November 3, 2002

Leader: When we stumble and our faith falters,
All: God’s faithfulness bears us along
Leader: When our spirits soar and our faith grows strong,
All: God’s faithfulness lifts us to new heights of devotion.
Leader: When our daily duties distract, and our vision grows fuzzy,
All: God’s faithfulness pierces the fog to beckon us.
Leader: God’s faithfulness endures forever! Let us lift our hearts in praise to the One who is our God this day and forever more.

Worship Songs
Children’s Story
Psalm 139 HWB 823
Prayer of confession
Hymns

Proclaiming God's Word

Scripture Colossians 2:1-15
Sermon That their hearts be united and encouraged in love
Covenant Renewal Reading

ALL: We, the people of Charlottesville Mennonite Church, believe in God the creator of the universe. We confess Jesus, the Christ, God’s Son as Savior. We have opened our lives to the Holy Spirit, trusting the Spirit to enable us to understand God’s will, as revealed in the Bible and through the Christian community, and to equip us to demonstrate the spirit of Jesus in all of our relationships.
Leader: We commit ourselves to a life of discipleship.
ALL: We will follow the teaching and example of Jesus Christ, giving ourselves to learning, repentance, obedience, and active witness. We will practice a life of study, prayer and meditation; confessing openly our spiritual struggles; giving and receiving counsel, support, and teaching. We will strive to live with integrity in a world of materialism, inequity, deception, and idolatry.
Leader: We commit ourselves to a life of worship.
ALL: We will come together having prepared ourselves to meet God and each other, and will actively participate in worship. We will bring to God and God’s people expressions of our faith through music, sharing, prayer, giving and proclamation.
Leader: We commit ourselves to a life of ministry.
ALL: We will join ourselves to Christ’s purposes by seeking to reconcile persons to God and each other. We will support broader Mennonite Church programs through faithful giving, personal involvement, and prayer. We will recognize our interdependence with the larger body of Christ, maintaining our connections wherever possible.
Leader: We commit ourselves to a life of love.
ALL: We will show our love for each other by sharing abilities, gifts and material resources for the good of the whole. We will offer our time, possessions and abilities to God for the building of the kingdom. We will practice hospitality through warmly accepting all persons in our church, small groups and homes.

In loving response to God’s saving acts in our lives, we do hereby bind ourselves to God in Christ and to our brothers and sisters in a covenant relationship. By this covenant we declare our commitment to live in obedience as a fellowship of believers under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Communion & Covenant Renewal Signing
Foot washing
Hymn

Responding to God's call

Joys and concerns
Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Announcements
Hymn
Benediction

Today

Worship Leader – Maren Tyedmers Hange
Sermon – Roy Hange
Music – Mel Janzen, Libby Showalter, Michelle Heatwole, Alderfers
Nursery – Shumate family

Announcements

Please pray for Roy Hange as he speaks at the Mennonite Middle East Reference Group meetings in Cyprus over the coming weekend. Every two years MMERG brings together the representatives from Rosedale Missions, Eastern Mennonite Missions, Mennonite Mission Network, Mennonite Central Committee and Christian Peacemaker Team.

A "Festival of Praise" will feature the harmonious sounds of men's voices as quartets, octets, and a mass choir sing Gospel songs on Sunday, November 17, at 4:00 p.m. at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg. An offering will be received to support music ministries of Virginia Mennonite Board of Missions. All are welcome!

Samuel Escobar, a native of Peru who is widely-known for his writing, evangelistic work, and long-time ministry to student groups, will present the annual Augsburger Lecture Series at Eastern Mennonite University, Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 18-19. Escobar will speak on the theme, “Migration and Mission: The Gospel and People on the Move.” He will speak in undergraduate chapel 10 a.m. Monday in Lehman Auditorium on “Abraham: Father of Migrants” and at a dinner-lecture program 5:30 p.m. that day in the west dining room of the university cafeteria on "Migration: Challenge and Avenue to Mission.” Tickets, including dinner, are $7 and should be ordered by Nov. 13 by calling the EMU box office at 432-4582. Admission to other presentations is free. Escobar will also speak in seminary chapel 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Martin Chapel on the topic, “From Hostility to Hospitality.” For more information, call 540-432-4100.

"Islam and the Gospel" will be addressed by Dr. David W. Shenk at Weavers Mennonite Church on Nov. 9 and 10 in 3 sessions -- Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 10:20 a.m. and 7 p.m. All are welcome.

Prayers and Praises

VMBM: The cell group that Jason & Donna Martin lead in Bari, Italy, has been growing. Several of their neighbors have attended, and one week there were sixteen people in attendance. One woman has been asking many questions, and the Martins are thankful for the opportunity to help her understand God’s forgiveness and plan of salvation.

Mennonite Mission Network: Pray for the Married Couples Fellowship enrichment weekend November 8-10 in Gaborone, Botswana, to which Mission Network workers Rudy and Sharon Dirks relate. The couples are very excited and are doing much of the planning. May this endeavor encourage faithful and godly Christian marriages in a country where HIV/AIDS is a crisis.

Gathering in Christ's name

Proclaiming God's Word

Responding to God's call

Today

Announcements

Prayers and Praises