April 25, 2021 Good Shepherd UCC, Tuckerton—Rev. Linda

April 25, 2021 One: Dare to dance with dreamers, sing their songs Good Shepherd UCC, Tuckerton—Rev. Linda Kozlowski Many: Dare to dance their stories, sing out strong. “By This We Will Know: The Dance of Love” One: Dare to dance with freedom your whole life long; Fourth Sunday of Easter Worship Many: Dare to dance again! Lay Reader: Ed Dell One: If we are to dance with wild abandon, we learn and follow – Dreamer: Youth of Good Shepherd UCC then we can begin to lead. We can learn the steps to the dance of ______love through the lead of Jesus and those who have gone before GATHERING OUR STRENGTH us. May we dare to dance even as we continue to learn the way

Gathering Music of love. Many: Dare to dance with dreamers, sing their song. Welcome One: Dare to dance their stories, sing out strong. Leader: This is the day our God has made. Many: Dare to dance with freedom your whole life long. People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it. One: Dare to dance again. Leader: Come, let us worship People: Let us gather in the presence of our God. One: This is the call! We lean into this day with the strength we have. Ringing the Church Bell Many: We lift up our hearts to meet the day. Joyous Declaration (responsively) One: God sends out with a call that will not let us go. Leader: We gather to worship God who is the Creator, who is the Many: We fortify our hearts with compassion and action. Savior, who is the Spirit. We gather to worship God who is Love, One: If rain still lingers, open the umbrellas of hope and set out who is Life, who is Light. anyway. People: We gather to worship God who always invites us to Many: For we are called to dance again! dance. Amen. Opening Song of Praise

Threshold “Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us” Gentle music plays… One: Easter is the unstoppable, unpredictable expression of Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need your tender God’s love for humankind! The call of Jesus is to live fully in the care; power of that love—alive in each of us. We learn about that In your pleasant pastures feed us, for our use your folds divine love as it is embodied in the person and ministry of Jesus, prepare. the one who is compared to a Good Shepherd. As we look to him Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, you have bought us, yours are we. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, you have bought us, yours we are. to learn how to love, may our hearts praise the One who raised Jesus and raises us to abundant life and love. We are yours, in love befriend us, be the guardian of our way;

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Keep your flock, from sin defend us, seek us when we go We offer thanks for dreamers true. For all they are and all they astray. do. Let us become dreamers too and brink new life to me and Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, hear your children when we pray; you. Amen. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, hear your children when we pray. A Story for the Ages—Scripture

Let us always seek your favor; let us always do you will; First Reading John 10:11-17 (NRSV adapted) Jesus Christ our only Savior, with your love our spirits fill. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down their life Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, you have loved us, love us still; for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, you have loved us, love us still. not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep Prayer and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. One: Holy One, Justice-Seeker, Lover of Creation—we know your The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for voice, the sounds of your steps. Your love gathers us, urges us, the sheep. encourages us. Come and dance with us, engage with us, as we I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, seek you – so that we can be risen with Christ and in Christ. Be just as God knows me and I know God. And I lay down my life for with us now, we pray. Amen. the sheep.

Affirming the Peace Among Us I have other sheep that do not belong to this flock. I must bring One: The peace of Christ is with you! them also, and they will listen to my voice. So, there will be one Many: And also with you! flock, one shepherd. For this reason, the Holy One loves me, One: You are invited to share the peace of Christ with those in because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.” your home and with each other in the chat section on our Second Reading 1 John 3:16-18, 23-24 (NRSV adapted) Facebook feed. Let us share and receive Christ’s gift of peace. We know love by this, that Christ laid down his life for us—and One: Dare to dance with the dreamers, sing their song. we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s Many: Dare to dance their stories, sing out strong. love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees another One: Dare to dance with freedom your whole life long. in need and yet refuses help? Many: Dare to dance again! Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and LEARNING THE STEPS action. This is God’s commandment, that we should believe in the

A Story for All Ages name Jesus and love one another, just as Christ has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides This week’s dreamer: Greta Thunberg in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit Prayer that he has given us.

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One: May the reading and the hearing of these words touch our “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love” souls. We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, Many: Thanks be to God! We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, Sounds of Resurrection. And we pray that all unity may one day be restored:

Message “Loving. Sharing. Listening. Seeing” Refrain Pastor Linda And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. Musical Interlude Joyce Maurer

THE BODY MOVES IN RESPONSE We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand, We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand, Sharing Joys and Concerns And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land: Prayers of the People Refrain

Prayer of Jesus We will work with each other, we will work side by side, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your We will work with each other, we will work side by side, kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we Refrain forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the All praise to the Father, from whom all things come, glory forever. Amen. And all praise to Christ Jesus, His only Son, And all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one: OFFERING OUR RESOURCES AND OUR ENERGY One: How do we know the rhythm and dance of our lives is Refrain faithful? Drummer of the Grateful Dead, Mickey Hart wrote “To Benediction fall in love is to fall in rhythm.” It is love for each other by which One: What would your life look like if you sought each day to we know we are followers of Jesus, the ever-attentive shepherd. dance the dance of love? To dance to the rhythm of the love of In the face of societal rules and attitudes that strive to foster God moving in our lives?20862 May we hear the music of the “everyone for themselves,” our hope is that others will know we Spirit and follow in the steps of Jesus whose love sets us free to are Christians by our love. Let us “fall in rhythm” with our dance with wild abandon. neighbors and our planet in order to build up the whole through our offerings this day. And may the Loving God, Risen Christ, and Dancing Spirit fill you with all you need for the days ahead. Offertory Joyce And all God’s people said, STEPPING OUT Many: “AMEN!” Page 3 of 4

Postlude ______Worship Notes

Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us. Attrib. to Dorothy A. Thrupp (1779-1847) from Hymns for the Young, 1836. Tune: BRADBURY, William Bradbury, 1859.

They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love. Text and Music: Peter Scholtes, based on John 13:35. St. Brendan’s.

Thank you, Joyce for sharing your gift of music with us each week. Thank you, Ed, for serving as our Lay Reader this Easter morning. Thank you, Diane, for producing our video. Thank you, Easter people for going out to bear witness to the love, the hope, the grace, the peace which our Resurrected Savior offers to us.

Friends, please know I am here for you. Call, text, or e-mail me. We can talk on the phone, set up a Zoom time, or arrange a time to meet while wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Please share your joys and prayers for us to lift during Worship. Pastor Linda 484-529-2241 (cell)/[email protected]

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