The Opening Service - Greater Mt Zion AME

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHELEVENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICTWEST COAST ANNUAL CONFERENCE76 YearsAnnual Conference Theme:Prayer, Praise, Proclamation and Prophetic Engagement“Intentional About Ministry – Generation to Generation”The Opening ServiceTuesday, October 11, 2016Six fifty-five in the EveningBishop Adam J. Richardson, Jr.Presiding PrelateMrs. Connie Speights RichardsonEpiscopal SupervisorConvening withNew Bethel African Methodist Episcopal ChurchLakeland, FloridaThe Rev. Eddie LakeHost PastorThe Rev. Jimmy J. ThompsonHost Presiding ElderThe Rev. James O. Williams, Sr.Associate Presiding ElderThe Rev. Joyce J. MooreAssociate Presiding Elder1

The Opening ServicePresiding Elder Joyce J. Moore, Worship LeaderThe Prelude to Worship(#108 Total Praise Hymnal)I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.In my mouth. In my mouth, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.(Text Psalm 34:1; Tune by Shirley M. K. Berkeley; Arr. by Valeria A. Foster)The Great Processional(#113 Total Praise Hymnal)Every praise is to our God, every word of worship with one accordEvery praise, every praise is to our God.Sing hallelujah to our God, glory hallelujah is due our God,Every praise, every praise is to our God.God my Savior, God my Healer, God my Deliverer. Yes, He is; Yes, He is.Every praise is to our God, every word of worship with one accordEvery praise, every praise is to our God.(Hezekiah Walker)The DoxologyPraise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below;Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.The Call to WorshipThe Rev. Eddie LakeLeader:I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into house of the Lord, our feet shall standwithin your gates, O Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:1)People:For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in thehouse of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Psalm 84:10)Minister:People:Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good. (Psalm. 122:9)Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our God.Psalm 92:13)Minister:People:Minister:People:Blessed are they that dwell in Your house. Lord, I have loved Your habitation, the placewhere Your honor dwells. (Psalm 26:8)For the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him. (Hab 2: 20)Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight,O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)O sing unto the Lord a new song, for God has done marvelous things. Make a joyfulnoise unto the Lord, all the earth, sing praises. (Psalm 98:1, 4)The Hymn of Praise(#304 AMEC, St. Thomas)The Rev. Dr. David W. Green, Sr.And are we yet alive, and see each other’s face?Glory and praise to Jesus give for His redeeming grace!Preserved by power Divine to full salvation here,Again in Jesus’ praise we join and in His sight appear.What troubles have we seen, what conflicts have we passed,Fightings without, and fears within, since we assembled last.2

But out of all the Lord Hath brought us by His love;And still He doth His help afford, and hides our life above.Then let us make our boast of His redeeming power,Which saves us to the uttermost, till we can sin no more.Let us take up the cross, till we the crown obtain;And gladly reckon all things loss, so we may Jesus gain.(Words by Charles Wesley; Tune by Aaron Williams)The Preface to Prayer(#134, African American Heritage Hymnal)God is the joy and the strength of my life,He moves all pain, misery and strife.He promised to keep me, never to leave me,He's never, ever come short of His word.I've got to fast and pray, stay in the narrow way.I'll keep my life clean every day.I want to go with Him when He comes back.I've come too far and I'll never turn back.God is, God is, God is, God is, God is my all and all.(Text and Tune by Dr. Robert J. Fryson)The Prayer of InvocationThe Rev. Odell GordonThe Choral Response(#356, Total Praise Hymnal)He's so real, real in my soul today. He has washed all of my sins away.Jesus' love just bubbles over in my soul.(Text and Tune by Charles H. Nicks, Jr.)The Worship through MusicThe Scripture ReadingsFrom the Hebrew ScripturesThe EpistleThe Gospel (All Standing)The West Coast Conference ChoirJeremiah 29:1, 4-72 Timothy 2:8-15Luke 17:11-19The Rev. Ella EdwardsThe Rev. Clarence WilliamsThe Rev. Bryant FaysonThe Introit to the Decalogue(#69, AMECH)From all that dwell below the skies, let the Creator's praise arise;Let the Redeemer's name be sung, through every land by every tongue.Eternal are Thy mercies, Lord, Eternal truth attends Thy word;Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore, till suns shall rise and set no more.(Isaac Watts)The Decalogue (Abridged)The Rev. Ronnie ClarkLeader:GOD spoke all these words: I am GOD, your GOD, who brought you out of a life of slavery.No other gods, only ME. No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever,whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve thembecause I am GOD, your God, and I’m a most jealous GOD, punishing the children for anysins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation ofthose who hate me. But I’m unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keepmy commandments. No using the name of GOD in curses or silly banter; GOD won’t put3

up with the irreverent use of GOD’s name. Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honoryour father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that GOD is giving you.No murder. No adultery. No stealing. No lies about your neighbor. Don’t set your hearton anything that belongs to your neighbor.People:Leader:LORD, have mercy upon us, and write these laws upon our hearts.Nearer, my God to Thee, nearer to Thee!E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me;Still all my song shall be, nearer my God to Thee;Nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee.Hear what Christ, our Savior, says: Love the Lord God with all your passion and prayerand intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you loveyourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.” (Message Bible, Mark12:30-31)The Gloria Patri(#626 AMECH)Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.(Henry W. Greatorex)The Offering for Nehemiah MinistryThe Rev. Karen Jackson SimsThe Litany“An Affirmation to Stand”The Rev. Keturah PittmanLeader:Before we grow numb to violence in our nation and in our neighborhoods, before we succumb to ourtendency to forget, before we are numbered among the irrelevant; let us raise our voices to affirm thatwe stand!People:We stand in the tradition of a prophetic calling, rooted in sacred scriptures; affirmed in our faithtradition; sustained by grace in our personal walk with God.We stand with families still reeling from the savagery of gun violence, in their bereavement, in theirpain, grieving for their children. Mothers' Days and Birthdays, and Special Days and anticipatedGraduation Days are now bathed in Sorrow.We stand to declare: ENOUGH! Too many of our youths have fallen victim to gun violence; too manyguns, too many wounded, too many funerals, too much Hope lost, too much Promise buried.We stand against the interpretation of laws that would justify a shooting, a killing -- shielding assailantswith a cloak of immunity -- as unconscionable and indefensible.We stand for justice, peace, right and righteousness at a time when apathy endangers our existence,injustice could potentially rule the day, peace is in jeopardy, right is gray, and righteousness is relative.We stand to say we Care -- about the safety of our communities, about violence as the bane of ourhumanity, about the crippling menace of poverty; about advocating for the voiceless, about ministeringto the hurting, about working to make a positive difference.We stand in the power of our great Faith -- in humility, civility and grace -- to Pray, to Act, to Affirm -that we stand in the tradition of the prophets to make our voices heard.4

(A Litany by Bishop Adam J. Richardson, 2013)The Worship through MusicThe Conference ChoirThe Presentation of the BishopPresiding Elder Jimmy J. ThompsonThe Presentation of the PreacherThe Sermonic HymnBishop Adam J. Richardson, Jr.(#83 AMECH)The Rev. Shirley Williams-HayesO Thou in whose presence my soul takes delight,On whom in affliction I call,My comfort by day, and my song in the night,My hope, my salvation, my all.Where dost Thou at noontide resort with Thy sheep,To feed on the pastures of love?Say, why in the valley of death should I weep,Or alone in the wilderness rove?O, why should I wander an alien from Thee,Or cry in the desert for bread?Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see,And smile at the tears I have shed.He looks, and ten thousands of angels rejoice,And myriads wait for His word;He speaks, and eternity, filled with His voice,Re-echoes the praise of her Lord.Dear Shepherd, I hear and will follow Thy call;I know the sweet sound of Thy voice.Restore and defend me, for Thou art my All,And in Thee I will ever rejoice.(Text by Joseph Swain, Tune Freeman Lewis)The Annual SermonThe Rev. James Vincent WilliamsThe Invitation to Christian Discipleship(Words #185, Tune #141, AMECH)The Rev. Gregory V. Gay, Sr.There is a name I love to hear; I love to sing its worth;It sounds like music in mine ear, the sweetest name on earth.Refrain:O how I love Jesus! O how I love Jesus!O how I love Jesus! Because He first loved me.It tells me of a Saviors love, who died to set me free;It tells me of His precious blood, the sinner's perfect plea.It tells of One whose loving heart can feel my deepest woe,Who in mu sorrows bears apart that none can bear below.5

Jesus! the name I love so well, the name I love to hear;No saints on earth its worth can tell, no heart conceive how dear.(Text and Tune by Frederick Whitfield)The Stewardship Responsive ReadingThe Rev. Kenneth IrbyLeader:The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof and those who dwell therein. (Ps. 24:1)People:Give and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together andrunning over. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back. (Luke 6:38)Leader:People:Each of us should give what we have decided to give, not reluctantly or undercompulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)Therefore we affirm: Let the Lord’s People, bring the Lord’s money, to the Lord’shouse, on the Lord’s Day and receive the Lord’s blessing.The Worship in GivingThe Conference Stewardship CommitteeThe Offertory(#644 AMECH)All things come of Thee, O Lord; and of Thine own have we given Thee. Amen.(Ludwig van Beethoven)The Introduction of VisitorsThe Rev. Bryant FaysonAnnouncementsThe Rev. Eddie LakeThe Affirmation of FaithThe Rev. Raymond StallworthI believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, ourLord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, wascrucified, dead, and buried. The third day He arose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits onthe right hand of God, the Father Almighty: from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. Ibelieve in the Holy Spirit, the Church Universal, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, theresurrection of the body and the life everlasting.The DoxologyPraise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below;Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.The BenedictionThe Rev. James V. Williams6