Peace Mennonite Home-Based Worship: November 22, 2020

Welcome to worship with Peace Mennonite Church. If this is your first time worshiping with us, please watch this welcome video from our pastor.

Contact Pastor Joanna

Whether you are new to Peace or a regular participant, we are glad you are with us in worship and invite you to join us for our Zoom discussion and prayer time at 11:00 each Sunday morning. Simply click this link.

You are also welcome to join us for our Peace Pursuits Bible study and topic discussions on Wednesday nights. More church announcements are here.

“Fall Leaves on Birch Bark” by Sonja Kaufman

Prelude: O Love, that will not let me go

Welcome:

Opening Scripture:

Call to Worship: This call to worship is in honor of International Transgender Day of Remembrance, which was this past Friday, November 20.

Gathering Hymn: Come ye thankful people, come (Hymnal Worship Book #94)

Congregational Prayer:
You are invited to offer your prayers to God. For what are you thankful this morning? What would you ask of God for yourself? Who do you know who needs God’s loving presence right now? What are your prayers for our community, our country, and our world?

Feel free to share your prayers with people around you, in the comments below, or on our Zoom call at 11 Sunday morning.

This week I invite you to pray for the people of Central America who have been battered by hurricanes Eta and Iota over the last couple of weeks.

MCC asks for support for Central American hurricane recovery. Not one, but two hurricanes within two weeks have caused extensive flooding in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Hurricanes Eta and Iota have destroyed crops and forced people from their homes. MCC is working with churches and community organization to provide emergency food, hygiene supplies and cleanup support. Join us as we help these communities recover. You can donate online, by phone (888) 563-4676 or by mail at MCC, 21 S. 12^th St., PO Box 500, Akron PA 17501.

The Lord’s Prayer:

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 36:1-8, 21-23, 27-28; 31:31-34

Hymn: Trust and Obey (Hymnal Worship Book #544)

Sermon:

Prayer Practice for the Week: Observing Transgender Day of Remembrance

From Elle Magazine:

“It’s only November, yet 2020 is the deadliest year on record for the transgender community.

“November 20, is Transgender Day of Remembrance. The observance grew out of a vigil for Rita Hester, a member of the Boston LGBTQ+ community who worked locally on education around trans issues and nurtured many of the city’s LGBTQ+ youth. She was killed in her home on November 28, 1998, a few days shy of her 35^th birthday. Twenty-two years later, her murder has not been solved.

“This year, at least 34 transgender or gender non-conforming people have been murdered by violent means in the United States. This number is likely higher; victims are, to this day, often misgendered in local police statements and media reports, which can delay awareness of deadly incidents. The majority of these victims, like Hester, were Black transgender women living at the intersection of racism, homophobia, and transphobia.”

I invite you to pray this prayer, written by Rabbi Reuben Zellman, an openly transgender rabbi:

God full of mercy, bless the souls of all who are in our hearts on this Transgender Day of Remembrance. We call to mind today young and old, of every race, faith, and gender experience, who have died by violence. We remember those who have died because they would not hide, or did not pass, or did pass, or stood too proud. Today we name them: the reluctant activist; the fiery hurler of heels; the warrior for quiet truth; the one whom no one really knew.
As many as we can name, there are thousands more whom we cannot, and for whom no prayers may have been said. We mourn their senseless deaths, and give thanks for their lives, for their teaching, and for the brief glow of each holy flame. We pray for the strength to carry on their legacy of vision, bravery, and love.
[You can find a list of trans people killed in 2020 on the Human Rights Campaign website.]
And as we remember them, we remember with them the thousands more who have taken their own lives. We pray for resolve to root out the injustice, ignorance, and cruelty that grow despair. And we pray, God, that all those who perpetrate hate and violence will speedily come to understand that Your creation has many faces, many genders, many holy expressions.
Blessed are they, who have allowed their divine image to shine in the world.
Blessed is God, in whom no light is extinguished.”

(from QSpirit.net)

Offering

You are invited to mail your financial contributions to the church (615 Lincoln St., Lawrence, KS, 66044) or to the home of our treasurer, Roberta Renz (address in the church directory).

See the “How and Where to Give” section of our announcements page for information on giving to other organizations who need funding at this time.

Closing Hymn: Be thou my vision (Hymnal Worship Book # 545)