# [[2026-09-06]] ![[2026-09-06.svg]] ![[2026-09-06 Understanding_the_10th_Commandment.png]] # Back of Card ## Liturgical Context ### Christian Calendar - **Season:** Season after Pentecost (Ordinary Time) - **Week:** Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost — Proper 18 (Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time) - **Liturgical Year:** Year A (Matthew) - **Liturgical Color:** Green — growth, discipleship, and the church's common life - **Sacrament:** Holy Communion by intinction; pre-packaged elements are also available ### Hebrew Calendar - **Date:** 24 Elul 5786 - **Observances:** No major Jewish festival falls on this date. Elul is traditionally a month of introspection, teshuvah (return), prayer, charity, and preparation for the Days of Awe. The service's focus on coveting, truth, mercy, and generosity fits that season of moral self-examination. ### Ecumenical Observances - **Season of Creation:** September 1–October 4, a worldwide ecumenical season of prayer and action for creation. The 2026 theme is "Living Water." - **Creation in Christ:** September 6 is the first Sunday observance of the newly adopted RCL feast. St. John's bulletin does not name or use the feast; the service continues the congregation's Ten Commandments series. ### Revised Common Lectionary Readings Proper 18, Year A: - **First Reading:** [[Exodus 12#1|Exodus 12:1-14]] - **Psalm:** [[Psalm 149#1|Psalm 149:1-9]] - **Alternate First Reading:** [[Ezekiel 33#7|Ezekiel 33:7-11]] - **Alternate Psalm:** [[Psalm 119#33|Psalm 119:33-40]] - **Epistle:** [[Romans 13#8|Romans 13:8-14]] - **Gospel:** [[Matthew 18#15|Matthew 18:15-20]] Creation in Christ, Year A, may be observed instead: - **First Reading:** [[Genesis 1#1|Genesis 1:1-2:3]] or [[Genesis 2#4|Genesis 2:4-25]] - **Psalm:** [[Psalm 148#1|Psalm 148:1-14]] - **Epistle:** [[Acts 17#22|Acts 17:22a, 24-28]] - **Gospel:** [[John 1#1|John 1:1-5]] ### Narrative Lectionary Reading - **Year:** Year 1 (Matthew), 2026–27 - **Reading:** No Narrative Lectionary reading is assigned for September 6. The Year 1 schedule begins September 13 with NL101, "Flood and Promise": [[Genesis 6#5|Genesis 6:5-22]], [[Genesis 8#6|Genesis 8:6-12]], and [[Genesis 9#8|Genesis 9:8-17]], with optional companion [[Matthew 8#24|Matthew 8:24-27]]. > [!info] Lectionary relationship > St. John's readings — [[Matthew 22#34|Matthew 22:34-40]] and [[Exodus 20#17|Exodus 20:17]] — align with neither Proper 18 nor Creation in Christ. They continue the local Ten Commandments series. The Narrative Lectionary year has not yet begun. ### Connection to the Service The tenth commandment moves from outward acts to inward desire: coveting turns a neighbor's life or possessions into an object of acquisition. Jesus' summary of the law redirects desire toward love of God and neighbor. The litany names greed, exploitation, distorted truth, and self-centeredness as communal failures, while the hymns and Communion move toward gifts freely shared, bread broken, and life together at one table. --- ## Service Information - **Church:** St. John's United Church of Christ - **Date:** Sunday, September 6, 2026 - **Time:** 10:00 am - **Recording:** [Livestream, St. John's channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k) — 1:35:01 total. Service opens [19:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=1173s) · children's message [34:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2061s) · sermon [46:59](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2819s) · prayers [1:01:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=3686s) · Communion [1:17:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=4653s) · recognition of Roxanne [1:31:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=5481s) - **Location:** Sanctuary, 1811 Lincoln Way East, Chambersburg, PA 17202-3390 - **Pastor:** Rev. Caroline E. Saxton - **Denomination:** United Church of Christ - **Service Theme:** Ten Commandments: Do Not Covet - **Bulletin Cover:** Edd Scheer — a person using crutches assisted by another, surrounded by the phrases "How can I help?", "Most in need of prayers," "What can I offer ... share ... give," and "Riches are worthless ... unless they're freely given and shared." --- ## Order of Worship *Please stand in body or in spirit where marked with an asterisk.* ### Gathering #### Gathering Song — "This Is the Day" **Text and tune:** Les Garrett, 1967 **Scripture:** [[Psalm 118#24|Psalm 118:24]] **Copyright:** © 1967, 1980 Scripture in Song; administered by the current rights holder ![[Psalm 118#24]] > [!warning] Licensed lyrics not printed in the bulletin > The bulletin gives the title only. Use the congregation's licensed song source for the full chorus. #### Unison Welcome > "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." #### Announcements *As given, [19:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=1173s)–21:19.* - **Family Fun Day** after church next Sunday, September 13 — help and invitations both welcome; see Roxanne Davenport. - **Habitat for Humanity book sale** — sorting and related activities are underway and in "the thick of it"; see Harold Collier. *(Not in the printed bulletin.)* - **After worship today:** a celebration for Roxanne Davenport, and Pastor Caroline's travel talk on her recent trip to Ireland. - **Lost and found:** a pair of skis and two plastic sleds left over from Vacation Bible School decor need claiming; storage is short. *(Not in the printed bulletin.)* > [!note] Floor-only items > The Habitat book sale and the VBS skis exist nowhere in print. This is the recurring gap between what the bulletin carries and what the congregation actually hears, and it is an argument for a real events feed on the site. #### Passing of the Peace **Leader:** The peace of Christ be with you. **People:** And also with you. #### Chiming of the Trinity & Prelude #### *Call to Worship *Posted on the Seekers Church website; adapted.* **Leader:** In the days of Noah, God placed a rainbow in the sky as the sign of a covenant of God's love for all the earth. **People:** In the colors of the rainbow, we see the sign of God's grace for all creation. ![[Genesis 9#12]] ![[Genesis 9#13]] ![[Genesis 9#14]] ![[Genesis 9#15]] ![[Genesis 9#16]] ![[Genesis 9#17]] **Leader:** In the days of Moses, the words of God were written on tablets of stone, as a sign of the covenant between God and all of God's people. **People:** In the tablets of stone, we see the sign of God's hope for each to live in peace with God and neighbor. ![[Exodus 31#18]] **Leader:** In the days of the prophet, God promised to place a new covenant in our hearts. **People:** As members of the living Body of Christ, we see the sign of God's promise among us. ![[Jeremiah 31#31]] ![[Jeremiah 31#32]] ![[Jeremiah 31#33]] ![[Jeremiah 31#34]] **Leader:** May our worship reflect our desire to love God and neighbor! #### *Hymn #458 — "Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ" > [!note] Hymnal identification > Announced from the floor as "hymn number 458 in the green hymnal." Worth pinning down which book that is and recording it once in the bulletin-workflow reference — hymn numbers are only useful in these notes if the hymnal behind them is known, and the note's own hymn table has been assuming it. **Author:** Fred Kaan, 1975 **Tune:** LINSTEAD, LM with refrain **Music:** Jamaican folk song; adapted by Doreen Potter, 1975 **Copyright:** Words and music © 1975 Hope Publishing Company 1. Let us talents and tongues employ, reaching out with a shout of joy: bread is broken, the wine is poured, Christ is spoken and seen and heard. **Refrain:** Jesus lives again, earth can breathe again, pass the Word around: loaves abound! 2. Christ is able to make us one; at the table he sets the tone, teaching people to live to bless, love in word and in deed express. **Refrain:** Jesus lives again, earth can breathe again, pass the Word around: loaves abound! 3. Jesus calls us in, sends us out, bearing fruit in a world of doubt, gives us love to tell, bread to share: God (Immanuel) everywhere. **Refrain:** Jesus lives again, earth can breathe again, pass the Word around: loaves abound! #### Litany for Deliverance *Written by Bruce Prewer.* **Leader:** Save your people, God of truth and mercy, from the chaos of divided loyalties and the worship of many gods; **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** From making God in our own likeness and the slavery of self-centeredness; **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** From using God's name trivially and claiming God for our prejudices; **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** From neglecting sabbatical quiet times and being obsessed with busyness; **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** From ignoring or despising the elderly and over-indulging the new generation; **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** From glorifying armaments and war and wishing our enemies dead; **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** From watering-down love and marriage and the exploitation of sex, **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** From the legal robberies of the stock exchange and the cunning thefts of tax evasion; **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** From TV programmes that twist the facts, and cruel gossip in supermarkets, **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** From those who preach greed as a virtue and possession-lust which is never satisfied; **People:** Save us, God of truth and mercy. **Leader:** O Jesus Christ, Saviour of all who lose their way. O Healing Spirit, Power who renews the world; **People:** We need you, God of truth and mercy! Amen. ### Word #### Scripture Reading — Matthew 22:34-40 ![[Matthew 22#34]] ![[Matthew 22#35]] ![[Matthew 22#36]] ![[Matthew 22#37]] ![[Matthew 22#38]] ![[Matthew 22#39]] ![[Matthew 22#40]] #### Special Music — "Open My Eyes, That I May See" **Performer:** Rosemary Elder **Author and composer:** Clara H. Scott, 1895 **Tune:** OPEN MY EYES (also indexed as SCOTT) **Copyright:** Public domain > [!note] Bulletin identification > The bulletin shortens the title to "Open My Eyes, Illumine Me." The distinctive refrain, "Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine," points to Clara H. Scott's public-domain hymn. The bulletin does not print the arrangement or performed text, so confirm the exact selection during the service. > [!success] Confirmed in the live service > Clara H. Scott's hymn, three stanzas in the published order — **eyes** ("glimpses of truth thou hast for me"), **ears** ("voices of truth thou sendest clear"), and a combined **mouth and heart** stanza ("open my mouth and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere / open my heart and let me prepare love with thy children thus to share"), each closing on "Silently now I wait for thee... open my [eyes / ears / heart], illumine me, Spirit divine." Public domain, so nothing blocks printing it in future bulletins or on the site. > > The same tune opens the service as the prelude ([00:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=18s)–01:06), which makes it the day's musical frame: a prayer to be shown what one cannot yet see, wrapped around a sermon about desires one has not examined. Apt whether or not it was chosen for that reason. --- ## Children's Message Analysis — Roxanne Davenport **Presenter:** Roxanne Davenport, Director of Children & Youth **Curriculum:** Godly Play — "The Ten Best Ways" (Desert Box presentation) **Runtime:** ~12:13 **Audience:** Ages 5–12, gathered in the sanctuary **Framing:** Presented as a summary of Rev. Saxton's Ten Commandments series for children who leave for Children's Corner during the sermon and have not heard it > [!danger] RETRACTION HOLD — the card 7 finding is contradicted by a second source > **Do not circulate. Do not send. If any correspondence citing this finding has already gone out, it needs a correction.** > > **Original finding (source A):** at **00:08:08**, in the seventh slot of the Decalogue, the presenter says **"Don't break your parents' hearts"** where Godly Play card 7 reads **"Don't break your marriage."** > > **Second source (livestream auto-captions, reviewed 2026-09-08, same moment):** the list renders as *"Keep the Sabbath holy. Honor your mother and father. Don't kill. **Don't break your marriage.** Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't even want what others have."* — canonical card text, canonical position, no substitution and no visible self-correction. > > Clock alignment confirms both sources describe the same moment: the children's message begins around 34:50 on the livestream clock, so source A's 00:08:08 maps to roughly 42:58, and the livestream list sits at 42:50. > > **Verify at the tape:** [42:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2565s) > > **Assessment.** Two independent ASR systems disagree at a point where the two phrasings are not acoustically close, which means one of them is badly wrong rather than approximately wrong. The canonical reading is the more parsimonious: normalization *toward* familiar manual wording is a common ASR behavior, normalization *away* from it is not. Until audio confirms, treat the substitution as unsupported. > > **This is the "right conclusion, laundered evidence" pattern, and it is my own.** The formation-pipeline conclusion survives on other evidence — the Sinai boundary relocation, the transmission-chain elision, the closed obligation loop, and the complete absence of any power-directed referent — but the sharpest single piece of evidence for it is now contested, and the conclusion has to be re-argued from what remains rather than carried forward on a line that may not have been said. > [!note] Transcript artifacts > - "Bobby Clay curriculum" and "copy plate thing" → **Godly Play** > - "This is the desk" (00:02:01) → "This is the desert" > - **Speaker 2 — RESOLVED.** Participating children. Not a co-presenter, not diarization error. The livestream captions carry the exchange plainly at [43:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2637s): *"Which one? Say it louder." / "Six." / "Well, what? Read it to me, because I'm not seeing this." / "Don't kill."* Further child responses at 44:58 ("keep the Sabbath holy," "all of them," "ten — don't even want what others have") and 46:13 ("love"). At least five responses, including a child reading a card aloud when the presenter could not see it. **Engagement & application revised 3 → 4.** > - Announcements list Godly Play as ages 3–K, Room 119. This presentation ran to the full 5–12 span in the sanctuary, which is the source of most of the pedagogical strain below. ### Referent Inversion Register **Primary — card 7 substitution. SUSPENDED pending audio; see the retraction hold above.** The reasoning is preserved below because it becomes live again if the tape confirms the line, and is void otherwise. > Card 7's original referent is adult spouses, addressed to those holding power inside a marriage covenant. The substituted referent would be the children in the room, addressed as potential wounders of their parents. The vector would run from constraining the powerful to constraining the less powerful — the same direction as the fox redirected outward in the prior children's message. It would also convert a covenant obligation into a child's duty to manage adult emotional states, which is parentification with a commandment attached. > > In an Open and Affirming congregation the phrasing would be specifically load-bearing: "don't break your parents' hearts" is the sentence used against queer kids and against kids disclosing harm at home. **What survives without it.** The children's message contains no power-directed referent anywhere. Across twelve minutes the Decalogue is addressed exclusively to the hearers as potential rule-breakers, and no commandment is presented as a constraint on anyone holding power over anyone else — which is the reading the sermon builds its entire case on an hour later. That is inversion by **omission** rather than by substitution. Weaker than the original claim, independently supportable from the transcript, and sufficient to carry the cross-message finding on its own. **Secondary — Sinai boundary (00:05:34).** "They were afraid to touch it." Exodus 19:12 has God prohibiting contact on pain of death. The transcript relocates the constraint from divine decree to the people's timidity, then makes Moses the one who "had the courage." The source of the boundary moves from God's command to human inadequacy. **Counter-example (00:11:34).** "Love yourself as much as you love your neighbor" inverts Leviticus 19:18 / Matthew 22:39 in the *protective* direction. Textually loose, pastorally kind. Worth logging because it suggests generous instincts even where fidelity slips. ### Fallacy Inventory *Genre caveat: a Godly Play presentation is not an argument, so several entries are structural rather than rhetorical. Patterns I cannot support from the transcript are excluded.* | Pattern | Location | Effect | | --- | --- | --- | | Appeal to fear | 00:02:04–03:22, 00:05:34 | "Without water we would die… some never come back." Repeated death framing opens the lesson; affect drives retention, so this is what a six-year-old carries home. | | False dilemma | 00:03:58–04:21 | Freedom framed as "go anywhere, do anything," then immediately resolved by the Ten Best Ways. Unbounded autonomy or divine rules, no third term. | | Begging the question | 00:04:21, 00:08:30 | "Best" asserted, never argued, then repeated as a label. "God did not say these are the ten easy things" converts difficulty into evidence of superiority — unfalsifiable. | | Self-sealing loop | 00:08:30–09:01, 00:11:46 | Impossible standard → pre-announced failure → gratitude to the authority for forgiveness. No falsifier, no exit, no appeal. | | Appeal to procedural authority | 00:02:10 | "It's scripted and you must do it word for word," followed by an unmarked departure from the script. Teaches that the rule binds the hearer, not the authority. | | Equivocation | throughout | "Commandments" and "best ways" used interchangeably; "free" asserted then constrained. | | Hasty generalization | 00:02:04–03:22 | Desert as uniformly lethal void, erasing people who live in deserts — including the ancient Near Eastern context of the story itself. | **Absent and worth crediting:** no strawman, no ad hominem, no out-group construction, no spiritual-warfare framing. At 00:04:54–05:26 the murmuring in the wilderness is explained by material scarcity rather than moralized as faithlessness. A real strength. ### DARVO Assessment — Absent No allegation is in play, so no denial, no attack on a complainant, no offender/victim reversal. Naming this DARVO would be exactly the "right conclusion, wrong evidence" failure. What is present is the raw material DARVO later exploits. The card 7 substitution performs **victim-position pre-allocation**: it installs the parent as the injured party by default and the child as the potential offender, before any specific conflict exists. The closing prayer reinforces the direction by locating all offense in the self and all mercy in the authority, which structurally forecloses the possibility of the authority being the one who caused harm. Precondition, not maneuver. ### Scoring — 13 Categories × 5 | Category | Score | | --- | --- | | Sermon summary | 4 | | Preaching style | 4 | | Storytelling / illustration | 3 | | Intonation & delivery | 3 *(low confidence — transcript only)* | | Content structure | 4 | | Engagement & application | 4 *(revised — Speaker 2 resolved as participating children)* | | Scripture handling | 2 | | Logical reasoning | 2 | | References | 1 *(genre-inapplicable)* | | Quotes & illustrations | 3 | | Calls to action | 2 | | Style effectiveness | 3 | | Hermeneutical awareness | 1 | | **Total** | **36 / 65 (55%)** *(was 35 before the second-source pass)* | **Adjusted total excluding References: 35 / 60 (58%).** A Godly Play presentation is not supposed to cite scholars; scoring it a 1 penalizes the form for being itself. Recommend substituting a **curriculum-fidelity** category for children's messages going forward. Fidelity here scores **3**. #### Notes on the low scores **Scripture handling (2).** No text named aloud, so no child can locate the story. Exodus 16 and 17 are merged; 19–20 and 31–34 are merged, with the golden calf dropped even though "he carved them into stones" presupposes it — Exodus 34:1–4 is the second set; the first was written by God (31:18). No acknowledgment that numbering differs across Jewish, Lutheran/Catholic, and Reformed traditions. The transmission chain at 00:06:26 — "God gave them to Moses, and Moses gave them to the people, and they gave them to us" — is quietly supersessionist: Jewish continuity is elided and Torah is handed off to a Christian "us" as though vacated. **Hermeneutical awareness (1).** "Best ways" is an interpretive gloss on *aseret hadevarim* (the ten words) that the script never marks as a gloss. The presenter claimed word-for-word fidelity and then departed from it silently — the inverse of hermeneutical transparency. **Delivery (3).** Transcript-only, so prosody is unassessable; scored conservatively. Long gaps at 03:33–03:58, 09:12–09:33, and especially 10:41–11:26 are most likely material handling and protected wondering silence, both correct per method. The opening 90 seconds run managerial, and requiring children to stand — "it will not kill you for a little bit," which lands oddly against the desert script — is also an access problem for anyone with mobility, sensory, or attention needs. ### Learning Modalities and the 5–12 Span *Framing note: the meshing hypothesis behind VARK has not held up empirically. Multimodal presentation is well supported, so that is what is assessed here.* **Strong.** Tactile-spatial is the best thing in this lesson — sand box, moved figures, ten stones laid as a path give an abstract list a concrete, retrievable spatial form. "Like stones making a path" (00:09:05) is the single most valuable image in twelve minutes. Auditory is also well served: short declaratives, heavy parallelism, and the bookend repetition of "it is a dangerous place, people only go there if they have to." **Undercut by staging.** Children were positioned on the sides and rearranged twice so the room could see, trading away the strongest modality for the adult sightline. Godly Play requires a circle with the material at the children's eye level and within reach. From the sides, standing, "notice how these arms" and "what shape do they make?" become unfollowable. Move the box or add a camera; do not move the children. **Intrapersonal / interpersonal, partial.** "I wonder which one you like best" is well designed for reflective learners, and children did respond. But at 10:08–10:33 the presenter supplies an answer ("which is keep the Sabbath holy") and at 10:33 evaluates responses ("you think all of them? you think ten?"). Method requires neither. Once answers get supplied, wondering reads as a quiz. **Absent.** No response or art time, no take-home, no family prompt. **The age span is the core pedagogical problem.** This material is built for roughly ages 4–8. - **Ages 5–7:** "hard, perhaps even impossible, but we are supposed to try" is not resolvable at that stage of reasoning. They will also take the desert imagery and "don't break your parents' hearts" literally and personally. - **Ages 8+:** the cross-shape abstraction at 11:26 requires symbolic spatial mapping — realistically the ceiling for the younger half. - **Ages 9–12:** the "I wonder" register reads as babyish, and the presenter handed them permission to disengage by announcing the whole thing is a script recited word for word. Recommendation: split the group, or run a second tier of wondering questions for the older half. **Unglossed vocabulary, by severity:** "be serious when you say my name" (opaque, no referent given) → "keep the Sabbath holy" (two abstractions in four words) → "idol" (a 2026 nine-year-old hears *celebrity*) → "commandments" → "holy." Note that "don't even want what others have" is a good gloss on *covet* — the others need the same treatment. This matters doubly today, since coveting is the sermon text. ### Hermeneutical Genealogy (unscored) Montessori → Sofia Cavalletti's Catechesis of the Good Shepherd → Jerome Berryman's Godly Play, which adds an explicitly existential frame: children already know about death, aloneness, and meaning, and religious language should give them a container rather than a shield. That matters for the fear reading above. The desert-as-lethal script is theorized, not careless, and Berryman's payoff is that the dangerous place is precisely where God is met. In this delivery the payoff never lands, so the fear is installed without its resolution. Layered on top is Reformed and Lutheran catechetics: the Decalogue as the first article of instruction (Heidelberg Catechism, Luther's Small Catechism), the two great commandments as hermeneutical key, and a closing prayer running a clean law-as-mirror sequence. Delivered inside a non-creedal, covenantal, justice-forward UCC congregation, that guilt-and-mercy architecture is a borrowed part that does not obviously fit the host tradition — notable given that today's Call to Worship frames the whole service covenantally (rainbow → tablets → new covenant in the heart). ### Lateral Transfer Risk Audit (unscored) **Content: low risk.** No out-group, no warfare framing, no oracle-figure, no obedience-to-leader claim, no prophetic-word epistemology. Complaint validated rather than moralized. **Structure: moderate to high.** 1. **Procedural inerrancy.** "It's scripted and you must do it word for word" locates authority in exact reproduction of a manual — the same epistemology as inerrancy or prophetic-word literalism with the object swapped. The unmarked violation then models that fidelity is owed upward, not downward. This is the highest-risk line in the transcript for the research frame. 2. **The obligation loop.** Impossible standard → pre-announced failure → resolution only through dependence on the authority → no falsifier. Warm delivery, intact engine. **Finding:** clean content running on a formation architecture worth flagging. ### Recommendations — Priority Order 1. **Restore card 7.** If it must be adapted for children, "keep your promises to the people you love" preserves the covenant referent. Never "don't break your parents' hearts." The ONA reason is worth stating plainly to whoever made the change. 2. **Land the desert payoff** — the dangerous place is where God is found. Without it the fear has nowhere to go. 3. **Seat the children in a circle at the box,** at eye level, within reach. Move the box or the camera instead. 4. **Gloss** "be serious when you say my name," "Sabbath," "holy," "idol." 5. **Add one sentence of Jewish continuity:** Jewish people all over the world still live by these words today. Cheap, and it dissolves the transmission-chain problem. 6. **Protect the wondering** — no supplied answers, no evaluation, seven seconds of silence minimum. 7. **Split ages 9–12,** or add a second wondering tier for them. 8. **Add response time or a take-home** — a paper strip of ten stones, one family wondering question. 9. **Reframe the prayer's close** toward starting again, not only being forgiven for failing. 10. **Do not tell children the script is a script.** ### Follow-Up - [ ] **Listen to [42:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2565s) with headphones and settle card 7 one way or the other.** Everything downstream depends on it. - [ ] **If the card 7 finding has already left this vault in any form, issue the correction before anything else.** - [x] ~~Resolve Speaker 2 identity~~ — participating children, confirmed at [43:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2637s); Engagement revised 3 → 4 - [ ] Add a curriculum-fidelity category to the children's-message variant of the rubric - [ ] Re-argue the referent-inversion pattern from the omission evidence rather than the substitution evidence - [ ] **Re-examine the prior fox message on the same standard** — if that finding also rests on a single unverified ASR line, it needs the same hold - [ ] Add a standing rule to the workflow: no single-source ASR line supports a circulated finding #### Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:17 ![[Exodus 20#17]] #### Sermon Analysis — Rev. Caroline E. Saxton **Title:** Ten Commandments: Do Not Covet **Text:** [[Exodus 20#17|Exodus 20:17]]; companion [[Matthew 22#34|Matthew 22:34-40]] **Runtime:** ~13:20 **Position in series:** Final installment of the local Ten Commandments series **Dominant style:** Prophetic, with narrative-expository exempla ![[Exodus 20#17]] > [!success] Transcript artifacts — resolved against a second source (livestream captions, 2026-09-08) > - **00:00:25** → **confirmed.** "This is the word of God for the people of God. / Thanks be to God," rendered cleanly at [47:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2866s). Mis-segmented congregational response, as suspected. > - **00:03:04** → **resolved in the preacher's favor.** The livestream reads *"His eyes fell upon Uriah's wife, Bathsheba"* at [50:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=3027s). Source A's "by his wife Bathsheba" was the ASR error, not the preacher. The relational attribution is correct throughout, and the argument that follows — *"as the king, he was already married and had plenty of access to women in the palace"* — depends on that correctness and gets it. > - **00:07:33** → **corroborated verbatim, and the surrounding clause resolves the puzzle.** At [55:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=3301s): *"The community allowed a third commandment to be broken. Do not be destructive. When Naboth was stoned to death, aka a legal way to break the commandment, do not murder."* "Do not be destructive" and "do not murder" are being applied to the **same** commandment, so this is a gloss on the sixth, not a stumble and not a fourteenth commandment. Two independent ASR systems producing the identical non-canonical phrase makes a garble unlikely. Downgraded from "verify" to "gloss, probable." The open question is only whether the gloss was established in an earlier week of the series. > - **00:09:49** → **confirmed and expanded.** Both questions are real and paired: *"Don't their lives matter? Aren't they also our neighbors?"* recurs three times ([57:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=3433s), 58:28, 59:20). Source A collapsed the pair into one garbled line. The anaphora reading below is correct and, if anything, understated. > - **Speaker 2** → **resolved as diarization error.** The livestream captions run the sermon as continuous single-voice prose with no interruption at any flagged point. Delivery scoring remains transcript-only, but the second-voice worry is closed. ##### Referent Orientation — Correctly Aimed This is the inverse of the children's message, and the contrast is the most significant finding across the service. The commandment is aimed **upward at power** at every stage: - **David** — "a man in position and power and privilege; he was the king." The argument at 00:03:09 is precise: David "was already married and had plenty of access to women in the palace," so the taking cannot be explained by need. It is power exercised because it can be. - **Bathsheba is not blamed.** No temptress framing, no bathing-on-the-roof insinuation, no shared culpability. Rare enough in preaching on 2 Samuel 11 to be worth logging as a strength. - **Ahab and Jezebel** — "used their power and privilege to take advantage of their neighbor." Naboth's refusal is given its proper grounding in inheritance and ancestral land (Leviticus 25:23–28), not treated as stubbornness. - **Contemporary** — "the powerful among us are allowed to take whatever they want without consequence or accountability." - **Then inward** — the congregation is implicated as consumers, and the preacher implicates herself by name: "here is my confession." The vector runs consistently from the commandment toward those holding power, including the preacher. No redirection onto the vulnerable at any point. ##### DARVO Assessment — Absent, and Structurally Countered No DARVO in the sermon's own rhetoric. More useful: the sermon **names a scriptural DARVO template without naming the term.** In 1 Kings 21, Jezebel's response to Naboth's refusal is to bring "two paid liars to testify falsely against him," producing a conviction and a stoning. The offender manufactures an allegation, the victim is repositioned as the guilty party, and the whole reversal is executed through legitimate legal machinery. The preacher's phrase at 00:07:33 — "a legal way to break the commandment / do not murder" — identifies exactly the mechanism that makes DARVO effective: procedural cover. Nathan is the paired counter-model. "As with any good prophet, Nathan tells the king the truth, not simply what he wants to hear. Nathan will hold up a mirror, and David doesn't like what he sees." That is the intervention DARVO is designed to prevent. **Corpus note:** 1 Kings 21 belongs in the fallacy/DARVO corpus as a primary-source template — pre-modern, canonical, and unusually complete (motive → refusal → manufactured allegation → institutional endorsement → victim eliminated → asset transferred). ##### Fallacy Inventory | Pattern | Location | Assessment | | --- | --- | --- | | Collapsed referent in "we" | 00:08:18–10:14 | **Sharpest structural weakness.** "We" shifts unmarked across three scales: the powerful who take with impunity (*them*), consumers buying smartphones (*us*), and humanity failing to care for a shared home (*everyone*). A retired congregant in Chambersburg and a mining conglomerate are not equivalently culpable. When culpability is universal it becomes unassignable — which quietly undoes the power analysis she had just built with David and Ahab. | | Monocausal etiology / slope form | 00:03:35, 00:06:17 | "It all started with a little covet," used twice as refrain. The diminutive plus catastrophic outcome is slippery-slope *form*, though the narratives do genuinely present desire as origin. Moderate: rhetorically effective, analytically thin. Uriah's death also required deception, conscripted subordinates, and a compliant Joab. | | Deterministic causal claim | 00:09:55–10:05 | Nepal flooding stated as "the result of melting glaciers and a warming planet." **Event now identified:** the 26 August 2026 disaster on the Nepal–Tibet border, which sent a debris flow down the Lende Khola and roughly 100 km along the Trishuli. The deduction stands, but the specifics cut both ways. USGS analysis of long-period seismic waves attributed the initiating event to a **partial glacier collapse** on Langtang Lirung rather than to a glacial-lake outburst — the GLOF framing that dominated the first days of coverage was later corrected, and the secondary flooding came from barrier lakes formed by the debris. So "melting glaciers" is closer to the mechanism than the early reporting was, while "the result of" still overclaims: scientists have said warming and permafrost thaw **likely contributed** to the collapse. The defensible form is that warming destabilizes high-mountain slopes and raises both the likelihood and severity of these events. Scale, for the record: initial tolls of 165–300 dead had risen past 1,300 confirmed with thousands still missing in the week before this sermon, so "extreme loss of life" was if anything conservative. | | Appeal to emotion | 00:10:24–11:00 | Bombed schools, unsafe hospitals, children dying of preventable disease. Grounded in the thesis rather than free-floating, so not fallacious — but unlocated. No country, conflict, or agent is named. | | Unmarked specificity gap | 00:10:36–10:57 | The bombed-schools/hospitals sequence has an unmistakable but unnamed referent. In a politically mixed congregation the non-naming is a defensible pastoral choice; the analytical cost is that an unnamed injustice cannot be examined, argued with, or acted on. Worth distinguishing from evasion — she names the DRC explicitly two minutes earlier, so the omission looks deliberate rather than habitual. | | Argument from public display | 00:08:49 | "The Ten Commandments may be posted in public places, but I don't see them being followed." Rhetorically strong and the observation is fair, but it's asserted rather than developed — the interesting claim buried here is that public display can substitute for compliance. | **Absent:** no strawman, no ad hominem, no false dilemma, no out-group construction, no appeal to ignorance, no bandwagon. Named opponents are biblical kings and unnamed contemporary power, never a demographic. **Credit where reasoning is strong:** - 00:03:09 — the "already married, plenty of access" move is a clean elimination argument distinguishing desire-as-power from desire-as-need. - 00:04:42 and 00:06:30 — both narratives are correctly read as compound violations rather than single-commandment illustrations. - 00:11:40–11:46 — "I don't really have any answers / But I know that nothing can be changed until it is faced." Refusing false resolution is an epistemic virtue, and it is the honest position. ##### Scoring — 13 Categories × 5 | Category | Score | | --- | --- | | Sermon summary | 5 | | Preaching style | 5 | | Storytelling / illustration | 4 | | Intonation & delivery | 3 *(low confidence — transcript only)* | | Content structure | 5 | | Engagement & application | 3 | | Scripture handling | 4 | | Logical reasoning | 3 | | References | 2 | | Quotes & illustrations | 4 | | Calls to action | 2 | | Style effectiveness | 4 | | Hermeneutical awareness | 5 | | **Total** | **49 / 65 (75%)** | **Adjusted total excluding References: 47 / 60 (78%).** ###### Notes on the scores **Hermeneutical awareness (5).** The highest score in the rubric, and earned explicitly. At 00:02:04 she offers "two other faithful ways to read this verse" — marking interpretive plurality as legitimate rather than presenting one reading as the reading. At 00:01:35 she names that "in other traditions, the coveting commandments are split into two," which is accurate (the Catholic and Lutheran enumeration divides coveting into the ninth and tenth while merging the first two) and treats the difference as evidence of ancestral care rather than error. At 00:04:32 Psalm 51's Davidic authorship is properly hedged as "thought to be." Three separate acts of interpretive transparency in a thirteen-minute sermon. **Scripture handling (4), not 5.** Deductions: "the entire military company he was leading" overstates 2 Samuel 11:17, where Uriah dies along with some of David's servants, not an entire company. And the "do not be destructive" gloss at 00:07:33 sits unmarked in the middle of an otherwise careful three-commandment analysis. *Revised after the second-source pass — the lexical deduction was partly wrong.* The reading at [47:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2866s) is the **Common English Bible**: "Do not desire and try to take your neighbor's house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor's wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor." The CEB rendering already encodes desire-plus-acquisition, which means her gloss — "do not desire and take" — is the translation she read from rather than an interpretive move made without support. She also observes at 48:58 that this is "the only one that is repeated," which is accurate to the Exodus form: 20:17 is the only commandment stated twice inside its own verse, and that doubling is precisely the textual ground for the intent-not-feeling argument. So the correct note is not "no lexical support" but **"the lexical support is doing the work unnamed."** Surfacing it would cost one sentence and would let her show that Deuteronomy 5:21 splits the doubling into two different verbs (*taḥmod* / *tit'awweh*) — which is also the origin of the two-commandment enumeration she credits at 00:01:35. Deduction retained but softened. **Logical reasoning (3).** Strong ethical reasoning and a correct power analysis, marked down for the collapsed "we" and the monocausal refrain rather than for any classical fallacy. **References (2).** "Nothing can be changed until it is faced" is **James Baldwin**, uncredited. The full line — that not everything faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced — is more precise and more useful than the half she quotes. "Don't their lives matter?" also carries an unmistakable cadence with no acknowledgment. Two borrowings from Black voices, both unnamed, in a sermon whose whole subject is taking what belongs to a neighbor. Naming Baldwin costs four words and strengthens the point. No theologians, no womanist or liberationist reading of Naboth, no external scholarship. **Actionable, low-effort, highest-leverage fix in the whole analysis.** **Calls to action (2).** She explicitly disclaims having answers, which is honest, and the closing charge is "be generous rather than greedy" plus "do the hard work of discernment." Both are dispositions, not steps. The gap is notable because *concrete opportunities were in the room and went unnamed*: the Chili Cook-Off on September 27 benefiting Power Packs (children's food insecurity — directly answering "children dying from malnutrition"), the Franklin Together reentry donation box (accountability and restoration for people the system has taken from), Fall Quarter First Fruits, and Share the Harvest. One sentence connecting the sermon's grief to the Welcome Center would have moved this to a 4. **Delivery (3).** Transcript-only; scored conservatively and identically to the children's message for consistency. The oral architecture is visible even without audio and is strong — see below. ##### Accessibility, Retention, and Modality **Auditory: excellent.** The sermon is built on refrain, which is the right architecture for a text-heavy prophetic message. - "We are cautioned against coveting and greed" recurs five times (01:58, 05:10, 08:10, and framing the close at 13:00), functioning as a structural spine. - "It all started with a little covet" bookends the two exempla — the parallel does the comparative work without stating it. - The anaphora at 09:49, 09:51, 10:14, and 10:59 — "Don't their lives matter? Aren't they also our neighbors?" — is the strongest passage in the sermon and the most likely to be remembered. - Second-person imperative restatement at 12:08–12:34 returns the thesis verbatim after the emotional peak, which is well-judged placement for retention. **Visual: unserved.** No aid named. Two were available and unused: the communion liturgy screen was already in play, and the **bulletin cover by Edd Scheer** carries the phrases "What can I offer … share … give" and "Riches are worthless … unless they're freely given and shared" — a near-perfect thematic match for the sermon's close, in every worshipper's hands, never referenced. Cheapest possible improvement. **Kinesthetic / participatory: indirect but real.** No interactive element inside the sermon. However the Litany for Deliverance earlier in the service had the congregation voice "Save us, God of truth and mercy" against greed and possession-lust before the sermon began, and Communion by intinction requires physical movement immediately after — so the liturgy provides embodiment the sermon itself does not. Naming that connection aloud would compound it. **Comprehension load.** Well pitched for the adult congregation. Vocabulary is plain; the one term carrying weight, "covet," is glossed three different ways (desire and take, let desires lead to harm, use power to get what you want). "Discernment" is used twice as the operative practice without definition, which is the only real gap. The two narratives are summarized rather than assumed — "here's the short version" — so no prior knowledge is required, and the forward reference to a fall deep dive on David and Bathsheba gives the interested listener somewhere to go. ##### Hermeneutical Genealogy (unscored) The dominant lineage is **prophetic social critique** in the Hebrew tradition, which the sermon claims explicitly by naming Nathan as its model and then occupying his position — "Nathan will hold up a mirror." The critique proceeds by the classic prophetic move of finding the systemic in the specific case, and closes on Micah 6:8, the standard prophetic-ethics summation. Layered on this: - **Reformed covenantal ethics** — "relationship comes before rules," the recap thesis for the whole series. Law as the shape of an existing covenant rather than as terms of admission. Consistent with the day's Call to Worship, which moved rainbow → tablets → new covenant written on the heart. - **Neighbor-love as hermeneutical key** — Matthew 22:34-40 is used to interpret Exodus 20:17 rather than sitting beside it: "both are rooted in the love of our neighbor." Standard in Lutheran and Reformed catechesis and appropriate to the day's paired readings. - **Liberationist structural analysis, unattributed** — the cobalt supply chain, the phrase "who bears the cost and consequences," and the insistence that distant workers are neighbors are all liberationist moves. Baldwin supplies the epistemology. None of it is named, so the congregation receives the method without the genealogy. - **Galatians 5:22-23** — "generosity is a fruit of the spirit, along with faithfulness and self-control" is accurate to the NRSV/NRSVue list. Correctly quoted, worth crediting. ##### Lateral Transfer Risk Audit (unscored) **Content: very low risk.** | Marker | Present? | | --- | --- | | Out-group construction | No — named offenders are biblical kings and unnamed power | | Spiritual-warfare framing | No | | Oracle-figure / privileged revelation | No — Nathan is a truth-teller, not a channel | | Obedience-to-leader claim | No — the preacher confesses rather than instructs | | Unfalsifiable claims | No | | Interpretive monopoly | **Actively refused** — "two other faithful ways to read this verse" | **Structure: low risk.** The one item worth noting is that the close at 12:34 — "we may fall short and we may stumble" — has the opening shape of a law-as-mirror guilt sequence, the same architecture flagged in the children's message. But it does not close the loop: it resolves into Micah 6:8 practice and continued discernment rather than into dependence on an authority for relief. No mediator is required, no submission is requested, and the preacher stands inside the "we" she is describing. The loop stays open, which is exactly what the children's message failed to do. **Positive protective features:** interpretive plurality named as faithful; attribution hedged; tradition-differences treated as ancestral wisdom; power held accountable in the direction of the powerful; the speaker's own complicity conceded unprompted; and "I don't really have any answers" — an explicit refusal of the certainty that high-control rhetoric requires. ##### Recommendations — Priority Order 1. **Name Baldwin.** Four words, and it converts an uncredited borrowing into a cited marginalized voice in a sermon about taking what belongs to a neighbor. Use the full line: not everything faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. 2. **Disaggregate the "we."** Distinguish those who set the terms from those who live inside them. "Our desire for smartphones" and "the powerful among us are allowed to take" are not the same agent, and merging them dissolves the accountability the David and Ahab readings established. 3. **Point at the Welcome Center.** One sentence connecting the sermon's grief over hungry children to the Chili Cook-Off for Power Packs, and its grief over accountability to the Franklin Together box, moves Calls to Action from 2 to 4 at no cost to the sermon's honesty about not having answers. 4. **Soften the Nepal causal claim** to the probabilistic form. It is more defensible and no less devastating. 5. **Reference the bulletin cover.** "Riches are worthless unless they're freely given and shared" is the sermon's thesis, already in every hand. 6. **Resolve "do not be destructive"** at 00:07:33 before this analysis circulates. 7. **Consider adding the lexical note** on the two verbs in Exodus 20:17 — it supplies textual support for the argument she is already making about intent versus feeling. 8. **Optional:** name the unnamed conflict, or name the choice not to. Either is defensible; the silent version leaves the congregation unsure whether the omission was pastoral or evasive. ##### Cross-Message Finding — Two Opposite Vectors in One Service **This is the highest-value observation in the pair, and it is a formation problem, not a preaching problem.** Both the children's message and the sermon treated the same Decalogue on the same morning. They aimed it in opposite directions. | | Children's Message | Sermon | | --- | --- | --- | | Commandment aimed at | The children, as potential wounders of parents | Kings, the powerful, and the preacher herself | | Card 7 / adultery referent | Substitution **unverified and contradicted by second source** — see retraction hold | Covenantal referent intact via David and Bathsheba; attribution confirmed at the tape | | Tradition-plurality in numbering | Not acknowledged | Explicitly named as ancestral wisdom | | Interpretive plurality | Presented as fixed script, word for word | "Two other faithful ways to read this verse" | | Victim in the illustration | The parent | Bathsheba, Uriah, Naboth | | Obligation loop | Closed — failure resolved by dependence | Open — failure resolved by continued practice | | Hermeneutical awareness score | 1 | 5 | **The structural problem:** the children left for Children's Corner *after* the Children's Message and *before* the sermon. They received the un-corrected version and are structurally unable to receive the corrective. The presenter's own framing acknowledges this — the children "go out to Children's Corner during her message, so you don't get to hear it" — **corroborated by the second source** at [35:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2151s). The summary was offered precisely because the sermon is inaccessible to them. > [!important] Evidentiary basis after the second-source pass > The finding now rests on the **omission** of any power-directed referent from the children's message, not on an active substitution. That remains a real and defensible claim — the sermon's entire case is that the commandment constrains kings, and no version of that reaches the children — but it is a claim about a gap rather than about a wrong sentence, and it needs to be argued that way. The scored contrasts that survive untouched: interpretive plurality (1 vs. 5), tradition-plurality in numbering, closed vs. open obligation loop, and who occupies the victim position in the illustrations. > > The Communion liturgy an hour later runs the sermon's architecture rather than the children's message's — worth declared rather than earned, shame named as something carried *in* and answered rather than as the mechanism of relief. If Children's Corner runs through Communion, the children miss both correctives, not one. Worth checking how that hour is actually structured before raising any of this. This is not a disagreement between two people. It is a formation pipeline in which the corrective and the thing needing correction never meet. Worth raising as a curriculum-alignment question rather than as a critique of either presenter. ##### Follow-Up - [x] ~~Verify 00:07:33 "do not be destructive"~~ — corroborated verbatim by second source; reclassified as a series gloss on the sixth commandment - [ ] Check whether "do not be destructive" was established as a gloss in an earlier week of the series - [x] ~~Verify 00:03:04 Bathsheba/Uriah attribution~~ — the preacher was correct; source A was in error - [x] ~~Confirm the Nepal flooding event~~ — 26 August 2026, Langtang Lirung glacier collapse rather than a GLOF - [x] ~~Resolve Speaker 2~~ — diarization error in the sermon, participating children in the children's message - [ ] Raise Baldwin attribution with Rev. Saxton — framed as an easy strengthening, not a correction - [ ] Start tracking which translation is read aloud each week; the CEB choice here materially changed one of my own deductions - [ ] Add 1 Kings 21 to the DARVO corpus as a primary-source template - [ ] Log the cross-message referent-vector divergence as a distinct pattern in the fallacy taxonomy — **on the omission evidence, not the card 7 evidence**, until the tape settles it - [ ] Note for the fall David and Bathsheba deep dive: the "already married, plenty of access" argument is the seed of a strong power-analysis reading #### Recognition and Appreciation — Roxanne Davenport > [!note] Moved in the live service > The bulletin places this before the Response. At [1:00:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=3642s) Rev. Saxton announced that Roxanne was out with the children for Children's Corner and the recognition would come "slightly later in the service." It was in fact held at the very end, after the closing hymn and before the Benediction — see [[#Recognition and Appreciation, as it Happened]]. ### Response #### Sharing of Joys and Concerns Gathered from the floor with a roving microphone (Chris Willman-Bunge carrying it), each request answered by the congregational response **"God, by your grace, hear our prayer."** Twelve requests were voiced; see [[#Prayer List]] for the roll. Rev. Saxton restated every request in her own words before the response — a practice worth naming. It confirms she heard it, supplies the medical or situational detail the requester left out, and hands the congregation a common form of words to pray. It also means the pastoral voice, not the requester's, is what the livestream preserves. Two moments of note: - She adds light where it is welcome and drops it entirely where it isn't — "if she sees this, use your walker," "I think mama's ready to give her an eviction notice," "as she does her best to keep him in line," and then nothing of the kind for hospice or for a lung-transplant workup. The register-switching is deliberate and accurate. - **One request was for the sermon series itself.** Allison offered gratitude "for the relevance of the Ten Commandments in today's world," restated by the pastor as "for the relevance of sacred texts in this world." This is the only direct congregational-reception datum in the recording, it came unprompted, and it came from an adult who had just heard the power-directed reading. Log it in the reception column. #### Prayers of the People and the Lord's Prayer *The congregation uses "debts" in the Lord's Prayer.* The pastoral prayer gathered spoken and silent petitions together — "the ones that we lift aloud, the ones that we share silently" — then moved through thanksgiving for being drawn together, petition for wisdom and right paths, and the double object that has run through the entire series: "may we love you and our neighbors. And may we show up for one another and our world." The series thesis lands once more before the offering. > [!note] Transcript gap > The Lord's Prayer is largely unintelligible in the captions ("Thive us our lead glory forever") — unison recitation defeats the ASR. No analytical loss. #### Invitation to Giving "God invites us into relationship, to be in community with God and with one another. May the gifts that we share demonstrate our love for God and neighbor." Covenant before transaction, consistent with "relationship comes before rules." #### Offertory #### *Offertory Response #706 — "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow" **Author:** Thomas Ken, 1674 **Tune:** OLD HUNDREDTH **Composer:** Louis Bourgeois, 1551 **Copyright:** Public domain Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. > [!note] Liturgical language > Sung in the 1674 masculine form, as printed. Worth noting only because the day's other texts run the other way — the Communion liturgy is thoroughly inclusive, the Call to Worship avoids gendered pronouns for God, and the sermon uses "God" throughout. The Doxology is the one place the older register stays, which is common and usually a function of it being sung from memory rather than read. Not a finding; a datum for any future conversation about inclusive-language practice. #### *Prayer of Dedication *From Feasting on the Word Worship Companion, edited by Kimberly Bracken Long.* O Lord our God, we want to follow all your commandments — to love only you, not worshiping the things of this world; to love our neighbor freely, not desiring for ourselves something they possess. Accept these offerings, we pray, and teach us to be generous, giving fully of ourselves that we may truly be the body of Christ in this world. Amen. #### Holy Communion *The bulletin says the liturgy will be shown on the screen and prints none of it. Transcribed from the livestream, [1:17:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=4653s)–1:27:56.* **Invitation.** "There are too many places in our world where the price of admission is more than we can afford. Where we are asked to leave pieces of ourselves at the door. Where we are told there's no room for one more. At this Communion table, there's always room. Room to spare... Take a seat, pull up a stool or your wheelchair. Settle in a pew or on a cushion square. This is a table that is not just a table. It is a sign of God's love here on earth, an affirmation of your sacred worth." **Thanksgiving.** "We carry within us memories of rejection and loneliness, shame and self-loathing, guilt and fear. And so we give thanks that at your table we embody a different message. We are beloved. We are enough. We are worthy... hungry to build a world where every body is honored, where every bruised and broken spirit is healed, where everyone is invited to receive the gift of unconditional love." **Institution.** "He knew their pasts, the places that had formed them. He knew their future, the pain and sorrow to come. He saw the places deep within that they tried to keep hidden. And still he offered them the cup of salvation and the bread of life." **Epiclesis.** "Prepare our hearts to receive a love that is more persistent than fear and a life stronger than death." **Post-communion.** "As we leave this table, may we carry a taste of the inherent worth and dignity of every person, offering the same to all we meet." Communion by intinction, with three access paths named aloud: forward through the center aisle, a server coming to you in your seat, or prepackaged elements. The welcome is specified operationally, not just asserted. > [!warning] Source not identified > The rhymed invitation, the "sacred worth" language, and the "every body is honored" construction read as published progressive liturgy rather than locally written. **Identify and credit the source** before any of this text is reused in a bulletin or on the site. Also confirm "every body" versus "everybody" against the screen text — ASR cannot distinguish them and the embodiment reading depends on it. ##### Analysis — the table runs the sermon's architecture, not the children's message's A third data point in the day's referent question, and the one nobody planned as a contribution to it. - **Access is named materially rather than metaphorically.** Wheelchair, stool, pew, cushion; three ways to receive. The welcome is stated in terms of bodies and furniture. This is precisely what the children's message staging failed to do when it moved the children to the sides and had them stand. - **The obligation loop is open.** Shame, self-loathing, guilt and fear are named as things carried *in*, and the table is offered as the counter — "we embody a different message." There is no sequence of impossible standard → announced failure → dependence for relief. Compare the children's closing prayer, which located all offense in the self and all relief in the authority. - **Worth is declared, not earned.** "An affirmation of your sacred worth," "we are enough," "the inherent worth and dignity of every person." Straightforwardly Bushnellian in UCC terms, consistent with the congregation's ONA identity, and the exact inverse of the law-as-mirror architecture flagged in the children's message. - **The one soft spot** is the price-of-admission metaphor, which frames belonging in market terms in order to negate them. It works, and on a Sunday about acquisition and cost it works better than usual, but it is still transactional language doing anti-transactional work. #### *Hymn Insert — "I Have Brought You Out of Egypt" **Author:** Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, 2012 **Tune:** NETTLETON, 8.7.8.7 D ("Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing") **Tune source:** John Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, 1813 **Copyright:** Text © 2012 Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved. **Biblical reference:** [[Exodus 20#1|Exodus 20:1-17]] 1. "I have brought you out of Egypt," Moses heard the Lord God say. "I have saved you! I have freed you! people, listen and obey. Have no other gods before me; don't make idols for yourselves. I will judge those who reject me; worship me and no one else." 2. "Do not use the Lord's name wrongly, use God's name for what is good. Keep the Sabbath; keep it holy; rest and worship as you should. Honor father, honor mother; do not murder! Honor life! Do not wander to another from your husband or your wife." 3. God continued these commandments: "Do not steal another's things; And you shall not bear false witness — see the anguish that it brings. Do not seek with bitter longing what you see across the street. Keep these laws and find within them where my love and justice meet." 4. God of grace, we see your promise in the covenant you give. For your law is wise and wondrous as it shows us how to live. Loving God and loving neighbor, may we follow where you call. Saved by grace, may we together seek to live your gracious law. ### Sending #### Recognition and Appreciation, as it Happened *[1:31:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=5481s)–1:33:37, after the closing hymn.* Rev. Saxton called **Connie Kaiser** and **Roxanne Davenport** forward, with Connie making the presentation on the congregation's behalf: > "For the last ten years, we have been blessed to have Roxanne Davenport as our Director of Children and Youth Ministries. She has touched the lives of young people and their families and all of us as the congregation. And she has done this with dedication and energy, enthusiasm, commitment and above all love." A gift from the congregation, a reception with cards and sentiments, and a cake in her favorite color, purple. Roxanne's unprepared response: > "I did not prepare anything, but as I always say, I only do God's work through him who strengthens me, and I only do it with the help of all of you. This is not a one-person job. This is a whole family of God job." That last line is worth keeping on its own terms. "This is not a one-person job," offered spontaneously in front of the congregation, is a flat refusal of the individual-charisma model of ministry — the opposite of the oracle-figure marker tracked in the lateral-transfer audits, and offered at the exact moment when the social script invites someone to accept personal credit. > [!question] Milestone or farewell — unresolved > The recording does not say. Connie's language is present-perfect and ongoing ("we have been blessed to have," "to have you as our leader on staff serving right alongside us"), there is no reference to a departure, a final Sunday, or a successor, and Roxanne is named in the same service as the volunteer contact for Family Fun Day on September 13. That reads as a ten-year milestone. But gift plus reception plus cake is a large gesture for an anniversary. > > Note also the trap: "being that this was her last week" at 35:51 refers to **Pastor Caroline's last week on the Ten Commandments series**, not to Roxanne. Easy to misread on a first pass, and misreading it would produce a confident wrong conclusion from a real quote. > > **Do not record this as a departure without confirming.** It changes the framing of the children's-message analysis considerably — notes on a decade of formation work read differently from feedback to someone continuing in the role. #### *Commission & Benediction *Not printed in the bulletin. Transcribed from the livestream, [1:34:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=5659s).* > "Go forth into the world in peace. Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good. Render to no one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint-hearted. Support the weak. Help the afflicted. Honor all people. Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord send a blessing on all here today." The classic dismissal built on [[1 Thessalonians 5#14|1 Thessalonians 5:14-22]], carried into English-language Protestant use through the Book of Common Prayer's post-communion charge and standard in UCC practice. Note what it does on this particular Sunday: **every imperative points outward at someone with less power** — the faint-hearted, the weak, the afflicted — and "render to no one evil for evil" forecloses the retaliatory move. The day's one liturgical element drawn from deep tradition rather than from a contemporary source happens to encode the same referent direction the sermon spent thirteen minutes establishing. Almost certainly unplanned, and analytically tidy: the vector the children's message never supplied is sitting in the congregation's oldest words. **Sung response**, immediately following: > "May your love surround us forever, we pray. May your arms unfold us whenever we fall, and light and inspire us. O God, bless us all." Not in the bulletin and not named aloud. Identify and credit before reuse. #### Postlude *Please remain seated.* Join us for a time of fellowship following the service. --- ## Sermon Notes *Completed from the livestream recording.* ### Sermon Title Not spoken. Rev. Saxton opened on the series position rather than a title — "we have made it to the end of our series on the Ten Commandments" — so **"Ten Commandments: Do Not Covet"** rests on bulletin authority alone. ### Introduction Two moves before the text. First a recap of the series' governing claims: **"relationship comes before rules"** and **"we are to be tuned in to God and turned toward our neighbors."** Then an argument for the tenth commandment's weight — it is "the only one that is repeated," and "in other traditions, the coveting commandments are split into two; that's how mindful our ancestors in faith were about the danger of this behavior." Tradition-difference offered as accumulated care rather than as error, which sets the interpretive posture for everything after it. The thesis arrives as two paraphrases she returns to verbatim at the close: 1. **Do not let your internal desires lead you to harm another.** 2. **Do not use power over others to get what you want.** ### Main Points #### Point 1 — David and Bathsheba ([[2 Samuel 11]]–[[2 Samuel 12]]) The childhood-song David — harp, Goliath, shouting for joy, "at least that's how the song I learned as a child went" — set against "a much more complicated figure." The core argument is an elimination: David "was already married and had plenty of access to women in the palace," so the taking cannot be explained by appetite or need. What remains is power exercised because it can be. Uriah and the company he was leading are abandoned in battle; "it all started with a little coveting." Two commandments broken, not one. Nathan as the prophet who "tells the king the truth, not simply what he wants to hear" and who "will hold up a mirror, and David doesn't like what he sees." Psalm 51 offered as his repentance, properly hedged as "thought to be." Forward reference to a fall deep dive. #### Point 2 — Ahab, Jezebel, and Naboth ([[1 Kings 21]]) The royal pair "liked to garden — or at least they liked to have a garden that their servants could work for them." Naboth's refusal grounded correctly in inheritance and ancestral land, "a tie to his ancestors," not treated as stubbornness. Jezebel brings "two paid liars," Naboth is falsely convicted and stoned, "and it all started with a little coveting." Three commandments broken — coveting, false witness, and murder — with the sharpest line of the sermon on the third: the stoning was "a legal way to break the commandment, do not murder." A manufactured allegation executed through legitimate machinery, and the vineyard transferred to the crown. #### Point 3 — The present tense "We seem to be living in a season in which the powerful among us are allowed to take whatever they want without consequence or accountability." Erosion of the norms that protect neighbors "the ones who live next door and the ones who live in countries across the world, even the ones that border ours." Then the naming of euphemism, which is the most quotable thing in the sermon: **"Greed is championed as sound investing and smart business decisions. Coveting the resources of our neighbors is framed as trade negotiations."** Then three instances, each closed by the same pair of questions — cobalt mining in the DRC, the Nepal floods, and bombed schools and unsafe hospitals — followed by "or do we just care about the bottom line?" Then the turn inward: "here is my confession... I am working hard to discern the difference between my wants and my needs." ### Illustrations and Stories - **The champagne glass** ([00:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=18s), pre-service audio, not in the sermon) — a display built for the opening with fake diamonds and one real one, and she notes she could pick the real one out every time. Set up before worship and, as far as the recording shows, **never referenced from the pulpit or in the children's message.** A ready-made illustration for discerning the genuine from the counterfeit in what we want, built and then unused. Worth asking whether it was cut for time or belonged to something else entirely. - **Cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo** — smartphones and electric cars set against "the men, women, and children who are paid pennies for risking their lives, their health, all to feed their families and our seemingly insatiable desires." The only place named in the entire contemporary section. - **The Nepal floods** — "the images... keep running through my mind, and they hurt my heart and they sicken my spirit." - **Bombed schools and unsafe hospitals** — "kids who do not come home from their classrooms... hospitals that are not safe for babies... children dying in unprecedented numbers from preventable diseases and malnutrition." Unmistakable referent, deliberately unnamed. - **Her own confession** — the illustration carrying the most weight, because it puts the preacher inside the indictment rather than beside it. ### Scripture Connections - **[[Exodus 20#17|Exodus 20:17]]** — preaching text, read in the **Common English Bible** - **[[Matthew 22#34|Matthew 22:34-40]]** — companion reading, read by Lloyd Beers; the two great commandments used as interpretive key - **[[2 Samuel 11]]–[[2 Samuel 12]]** — cited by chapter aloud ("see 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12") - **[[Psalm 51]]** — Davidic repentance, authorship hedged - **[[1 Kings 21]]** — Ahab, Jezebel, Naboth's vineyard - **[[Leviticus 25#23|Leviticus 25:23-28]]** — the inheritance grounding of Naboth's refusal; implied, not cited - **[[Micah 6#8|Micah 6:8]]** — "do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God," quoted unattributed at the close - **[[Galatians 5#22|Galatians 5:22-23]]** — generosity, faithfulness, and self-control as fruit of the Spirit - **[[Exodus 20#1|Exodus 20:1-17]]** — the full Decalogue, arriving through the closing hymn rather than the sermon > [!note] Translation > Exodus 20:17 was read from the **CEB** ("Do not desire and try to take your neighbor's house..."). Matthew 22 sounds like NRSVue or close to it ("an expert in the law," "you shall love the Lord your God"). The CEB choice does real work — see the revised Scripture handling note above. ### Key Quotes - "It all started with a little coveting." *(both narratives, as refrain)* - "Greed is championed as sound investing and smart business decisions. Coveting the resources of our neighbors is framed as trade negotiations." - "The Ten Commandments may be posted in public places, but I don't see them being followed, because there are people who behave as though those rules do not apply." - "Don't their lives matter? Aren't they also our neighbors?" *(three times)* - "Or do we just care about the bottom line?" - "And I don't really have any answers. But I know that nothing can be changed until it is faced." *(second sentence is James Baldwin, uncredited)* - "There are things that I may want. But I am working hard to discern the difference between my wants and my needs." - "So let us be generous rather than greedy." - "As with any good prophet, Nathan tells the king the truth, not simply what he wants to hear." --- ## Personal Reflections > [!note] These four headings are left open on purpose — they are yours to write. What follows is only what the recording can attest. **Voiced in worship.** You gave the prayer request about your dad's testing at the Temple Lung Center — the double lung transplant workup, the long-COVID cardiopulmonary condition where available oxygen and what his lungs can do have come apart, the blocked artery found in the course of the testing and the recommendation to do a bypass at the same time, nothing at the urgent stage. You also named that your parents were caught by surprise, and that they are working through acceptance of the state of their health. Rev. Saxton prayed for your mom and dad, for those supporting them, and "for Courtney and her sister, one who is close and one who is far away." ### What Spoke to Me ### Questions Raised ### Challenges to My Thinking ### Liturgical Context Reflections <!-- How do the season, color, and calendar context shape the message? --> Prompts, if useful: - 24 Elul falls six days before Rosh Hashanah. The Elul practice of moral self-examination ahead of the Days of Awe is a close structural parallel to a sermon that ends in the preacher's own confession — the sermon is doing teshuvah work without the vocabulary, on a text about the desires of the heart. - Green and Ordinary Time against a text about acquisition. Nothing in the calendar marks this Sunday; the series supplies the weight the season doesn't. - The Call to Worship traced rainbow → tablets → new covenant written on the heart, which is the same "relationship comes before rules" claim the sermon opened with — arriving from the liturgy rather than the pulpit, and before anyone had heard the sermon say it. --- ## Applications ### Action Items - [ ] **Settle card 7 at the tape before anything else** — [42:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=2565s) - [ ] **Correct the record anywhere the card 7 finding has already travelled** - [ ] Add the no-single-source-ASR rule to the sermon-notes workflow - [ ] Identify and credit the Communion liturgy source and the sung benediction response - [ ] Pin down which hymnal is "the green hymnal" and record it once in the bulletin-workflow reference - [ ] Ask whether the champagne-glass display was meant for the sermon - [ ] Confirm whether Roxanne's recognition was a ten-year milestone or a farewell - [ ] Check whether Children's Corner runs through Communion - [ ] Sign up at the Welcome Center for the Chili Cook-Off on September 27 — Power Packs is the one thing in the building that answers the sermon's grief about hungry children directly - [ ] Look at the Franklin Together donation list at the Welcome Center ### Prayer List *Twelve requests gathered from the floor, [1:01:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaackTco0k&t=3686s)–1:11:00. Congregational response: "God, by your grace, hear our prayer."* | For | Concern | | --- | --- | | Jen Long | Discernment about where she is in life and where she wants to be, and what comes next | | Sandy Lewis | Recovery from a fractured sacrum and gallbladder removal; anxious to get home | | Virginia and Jack McCrite | Virginia had what appears to have been a heart attack this week and is much improved; prayers that additional support services can be put in place for her return home so both can stay safe. They were watching the livestream. | | Louise Kennedy | Entered hospice care on Friday, with family and close friends present; comfort and freedom from pain | | Courtney's mom and dad | Temple Lung Center testing toward a possible double lung transplant; a blocked artery found and a simultaneous bypass recommended; not at the urgent stage. Also for Courtney and her sister. | | Rhonda's nephew | Quadruple bypass surgery went well and he is recovering; thanks offered for the church's prayers | | Dan Wolf | Recovering well from knee replacement, in Chani's care and in good spirits | | Survivors of 9/11 | Raised by Jen ahead of the twenty-fifth anniversary — "for those who survived, for the families who were never the same, and for us who have never been the same" | | Judy Neper | Nancy's sister; fell Thursday, nothing broken but in significant pain | | Jessica, JP, and big brother Jonathan | Rachel's daughter, due September 8; relief from anxiety and a safe delivery | | Nathaniel and his wife | Erin's nephew; first child, a boy, due September 16; safe delivery, relief from anxiety, guidance for the medical team | | Thanksgiving | Allison, for the relevance of the Ten Commandments — and of sacred texts — in today's world | > [!note] Names to verify against the bulletin or prayer chain > The captions give both "Virginia" and "Jenny" for Mrs. McCrite inside a single sentence. "Chani" appears as "Channy" and "Shanny." Erin initially said "Ben" and corrected to "Nathaniel" on the pastor's prompt. Judy's surname is rendered "Neper" and may be Napier or similar. ### Follow-Up Study - **[[2 Samuel 11]]–[[2 Samuel 12]]** — ahead of the fall deep dive. The "already married, plenty of access" elimination argument is the seed of a genuine power-analysis reading; watch whether the deep dive develops it or falls back to a morality tale about a glance from a rooftop. - **[[1 Kings 21]]** — into the DARVO corpus as a primary-source template: motive → refusal → manufactured allegation → institutional endorsement → victim eliminated → asset transferred. Unusually complete and pre-modern. - **[[Exodus 20#17|Exodus 20:17]] lexically** — *ḥāmad* and *ʾāwâ*, the doubled construction in the Exodus form, and the split into two verbs at Deuteronomy 5:21. One place to hold the textual basis of the two-commandment enumeration and of the "desire and take" reading. - **[[Leviticus 25#23|Leviticus 25:23-28]]** — inheritance, ancestral land, and why Naboth cannot sell. Connects to the Ecclesiastes study's treatment of inheritance and toil. - **James Baldwin** — locate the exact source of the line she used, for the attribution note. The full sentence is more useful than the half quoted. - **[[Micah 6#8|Micah 6:8]]** — recurring closing formula across this series. Worth counting how often it does the work of a call to action, since a formula that arrives every week stops functioning as a charge. --- ## Connections ### Related Notes - [[Lateral Transfer Risk]] — the procedural-inerrancy marker in the children's message, and its clean absence in the sermon, both belong on that page - [[Hermeneutical Genealogy]] — prophetic social critique layered with Reformed covenantal ethics and unattributed liberationist method - A concept page for the cross-message referent divergence is worth creating **once the card 7 question is settled** and the claim is stable enough to name. Naming it now would launder the contested evidence into a permanent page. ### Related Bible Studies - [[Ecclesiastes 7]] — the wisdom tradition on wanting more, read against a prophetic treatment of the same subject. Qohelet and Amos arrive at incompatible postures toward acquisition and both are canonical. - Next session: Ecclesiastes 8, Sunday September 13, 8:00 pm ### Previous Sermon Notes - [[2026-08-30]] --- ## Announcements and Church Life ### This Week at St. John's - **Today — Sunday, September 6** - 11:00 am — Travel Talk with Pastor Caroline, Room 116 - No Bible Study on the Book of Ecclesiastes; Chapter 8 resumes September 13 - **Monday, September 7** - Church office closed in observance of Labor Day - No Book Study; Chapter 5 resumes September 14 - **Tuesday, September 8** - 5:30 pm — Yoga, Room 202 - 6:00 pm — Ladies Bible Study via Zoom - **Wednesday, September 9** - 11:30 am — Ladies Luncheon, Hoss's Restaurant - **Thursday, September 10** - 6:00 pm — Dance Class, Fellowship Hall - 7:15 pm — Choir Practice, Room 103 - **Sunday, September 13** - 8:45 am — Godly Play Church School Class, ages 3–K, Room 119 - 8:45 am — SPARK! Church School Class, grades 1–5, Room 115 - 8:45 am — Scripture/Contemporary Issues, grades 6–12, Room 206 - 8:45 am — Wired Word Adult Church School Class, Room 116 - 8:45 am — Upper Room Adult Church School Class, Conference Room 111 - 10:00 am — Sunday Worship, Sanctuary - 11:15 am — Family Fun Day, church grounds, weather permitting - 8:00 pm — Bible Study on the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8, via Zoom; link in the e-blast ### Share the Harvest One of the many blessings of summer is the abundance of fresh produce from our gardens. If your garden is overflowing with fruits or vegetables, share your harvest with the church family and community. Bring homegrown produce to the Welcome Center in the front lobby. The donations help provide fresh, healthy food to those who can use it and express Christian love and fellowship. ### Bible and a Beer Talk about faith in public on the third Monday of the month at 6:30 pm at the Trojan Diner. The next gathering is September 21. ### Monday Afternoon Book Study The group will read Chapter 5 of Barbara Brown Taylor's Learning to Walk in the Dark for discussion on Monday, September 14, at 1:30 pm in Conference Room 111. ### Family Fun Day Family Fun Day follows worship on Sunday, September 13. Activities include games, music, food, a bounce house, DJ, petting zoo, and face painting. Everyone is welcome; invite friends and neighbors. See Roxanne Davenport to volunteer. ### Chili Cook-Off The annual Chili Cook-Off is Sunday, September 27. Sign up at the Welcome Center to bring chili, cornbread, rice, or desserts. Proceeds benefit the Power Packs program, helping ensure children in the community have enough food. ### Cooking for Crowds Food Safety Class Tuesday, September 22, 5:00–8:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. Penn State Extension will lead a free class on preventing cross-contamination, controlling time and temperature, maintaining personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitizing, and planning a successful food event. Sign up at the Welcome Center or contact the church office. ### Franklin Together — Franklin County Reentry Coalition The coalition serves people securing safe housing, reconnecting with loved ones, and taking meaningful steps toward stability. A donation box for essential household, cleaning, and hygiene items is at the Welcome Center; see the full list there or in the e-blast. Monetary gifts may be made at [franklintogether.org/donate](http://franklintogether.org/donate). ### Fall Quarter First Fruits Offerings in August, September, and October support Franklin Together — Franklin County Reentry Coalition, Homeless Matters of Franklin County, and the Fayetteville Fire Department. More information about each organization is in the Spirit. ### Sunday Night Bible Study Join Pastor Caroline on Sunday, September 13, at 8:00 pm via Zoom for a study of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8. Meeting ID: 836 0593 5961. Passcode: 277938. A link is included in the weekly e-blast. ### Beginners Pickleball Sunday, September 20, 3:00–5:00 pm. New players are welcome to learn on the pickleball court. Contact Harold Collier at [email protected]. ### New Pinochle Group September 21 and 28, 3:00–5:00 pm in the church library. Bring a friend to play, learn, and enjoy fellowship. All skill levels are welcome, and new players will be taught. Contact Harold Collier at [email protected]. ### September/October Upper Room Devotionals are available at the Welcome Center. Suggested donation: $1 for small print or $2 for large print. Contact the church office to request a mailed copy. ### Want to Stay in Touch? Contact the church office to join the email list for regular weekly emails, Diana's Devotionals, or the Prayer Chain. ### Birthdays This Week - September 7 — Michael Herbert and James Moyer - September 9 — Connie Morrill-Hair - September 10 — Helen Bernecker - September 11 — Kara Alt, Lisa Hess, and Harold Wissinger - September 12 — Alexandra Dennis - September 13 — Ferree LeFevre and Diana Macfarlane ### Prayer Requests No individual prayer requests are printed in the bulletin. Joys and concerns will be shared during worship. --- ## Worship Leadership | Role | Name | | --- | --- | | Pastor | Rev. Caroline E. Saxton | | Organist | Barbara Motichka | | Choir Director | Gary Crum | | Deacon in Charge | Chris Willman-Bunge | | Lector | Lloyd Beers | | Children's Corner | Roxanne Davenport | | Media Coordinators | Calvin Frantz and Neath Ham | | Bulletin Cover | Edd Scheer | ### Recognition and Memorials - Roxanne Davenport will be recognized and appreciated during worship. - The flowers at the foot of the cross are given in loving memory of John Gaal by his wife, Nancy. --- ## Church Information - **Church:** St. John's United Church of Christ - **Address:** 1811 Lincoln Way East, Chambersburg, PA 17202-3390 - **Phone:** (717) 263-8593 - **Website:** [sjucc1811.org](https://sjucc1811.org/) - **Pastor:** Rev. Caroline E. Saxton — [email protected] — (641) 260-1868 - **Office Administrator:** Tonya Schwartz — [email protected] — (717) 263-8593 - **Music Director:** Gary Crum - **Organist:** Barbara Motichka - **Director of Children & Youth:** Roxanne Davenport - **Pastor Emeritus:** Rev. Stephen W. Hoffman ### Vision > We are called to love, to learn, to worship and to witness in Christ as a congregation that welcomes everyone, and seeks service that will advance God's realm on earth. ### Mission > To grow in love of God and neighbor. ### Worship Resources - Call to Worship posted on the Seekers Church website; adapted - Litany for Deliverance by Bruce Prewer, from Prayers for the Twenty-First Century, © Bruce Prewer and Open Book Publishers - Feasting on the Word Worship Companion, edited by Kimberly Bracken Long - Bulletin source: Bulletin-09.06.26.pdf ### Calendar and Hymn Research Sources - [Revised Common Lectionary — Proper 18, Year A](https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/) - [Creation in Christ — RCL announcement and Year A readings](https://www.feastofcreation.com/revised-common-lectionary) - [Narrative Lectionary 2026–27 — Year 1](https://www.workingpreacher.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/narrative_lectionary_matthew_2026-27.pdf) - [Jewish calendar — 24 Elul 5786](https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=9/6) - [Season of Creation 2026](https://www.anglicancommunion.org/campaign/season-of-creation/) - [This Is the Day — hymn record](https://hymnary.org/text/this_is_the_day_this_is_the_day_that_th) - [Open My Eyes, That I May See — hymn record](https://www.hymnary.org/hymn/CEL1997/563) # Excalidraw Data ## Text Elements ## Embedded Files %% ## Drawing {"type":"excalidraw","version":2,"source":"https://github.com/zsviczian/obsidian-excalidraw-plugin","elements":[],"appState":{"gridSize":null,"viewBackgroundColor":"#ffffff"}} %%