June 6th, 2026 - Season After Pentecost
We offer you a warm welcome, and as is our practice, we remember that the land on which we meet is, was, and always will be native land. We acknowledge those indigenous tribes to Oklahoma: the Wichitas, Caddos, Plains Apaches, and the Quapaws, as the original custodians of the land in this place. We grieve the violence done to native language, culture, and personhood, and seek to honor the sovereignty and dignity of native peoples.
We are so glad you've joined us, whether onsite or online. Please take a moment to tell us you are here by using the sign-in button below.
We are so glad you've joined us, whether onsite or online. Please take a moment to tell us you are here by using the sign-in button below.
Words of Welcome
One: Good morning and welcome from Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ, where no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey . . .
All: You are welcome here!
All: You are welcome here!
Call to Worship
One: We’ve made it: in-person, online, bedraggled, bedazzled, over-caffeinated, understaffed, retired, a little shaky, and fair-to-middlin’. All of us, children of God.
All: We are here with voices that have too often been silenced, in bodies that have been judged, and with stories that are sometimes overlooked.
One: But this community declares our voices, bodies, and stories to be sacred and beloved.
All: The Spirit is moving, calling forth life, dignity, and belonging for every child of God. We offer our whole selves to embody God’s love!
All: We are here with voices that have too often been silenced, in bodies that have been judged, and with stories that are sometimes overlooked.
One: But this community declares our voices, bodies, and stories to be sacred and beloved.
All: The Spirit is moving, calling forth life, dignity, and belonging for every child of God. We offer our whole selves to embody God’s love!
Hymn
Enter, Rejoice, and Come In, Hymn 73
New Century Hymnal
[Please rise in body or in spirit.]
New Century Hymnal
[Please rise in body or in spirit.]
Pass the Peace of Christ
One: "May the peace of Christ be with you."
All: "And also with you!"
All: "And also with you!"
Anthem
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Glenda Stansbury
Glenda Stansbury
Joys + Concerns
For the joys of this congregation, let the people say: “Thanks be to God!”
The Lord's Prayer
Let us say together the Lord’s Prayer, a translation by this congregation:
All: Our Creator, who is in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For you reign in the power that is love, now and always, Amen.
All: Our Creator, who is in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For you reign in the power that is love, now and always, Amen.
Anthem
Anthem
Composer
Carolyn Sargent
Composer
Carolyn Sargent
Pastoral Prayer
Rev. Dr. Lori Walke
Scripture: Esther 4:1-13
When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Sermon: For Such a Time as This
Dr. Edith Guffey
Dr. Edith Guffey (pronouns she/her) served the United Church of Christ for over 30 years. Guffey served first as the Secretary of the denomination, then as the Associate General Minister, always focusing primarily on the organization's internal operations and serving as the Administrator of the General Synod from 1995 to 2011. Following her years in the national offices, Guffey served as the Conference Minister of the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, retiring in 2021. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of National PFLAG, the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies. Guffey holds a BA in Sociology from Baker University in Baldwin City, KS, and an MSW from the University of Kansas. She has three honorary degrees. She is married to Jerry and has two adult children and three grandchildren, all of whom live in California. Jerry and Edith call Lawrence, Kansas, home.
Dr. Edith Guffey (pronouns she/her) served the United Church of Christ for over 30 years. Guffey served first as the Secretary of the denomination, then as the Associate General Minister, always focusing primarily on the organization's internal operations and serving as the Administrator of the General Synod from 1995 to 2011. Following her years in the national offices, Guffey served as the Conference Minister of the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, retiring in 2021. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of National PFLAG, the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies. Guffey holds a BA in Sociology from Baker University in Baldwin City, KS, and an MSW from the University of Kansas. She has three honorary degrees. She is married to Jerry and has two adult children and three grandchildren, all of whom live in California. Jerry and Edith call Lawrence, Kansas, home.
Communion Liturgy
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Hymn
Great is Your Faithfulness, Hymn 423
New Century Hymnal
[Please rise in body or in spirit.]
New Century Hymnal
[Please rise in body or in spirit.]
Announcements
- Please support the work and mission of this congregation with your tithes and offerings.
- Immediately after worship, we are all headed to Milligan Hall to do a church-wide asset mapping, and to learn how we are deepening our relationship with Micah Community Center with monthly meals, volunteering, and quarterly trash pick-up in coordination with the Key to Home Faith-Based Partnership with the City of Oklahoma City. This is in-person only. Childcare is provided.
- This evening, we join our students in 6th-12th grade in the 39th Street Pride Parade, which kicks off at 6pm!
- If you haven’t registered for next Sunday’s Intergenerational Vacation Bible School, there’s still time! You can find the registration form in the events tab on our website and in the app. Spend time in nature for this year’s intergenerational Vacation Bible School! *All ages and stages are welcome to learn together, and all children/ teens must be accompanied by an adult.* We will gather at the pavilion at Martin Nature Center on Sunday, June 14th, from 11:15am until 1pm. Transport yourselves or carpool with someone after worship! Lunch will be provided, but again, please register so we can have plenty of food and supplies.
- You can find more details about all of these things, as well as our Summer Celebration Potluck on Wednesday, June 17th, in the events tab on our app and on our website.
Benediction
One: May God grant to us the grace to never sell ourselves short, the courage to risk something big for something good, and the wisdom to know that the world is too small for anything but love. So let us go in peace, pray for peace, wage a little peace, and love one another . . .
ALL: …every single other.
ALL: …every single other.
Benediction Response
What Does the Lord Require?
Jim Strathdee
Part 1: What does the Lord require of you? What does the Lord require of you?
Part 2: Justice, kindness, walk humbly with your God. Justice, kindness, walk humbly with your God.
Part 3: To do justice, and love kindness and walk humbly with your God. To do justice, and love kindness and walk humbly with your God.
[Sung in a round, Part 1 begins the response, joined the second time by Part 2, then by Part 3, and then a fourth time through. For those in-person, it is our tradition for the congregation to stand and turn towards the center aisle during the benediction response so that we might "send each other forth" to embody what we sing.]
Jim Strathdee
Part 1: What does the Lord require of you? What does the Lord require of you?
Part 2: Justice, kindness, walk humbly with your God. Justice, kindness, walk humbly with your God.
Part 3: To do justice, and love kindness and walk humbly with your God. To do justice, and love kindness and walk humbly with your God.
[Sung in a round, Part 1 begins the response, joined the second time by Part 2, then by Part 3, and then a fourth time through. For those in-person, it is our tradition for the congregation to stand and turn towards the center aisle during the benediction response so that we might "send each other forth" to embody what we sing.]