Bethel United Methodist Church Lewes, Delaware 11:00 a.m. June 7, 2020 Prelude: Joyce Mentzer Greeting and Announcements Call to Worship: by Rev. J. Lee Hill, United Church of Christ. Alt. Let us worship the Triune God. Let us worship the One who spoke in the beginning and created everything out of nothing. Let us worship the Triune God. Let us worship the One who put on the clothing of humanity to set those who were oppressed free. Let us worship the Triune God. Let us worship the One whose Spirit rests continually upon us, calling us from sorrow-filled endings to bright new beginnings. Opening Song: "Let There Be Peace On Earth" by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson Solo: Nancy Cirelli Guitar: Paul Faircloth Prayer of the Week: Liberating God, in love You have set us free: free from slavery to sin and self, free to know and love You, free to follow and serve You. We praise You for Your faithful love toward us, and for the many ways You have demonstrated that love to us. We see Your love in the natural world around us— in the sky and trees and rivers. And we see Your love in Jesus Christ, who lived and died to bring us life. Because we have experienced Your love, we come before You with confidence, bringing our needs and the needs of our world. God, in your unfailing love, hear our prayer. We pray for those who live surrounded by violence— whether from war or political unrest, crime, or rioting. We pray for those who have been victims of violent crime, and for those whose loved ones have been injured or murdered. God, in your unfailing love, hear our prayer. We pray for our homes and families: for children feeling the sting of prejudice, for youth angry over discrimination and injustice for parents juggling the responsibilities of work and family, for husbands and wives whose marriages are breaking down, for spouses who are abused daily by their partners, for children chafing under parental authority or expectations, for men and women caught up in adultery or adulterous thoughts. God, in your unfailing love, hear our prayer. We pray for the many people in our world who do not yet know You and have not experienced the new life that comes from knowing Christ Jesus; who continue to search for purpose and meaning. God, in your unfailing love, hear our prayer. Merciful God, give us strength and courage to keep Your commandments, to live in faithful obedience to Your will. Guard our hearts and minds from all that might distract us Help us to find our true worth in knowing You more fully, and serving You more faithfully. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Cornerstone Who has taught us to pray… The Lord’s Prayer: 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, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Recognition of the Class of 2020 Joys & Concerns Pastoral Prayer Musical Offering: “The Earth Is the Lord’s” arr. Thornhill Presented by the Youth Music Ministry Scripture Lesson: I Peter 2:4-10 Ray Davis 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God Message: “Peculiar Speech” Pastor Baker Closing Hymn: “More Like Jesus” by Brooke & Scott Ligertwood, Kristian Stanfill and Brett Younker Solo: Nancy Cirelli Guitar: Paul Faircloth Postlude Joyce Mentzer Participating in today’s service: Nick Mentzer, Camera; Todd Mentzer, Sound & Streaming Live Streaming: We want you to know that we've changed our YouTube name to make it easier for you to find us, our live streams and our weekly Pajama Sunday School and children's videos. Our YouTube name is Bethel Lewes. Just head to YouTube on any device or Smart TV and enter "Bethel Lewes" in the YouTube search bar and there we are!! Click on the lighthouse to see all our videos or past services. Bethel will continue to Live Stream & record a service each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. you can view through our website, www.bethellewes.org. At the top of the page click on ‘Virtual Bethel.’ For the live service, click on Virtual Worship. Food Drive: Now that the Cape Henlopen Food Basket is once again open, we will be collecting food for them over the next couple of weeks. Several ladies, who have been gathering food for the Food Bank each week, are now going to deliver food to the CHFB for at least the next several weeks. We will glad deliver food or money donations there for you. Contact Hope Ellsworth or drop off donations to her house (302-236-6805; 112 W. 3rd St., Lewes). The Cape Henlopen Food Basket provides food to everyone who comes. No one is turned away. Our 2020 High School and College Graduates The Bethel Family extends its heartfelt congratulations to all the members of the Class of 2020. We are proud of all your many achievements, and pray that God will direct your path and bless your future endeavors. High School Graduates: • Jade Baker, Musselman High School, Inwood, WV • Sylvie Elliott, Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences, Georgetown, DE • Lauren Essex, Potomac Senior High School, Brookfield, VA • Easton McCullough, McLean High School, McLean, VA • Rachel McCullough, McLean High School, McLean, VA • Nicholas Mentzer, Milford High School, Milford, DE • Kyle Morris, Sussex Technical High School, Georgetown, DE • Hunter Reifsnyder, Cape Henlopen High School, Lewes, DE • Caelan Slater, Eastlake High School, Chula Vista, CA • Freddy Sposato, Fork Union Military Academy, Fork Union, VA College Graduates: • Cassidy Clark, Delaware Technical & Community College, • James ‘Goss’ Ferneyhough, IV, University of Delaware, Newark, DE • Ross Gillan, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC • Haley Grove, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA • Justin Laws, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC • Shannon McCall, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY • Katie Macturk, Davidson College, Davidson, NC • Alison Palmer, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA • Buck Shockley, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA A Message From the Trustees Dear Bethel Family, The Board of Trustees is preparing for the day when all our Church family can finally worship together again. Before doors open, we must have the proper cleaning and disinfecting products on hand, signage in place, hands-free sanitizer stations available, volunteers trained in addressing the necessary protocol to keep everyone safe from the Coronavirus, etc. All state guidelines and precautions must be in place before Bethel’s exact opening date is determined. A Bethel COVID-19 Task Force, a subdivision of the Trustees, has been created to implement and comply with all state mandates. Please contact the co-chairs: Patty Marvel @ [email protected] or Walt Tydings @ [email protected] with any input, suggestions or to commit to this task force. Please join me in praying for God’s will. Alison Parsell, President Board of Trustees From Don Peterson, Interim President, Immanuel Shelter Dear Volunteers and Friends, As many of you may already know, Immanuel was slated to end our season on April 1st, however with the COVID-19 funding and volunteer support, we were able to extend the shelter from April 1st until June 3, 2020. Many of our guests are now working, actively seeking employment or with the help of our manager Toni Short, they have been able to secure benefits through available programs such as SSI, SSD etc. This season, even with the challenges we faced, our over all results were extremely successful. All of our guests were tested for COVID-19 and have been social distancing, and educated on the use of masks and hand washing. In addition, with your help and support Immanuel served over 3,000 lunches and nearly 6,000 dinners over the course of the extended season. We are happy to say that some of our guests have also already found alternative housing. This is exciting news in spite of the stressful times we have all recently been experiencing. COVID- 19 and the impact on our homeless leaves all of us with many unanswered questions and concerns. Some include the possibility that Delaware will be facing increased homelessness in the near future and the looming threat of the possible resurgence of COVID-19 in the fall.