“Bringing People to Christ and Christ to People”
May 17, 2026 9:45 a.m.
Ascension Sunday
Leader: We are a community of faith that has been created by the love of God.
People: We are the people who have been set free by the world of forgiveness in Jesus Christ, and are therefore a people called to reach out to the sojourners in our midst and in other lands, people whose lives cry out for the warm embrace of fellowship.
Leader: We have come not to exalt our own goodness, but to praise the holiness of God.
People: We have come not to boast of what we have done, but to proclaim the redeeming work of Jesus Christ by extending the hand of community to all those on the margins.
All: With all our being, we will praise God and tell of God's goodness in our acts of kindness and love toward the "least" among us in our times.
From The Uprooted Ones: Remembering
Refugees
(Uniting Church in Australia), In Welcoming the
Stranger,
posted on the Minnesota Council of Churches
*HYMN I Have Decided
FWS 2129
SCRIPTURE READING Psalm 96: 1-6
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 4For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 5For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 6Splendor
and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
The Word of God for the People of God.
MESSAGE FOR YOUNG CHRISTIANS WORSHIP WITH TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 8Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. 9Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. 10Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. 11Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. 12Let the fields be
jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. 13Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Music Director: Mike Nelson Videographer: Roger Vandegrift Liturgist: Pat Kern
ANNOUNCEMENTS
There will be a St. John’s United Methodist Church, Church Conference after the Worship Service on May 31 to vote on an increase in salary and benefits for Pastor Shannon as she becomes a full-time pastor assigned only to St. John’s and the Salisbury University Wesley Foundation.
Requests include: rice, beans, corn flour, vegetable oil, sugar, spaghetti noodles and sauce, and feminine hygiene products. There are plastic containers on the far side of the social hall for donations.
June 13 – Yard and Food Sale to benefit Missions Team – Please start gathering items to donate and mark your calendars for the work date of Friday, June 12.
PRAYER CHAIN – Call or text Pat Kern at 443-783-6423
NEWSLETTER – Submit information by the 20th of the month to Paul Nelson at pnelson37@gmail.com