Morning Worship

We offer you a warm welcome, and as is our practice, we remember that the land on which we meet is, was, and always will be native land. We acknowledge those indigenous tribes to Oklahoma: the Wichitas, Caddos, Plains Apaches, and the Quapaws, as the original custodians of the land in this place. We grieve the violence done to native language, culture, and personhood, and seek to honor the sovereignty and dignity of native peoples.

We are so glad you've joined us, whether onsite or online. Please take a moment to tell us you are here by using the sign-in button below.

Glenda Stansbury

One: Good morning and welcome from Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ, where no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey . . .
All: You are welcome here

One: Children of God, if we lift our nets and they are empty, Christ calls, “Come here!”

All: Here hope in God’s abundance is restored, and we cast out again.


One: If we are looking but do not recognize the Holy in our midst, Christ calls, “Come here!”

All: Here we open our eyes and find Christ among us.


One: If we are tired and hungry, Christ calls, “Breakfast’s ready. Come and get it!”

All: Here we are nourished in body and in spirit so that we might in turn nourish others.

Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'
Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Clint Williams and Glenda Stansbury

There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow
There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow.
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye
And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky.

Oh, what a beautiful mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feelin'
Everything's goin' my way.

All the cattle are standin' like statues
All the cattle are standin' like statues
They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by
But a little brown mav'rick is winkin' her eye

Oh, what a beautiful mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feelin'
Everything's goin' my way.

All the sounds of the earth are like music
All the sounds of the earth are like music
The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree
And an ol' weepin' willow is laughin' at me

Oh, what a beautiful mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feelin'
Everything's goin' my way.
Oh, what a beautiful day!

One: "May the peace of Christ be with you."
All: "And also with you!"

For the joys of this congregation, let the people say: “Thanks be to God!”

Let us say together the Lord’s Prayer, a translation by this congregation:

All: Our Creator, who is in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come, your 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 you reign in the power that is love, now and always, Amen.

What a Wonderful World
Bob Thiele and George David Weiss
Carolyn Sargent and Glenda Stansbury

I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying
I love you

I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Rev. Sheridan Irick

[an Australian paraphrase by Rev. Nathan Nettleton]
One of the places where Jesus appeared to his followers after his resurrection was at Lake Galilee. A few of them had gathered there: Simon Peter; Thomas the Twin; Nathaniel, who came from Cana in Galilee; the two sons of Zebedee; and a couple of others. Simon Peter had decided to go fishing, and the rest of them had said, “You can count us in. We’ll come too.” They spent the night in the boat, but they didn’t catch a thing.
 
They were heading back in to shore as the sun came up, when they saw a man standing on the beach. It was Jesus, but they didn’t recognize him. Jesus called out to them, “Morning boys! How are the fish biting?”
 
“We haven’t caught a thing,” they replied.
 
Jesus said, “Try casting off the right-hand side of the boat instead. You’ll find some there.”
 
So they did, and suddenly there were fish everywhere—more than they could pull in. The disciple with whom Jesus had been most intimate said to Peter, “It’s got to be the Lord!”
 
Simon Peter had been stripped for work, but when he heard it was the Lord, he threw his shirt back on, dived into the sea, and struck out for the shore. They weren’t far off the beach—no more than a hundred meters—so the rest of them dragged the boat in with the load of fish.
 
When they arrived on the beach, they found that Jesus had a fire going and was baking some damper-bread and barbecuing some fish. He looked up and said to them, “Put on some of the fish you’ve just caught.”
 
Simon Peter dragged in the catch. There were a hundred and fifty-three fish in all, most of them whoppers. It was surprising that the fishing tackle was still intact after landing them all. Jesus said, “Breakfast’s ready. Come and get it!”
 
Some of the disciples half-wanted to say, “Who are you?” but none dared because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus divided up the bread among them and then did the same with the fish. This was the third time the disciples had seen Jesus alive since he had been raised from the dead.
 
When they had finished eating breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me above anyone else?”
 
Simon Peter replied, “Yes, Lord. You know I do.”
 
Jesus said to him, “Then feed my lambs.”
 
Then he asked him again, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
 
He replied, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”
 
Jesus said to him, “Well, take care of my sheep.”
 
Jesus asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
 
Peter was starting to feel hurt that Jesus kept questioning his love, and the third time he replied, “Lord, you know everything. You know how much I love you.”
 
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. I kid you not, Simon, when you were a young bloke, you dressed however you liked and went wherever you wanted. But when you are an old man, you’ll put your hands up when you’re told to, you’ll wear what’s issued to you, and you’ll be taken places you don’t want to go.” (In saying this, Jesus was foreshadowing the kind of death Simon Peter would eventually face in his honoring of God.) After that, Jesus simply said, “Follow me.”

One: May God grant to us the grace to never sell ourselves short, the courage to risk something big for something good, and the wisdom to know that the world is too small for anything but love. So let us go in peace, pray for peace, wage a little peace, and love one another . . .

ALL: …every single other.

What Does the Lord Require?
Jim Strathdee

Part 1: What does the Lord require of you? What does the Lord require of you?

Part 2: Justice, kindness, walk humbly with your God. Justice, kindness, walk humbly with your God.

Part 3: To do justice, and love kindness and walk humbly with your God. To do justice, and love kindness and walk humbly with your God.

[Sung in a round, Part 1 begins the response, joined the second time by Part 2, then by Part 3, and then a fourth time through. For those in-person, it is our tradition for the congregation to stand and turn towards the center aisle during the benediction response so that we might "send each other forth" to embody what we sing.]