Order of Worship

Click HERE for a printable copy of the Order of Worship

Dear Church Family,

We are happy to share the Order of Worship for our service on Sunday, March 22, 2026. We will gather for worship at 10am, and we would love for you to join us.

You are welcome to worship with us in person or virtually by conference call, Zoom, Facebook Live, or through our website—whatever works best for you.

Our hope is that everyone has the opportunity to worship and feel connected, wherever they may be.

Thank you, and as always, welcome to St. Matthew’s UMC!

If you have difficulties with the Facebook link, feel free to join Zoom.

Live-Stream

• St. Matthew’s UMC via Zoom
• • Meeting ID:  996 0251 9769               
  • Password:  14900
• St. Matthew’s UMC via Facebook
• St. Matthew’s UMC via Website

Conference Call

• Conference Call Dial-In:  +1-301-715-8592
• Enter Access Code:  996 0251 9769  #          
• Password: 14900 #
• Then, please wait for the host to begin. 

Closed Captioning Available

Worship, classes, and meetings Zoomed now have the capability for closed captioning. The catch is that you must “turn it on”. 

To do that, click on the button labeled “More…”. Then in the droplist, click on “Show Subtitles”.

If you need further assistance with this, please contact georgewood@stmatthews-bowie.org  

Sunday, March 22, 2026: The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Prelude:  Little Prelude in e minor [BWV 555a]
                                                  —Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Welcome

*CALL TO WORSHIP      —based on a text of St. Augustine (354-430)

L:         Look upon us, O Lord, and banish our darkness.
A:        Fill us with holy wisdom,
            and open to us the treasure of your wisdom.
L:         All our needs and desires are known to you.
A:        Make perfect what you have begun in us.
L:         We seek your face, O Lord.
A:        Turn your face upon us, and grant us your peace.

 

*OPENING HYMN:
                                    Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above  UMH 126

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION  —Laurence H. Stookey (1937-2016)

O God,

Mercifully forgive the wrong we have done
and the good we have neglected to do.
But let not your forgiveness become an excuse
            to continue in our old ways.
Rather, let your kindness alter what we are and what we do.
Restore in us the image of yourself
with which you endowed us at creation.

 

Lord, have mercy upon us, who confess our sins.
Christ, have mercy upon us, who repent our sins.
Lord, have mercy upon us, and make us whole. Amen.

WORDS OF PARDON                            UMBoW 323

May the almighty and merciful God,
who desires not the death of a sinner,
but that we turn from wickedness and live,
accept your repentance, forgive all your sins
and restore you by the Holy Spirit
to newness of life. Amen.

 

*ACT OF PRAISE: Gloria Patri UMH 71

 

Joys & Concerns

 

Pastoral Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer

 

Passing of the Peace

 

*HYMN BEFORE SCRIPTURE:
                                    Spirit of God, Descend Upon my Heart  UMH 500

                                               

 

Today’s Epistle reading is taken from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Romans 8:6-11)

 

⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

 

The Word of the Lord. THANKS BE TO GOD.

 

*Please stand as you are able for the Gospel Acclamation
and remain standing for the reading of the Gospel.

 

*GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: 
                                    Majesty, Worship His Majesty  UMH 176

 

This morning’s Gospel reading is from the Gospel of John (John 11:1-45)

 

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, ⁶ after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

 

⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble because they see the light of this world. ¹⁰ But those who walk at night stumble because the light is not in them.” ¹¹ After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” ¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” ¹³ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶ Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

 

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. ²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

 

²⁸ When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come to the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. ³⁴ He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus began to weep. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

 

³⁸ Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” ⁴⁵ Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him.

 

The Gospel of the Lord. THANKS BE TO GOD.

Music for Meditation: Where You Are, There Is Life
                                                                                                —Kevin Hildebrand

 

Children’s Message          

           

Music at the Gradual: 

            Chorale Prelude on Christ, der du bist der helle Tag [BWV 1120]
                                                   —Johann Sebastian Bach  (1685-1750)

 

Message                    —Rev. JW Park

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving

 

Music during the Offertory:
                                    The Prayer   —Sager & Foster, arr. Mark Hayes

 

*DOXOLOGY UMH 95

 

Announcements

 

*CLOSING HYMN:
                                    O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing  UMH 57

*Benediction

 

*BENEDICTION RESPONSE: Double Amen  UMH 897

 

Postlude:  Little Prelude & Fugue in G Major  [BWV 557]
                                                            —Johann Sebastian Bach  (1685-1750)

 

The flowers on the altar today are dedicated to the glory of God and

in memory of my mother, Elizabeth Lenox. ~Ginny Herensperger

Today’s organ music commemorates the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach on 21 March 1685 in Eisenach, Thuringia, eastern Germany.

DAILY SCRIPTURES

Mon:    Matthew 11:2-19                    Tues:   1 Corinthians 15:1-28

Wed:    Romans 1:1-7, 16-17               Thur:   Isaiah 25:1-9

Fri:       Colossians 3:1-17                    Sat:      Romans 8:31-39

 

 

SPECIAL THANKS TO TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS!

Greeters	St. Matthew’s Members
Ushers	Corey Smith*, Angela Cockrell, Sarta Freeman, Maysen Gore-Duran
Acolytes	James Belcher and Rylen Smith
Liturgist	Marnie Ewell
Musician(s)	Chancel Choir
Counters	Pat Clark (lead), Betty Kolbe, Bruce Thoman
Broadcasting	The Hulens, George Wood, Steve Smith, Bruce Thoman, Zoom Team
Welcome Desk	The Berfields
Coffee Hour*	Deanna Lesche and Margie Pekala

 

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK…

Today	11am	Coffee Hour	Fellowship Hall
		Adult Sunday School	Parlor
		Children’s Sunday School	Room 222
Mon.	7pm	Gloria Ringers	Choir Room
Tues.	945am	Bible Study w/ Isaac Borocz	Parlor
	11 am	Angel Gang	ZOOM
	6pm	EEC Board Meeting	Room 126
	7pm	Evening Bible Study w/Rev. Park	ZOOM
Wed.	8am	Men’s Breakfast	Rip’s
	7pm	Lenten Simple Prayer Service	Sanctuary
		Mayoral Candidate Forum	Fellowship Hall
Thurs.	630pm	Chancel Choir	Choir Room
Fri.	7pm	Theatre Troupe Rehearsal	Fellowship Hall
Sat.	10am	UWF Lenten Brunch	Fellowship Hall
Weekly Morning Prayer Call
Mon. Mar. 23rd – Sat. Mar. 30th from 630-645am – Dennis Deensie
Dial 267-807-9601 and enter access code: 111-576-270 #

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Helping Hands April Meeting – Wednesday, April 1^st at 10³⁰am– Rooms 223-225

Donations of candy are still being collected over the next few weeks in preparation for our next meeting when we will stuff plastic eggs for our annual Easter Egg Hunt (no fooling!). Please drop off your donations in the Church Office.

If you can help hide eggs and/or help with the hunt, please contact Becky Roper: beckyroper@stmatthews-bowie.org

 

2026 UWF Lenten Brunch – Saturday, March 28^th at 10am

The United Women in Faith cordially invite ALL of St. Matthew’s to attend the annual Lenten Brunch in Fellowship Hall. Join us for delicious food, fellowship, and an interesting talk by a local author, Maura McGee.  No RSVP is needed; however, if you need babysitting, please email uwf@stmatthews-bowie.org.

 

Lenten Simple Prayer Services – Wednesdays at 7pm

Join us for a special series of Lenten Simple Prayer services with the overarching theme of The Life, Passion & Death of Jesus: Meditations through the Art of Duccio di Buoninsegna and Others. Each week we will focus on an aspect of the Cross. The service will last about 30 minutes each week. All are welcome.

 

BWC Annual Conference – Wednesday, May 27^th through Friday, May 29^th, 2026

Hilton Hotel, 401 W. Pratt St., Baltimore

Registration is now open for the 242^nd Session of the Baltimore Washington Conference (BWC) Annual Conference. The conference requires equal lay and clergy representation, and additional lay members — called Equalization Members (EMs) — are needed. To be eligible, you must be a professing member of a BWC United Methodist Church for at least two years and not already serve as a lay member to Annual Conference. If assigned as an EM, you will be responsible for registering and covering the cost of attending.

If you feel called to serve as an Equalization Member, contact your District Superintendent as soon as possible. For full details and to register, see this week’s Midweek Messenger.

 

Little Free Pantry Update

The current needs for the LFP are sides (such as mashed potatoes) cereal, pancake mix, and syrup. We need donations in QUANTITY as there are many needy families. Please put your donations in the bin in the coatroom or in bins by the narthex door. Thank you for caring! (bethlingg@comcast.net)

 

Bowie Food Pantry Update

The greatest current needs of the Pantry are canned tuna, canned chicken, peanut butter crackers, and personal care items (such as toothpaste and shampoo), and Depends (men’s and women’s sizes M and L). Please place donations in the shopping cart in the coatroom. Thank you for your generosity!