Welcome to Worship at the McPherson Church of the Brethren
We invite your active participation in the life of this congregation, as together we continue to grow in grace and seek justice for God's creation.
Sunday, November 8, 2026
National Junior High Youth Sunday
Greeters | Zora, Veda, Rowan, Ada
Gathering Music with Slide Show | “Light Awakes” | music by Friends with the Weather
used with permission | Thank You to Pastor Jerry for the pictures
Video Welcome
Sharing Time | Ava & Dane
♫Centering Music | “Dear Theodosia” | Lin-Manuel Miranda
Vivian, piano
Call to Worship | Esme & Vivian
1st Voice: When the hurt overwhelms us…
2nd Voice: Where should we turn?
All: Let us turn to the One who formed us from the mud and breathed life into us.
1st Voice: When questions go without answers and confusion surrounds us…
2nd Voice: How do we find peace so that we can take tiny steps forward?
All: We seek the One who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
1st Voice: When our community aches and needs something…
2nd Voice: What is our response to our neighbors when all feels hopeless?
All: We will, guided by Love, answer the call, as Isaiah did, with,
“Is it I, Lord?” And then we will go. Amen.
♫Opening Song | “There is a Place of Quiet Rest” | #5
Story for the Kids | Veda & Vivian
Invitation to Give
You may Give online or send a check made payable to "McPherson Church of the Brethren,"
200 N. Carrie, McPherson, KS 67460
♫Musical Offering | “Blackbird” | the Beatles
Enzo, guitar
Congregational Prayer | Charlie
Today’s prayer is an interactive one. I will pray a few sentences then invite you to participate as
instructed. There will be a moment of silence and times to name specific needs.
Please pray with me----
Gracious God, we takea moment to just pause, to sit in silence, to listen to your still small voice.
We ask, O God, that You listen to our heartbeat and calm our breathing, so that we can be fully present.
As we enter this time of silence, be near to us, O LORD. PAUSE
Now, Loving God, we lift up our world to you as it seems more confusing than ever. We ask that you
shower world leaders with YOUR wisdom, Your Sophia, so that they make choices that honor you and
your creation. Some of us, Loving One, have specific places in the world we need to pray for, so we
will lift those nations in our prayers. ----So please, family, speak out loud an area of the world, outside
the United States, that you want to carry to God. Do so now. PAUSE
Our world can feel so out there, and we know, O God, our country needs prayer too.
Gracious God, we lift our nation to you. We ask that You hear our specific prayers for the United States.
----Church family, we ask that you lift your prayers for our nation by word to God, speak those needs
out loud and do so now. PAUSE
Finally Loving God, we all speak prayers for our community. You know how much we are all hurting.
You have felt our pain, you have heard our prayers, and we continue to lift them to you. ----
Friends, we ask that you lift up McPherson and our church in any way you feel led and please do so
now. PAUSE
In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
♫Prayer Song | “Healer of our Every Ill” | #377
Scripture Jam | based on 2 Corinthians 12:9
“My Grace is all you need, for my power is the greatest when you are weak.”
Brekken, Charlie & Enzo
Voice 1: I feel like there is so much going on right now.
Voice 2: Yeah, too much. Every day brings more bad news.
Voice 3: It does feel like a lot, but God has got this.
Voice 2: God has got this? How do we know that? We can’t see God.
Voice 1: My parents told me the same thing, but we can’t even see God,
so how do we know God has got this?
Voice 3: We can turn to the scriptures that have helped people for over two thousand years.
Voice 1: The Bible? Really? That’s your answer? Where can we find answers there?
Voice 3: Yes, the Bible. It offers wisdom and words of comfort, and it also reminds us that
God has got this.
Voice 2: My parents keep reciting Psalm 23, and I do love the words,
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and
I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Voice 3: Yeah. That’s it. There are many books, chapters, and verses that invite us to find peace
and hope and joy in the middle of the storms.
Voice 2: I heard a pastor read this scripture the other day too, “What, then, shall we say in
response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Voice 1: That does give me hope; knowing that God is with us, knowing that God creates a safe
space for us - gives me hope. It lets me know we will be ok.
Voice 3: God doesn’t promise a life without challenges, but God does promise to walk
with us through it all.
Voice 1: That reminds me of the story our youth pastor taught about Jesus calming the storm.
I thought it was corny then, but right now it makes sense.
Voice 2: Right? We might not get stuck on a lake somewhere, but right now life feels worse than
any storm I have seen.
Voice 3: Exactly. That’s what I mean when I say God has got this. When life overwhelms us, God
carries us. We find this truth time and time again in Scripture.
Voice 2: Like what it says here in Psalm 18:2, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my
deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my
salvation, my stronghold.”
Voice 1: Wait I got one too. This is from the book of Matthew and it reads, “Come to me, all who
are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Voice 3: Now that’s more like it. We could go through the entire Bible and find so many verses
that lift us.
Voice 2: Life can be so hard, so something like this helps us feel hope. I need that right now.
Voice 1: I need that too, and I found another one, in Philippians 4:13, it says, “I can do all things
through God who gives me strength.”
Voice 3: Let’s try to find one more and read it together.
All: From Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is all you need, for my power is the greatest when
you are weak.” We think that’s the perfect answer to what we all need right now. AMEN
♫Message in Song | “When Peace Like a River” | #336
Message Drama | “How Do We Deal with Grief?" | written by Vivian
Ava, Brekken, Charlie, Connor, and Vivian
Scene One
#1 Ava, are you okay?
#2 I don’t know what to do.
#1 What happened?
#1 It’s Brekken, his uncle died. And I just… I don’t know how to help. I’ve been trying to think of something
to say to him, but everything sounds wrong. How do you even talk to someone who’s been through that?
#1 Have you tried talking to him?
#2 A little. I asked how he was doing, and he said he was fine. But I know he’s not, how could he be?
He lost his uncle. I want to help, but I can’t fix it.
#1 Maybe you don’t need to fix it.
#2 But I’m his best friend! I’m supposed to be there for him. What if I say the wrong thing?
What if I make it worse?
#1 Ava, I don’t think there is a perfect thing to say. Maybe being there is enough.
#2 What does that even mean? Sitting by him? Asking questions? Distracting him? Giving space?
I don’t know which one is right.
#1 Maybe it’s different for each person, or even different everyday. Sometimes Brekken might want to
talk, sometimes he might want to be alone. You could ask what he needs.
#2 I just wish I knew how to make it all better.
#3 Hey, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I overheard a little of your conversation. I’m Vivi. Are you talking
about a friend who’s grieving?
#2 Yeah. My best friend, Brekken, lost his uncle, and I don’t know how to help.
#3 I understand. It’s hard to watch someone you care about go through something painful, especially when
you don’t know what to do.
#2 Exactly! Everyone says to be there for them, but no one explains how.
#3 I don’t think there is one answer. But I do know something important: you don’t need to take away
someone’s pain or grief to love them.
#1 So what should we do?
#3 Listen and be patient, check in on them, offer help, and most importantly, don’t pressure them to feel
better. Sometimes all we need is to grieve and be sad about something. There’s not a fix to keep that away.
#2 What if he cries?
#3 Let him cry.
#1 Or if he doesn’t want to talk, what then?
#3 Then sit with him quietly
#2 I guess I’ve been so worried about saying the perfect thing that I haven’t been thinking about
just being there.
#3 That’s a good place to start.
Scene Two (voice #4 enters and stands by the group)
#4 Hey guys! Have you heard about Brekken’s uncle? I’ve heard so much about what happened.
Apparently his family has been …..
#1 Connor, I know you care about Brekken, so I know you would want to help protect his privacy.
#4 What’s the big deal? I was just telling you what I heard. Isn’t that what friends do?
#2 No. Brekken is our friend too. His uncle just died. That isn’t something to gossip about.
#4 I wasn’t trying to be mean! I thought you would want to know.
#3 There’s a difference between caring about someone and being curious about their tragedy.
We need to think about whether what we’re saying is helpful, respectful, and our news to share.
#4 Oh… I didn’t think of it like that.
#1 Imagine how you would feel in this situation, Connor. I don’t think you’d want people spreading rumors
about your family.
#2 He’s already going through so much pain. He shouldn’t have to worry about people talking about him
behind his back too.
#4 You’re right, I’m sorry. I didn’t think about how it would affect him.
#3 It’s okay. We all make mistakes. What matters is what we do when we realize we’ve hurt someone.
#2 Yeah! Let’s make sure we do better. We can protect Brekke’s privacy and support him instead of
gossiping.
#4 I want to help too. If I hear people gossiping about him or his uncle again, I’ll speak up.
#1 That’s a good place to start.
Scene Three (voice #2 and voice #5 are the only ones present)
#2 Hey, Brekken.
#5 Hey.
#2 I’ve been wanting to talk to you. I’m worried about you, but I didn’t know just what to say.
#5 To be honest, I don’t really know what to say either.
#2 That’s okay. Would you be comfortable if I sat by you for awhile?
#5 Yes, I’d like that.
Everyone keeps asking if I’m okay. I know they mean well, but I don’t know how to answer.
Sometimes I’m okay for a little while, and then I remember my uncle isn’t coming home.
And suddenly I’m not okay anymore.
I miss him. I miss talking to him. I miss all the little things I never thought I’d have to miss.
And everyone else seems to be moving on, but I’m stuck here.
#2 Thank you for sharing with me. I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how you must feel, but I want to listen
if you ever want to talk about him or anything else.
#5 Really?
#2 Of course. You don’t have to pretend to be okay around me. And I’ll be here for as long as you need.
#1,3,4 So will we.
#2 You can let us know if you need anything, alright?
#5 Okay.
#2 We can start by listening to each other, and then …
ALL We’ll make this the best day ever.
Sermon | "Today is the Best Day Ever!" | Abrielle
♫Sending Song | “Guide My Feet” | #546
Sending Words | Brekken
Now receive this benediction:
Know that wherever you go, God is there
Know that in every face you meet, God is there
Know that in every kind word spoken to you, God is there.
Know that in every cool breeze that soothes your soul, God is there.
Know that in every mountain stream that cools your aching feet, God is there.
And know that in every act of love that helps heal your wounds, God is there.
God is everywhere and in everything, go in love, go in peace, go surrounded by God. Amen.
♫Sending Music | “I’ll Be on My Way” | Shawn Kirchner
shared with permission
This order of worship is posted on our public website.
To safeguard, as much as possible, the identity of these under-age students - last names have been omitted.
Please greet them after worship and ask them about their lives and connections.
Videography and Editing: Eric Goering
Music Coordinator: Ellen Gilbert
Choir Director: Becky Snell
Technical Crew: Eric Goering, Ryan Goering, Shane Kirchner, Steve Lolling & Chris Whitacre
Chancel Decoration Team: Jill Brax, Colleen Gustafson, Janette Hess, Michele Johnson, Shane Kirchner, Marie Neher & Lara Schoming
