Welcome to Trinity Lutheran Church

501 S. Washington, Albert Lea MN | 507-373-2466

website: www.tlc-al.org e-mail: office@tlc-al.org
facebook: www.facebook.com/tlcal

Pastor Eileen Woyen | email: pastor@tlc-al.org

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Lectionary 18
Jesus feeds the hungry multitude and reveals the abundance of God. At the Eucharistic table we
remember all who are hungry or poor in our world today. As we share the bread of life, we are
sent forth to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry.
GATHERING
Music
Bells
Hymn “Let us Talents and Tongues Employ” ELW 674
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!
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 calls us in, sends us out
Bearing fruit in a world of doubt,
Gives us love to tell, bread to share:
God (Immanuel) ev’rywhere!
Refrain.
Invocation
We begin in the name of the  Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Apostolic Greeting
P: The grace of our Lord  Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all!
C: And also with you!

Prayer of the Day

Glorious God, your generosity waters the world with goodness, and you cover creation with
abundance. Awaken in us a hunger for the food that satisfies both body and spirit, and with this
food fill all the starving world; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
WORD
First Reading   Genesis 32:22-31
Jacob wrestled all night with God, and when God wanted to get away as dawn was breaking,
Jacob would not let God go until God had blessed him. Jacob’s name is changed to Israel to
mark his new relationship with God as he enters the land. Jacob is astonished that he remains
alive after seeing God face-to-face.
22[At night Jacob] got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and
crossed the ford of the Jabbok.23He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise
everything that he had. 24Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and
Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day
is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27So he said to him,
“What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28Then the man said, “You shall no longer be
called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.”
29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my
God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel,
limping because of his hip.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Hymn “Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service” ELW 712

Lord, whose love in humble service bore the weight of human need,
Who upon the cross, forsaken, worked your mercy’s perfect deed;
We, your servants, bring the worship not of voice alone, but heart;
Consecrating to your purpose ev’ry gift which you impart.
Still your children wander homeless; still the hungry cry for bread;
Still the captives long for freedom; still in grief we mourn our dead.
As you, Lord, in deep compassion healed the sick and freed the soul,
By your Spirit send your power to our world to make it whole.
As we worship, grant us vision, till your love’s revealing light
In its height and depth and greatness dawns upon our quickened sight,
Making known the needs and burdens your compassion bids us bear,
Stirring us to ardent service, your abundant life to share.
Called by worship to your service, forth in your dear name we go,
To the child, the youth, the aged, love in living deeds to show;
Hope and health, goodwill and comfort, counsel, aid, and peace we give,
That your servants, Lord, in freedom may your mercy know and live.
The Holy Gospel Matthew 14:13-21
After John the Baptist is murdered, Jesus desires a time of solitude. Still, his compassion for
others will not allow him to dismiss those who need him, and he is moved to perform one of his
greatest miracles.
13
Now when Jesus heard [about the beheading of John the Baptist], he withdrew from there in a
boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot
from the towns. 14When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them
and cured their sick. 15When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a
deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the
villages and buy food for themselves.” 16Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give
them something to eat.” 17They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two
fish.” 18And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the
grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the
loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And all ate
and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets
full. 21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
The Gospel of our Lord
Praise to you, O Christ.
Hymn “Praise and Thanksgiving” ELW 689
Praise and thanksgiving, God, we would offer
For all things living, you have made good:
Harvest of sown fields, fruit of the orchard,
Hay from the mown fields, blossom and wood.
God, bless the labor we bring to serve you,
That with our neighbor we may be fed.
Sowing or tilling, we would work with you,
Harvesting, milling for daily bread.
Father, providing food for your children,
By Wisdom’s guiding teach us to share
One with another, so that, rejoicing
With us, all others may know your care.
Then will your blessing reach ev’ry people,
Freely confessing your gracious hand.
Where you are reigning, no one will hunger;
Your love sustaining showers the land.
Homily
Hymn “Stay with Us” WOV 743
Stay with us, till night has come:
Our praise to you this day be sung.
Bless our bread, open our eyes:
Jesus, be our great surprise.
Walk with us, our spirits sigh:
Hear when our weary spirits cry,
Feel again our loss, our pain:
Jesus, take us to your side.
Walk with us, the road will bend:
Make all our weeping, waling end.
Wipe our tears, forgive our fears:
Jesus, lift the heavy cross.
Talk with us, till we behold
A joyful life you will unfold:
Heal our eyes to see the prize:
Jesus, take us to the light.
Stay with us, till day is done:
No tears nor dark shall dim the sun.
Cheer the heart, your grace impart:
Jesus, bring eternal life.
Passing of the Peace
Offering
To enroll in online offerings, please go to www.tlc-al.org and click on Online Giving on the left
side. Or you may mail them to Trinity Lutheran Church, 501 S. Washington Avenue, Albert Lea,
MN 56007

Offertory Prayer
God of goodness and growth, all creation is yours, and your faithfulness is as firm as the
heavens. In your abundant grace, nourish us through these gifts, that we might proclaim
your steadfast love in our communities and in the world, through Jesus Christ, our
strength and our song.
Amen.

Prayers of the People

Confident of your care and helped by the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all
who are in need.
You take resources that appear to be meager, bless them, and there is enough. May your church
trust that what you bless and ask us to share with the world is abundantly sufficient. Lord, in
your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Your bountiful creation offers sustenance and life for all creatures. Protect this abundance for the
well-being of all. Reverse the damage we have caused your creation. Replenish ground water
supplies, provide harvests for farmers, and protect forests from wildfires. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
You offer yourself to all the nations and peoples of the earth, inviting everyone to abundant life.
Bring the prophetic vision to fullness, that all nations will run to you and that nations who do not
know you will find their joy in you. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Hear the anguish of tender
hearts who cry to you in suffering and satisfy their deepest needs. Bring wholeness and healing
to those who suffer in body, heart, soul, and mind. Guide the work of scientists and researchers.
Guide them in answers to the CoVid19 pandemic. We pray especially for… Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
You offer freely the fullness of salvation. Give Trinity such a welcoming heart, that our words
and actions may extend your free and abundant hospitality to all whom we encounter. We give
thanks for Maverick’s baptism this day as you welcome him into the Lord’s family. As he grows
in years, may he grow in his knowledge and love of the Lord. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
You gather your saints as one, united in the body of Jesus. Bring us with all your saints to the
heavenly banquet. We remember with love and thanksgiving the saints we have known
(especially Lloyd, Larry and Randy). Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
In the certain hope that nothing can separate us from your love, we offer these prayers to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer (Say)
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen

SENDING
The Benediction
Mission Statement
People of Trinity, what is our mission?
We are a fellowship of believers in Christ, sustained by God’s Word, led by the Holy
Spirit and committed to God’s vision of caring!
Announcements
Dismissal
Hymn “Canticle of the Turning” ELW 723
My soul cries out with a joyful shout
That the God of my heart is great,
And my spirit sings of the wondrous things
That you bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight,
And my weakness you did not spurn,
So from east to west, shall my name be blest.
Could the world be about to turn?
Refrain. My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn.
Though I am small, my God, my all,
You work great things in me.
And your mercy will last from the depths of the past
To the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame,
And to those who would for you yearn,
You will show your might, put the strong to flight,
For the world is about to turn.
Refrain.
From the halls of pow’r to the fortress tow’r,
Not a stone will be left one stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears
Ev’ry tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more,
For the food they can never yearn,
There are tables spread, ev’ry mouth be fed,
For the world is about to turn.
Refrain.
Though the nations rage from age to age,
We remember who holds us fast:
God’s mercy must deliver us
From the conqueror’s crushing grasp.
This saving word that our forebears heard
Is the promise which holds us bound,
Till the spear and rod can be crushed by God,
Who is turning the world around.
Refrain.