while saying)
The cup over which we give thanks is a sharing in the body of Christ.
Giving the Bread and the Cup
(Our mode of Communion is that of intinction. Please proceed to the nearest Communion
station. A server places the bread in your hand, after which you dip the bread into the chalice and
partake. Please note that a gluten free station is also provided near the stage.
After receiving, please return to your seats for mediation and prayer. As you are led, please join
in singing the following songs during the distribution.)
Singing
“Let Us Break Bread” UMH 618
“Let Us Offer to the Father (Nicaragua)” TFWS 2262
“Jesu, Tawa Pano” TFWS 2273 (repeat as directed)
“All Who Hunger” TFWS 2126
“Goodness is Stronger than Evil” TFWS 2219 (repeat as directed)
“Soon and Very Soon” UMH 706
Prayer After Communion --Bishop Kammerer
For the healing you have given us in the brokenness of bread and the pouring out of
cup, we thank you. For the community you have restored in us through the sharing of
life, we thank you. For the courage and strength you have promised to us, even as we
have honored the ones of courage in our own past, we thank you. Send us forth from
this table in love, letting justice be worked out with gentleness and power known in the
presence of your Spirit. Amen.
Sending Forth
†Dismissal Hymn
“Marching to Zion” UMH 733
†Dismissal with Blessing
Deacon: Go now into the valleys of the world.
God will show you the forgotten graves and dry desert places.
Go and prophecy - Preach the Good News! –
and marvel at what our Lord is doing in our midst.
Bishop: In the valley of dry, parched barren bones
You are blessed says the Lord of Dance.
Those who walked the trails of tears - these bones shall live.
Those who endured middle passages and whips - these bones shall live.
Those who escaped famine, persecution, and hatred these bones shall live.
Those who crossed oceans, seas, and waded through muddy rivers –
these bones shall live.
While death is certain,
May the Triune God bless you all
within the waters of Resurrection and this Feast of hope.
May you continue on in the Remembrance
and in the Dance of bones and flesh and breath coming together. Amen.
†Postlude
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