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Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

Hymn of Praise: “My Life Flows On in Endless Song” HS 157

Invitation to Worship

HS 157

*Hymn of Praise: “Rejoice, Ye Saints of Latter Days” 

*Invocation

*Response

Challenge

HS 36

Hymn of Baptism: “O Lord, Thy People Gathered Here” 

Baptism(s)

Time of Meditation

HS 352

Hymn: “A Diligent and Grateful Heart” 

HS 362

Reading: “We Write the Story”

Let us remember the God of new beginnings.
     In the beginning… God… created… heaven and earth… and all things
     therein.
     And behold, all of God’s creation is very good.
We are the children of God-
Loved from the foundations of the world
By a God who is constantly giving on our behalf.

We are members of the Christian community.
We are joined by countless millions, present and past,
Who confess that Jesus is the Christ.

We are the children of the Restoration.
We knelt in Palmyra’s grove
And heard the voice of God directing us to the Christ.

We journeyed to Kirtland
Where we gave our precious possessions
To build a House of the Lord.

We heard God’s call to frontier living and journeyed to Independence.
Here we experienced both the joy of community
And the bitterness of persecution.

We resettled in Nauvoo-the City Beautiful.
Here, again, we experienced rich community
And the bitterness of dissent.

We are the children of the Reorganization.
We stood in Beloit, Amboy, Plano, and Lamoni,
And once again in the Center Place.

Our story is partially told in the life of a family:
     Joseph Jr. and Emma
     Joseph III and Fred M.
     Israel, W. Wallace, and Wallace B.

We have recently known the joy of expanding fellowship,
Joining with those of other continents and cultures
To express worldwide Zionic community. (pause)

We are the church of Jesus Christ in today’s world.
We owe a debt of gratitude to those who forged our heritage.
Their faith laid the foundation for our commitments.

We go with confidence into the future with God,
Knowing who we are and whose we are,
To write the story not heard before.

We are the children of God.
We are members of the Christian Community.
We are the children of the Restoration and Reorganization.
We are the church of Jesus Christ in today’s world.
We will write the story not heard before.
-By Geoffrey Spencer, from Prayers and Readings for Worship, Vol. 1,
Judy Judd, ed. (Independence, Missouri: Herald House, 1987), 78-79.

Hymn: “We Are One in the Spirit” 

HS 466

Congregational Response:

We are the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of us as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for we are all one in Christ Jesus.
-Galatians 3:26-28, adapted

Hymn of Confirmation: “O God, to Us Be Present Here” 

Confirmation(s)

Offering

HS 358

*Hymn of Witness: “Make Us, O God, a Church That Shares” HS 484

*Benediction:

*Response

*Postlude