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

The First Sunday  of Lent

March 1, 2020        10:30 am

Meditation:
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you, too, have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
— Mary Oliver, excerpt from “When I Am Among the Trees”

From there to here: we Gather

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!
Prelude Let Us Break Bread Together Anna Laura Page
The Call Angels of Bread Martine Espada
This is the year that squatters evict landlords,  gazing like admirals from the rail of the roofdeck or levitating hands in praise of steam in the shower; this is the year that shawled refugees deport judges who stare at the floor and their swollen feet as files are stamped with their destination; this is the year that police revolvers, stove-hot, blister the fingers of raging cops, and nightsticks splinter in their palms;  this is the year  that darkskinned men lynched a century ago return to sip coffee quietly with the apologizing descendants of their executioners. 
This is the year that those who swim the border’s undertow and shiver in boxcars are greeted with trumpets and drums  at the first railroad crossing  on the other side; this is the year that the hands  pulling tomatoes from the vine uproot the deed to the earth that sprouts the vine, the hands canning tomatoes are named in the will that owns the bedlam of the cannery; this is the year that the eyes 
stinging from the poison that purifies toilets awaken at last to the sight of a rooster-loud hillside,  pilgrimage of immigrant birth; this is the year that cockroaches become extinct, that no doctor finds a roach embedded in the ear of an infant; this is the year that the food stamps of adolescent mothers are auctioned like gold doubloons, and no coin is given to buy machetes for the next bouquet of severed heads in coffee plantation country. 
If the abolition of slave-manacles began as a vision of hands without manacles, then this is the year; if the shutdown of extermination camps began as imagination of a land without barbed wire or the crematorium, then this is the year; if every rebellion begins with the idea that conquerors on horseback are not many-legged gods, that they too drown if plunged in the river, then this is the year. 
So may every humiliated mouth, teeth like desecrated headstones, fill with the angels of bread.
Prayer of Confession
One: Before God, with the people of God, I confess to my brokenness: to the ways I wound my life, the lives of others, and the life of the world.
All: May God forgive you, Christ renew you, and the Spirit enable you to grow in love.
One: Amen.
All: Before God, with the people of God, we confess to our brokenness: to the ways we wound our lives, the lives of others, and the life of the world.
One: May God forgive you, Christ renew you, and the Spirit enable you to grow in love.
All: Amen. In your mercy, help us tend to this holy ground.
¨  Hymn #586 Black  Come to Tend God’s Garden King’s Weston
¨  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 hospitality.

The Living Word among us

Special Music In Prayer by Gabriel Fauré
Pearl Marshall, Handbells arr. F. Gramann
This exquisite melody was crafted by Gabriel Fauré in 1890 to musically express a prayerful poem written by Stephan Bordese printed here for inspiration and reflection.
As the voice of a child can reach You, O my Father, hear my prayer, on bended knee before You! As You have chosen me to teach Your laws on earth, I will know how to serve You, noble King of kings, O Light! On my lips, Lord, place the salutary truth, in order that he who doubts should with humility revere You! Do not abandon me, give me the necessary gentleness, To ease suffering, to relieve sorrow, Misery! Reveal Yourself to me, my Father, in whom I trust and hope: For You I wish to suffer and to die on the cross, at Calvary!
Hebrew Scripture Lesson Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7(p. 4)
The story of our beginning in the lush garden ends badly in our disobedience by eating forbidden fruit.
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.
Sung Psalm 32 p. 642
The psalms were originally musical compositions. During Lent we will pray the psalms in musical form with congregational responses. Please sing the response when invited.
Gospel Lesson Matthew 4:1-11 (p. 1141)
In the wilderness, Jesus resists the temptation of Satan, rejecting all of the alternatives that are offered to his distinctive messianic path.
Sermon      Tending Holy Ground      Rev. Kent Gilbert

Responding to God’s Love in Communion

Invitation to Communion
One:      This Lent, may the God of discipleship be with you.
All:       And also with you.
One:   Let us begin our Lenten walk with open hearts.
All: We offer them to the One who walks with us.
One: As we tend holy ground in this sanctuary and in the fields of our life and work, we gather strength from the communion with the life and ministry of Jesus.
One: This table is not only for those who know the way. This is the table for all travelers, and you need not be a member of this church or any church to be welcomed and fed. We are all on journeys, and we all need strength and to be refreshed.
One: Let us now still our hearts and prepare for our own walk towards resurrection, mystery and grace. Let us pray.
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 Prayers and Prayers of the Community
Communion Sanctus #793 Black Please join in singing 
Words of Institution
One: On the night he was betrayed, Jesus sat with his disciples and broke bread. He blessed it, lifted it up, and spoke these words:
All: “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
One: Then, after supper was over, he took the cup and blessed it, and said:
All: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
One: Remembering you as we come to the richness of your table, we cannot and we do not forget the rawness of the world and the cry of the poor. We cannot take bread and forget those who are hungry. We cannot drink and forget those who are thirsty. Help us feed others as we are fed, and reject the temptation to self-satisfaction, that mouths and hearts may fill with the angels of bread.
All: With this bread and cup, tend the ground of being, holy one. Till our hearts open them to the seeds of compassion and transformation; water us with your mercy and blessing of discontent. Come, Holy Spirit, Come! Change us and Challenge us in Christ’s path. Amen.
Serving Each Other
All who seek the love of God are welcome at this meal and are invited to freely receive from it.  We will share the elements today by intinction, dipping the bread in the cup. When invited please come to one of the stations by exiting your pew to the left and returning by the right. If it is not convenient to come forward, the elements can be brought to your seat by signaling to the usher. All the bread is gluten-free, and the chalices are filled with non-alcoholic grape juice.
A Chance for Generosity: Offering Baskets in the Aisles
Offering baskets are placed in the aisle, and are passed among the pews. 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 portion of our contributions flows out to aid those in need via many external agencies.
Many friends give online, and you can use your smart phone or computer and go to www.easytithe.com/union. You don’t have to register to make a contribution, but if you do, it can make future generosity that much easier. You can even give by text! Text to 859-448-3403 (Example: Text “$50.00 Offering)
Your contribution is love made visible. Thank you!
Acts of Reflection and Prayer
In whatever prayer manner you adopt, please hold the concerns of those listed, and those you know about, in God’s peace-giving light.
Sharing the communion meal, making an offering of money and service, holding one another in prayer: these are the actions that tend the holy ground.
Communion: All are invited to receive the elements at the head of each floor section or in the balcony.
Prayer Corner: All through Lent, please find here candles to help light the way for yourself or another. You may sit, kneel, or stand as you wish.
Service Corner: The earth is the Lord’s and all who dwell there in! This week we join with churches across the commonwealth in prayers and prayerful actions supporting the care of God’s creation.
Children’s Corner: After communion, draw a picture of the kind of Garden you like best: would you grow a vegetable garden? Flowers? Fruit trees? Make a picture and share your beautiful colors!
—Please Join In Forming Circles—
After you have received communion and visited any of the prayer stations, please help us form an inner and outer circle in the sanctuary where we will stand for the benediction. (The inner circle will use the two inner aisles, the outer circle forming along the walls. Please help those with mobility concerns to be included as they wish, either standing or seated. Balcony members are invited to line the railing, or come to the floor as you wish). You may wish to have your bulletin with you for the song words.
As we make our circles please join in singing:
May my heart bear the deep impression Of love that Jesus shares with me. My life become a pure expression Of all that Christian Love can be: Each word, each act, a bright reflection Of joy in Love’s own Resurrection.
Prayers for Those Who Will Receive at Home
Members who have been designated to carry communion to those who could not be with us this morning are invited forward at this time. The elements from our meal will go with our blessing and prayers for our continued unity in the Spirit. If you would like to serve by taking communion to others, you are very welcome to do so and are invited to volunteer.
Prayer of Thanksgiving

From Here to There

¨  Hymn  Now Is the Cool of the Day Jean Ritchie
Ruth McLain Smith & Alice White, Soloists
My Lord he said unto me, Do you like my garden so fair? You may live in this garden if you keep the grasses green. And I’ll return in the cool of the day.
Chorus: Now is the cool of the day. Now is the cool of the day. O the earth is a garden, the garden of my Lord. And he walks….in his garden, in the cool….of the day.
My Lord he said unto me, Do you like my garden so pure? You may live in this garden if you keep the waters clean. And I’ll return in the cool of the day. (Chorus)
My Lord he said unto me, Do you like my garden so free? You may live in this garden if you keep the people free. And I’ll return in the cool of the day. (Chorus)
¨  The Blessing and Sending
During the season of Lent,  services conclude here with no postlude. Everyone is invited to a simple lunch in the Community Room (directly below the sanctuary) following the service.
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 Ireland and the United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and our brothers and sisters at Emmanuel 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.
¨ For Families and Friends in Crises…may God be present to every need and heal every rift and wound.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound: Alva Peloquin, Edith Hansen, Joyce Henderson, Nancy Hindman, Loyal Jones, Jennie Kiteck, Mary Miller, Lois Morgan, Tom Warth.
¨ For Children in detention centers, that they may be reunited with their families soon.
¨ For Room in the Inn, Berea’s cooperative housing effort. Union Church will host tonight.
¨ George Mountjoy.
¨ Barb Smith, recovering from surgery at Berea Health Care Center.
¨ Ed Waters, recently diagnosed with cancer.
¨ Judy Rowell’s great-grandson, Joseph, 35, who is anticipating surgery for a brain tumor.
¨ Jennie Kiteck’s daughter reports that Jennie could use a meal and a visit  occasionally (nothing fancy). Call the office for details.
¨ Joan Bates & family, at the birth of two new great grandchildren.
¨ New members Audrey Lofton & Charles Coyne, who were married here yesterday!
Announcements
Let’s Do Lunch: Lenten Lunches begin today right after service in the Community Room, and continue through the season of Lent. Come on down for food and fellowship. Today our Worship and Nominating Boards have prepared a simple meal of soup (vegan option), rolls, crackers and fruit.  (sugg. donation $5).
In honor of Women’s History Month: Kentucky Sheroes Project: Come to the front pew right after church and pick up biography posters of three historical women and talk to the writer, Kim Kobersmith. How about we add “She will be the Artist of the Month at the Berea library and everyone is invited to her artist talk on Sunday, March 8, from 2:00-3:00 pm.
Potluck & Game at First Wednesday Potluck March 4! The Annual Week of the Young Child is coming up in April. To help us think about the importance of good life experiences for young children in Berea, Jenny Hobson will be here to play the Brain Architecture Game at our Wednesday potluck on March 4th. The Brain Architecture is a group activity which will help us understand more about brain development in the early years through building with pipe cleaners and competing in teams. Come prepared to have fun!
Our Handbell Ensemble will attend Handbell Musicians of America Spring Festival in Louisville March 6 & 7.  Our Handbell Director, Pearl Marshall, will serve as Associate Director.
Offering of Letters March 8. Our annual Offering of Letters “letter writing” will take place at the March 8 Lenten Lunch. Information about this year’s focus and a “sample letter” will be included in the Worship Bulletin, as well as on the tables in the Community Room, along with paper, envelopes, and addresses for our Senators and Representative. It will help if you have a pen/pencil with you. We will collect the envelopes/letters and the Mission & Service Board will cover the cost of mailing. If you want to learn more in advance, visit BFW’s website: bread.org.
From our Director of Music: I firmly believe that feedback is important for growth and as before, I welcome any comments, music requests, ideas, and criticism you’d like to share – towards me, the choir, orchestra and the music program in general. My email is bernardo.scarambone@eku.edu and I would love to hear your thoughts.      Thanks — Bernardo
New item of business to come before the congregation at the Annual Meeting March 15. As allowed by the Constitution (3.10.4), Church Council will move that the term limit for financial secretary be suspended to allow the current serving officer, Patti Smithson, to continue in that position as we continue the search for our new Financial Secretary.
Save the Dates & Watch for Details!

• March 4, First Wednesday Potluck
• March 8, Bread for the World Offering of Letters
• March 14, KFTC Pie Auction
• March 15, Union Church Annual Meeting
• March 21, Sound of Music Movie Singalong (note change)
• April 24, SaraCare Celebration
• May 1, Youth Group Talent Show
• May 8, Classic Chorale Concert

Around Town:
Bob Boyce will present a discussion about Sub Saharan African art at the Berea Arts Council on Tuesday, March 3, at 7 pm; all are welcomed for this hands-on discussion.  Maybe you could car pool.
The Board of Directors of the Berea Faith Community Outreach (BFCO) is looking for new board members. This board oversees the following programs, Berea Food Bank, Bereans United for Utility & Rent Relief (BUURR) and the Frank Gailey Transient & Emergency Assistance Fund. The board meets six times a year. If you are interested contact Dave Kobersmith by email, kdkobersmith@gmail.com or call 859-302-0575.
Rachael White photo exhibition at Saint Joseph Berea through April 15. 21 of Rachael’s photos will be exhibited and sold. The 15 16″x20″ canvas prints are selling for $65 and the 6 8″x10″ prints are $45.  Exhibit located in the Physical Therapy Department—stop by!! anyone wanting to purchase a print should contact Alice White at adwhite@windstream.net.