Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union

Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

October 29, 2017   10:30 am 

 
Meditation  
Thesis 8: All are called to be prophets, which is to interfere with injustice.
Thesis 62: The universe does not suffer from a shortage of grace, and no religious institution is to see its task as rationing grace. Grace is abundant       in God’s universe.
Thesis 66: Evil can happen through every people, every nation, every tribe, and every individual human, and so vigilance and self-criticism and   institutional criticism are always called for.
—Matthew Fox, A New Reformation:  Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity
Could we but stand where Moses stood, and view the landscape o’er, not Jordan’s stream, nor death’s cold flood should fright us from the shore.      — Isaac Watts                      

From there to Here

Welcome & Announcements
Welcome to this service of worship!  During the service, you are invited to rise in body or in spirit, standing or sitting, at points in the service marked “ ”.”
Please sign in using the pew folder, passing it back down the row so all can greet one another by name, and place the sheet in an offering plate. We’re glad you’re here!
¨  Call to Worship
One: Here we are, called by love, giving what we have, pledging a kin-dom of righteousness and peace.
All: Here we stand. We can do no other!
One: Friends, let us boldly claim the hold God has on lives. Let us seek justice and make joyful the hearts of others in Christ’s name. And let us be changed and challenged, reformed and blessed in the service of the living God!
All: So help us, God!
¨  Opening Hymn       A Mighty Fortress         Ein Feste Burg
¨  Prayer of Approach and Confession (unison) 
Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image, through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.
— Modern Prayer based on a prayer of John Calvin, protestant reformer. From the PCUSA Book of Common Worship Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1993
¨  Words of Assurance
One: This saying is true and we should believe it: that Christ Jesus came into the world to rescue sinners. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might be dead to sin and alive to all that is good. To all those who repent, therefore, I proclaim to you the forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit.  
All:  Amen.
— John Knox, Protestant Reformer in Scotland, 1539.
¨  Passing the Peace of Christ
All who come to this sanctuary are welcome companions on this day! You are invited to turn to those nearest you and greet them with words of peace and joy. 

The Living Word among us

Anthem For Everyone Born Shirley Erena Murray
Union Church Choir
For everyone born, a place at the table, for everyone born, clean water and bread, a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing, for everyone born, a star overhead, and God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace: yes, God will
For woman and man, a place at the table, revising the roles, deciding the share, with wisdom and grace, dividing the power, a system that’s fair. For young and for old, a place at the table, a voice to be heard, a part in the song. The hands of a child in hands that are wrinkled, for young and for old, the right to belong.
For everyone born, a place at the table, to live without fear, and simply to be, to work, to speak out, to witness and worship, for everyone born the right to be free! And God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace, justice and joy!
Hebrew Scripture Lesson Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Children’s Moment                                as the children return to their seats we sing:
May God’s presence guard, protect and guide you. God bless you, God bless you.Our savior’s loving arms be ever ’round you. God bless you, God bless you.
Following the Children’s Moment, children kindergarten through 5th grade are invited to Children’s Church in Cowan Chapel. They are also welcome to stay in the service if they prefer. The Children’s Worship Center in the back of the sanctuary has toys, books, and drawing materials for children (or parents) who would like help staying present in the service. For children preschool age & under, care is available in the Nursery, downstairs in Room 104 off the playground.
Gospel Lesson Matthew 22:34-46
Sermon Here We Stand: And View the Landscape O’er Rev. Kent Gilbert
Here We Stand Samuel Ssengooba Mugabi,                                                                                                executive director of Samuel’s Kids
Each and every week we stand with partners who are called to life and making a difference. Each Sunday in October we will be celebrating the work of the church with these partners as we are called to life in Christ’s service.
Today we are lucky to have with us Samuel Ssensgooba Mugabi, the founder and director of Samuel’s Kids Ministries, an orphanage that currently houses dozens of children left orphaned by the HIV/AIDS crisis in Uganda.
The ministry provides housing, food, schooling, and vocational training for the children. Union Church has been partnering with Samuel’s Kids since 2013, including a recent donation to help build a new building for them. Learn more, including how to sponsor a child, at www.samuelskids.org.

GIfts Given for Love to Flow

Our gifts help sustain this particular community of caring by sustaining the building, pastors and staff, and all the materials that make our ministry of healing, justice, and teaching available to all in need. In addition, a good portion of our contributions flows out to aid to those in need via many external agencies.
This can now be done online or by text to 859-448-3403 (Example: Text “$50.00 Offering” to contribute to the ongoing ministries, or add “youth,” or “missions” or designation of your choice to benefit one in particular.
Your contribution is love made visible. Thank you!
Offertory                   Jig on Morning Songs S. Tucker
Union Church Handbell Ensemble
¨  Doxology  We give thee but thine own, what e’re the gift may be,  
        All that we have is thine alone, a trust, O God, from thee! Schumann

Praying it Forward

Ringing of the Peace Bell
The Union Church Peace Bell was created by Jeff Enge in honor of Union Church member Carl Eschbach (1904-1998).  A twin bell hangs in Berea’s sister province in Japan and is also rung in the hope of peace for all nations.
Silent Prayer and Prayers of the Community
Our Lord’s Prayer
One: Our Maker, our Mother, and …
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 sins as we forgive those who sin 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.  Amen.

From Here to There

¨  Closing Hymn #565 God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending  Austrian Hymn
¨  Benediction & Sending Forth
¨  Postlude A Mighty Fortress arr. J. Raney
Susan Waterbury, piano; Abby Horn, Jeff Marsh and Abby Wentzel, handbells;  and Spirited Handbell Ensemble
Especially in our prayers
Each week we join millions of Christians who pray for one another through the ecumenical prayer cycle and, locally, the Berea Ministerial Association’s prayer cycle.  Let us hold the people of the United States and Canada and our brothers and sisters at Bethlehem Baptist Church in our hearts, and pray for them.
Please hold these concerns in your prayers, today and throughout the week. Prayer requests to be printed may be sent to the office anytime before 10:00 am Fridays.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound:  Ruth Butwell, Edith Hansen, Mary Miller, Alva Peloquin, Gloria VanWinkle.
¨ The family and many friends of Kevin Burke, who passed away suddenly on October 6. His life will be celebrated at a service November 4, 11 am. Visitation on Friday the 3rd, 5:30-8 pm. Both here at church.
¨ Joshua Jones, for healing
¨ Our church family members in grief; Carla Gilbert at the loss of Kevin, Hazel Morris at the loss of her sister, Phyllis, and those who are remembering and holding the death of loved ones close to their hearts
¨ Celebration of John McWilliams’ cancer remission
¨ Jackie Perman, mother of Kelly Madden and grandmother to Colin and Cadence Perman, in ICU with kidney failure
¨ Delores Carpenter’s mother, in her recent move the Brodhead Nursing Home
¨ Katie Litteral, who has moved from Berea to New York, but just temporarily. Her address is 39 E. 12th St. #506, New York, NY, 10003, email is dulcimermaid@gmail.com.
¨ Mim Pride, recovering well at home from her hip surgery.
¨ LaRee Jacobs, getting better from her fall and subsequent sprains and breaks.
¨ Dick Drake, recovering from a minor stroke
¨ The peoples of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean islands, Houston, Florida, Mexico City, and all places affected by disaster. May we be filled with compassion and motivated to act. Donations to Church World Service will help! cwsglobal.org/
¨ Neighbors and friends in fear of ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) raids in our area, and for DACA students and their families. May we all strive for a safe and respectful path forward to be good neighbors.
¨ Rusty Mullins’ father, Tony Irelan
¨ Rev. Rachel’s cousin, Jeff Small, father of two small kids, who is on a heart transplant waiting list.
¨ Dan Rohrer, who is suffering from a severe liver disorder.
Today! You are cordially invited to the Steiner-Reck 40th Anniversary Concert and Celebration on October 29, at 4:00 pm.  This concert and celebration will be to honor and celebrate our beloved 42-rank Steiner-Reck organ, completed and dedicated in October of 1977. Reception to follow. 
500 Years! October 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant reformation, a tumultuous series of church reform movements that reshaped relationships to God in Roman Catholic and dissenting churches alike. The Protestant movement began when a young monk, Martin Luther, posted a series of 95 discussion points on the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany.
Famously stating “Here I stand, I can do no other,” he resisted corruption and theological beliefs he saw as harmful to God’s people. To learn more about the effects of this act on the whole of western culture an excellent book is Rebel in the Ranks, by Brad S. Gregory. Dr. Gregory also has an exceptional reformation analysis in an audio lecture series published by Great Courses. These are available from Audible.com.
Rev. Kent and Rev. Rachel will be looking forward, too, and encourage you to engage the work of Matthew Fox, who has written extensively about Christian reform for the 3rd millenia of faith. His short book, A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity,  details 95 new theses for our modern church. All this month, you’ll find them used as our meditations at the beginning of our bulletins.
 Wednesday Nite Live is a potluck  on November 1 — first Wednesday of the month.
Kevin Burke’s memorial service will be Saturday, November 4, 11 am. Visitation will be Friday the 3rd, 5:30—8:00 pm, here at church. A reception in the Community Room will follow the Saturday service. If you can bring finger foods for the reception, you can take them to the kitchen during visitation or before the service. Thank you.. At 5 pm there will be an all-church family hayride, bonfire and cookout at Rev. Kent & Diana’s home, 298 Harrison Rd., where will honor Kevin’s great gift of hospitality as we gather together. Please bring side dishes, musical instruments for a sing-along and picnic blankets or chairs.
Concert Choir’s Annual Fall Concert on Sunday, November 12, 3:00 pm. The Berea College Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, Stephen Bolster conductor, will present their 2017 fall concert “Bach, Brahms, and Bluegrass” in Gray Auditorium on Sunday afternoon, November 12 at 3:00 p.m.   All invited, no charge for admission.  The choirs will be joined by special guest performers the Clavere Piano Duo (Javier and Lindsay Clavere) and the Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble lead by Al White. 
Friends of the Madison County Public Library “Little Library Quilt Show and Silent Auction” is now showing in both branches of the public library until December 9.  This fundraiser supports the staff and programming throughout the year.  You can view all 43 book inspired textile creations on line and make a bid at that time.  Bidding is online this year.  Website for the auction  http://madisonlibrary.org/app/auction/.