WEST VIRGINIA CONFERENCE WORSHIP BOOK 2017 Annual Conference Session The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47) June 8-11, 2017 West Virginia Wesleyan College Sandra Steiner Ball, Residing Bishop Memorial Service Friday, June 9, 2017 ❖ 11:00 am † signifies that all are invited to stand as are able Acts 2:44-45 - All the believers were united and shared everything. They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. BELLS CALLING US TO WORSHIP GATHERING MUSIC "If You Will Only Let God Guide You" by Matt Limbaugh †GREETING Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose great mercy gave us new birth into a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! The inheritance to which we are born is one that nothing can destroy or spoil or wither. †LIGHTING OF THE PASCHAL CANDLE (responsive) By your cross, you destroyed the curse of the tree. By your burial, you slayed the dominion of death. By your rising, you enlightened the human race. O benefactor, Christ our God, glory to you. †OPENING PRAYER (unison) God of compassion and hope, we remember those saints who have finished their race and received their reward. As we worship you, rekindle within us the hope of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life. We know Christ’s presence abides with us in life and in death. Help us to live in constant awareness of that presence. Bless us with your Spirit, as we offer you our praise. Amen. †HYMN “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less” THE SOLID ROCK Words Edward Mote and Music William B. Bradbury My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' name. 22 Refrain: On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. Refrain His oath, His covenant, and blood Support me in the whelming flood; When every earthly prop gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay. Refrain When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found, Clothed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne! Refrain PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION Blessed Lord, you have caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant us to hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen. SCRIPTURE LESSON 1 Peter 1:3-7 SERMON “An Offer You Can Not Refuse” Bishop L. Jonathan Holston Matthew 4:12-23 AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Apostles’ Creed UMH 882 (unison) I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. 23 I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. ANTHEM “Gentle Voice” Lee Dengler AN ACT OF REMEMBRANCE (responsive) Ever living God, this day revives in us memories of loved ones who are no more. What happiness we shared when they walked among us. What joy, when, loving and being loved, we lived our lives together. Their memory is a blessing forever. Months or years have passed, and still we feel near to them. Our hearts yearn for them. Though the bitter grief has softened, a duller pain abides; for the place where once they stood is empty now. The links of life are broken, but the links of love and longing cannot break. Their souls are bound up in ours forever. We see them now with the eye of memory, their faults forgiven, their virtues grown larger. So does goodness live, and weakness fade from sight. We remember them with gratitude and bless their names. Their memory is a blessing forever. And we remember as well the members who but yesterday were part of our community. To all who cared for us and labored for all people, we pay tribute. May we prove worthy of carrying on the tradition of our faith, for now the task is ours. Their souls are bound up in ours forever. We give you thanks that they now live and reign with you. As a great crowd of witnesses, they surround us with their blessings, And offer you hymns of praise and thanksgiving. They are alive forever more. Amen. 24 NAMING (As each name is read, a family representative is invited to come forward to meet their District Superintendent and receive a special handmade gift in memory and honor of their loved one’s impact on the Church and world.) Every name that is read represents a life that was lived in honor of God. Each name brings with it a flood of emotions for all those who knew and loved the one to whom it belonged. As these names are read, we offer our thanks to God for their life and for the variety of ways they lived out their calling to Jesus Christ. We celebrate their impact and service. We honor the loss that has been felt in their passing, but we hold fast to the living hope that comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Clergy Conference Relationship Date of Death Lander L. Beal Retired Elder June 6, 2016 G. Bryan Blair Retired Elder April 18, 2017 Gail W. Carson, Jr. Retired Elder July 11, 2016 Ray Merle Conrad Retired Elder January 24, 2017 Richard L. Crickard Retired Elder June 16, 2016 Donald L. Davis Retired Elder June 1, 2016 Daniel A. Deem Retired Elder September 16, 2016 Gerald E. Dotson Retired Elder February 20, 2017 Charles Eaton, Jr. Elder on Honorable Location January 13, 2017 Sylvester L. Green Retired Associate Member May 23, 2017 Gerald A. Harshbarger Retired Elder July 31, 2016 Joel Robert "Bob" Harshberger Retired Elder October 9, 2016 Jonas Johnson, Jr. Retired Local Pastor December 19, 2016 Robert Paul Johnson Retired Elder February 23, 2017 M. Gene Kerby Retired Associate Member January 17, 2017 Milan Klipa Retired Part-Time Local Pastor May 22, 2016 Edward B. Kyle Retired Associate Member September 22, 2016 Phyllis A. Cox McVay Part-Time Local Pastor February 7, 2017 Joseph G. Rodrigues Retired Elder April 21, 2017 E. Glenn Rowe Retired Part-Time Local Pastor April 12, 2017 William P. "Bill" Smith, Sr. Retired Associate Member June 16, 2016 Raymond Robert "Bob" Stanley, Jr. Retired Elder February 14, 2017 John H. Taylor Retired Elder July 18, 2016 Nathaniel L. Turner-Lacy, Jr. Retired Elder July 13, 2016 Clayton E. Whetsel Retired Elder January 29, 2017 F. Emerson Wood Retired Elder July 16, 2016 Kerry Dean Workman Part-Time Local Pastor May 3, 2017 Spouse Spouse of Date of Death Fran Allen Mr. Les Allen (Assigned Supply) February 2, 2017 Jennifer Beckette Rev. Thomas E. Beckette March 22, 2017 Patricia Ann James Rev. D. Vaughn James November 3, 2016 Janis Johnson Rev. Jonas Johnson July 27, 2016 Betty LaParl Rev. Harold LaParl April 2, 2017 Martha Sue Mounts Rev. Emory Mounts February 25, 2017 Lydia Danyell Straley Rev. Martin Straley December 12, 2016 25 Surviving Spouse Surviving Spouse of Date of Death Freda Jewell Rev. Kermit L. Auvil November 25, 2016 Lila Lee Wilkinson Rev. J. Robert Blankenship October 22, 2016 G. Viola Burrough Rev. Austin R. Burrough December 25, 2016 Betty Jean David Rev. Donald L. Davis June 11, 2016 Nellie Gainer Rev. William Vance Gainer February 10, 2017 Ruby Lee Harris Rev. Clovis Dewitt Harris July 17, 2016 Dorothy Lee Litton Hatcher Rev. Oval B. "Joe" Hatcher October 16, 2016 Dorothy Justine Lockhart Rev. Donald Lockhart August 3, 2016 Bonnie Lou Overfield Bradley Mick Rev. Clell Mick August 31, 2016 Polly Mae Miller Rev. Marvin G. Miller July 15, 2016 Velma Lea Riegel Rev. Paul R. Riegel October 14, 2016 Dora Faye Smith Rev. Paul H. Smith March 10, 2017 Betty E. Starkey Rev. Charles Starkey January 9, 2017 Marilyn Taylor Rev. John Hayes Taylor February 26, 2017 Martha Jane Ware Rev. Virgil Ware August 8, 2016 Beulah Dickenson Winfrey Rev. T. Dwight Dickenson August 20, 2016 Barbara Woods Rev. William A. Woods July 30, 2016 At this time, we would invite you to speak the names of others who have passed away in the previous year, recognizing the legacy of faith they also leave behind. ANTHEM “And Can It Be” Dan Forrest PRAYER FOR THE SAINTS (unison) Eternal God, You have blessed our lives by the witness and testimony of those whom we have named this day. Our faith was made stronger, our hope steadier, and our lives richer by their faithfulness to You. As we celebrate the gifts of their lives, grant us peace in knowing they have found rest from their labors in Your glorious presence. Enable us to remain faithful and steadfast in our journeys, so that we too may one day be reunited with the saints of Your church and find our eternal home with You.