June 1, 2025

The bottom line of that early church entrepreneurial venture is that they had something that people really needed:
a story of hope, a plan for loving everyone, and a compelling way of life.

~Homiletics

Check in and Get Connected!

Brunch!

WORDS OF GREETING AND GATHERING

Alexis Ward Owens

WELCOMING STATEMENT

RISE believes that God has open arms, and so should we. Our Creator wants us to love, accept and affirm every human being, including persons of every age, race, ethnic background, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, family or socioeconomic status, educational background, religion or creed, and physical or mental ability. We celebrate our diversity and recognize the sacred worth and dignity of all. Everyone is invited and encouraged to join us as we seek to follow Jesus with mutual respect, understanding, and love.

*Read more about “Why Pronouns Matter” HERE.

OPENING PSalm

Ps. 47 (CEB)

1 Clap your hands, all you people!
Shout joyfully to God with a joyous shout!
2 Because the Lord Most High is awesome,
he is the great king of the whole world.
3 He subdues the nations under us,
subdues all people beneath our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us:
the heights of Jacob, which he loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a joyous shout—
the Lord with the blast of the ram’s horn.
6 Sing praises to God! Sing praises!
Sing praises to our king! Sing praises
7 because God is king of the whole world!
Sing praises with a song of instruction!
8 God is king over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The leaders of all people are gathered
with the people of Abraham’s God
because the earth’s guardians belong to God;
God is exalted beyond all.

Opening Songs

Songs Will Happen!

“You Shall Go Out With Joy”

~Steffi Geiser Rubin / Stuart Dauermann

You shall go out with joy, And be let forth with peace
And the mountains and the hills will break forth before you
There'll be shouts of joy and all the trees of the fields
Will clap, will clap their hands

And all the trees of the fields will clap their hands
The trees of the fields will clap their hands
The trees of the fields will clap their hands
While you go out with joy

(Repeat)

“COME, THOU FOUNT” (NETTLETON)

Come, thou fount of ev’ry blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace.
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, mount of God’s unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I'm come,
and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wand'ring from the fold of God.
He to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.

Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wand'ring heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above!

Scripture Reading

Acts 1:1-11 (CEB)

1 Theophilus, the first scroll I wrote concerned everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning, 2 right up to the day when he was taken up into heaven. Before he was taken up, working in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed them that he was alive with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days, speaking to them about God’s kingdom. 4 While they were eating together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, “This is what you heard from me: 5 John baptized with water, but in only a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 As a result, those who had gathered together asked Jesus, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?”
7 Jesus replied, “It isn’t for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
9 After Jesus said these things, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going away and as they were staring toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood next to them. 11 They said, “Galileans, why are you standing here, looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven.”

THEOLOGICAL Reflection

Chris Zepp

“FANAFI Faith”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Do you ever find yourself like the disciples - staring up at the sky (or elsewhere), paralyzed as to what to do next? In the absence of white-robed gentlemen, what gets you moving again? What refocuses you on your work to share the kingdom dream?
What needs do you see today? What in your neighborhood (or in this town, this state, this country, this world) breaks your heart? How might you / we fill that need?
How might RISE be more intentional in applying the FANAFI principle? What ideas do you have for some good old fashioned “strategery”?

Song

“Holy Spirit, come with power” (Beach Spring)

Holy Spirit, come with power, breathe into our aching night.
We expect you this glad hour, waiting for your strength and light.
We are fearful, we are ailing, we are weak and selfish too.
Break upon your congregation, give us vigor, life anew.

Holy Spirit, come with fire, burn us with your presence new.
Let us as one mighty choir sing our hymn of praise to you.
Burn away our wasted sadness and enflame us with your love.
Burst upon your congregation, give us gladness from above.

Holy Spirit, bring your message, burn and breathe each word anew
Deep into our tired living till we strive your work to do.
Teach us love and trusting kindness, lend our hands to those who hurt.
Breathe upon your congregation and inspire us with your word.

Prayer

~Homiletics, adapted

Offering and NOMOFOMO

One of our core values is, "God gives to us, so we give back." We're called to give as a joy-filled response to what we've been given. Your financial gifts make a tremendous difference in the lives of God's beloved in Harrisonburg and beyond. Whether it's helping to make sure children in our community have enough to eat, helping to respond to the mental health crisis in our community, or providing much needed backing for the operating costs of our spaces and staff — your gift is a part of God's dream and we are grateful for everyone who partners with us on this journey!

Give Now

Banned Book Club STARTS TODAY!

4 pm, Sunday afternoons in June

Join us for a short summer series on banned books. The group will meet at the home of Beth Sellers on Sunday afternoons at 4:00 for the month of June (June 1-29). (DM us or contact us for address).

Please sign up using the link below. We will start today with a short text that you will not have to purchase, and at the first meeting we will choose one or two additional books (depending on length) to read for the remainder of the month.

Register Now!

THE Sitting

6-8 pm Wednesday Nights
Brother’s Craft Brewing!

It’s back! Some people have “standing” office hours, but we do things just a little bit differently here at RISE, so we have “sitting” hours during the summer season! Join Alexis and/or Chris on Wednesday nights throughout the summer - whether you have some burning theological questions or you just want to hang out with friends, we’ll be there and happy to chat!

Alexis is being licensed as a UMC local pastor this month!

The official ordination ceremony will be held at the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church at the Berguland Center in Roanoke VA on Saturday June 14, 2025 at 11:00 am. Any and all are welcome to attend! There will also be a link to the livestream available to watch virtually, we will share that link once it goes live. You can see the full agenda for the VA Annual Conference here: https://doc.vaumc.org/AC2025/AgendaMar25.pdf

Your source of information for all things RISE! Check out the latest edition if you haven’t already! Its packed with info on all our events this summer, staffing updates, etc.

Click here for the newest edition

Closing Song

“I’ll be on My Way”

~Shawn Kirshner

When I am gone, don’t you cry for me
Don't you pity my sorry soul
What pain there might have been
Will now be passed
And my spirit will be home

(REFRAIN)
I'll be on my way, I'll be on my way
I'll have left my feet of clay upon the ground
I will be glory bound,
I'll be on my way

When I am gone
Don't you cry for me
Don't my pity my sorry soul
What pain there might have been
Will now be past and my spirit will be home

I'll be on my way, I'll be on my way
I'll have left my feet of clay upon the ground
I will be glory bound,
I'll be on my way

When I am gone
Please forgive the wrong
That I might have done to you
There'll be no room for regrets up there
High above way beyond the blue

I'll be on my way, I'll be on my way
I'll have laid my. frown and all my burdens down
I'll be putting on my crown
I'll be on my way

When I am gone, don't you look for me
in the places I have been
I'll be alive but somewhere else
I'll be on my way again

I'll be on my way, I'll be on my way
I'll lift my wings and soar into the air
There'll be glory everywhere
I'll be on way

I'll be on my way, I'll be on my way
I'll have laid my frown and all my burdens down
I'll be putting on my crown
I'll be on my way

I'll have left my feet of clay upon the ground
I will be glory bound,
I'll be on my way

Parting Blessing