At 10:30 a.m. worship on Sunday, June 1, Tyrone Presbyterians will receive three young adults as new members with a pastoral message, choir and congregational music, and joyous moments of food and fellowship after the service of confirmation. The young adults scheduled for confirmation in this the 151st year of Tyrone Presbyterian Church include Megan Hewett, Ryan Sessaman, and Simon Wilson.
Epworth Chaplain and Presbyterian preaching Pastor Mark Liller will deliver a confirmation message encouraging new church members and old church members to build their lives on the solid foundation of the Son of God – Jesus Christ, and the word of God – the Bible.
The Westminster Choir will sing John Ylvisaker’s new confirmation anthem, “I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry.” As the three young adults walk to the altar for confirmation into Tyrone Presbyterian Church, this song will offer these reassuring words: “I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old/I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold/When you heard the wonder of the word, I was there to cheer you on/You were raised to praise the living Lord, to whom you now belong.”
The three congregational hymns will reinforce the theme of Reverend Liller’s homily about Christ as “the foundation rock” for human life and will include such titles as “How Firm A Foundation, You Saints Of The Lord”, “Jesus Is A Rock In A Weary Land” and “On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand.”
The hymns of the day will draw on the theme of chapter seven in Matthew’s gospel. At the end of chapter seven, Christ encouraged his followers to imitate the householder who built his home on solid rock, instead of on sinking sand. Like a careful contractor, Christ cautioned his disciples that only a house (or a life) built on solid rock will stand when struck by the storms of life.
At the close of this confirmation service, the Christian Education Committee will host a moment of food and fellowship in the Sunday school hallway for new members Hewett, Sessamen, and Wilson. There, long-time Presbyterians will welcome these new members into the fellowship of this 151-year-old Tyrone Church.
While the season of Pentecost and growth unfolds, why not join Tyrone Presbyterians at 10:30 this Sunday, June 1 as they seek to build their lives on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, especially when they recite this prayer of confession at the opening of this confirmation service: “Let us build a church where love can dwell, and all can safely live/A place where saints and children tell, how hearts learn to forgive/Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith, and vault of grace/Here the love of Christ shall end division/All are welcome in this place.”
