Calendar

Order of Worship

Maundy Thursday offers an opportunity for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper at an hour when, perhaps, the associations are most filled with meaning and responsive feelings. The name by which the day is identified is a corruption of the Latin mandatum novum, meaning “new mandate,” and refers to Christ’s new commandment that “you love one another,” found in John 13:34.

Prelude

O Mensch bewein, dein Sünde gross, (“O humankind, bewail your sins so great”) BWV 622, Johann Sebastian Bach

Bach’s profound faith and artistry coalesce in his text painting of this Passiontide chorale. The tune is lavishly ornamented throughout, with a notable exception. In the final statement, “He bore the burden of our sins, long upon the cross extended,” the ornamentation abruptly ceases, leaving the melody in stark relief, and Bach gave a rare indication of tempo, where he wrote adagissimo directly over the word lange; stretching out the phrase just as Christ was long stretched out upon the cross.

† Call to Worship

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you should love one another.

In worship on this night,
we testify to God’s love shown perfectly in Christ,
and we recommit ourselves
to love one another as Christ loves us.

† Hymn #215                                                                  “What Wondrous Love is This”

Prayer of Adoration

Prayer of Confession

Lord Jesus Christ, how well you know our hearts.

And still you love us—
you have loved us to the end.

Silence

We have betrayed you,

And we have betrayed your commandment
to love one another.

Silence

Pour out your Spirit of grace upon us.

Teach us to love and serve you faithfully,
to love and serve one another
through the power of your Spirit,
who gives us the capacity to love.

Declaration of forgiveness

Scripture                                                                                                   John 15:1-17

Meditation                                                                                      Always Beyond Our Grasp, Ken Kovacs

Sacrament of Communion

† Hymn #428                                                        “Before I Take the Body of My Lord”

Invitation to the Table

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory, forever. Amen.

WORDS of institution

Sharing of the meal

Hymn #227                                                                             “Jesus, Remember Me”

Prayer of gratitude

God of grace, your Son Jesus Christ gave us
this holy meal of bread and wine
in which we share his body and blood.

May we who have celebrated this sign of his love
show in our lives the fruits of his redemption;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Anthem                                                                   Were You There? Arr. Bob Chilcott

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

The Journey toward death

The Passion of Our Lord According to John

Please remain seated for the remainder of the service.

Jesus Prays

Betrayal and Arrest

Hymn #218 (verses 1-2), “Ah, Holy Jesus”

Denial

Indictment

Hymn #218 (verses 3-5), “Ah, Holy Jesus”

Denial

TriaL

Hymn #217 (Verses 1-2), “On a Barren Hilltop”

Fear

Condemnation and Rejection

Hymn #221, “O Sacred Head Now Wounded”

Crucifixion

Entombment

On Our Way

Darkness

When you are ready, please depart the sanctuary in silence

Sources

Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013).

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-734388; CCLI Copyright License B 20481088 + Streaming License B 481071

Readers

Hollie Einolf

Bill Henderson

Mark Kennedy

Greg Knauf

Norman Lazarus

Cynthia Schwanz

Stephanie Stevens

Charre Symms

Worship Participants

Dorothy Boulton
Associate Pastor

Keith and Kathy Glennan
A/V Production

Wendy Johnston
Organist and Assistant Director of Music

Greg Knauf
Director of Music

Ken Kovacs
Pastor

Vickie Lord
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