Sunday, September 20, 2020
Community in Christ Lutheran Church
16th Sunday after Pentecost
Welcome to worship! We are glad you are here today!
If you are visiting with us, please let us know if there is anything you would like to know about our family of faith.
While we are worshiping together this day, please be mindful of the distance between you and others who are not part of your family unit. Greet one another! Check in with one another! But please keep a space of at least 6 feet from those who are not in your family unit. We ask that you wear your mask while you are on the property. Once the service begins, you will remain at or in your vehicle.
Bathrooms are available in the church narthex if needed. Please enter through the side doors facing the ark. Members of only a single family unit are permitted in the bathroom at one time. Be mindful of cords on the ground that lead out to the worship space.
We are glad to see you at worship for many of reasons, and one of those reasons is because that means you are feeling well! As a reminder, if you can answer yes to any of the following questions, we ask you to return home and worship with the community on the livestream.
Have you had any of the following new/unexplained symptoms in the past 24 hours:
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Temperature of 100.0F or higher, cough, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, upset stomach?
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Do you live with anyone who has received a positive COVID-19 test result within the past 14 days?
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Do you live with anyone who has any of these symptoms or has been tested for COVID-19 and is waiting on a test result?
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
Confession & Forgiveness
In the name of the Father,
and of the ☩ Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name.
Amen.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Apostolic Greeting
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Prayer of the Day
Almighty and eternal God, you show perpetual lovingkindness to us your servants. Because we cannot rely on our own abilities, grant us your merciful judgment, and train us to embody the generosity of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Song --- Great is Thy Faithfulness ELW 733
Children’s Message
Reading - Jonah 3:10-4:11
10When God saw what [the people of Ninevah] did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
4:1But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
6The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel - Matthew 20:1-16
The Holy Gospel according to Matthew, the 20th chapter.
Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The Gospel of our Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Song - There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
Prayers of Intercession
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Peace
We share a sign of peace with one another from our location at our vehicle.
The Peace of the Lord be with you always.
And also with you.
Offering & Holy Communion
Immediately following the Words of Institution as the musicians and communion assistants are communing, ushers will approach your vehicle with the offering plate. Please place your offering in the plate without taking hold of the plate. We are grateful for the many means in which people are able to give of their tithes and their offerings. You are, of course, welcome to continue sending in your offering to the church office or using electronic giving on the church website for the sharing of your gifts.
A communion assistant will then follow to distribute communion to you using pre-packaged elements. The wafer and juice will come to you in a plastic chalice. The bread is on one side, the juice is on the other. In order to consume them you will need to remove two separate seals from the chalice. We encourage you to peel back the wafer seal first, consume it, and then the do the same for the juice. The chalice and seals can be disposed of when you return home.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
In the night in which he was betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
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,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Distribution of Communion
Post Communion Blessing & Prayer
And now may the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ strengthen us and keep us in his grace.
Amen.
Let us pray, …
Amen.
Song --- On Our Way Rejoicing ELW 537
Benediction & Dismissal
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord’s face shine on you with grace and mercy.
The Lord look upon you with favor and ☩ give you peace.
Amen.
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Postlude
As you depart this day, please be aware of foot traffic or people folding away chairs around you.
We look forward to seeing you again soon!
Adapted from sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. CCLI #2891390
Announcements:
NC Lutheran Disaster Response Mask Distribution – Earlier this year, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established an opportunity for non-profit sector organizations (including faith communities) to receive allotments of face coverings for use in the operations of their organization. Pursuant to FEMA regulations, the masks are to be used by congregations in connection with their operational processes. They are not to be given-away to the general public and may not be sold. The face coverings are 100% cotton infused with silver to help prevent viral/bacterial growth. They are prepackaged in sets of four (4), and all are adult—one size fits all. To avoid contamination, packages will not be opened for individual distribution. We have 375 packs to give to people involved in the life of our congregation. When you arrive at worship, you will be offered a pack … please take it! We will need you to fill out a small bit of information to be kept on record at the church office for 1 year. You can return that sheet to an usher during the offering.
Angels & Sparrows Soup Kitchen’s Thanksgiving and Christmas Meal Box Food Drive. - When we gather for worship on Sundays, September 20th and 27th, help us fill the grocery cart with items Angels and Sparrows needs in order to make Thanksgiving and Christmas Meal Boxes this Fall and Winter. The items they request are: Boxed Mashed Potatoes, Boxed Stuffing, Canned Cranberry Sauce, Canned Corn, Canned Green Beans, Boxed Cake Mix, Canned Frosting, Chocolate or Vanilla Instant Pudding, Cornbread Mix, Macaroni & Cheese, 32 oz. Can of Sweet Potatoes or Yams, 1 Can or Envelope of Gravy (no glass jars, please), Aluminum Roasting Pan, Aluminum Cake Pan. You may bring your items forward to the cart before or after worship. An usher will be happy to deliver your items to the cart if you prefer staying in your vehicle.
Annual Congregational Meeting - As you may recall, our previously scheduled annual meeting from June was postponed. The new date for the Annual Meeting will be on September 27th. The meeting will follow our outdoor worship service and take place in the parking lot. A packet of ministry information from the past year will be distributed to your vehicle and voting for council members will take place with a paper ballot. Please have a writing utensil in your vehicle.
New Members Class - The next CIC New Members Class will be Sunday, October 4th at 1 pm via Zoom. Please contact Carol Swing at to let her know you are interested and she will keep you updated on all the details. We welcome all questions, comments and concerns and encourage you to reach out to us. We look forward to this new adventure to have a virtual class with you!
Adult Sunday School: This year's adult Sunday School class will be focusing on a study of the book of Philippians and based on lectures by renowned New Testament scholar, N.T. Wright. The class is scheduled to begin on October 4th. Please contact Mark Myers if you are interested in finding out more about this faith formation opportunity (mark.myers82@gmail.com).
Calendar:
-Sunday, 9/20 – 6:30 pm 9th Grade Confirmation Small Group
-Tuesday, 9/22 – 10:30 am Bible Study on Zoom
-Wednesday, 9/23 – 7 pm 6th-8th Grade Confirmation Orientation on Zoom
-Sunday, 9/27 – 9 am Drive-in Worship; 10:30 Outdoor Annual Meeting