october 4,2026
Preacher: Rev. Dr. Boon Lin Ngeo
Please use this Order of Service to easily follow the service online.
CLICK HERE FOR HYMNS (or scroll to the bottom)
Prelude: Richard Harper
Chalice Lighting: When Times are Dark by Fred LaMotte
When times are dark the way becomes clear.
Trust in your breath. Rest in your heart. Bow to the stranger. This is the gospel of astonishment.
If we are completely lost we come home to each other.
Opening Hymn: O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing NCH 42
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship:
Give thanks to God, who is good,
Whose faithful love lasts forever!
When we are hungry and thirsty, lost in the wilderness,
God satisfies our thirst, and fills the hungry with good things.
God turns deserts into pools of water, and thirsty ground into springs.
So let us worship God.
Prayer of Invocation:
First Sacred Reading: Psalm 56: 1-7
To the leader: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me; 2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me. O Most High, 3 when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me? 5 All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They stir up strife; they lurk; they watch my steps, as they hoped to take my life.7 Do not deliver them for any reason; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
Passing of the Peace
Sharing of Our Joys & Concerns
Prayers of the People/Pastoral Prayer
Offering & Doxology: We Give You But Your Own – NCH 785
We give you but your own, what e'er the gift may be; All that we have is yours alone, we give it gratefully
Second Sacred Reading: Heart Sutra
Oh Shariputra, remember, Dharma is fundamentally emptiness, no birth, no death. Nothing is pure, nothing is defiled. Nothing can increase, nothing can decrease. Hence: in emptiness, no form, no feeling, no thought, no impulse, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no seeing, no hearing, no smelling, no tasting, no touching, no thinking, no realm of sight, no realm of thought, no ignorance and no end of ignorance, no old age and death and no end to old age and death. No suffering, no craving, no extinction, no path, no wisdom, no attainment. Indeed, there is nothing to be attained; the Bodhisattvas live this deepest wisdom with no hindrance in the mind, no hindrance therefore no fear. Far beyond delusive thinking they finally awaken to complete Nirvana. All Buddhas, Bodhisattvas of past, present, and future live this deepest wisdom and therefore reach the most supreme enlightenment. Therefore know that this wisdom beyond wisdom is the greatest Dharani, the brightest Dharani, the highest Dharani, the peerless Dharani. It completely ends all suffering. Know this as truth and do not doubt. So set forth this profound wisdom Dharani. Set forth this Dharani and declare: Gone, gone, gone to the other shore, attained the other shore, to beyond the other shore, having never left. Wisdom Heart Sutra.
Hymn of Reflection: Holy Spirit, Truth Divine NCH 63
Sermon: Trust and Surrender Your Fear
Service of Communion:
God is with you
And also with you
Let us open our hearts
Let us open them to God
Let us give God thanks and praise
It is a good and joyful thing to do
Closing Hymn: Go, My Children, with My Blessing NCH 82
Benediction: Rev. Dr. Boon Lin Ngeo
Postlude: Richard Harper
All Souls Bethlehem Church
An Open and Affirming Congregation
Pastor: Rev. Dr. Boon Lin Ngeo
Ministers: All Members of ASBC
Minister Emeritus: Rev. Bill Nye
First Time Visitor?
Please sign our red Guest Book (located near the entrance)
and be our guest at the gathering following the service!
Interested in “Official” Church Membership?
Please speak with Council President Raquel Irizarry about our next New Member gathering!
An All-inclusive, Welcoming Community of Faith
born from the traditions of the:
Disciples of Christ - www.Disciples.org
United Church of Christ - www.UCC.org
Unitarian Universalist Association - www.UUA.org
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