August 16, 2026 Order of Worship
Down to the River to Pray (arr. Mary McDonald) – Geoffrey Liu
Welcome to Worship – Terry Bolender
Opening Prayer – Jill Clifford
Leader: We have heard about you, God of all power.
People: You made the world out of kindness, creating order out of confusion.
Leader: You made each one of us in your own image.
People: Your fingerprint is on every soul, so we praise and worship you!
Leader: We have heard about you, Jesus Christ:
People: The carpenter who left his tools and trade,
Leader: The poor man who made others rich,
People: The healer who let himself be wounded,
Leader: The criminal on whom the soldiers spat not knowing they were fouling the face of God;
People: The savior who died and rose again, so we praise and worship you!
Leader: We have heard about you, Holy Spirit.
People: You broke the bonds of every race and nation to let God speak in every tongue.
Leader: You made disciples drunk with grace;
People: You converted souls and emptied pockets.
Leader: You showed how love makes all things new and opens the doors to change and freedom, so we praise and worship you!
People: We praise and worship you!
Down to the River to Pray – W&S #3164
Installation to Christian Ministry
SPRC Chair: Dear friends, today we welcome and celebrate Richard Thomas III and his family as they join us in ministry here at Kent United Methodist Church. Richard has been selected as the next Director of Discipleship Ministries. With him today are …
Jen Livingood will share a few words about Richard, introduce his family, his role in our church, and inform the congregation about how Terry and Richard will work together over the next two weeks.
Pastor: Richard, because all of our ministries are done in the service of Jesus Christ for the purpose of making Christian disciples at Kent United Methodist Church, we want to consecrate you to this holy vocation.
Questions to the Director of Discipleship Ministries
Pastor: Do you this day name yourself as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ?
Richard: I do.
Pastor: Will you devote yourself to the service of God and your neighbor in the world and to the formation of Christian disciples in this church?
Richard: I will.
Pastor: Will you so live that you enable this church to be a people of love, peace, justice, and Godly purpose?
Richard: I will.
Pastor: Will you do all in your power to lead with excellence in the ministries for which you have been chosen?
Richard: I will.
Presentation of the Word
Pastor: Richard, please accept this Bible as a gift from the congregation. Lead us in such ways that our faith is strengthened, our hope enlarged, our commitment to Christ, his love and justice, is deepened, and the Kingdom of God and its values revealed for all the world to see. In other words, please help us to live out God’s word in our everyday lives!
SPRC Chair: Richard, we thank you for all that you will do to lead this church, to enliven our ministry, to help us to grow in faith, and to go into the world in risk-taking mission and service! Please know how excited we all are to have you now accept God’s calling to lead us in discipleship ministry. We gratefully and with enthusiasm receive your leadership and commit ourselves to work alongside you in all that is required to grow this church.
Pastor: Church, let’s pray…Creating and Loving God, look with favor upon Richard as he reaffirms his commitment to follow Christ and to serve in his name. Give Richard courage, patience, and vision, and strengthen us all in our Christian vocation of witness to the world and generous-loving service to others. God help us to raise up the next generation of faithful followers, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
Time with Young Disciples – Stephanie McIlwain Miller
Scripture Reading – Jill Clifford
Introduction to First Epistle Reading
Our first reading this morning comes from 2 Corinthians, a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. Paul had some struggles with this church, and this letter was written as they were reconciling to one another. Paul’s big idea is that Jesus’ death on the cross should challenge our values and our worldview. Jesus’ followers should see strength in humility, weakness, and service – not things that our culture lifts up but are essential for followers of Jesus. Our reading from chapter 3 is Paul’s teaching about spending time in prayer, gazing on the glory of God, face to face, until we are transformed in God’s image. Here’s how Paul teaches contemplative prayer…
2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (Message)
With the hope of the saving love of Jesus to excite us, nothing holds us back in our relationship with God. Unlike Moses, we have nothing to hide. Everything is out in the open with us. Moses wore a veil so the children of Israel wouldn’t notice that the glory of God that shone on his face was fading away—and they didn’t notice. They didn’t notice it then and they don’t notice it now, don’t notice that there’s nothing left behind that veil. Even today when the law is read, they can’t see through it to be grasped by the Holy Spirit’s power for a changed life. Only Christ can get rid of the veil so they can see for themselves what’s truly there.
Whenever, though, we turn to God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there we are—face-to-face! In prayer, we suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, everything else falls away. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.
Introduction to the Second Epistle Reading
In the time of Jesus and Paul, Ephesus was a huge Greek city that was the worship center for the Greek and Roman Gods. For 2 years, the Apostle Paul worked in Ephesus to convince people to follow Jesus. Years later, while in prison, Paul wrote a letter to those Christians explaining how the Gospel changes everything about the way we live and relate to others. He finishes the letter with a prayer for God’s Holy Spirit power to root and ground us all in love, encouraging us to set our hearts and minds on God’s glory. Here’s Paul’s prayer…
Ephesians 3:16-21 (NRSVUE)
I pray that, according to the riches of God’s glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to God who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Practicing Prayer – Watching God Watching You in Love – Pastor Jim
It’s Me, It’s Me, O Lord – UMH #352
Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
Offering Our Gifts to God – Be Ye Glad (by Michael Kelly Blanchard) – Brian Kohler, Geoffrey Liu
Doxology – Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow, UMH #94
Prayer of Dedication – Pastor Jim and Congregation
Leader: All that we have, we have from you, Creator and Preserver of all.
People: Accept these gifts which we now offer. Help us to make the whole of life an offering and every thought a prayer.
Every Time I Feel the Spirit – UMH #404
Blessing – Pastor Jim
Whimsy on "They'll Know We Are Christians" (setting by David Schelat) – Geoffrey Liu
Resources for Worship
Opening Prayer is from the Iona Community in Scotland from Prayers Encircling the World: An International Anthology (Great Britain: SPCK, 1998) adapted for worship here by Jim Head-Corliss.