Gathering those who fear they are not enough, so we may experience grace, wholeness, and renewal as God’s beloved.

Today’s bulletin art is a coloring page. What color is your love?

May 17, 2020 Sixth Sunday of Easter

10:45 a.m.

PREPARING OUR HEARTS FOR WORSHIP Teenagers who do not go to church are adored by God, but they don’t get to meet people who love God back. Learning to love back is the hardest part of being alive.

– Anne Lamott

We Gather to Praise God

PRELUDE My Lord! What a Morning African American spiritual

Chancel Choir

WELCOME, CENTERING, AND RINGING OF THE BELL

* CALL TO WORSHIP

ONE: Although we are separated, we gather for worship. ALL: Although we are apart, we are one in the Spirit.

ONE: Joined together, we are the body of Christ. ALL: Joined together, let us worship and praise our God!

* HYMN 611 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

* Please stand in body or spirit

DRAW NEAR TO GOD’S LOVE AND GRACE

O God who so loved the world, whose love became incarnate in Jesus, we are relieved to learn that your love has no conditions, that it simply is.

Jesus shows us the depths of divine love, and calls us to love as he does. But so often, we are better at receiving love than giving it. Our love is often conditional and transactional, not very Christ-like. Touch our hearts, God. Show us how to love others and you as you have loved us. Send us your Holy Spirit, that we be instruments of your love in the world.

Silence for personal reflection

SUNG RESPONSE Kyrie eleison (Lord, Have Mercy)

RECEIVE GOD’S LOVE AND GRACE

* SING GLORY TO GOD

* PASSING THE PEACE ONE: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. ALL: And also with you.

We Listen for God’s Word

SUNG PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION (sung twice)

FIRST SCRIPTURE LESSON Acts 17:22-31

Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 23For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 26From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ 29Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. 30While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

ONE: The Word of the Lord. ALL: Thanks be to God.

WORD IN MUSIC

If Ye Love Me Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)

SECOND SCRIPTURE LESSON John 14:15-21

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. 17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. 18“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

ONE: The Word of the Lord. ALL: Thanks be to God.

SERMON LEARNING TO LOVE BACK James Sledge

We Respond to God’s Word

* HYMN 300 (verses 1-3) We Are One in the Spirit

* RESPONSE OF FAITH The Apostles’ Creed I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. 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.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE from Mike Volpe

ONE: Lord in your mercy, ALL: Hear our prayer.

The Prayers of the People are offered on behalf of and with the congregation, usually by an elder currently serving on Session (governing council) or other members of the congregation.

Please keep in your prayers…

Bob Huley and family on the death of Merry Huley on May 13 Nancy and Mike Gehron, as Nancy’s father transitions to a memory care facility and

Mike’s father enters hospice care Comfort for Bob Moore, diagnosed with Covid-19, and strength for Carol Bentley Hayden Beatty, father of Daniel Beatty, in the hospital with an infection Janet Bickel, recovering at home following back surgery The memory of Alfred Karam, late husband of Samira Karam

Those who have lost jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic Staff and residents of elder care facilities everywhere Brenda Buchly, recovering after a fall First responders, health care providers, caregivers, essential employees, and all who

are putting their lives at risk during the coronavirus pandemic

Continued prayers for…

Doug Ammons, Paige Bach, Kris Barth, Chuck and Marty Campbell, Judy Cornier, Soledad Cuzzi, Sgt. John R. Goldsmith, Steve Graff, Mike Hugo, Linda Issaacson, Doug Jonas, Nora Long, Nancy Lundien, Ruth Mileham, Bob Moore, Cheryl Naderman, Ruth Nowjack-Raymer, Barbara Peret, Cort Peret, Stanley Rusher, James Steele, Cathy Stewart, Lawson Swift, Doris Webb, Doris Williams, Christa Young

Prayer requests can be sent to Pastors James and Diane at prayers@fallschurchpresby.org

OFFERING OUR GIFTS TO GOD

Lean on Me Bill Withers (1938-2020)

Honey and Locusts

The late Bill Withers wrote “Lean on Me” to describe the strong moral backbone that held together his small hometown in West Virginia, where the values of “Lean on Me” were practiced daily by everyone you met. He’s said “[his] experience was trying to adjust to a world where that circumstance was not the rule, rather than the exception.” In many ways, he was also describing what we as Christians think of as the Kingdom of Heaven. The singer offers to “share your load,” echoing Galatians’ call to “carry each other’s burdens” to “fulfill the law of Christ” (6:2). The singer offers to share “things you need to borrow,” as we are told to “do good and to share with others” in Hebrews (13:16) and not to “turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” by Matthew (5:42). By taking these small steps to build a community of kindness, we help to fulfill God’s call to create the Kingdom of Heaven every day.

* DOXOLOGY

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

* HYMN 724 (verses 1, 4) O Jesus, I Have Promised

* OUR LIFE TOGETHER AS THE BODY OF CHRIST

* CHARGE AND BLESSING

POSTLUDE Christ is Risen, Christ is Living arr. Robert Buckley Farlee (b. 1950)

Songs reprinted under OneLicense.net #A-721003

Supporting us in Worship

Audio/Video Diane Maloney Musicians Lisa Bloy, piano; Andrew Jonas, tenor;

David Schoonover, baritone Sanctuary Flowers The flowers today are given to the glory of God and in

honor and memory of our inspiration, our joy, our leader, and God’s flower-loving servant, Merry Huley, by her adoring friends on the FCPC Flower Committee.

Falls Church Presbyterian belongs to the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, “working for the unity of the church, furthering the inclusion of LGBTQ persons, seeking understanding and

reconciliation, and joining with others seeking a still more just and inclusive church.”

The Rev. James Sledge, Pastor The Rev. Dr. Diane Walton Hendricks, Pastor for Spiritual Growth Diane Maloney, Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministry

The Rev. Megan Klose, Parish Associate The Rev. Rusty Lynn, Hon. Ret., Parish Associate

Dr. Lisa A. Billingham, Chancel Choir Director Dr. Lisa Bloy, Organist

225 East Broad Street, Falls Church, VA 22046 • 703-532-6518 • www.fallschurchpresby.org

This Week at FCPC May 17-24, 2020

Gathering Groups have begun! Gathering Groups are a community coming together to grow in our relationships to each other and to God in these times when we must keep physically distant. We are reflecting on the theme of Gratitude. If you have signed up, you should be hearing from your host by Sunday, May 17. In preparation for the first Gathering Group, you are invited to review a 10-minute video and look at the discussion guide. Both can be found here. Questions? Contact

Diane Walton Hendricks. Join in Gratitude: Even if you have chosen not to participate in Gathering Groups, you are invited to watch the videos and reflect on the study guide on your own.

Rise Against Hunger meals sent to Tanzania. FCPC has learned that meals we packaged Feb. 23 for Rise Against Hunger have been shipped to Tanzania. RAH adds, “Thank you for generously giving your time to volunteer and package meals with Rise Against Hunger. We are sincerely grateful for your dedication and for sharing our vision of a world without hunger.” Read more here.

FCPC’s Justice Ministry Team has shared a list of books from BookRiot.com to help understand current social justice movements. From their website: We all bring different backgrounds to our experience of social justice. Some of us have particular connections to political movements from our childhood or adulthood. Others have just uncovered the story of a single person’s experience of injustice, and we’re hungry for more context. We turn to historical

books for this context. Click here for the list.

Church giving during COVID-19. Even though there aren’t many people at the church these days, the cost of being the church remains. We are still paying bills and salaries, still helping people who

ONLINE WORSHIP, CLASSES, MEETINGS

Worship Services – Sundays at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. Join us for online worship at www.fallschurchpresby.org/livestream or on our FCPC Facebook page.

Good Omens Class – Sundays at 9:30 a.m. Led by Chuck Anderson. Class #5 will cover the

fifth episode of the Amazon miniseries based on the book, Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. For those reading the paperback, this corresponds to about page 415 (Last line: HE IS HERE). Zoom Meeting ID: 873 6571 7492

Virtual Fellowship Hour – Sundays at noon. Hosted by Kathy Chavez. Zoom Meeting ID: 919 9132 3252

Tuesday Morning Prayer – Tuesdays at 8:45 a.m. Led by Diane Walton Hendricks. Zoom Meeting ID: 104 294 101

Family Table at Home – Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Led by Diane Maloney. Zoom Meeting ID: 374 023 830

Saturday Bible Study Group – Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. Led by Tom Koger. Zoom Meeting ID: 972 0316 4309

need assistance. And so we hope you will continue to make your offerings online or by mailing them to the church office. But if this crisis has suddenly changed your financial situation, we understand. What most people call “pledge cards” are actually labeled “Estimate of Giving.” Such estimates are based on the income you expected, and if that has changed, please do not feel bad about adjusting your giving accordingly. And please let us know if you need some assistance.

Pastoral care during social distancing. If you or your loved one is in need of pastoral care, James Sledge and Diane Walton Hendricks are both available. And if you are at-risk from COVID-19, please let the pastors or deacons know if we can offer you support with specific tasks such as grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, or other things that might put you at risk.

Crossing Paths is a daily email designed to be a way to stay connected to each other, our community, and God. Crossing Paths are simple, daily reflections shared by the Falls Church Presbyterian community, available by email and on our Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter. If you would like to share a prayer, poem, or scripture passage to be included in Crossing Paths, email Diane Walton Hendricks. Your submission could be written by you, or something that has inspired you or recently brought you love, joy, or hope.

Family Table at Home is a resource offering a daily scripture passage, discussion questions, suggestions on ways to get creative, and a prayer. If you would like to receive the Family Table at Home email, contact Diane Maloney.