A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union
Easter Sunday 10:30 am
Meditation
Wring Out My Clothes
“Such love does the sky now pour that whenever I stand in a field I have to wring out the light when I get home.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi, trans. Daniel Landinski
From There to Here: We Gather
Welcome
Welcome to this service of worship! 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! During the service, you are invited to rise in body or in spirit, standing or sitting, at points in the service marked “<>.”
The Good News! Luke 24:1-12
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.”
Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
~ New Revised Standard Version, updated
The Call Betsy Whaley, Reader
One: This week, this life, we have known grief. We have known loss. We have known the long road, tired and winding.
We have whispered prayers on bended knees. We have stared at the sky, empty of stars. But today—
All: today we know hope!
One: Today we know life
All: Today Alleluias sound.
One: Today Death shall have no dominion
All: And nothing can separate us from the love of God!
One: This is the Good News—the grave is empty, Christ is risen.
All: Alleluia!
One: Christ is our life and our relief. Christ is Risen!
All: Alleluia! He is Risen indeed!
Processional
Please remain seated as this introduction to the hymn is played, and the elements of celebration transform the sanctuary from tomb to garden. When invited, please rise and join a we sing together:
¨ Hymn # 233 Christ the Lord Is Risen Today Easter Hymn
1 Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! Mortal tongues and angels say, Alleluia! Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! Sing, glad heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!
2 Let the Victor’s people sing, Alleluia! Where, O death, is now your sting? Alleluia! Dying once, Christ lives to save, Alleluia! Where your victory, now, O grave? Alleluia!
3 Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia! Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! Death in vain forbids Christ rise, Alleluia! God has opened paradise, Alleluia!
4 Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! Following our exalted Head, Alleluia! Made like Christ, like Christ we rise, Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
¨ Passing the Peace of Christ
All who come to this sanctuary are welcome companions on the journey of faith. Please turn to those nearest you and greet them with words of peace.
Word and Worship
Special Music Crown Him Lord of All! Arr. Rouse Union Church Choir
Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne. Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul and sing of Him who died for thee, and hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.
Crown Him the Lord of love; behold His hands and side, rich wounds, yet visible above in beauty glorified. All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou hast died for me; Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity. Crown Him! Crown Him Lord of all!
Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed o’er the grave, and rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save; His glories now we sing who died and rose on high, who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.
Scripture Reading Isaiah 65:17-25
For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating, for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days or an old person who does not live out a lifetime, for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat, for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord— and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord. ~ New Revised Standard Version, updated
Children’s Moment
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah! Praise Ye the Lord! 3x
Praise Ye the Lord! Hallelujah! 3x
Praise Ye the Lord!
Easter Acclamation Hymn #238 Now the Green Blade Rises Noel Nouvelet
1 Now the green blade rises from the buried grain; wheat that dark earth for many days has lain; Love lives again, that with the dead has been: Love is come again like wheat that rises green.
2 In the grave they laid Him, Love whom hate had slain, Thinking that their Love would never wake again, Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen: Love is come again like wheat that rises green.
3 Christ came forth at Easter, like the risen grain, Jesus who for three days in the grave had lain; Quick from the dead the risen One is seen: Love is come again like wheat that rises green.
4 When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain, Christ’s warm touch can call us back to life again, Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been: Love is come again like wheat that rises green.
Scripture Reading Acts 10:34-43
Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ–he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
“We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” ~ New Revised Standard Version, updated
Sermon Between Grief and Hope Rev. Kent Gilbert
Video Reflection
A chance to take in what we have heard.
Living Prayer
Offertory
Embodied Prayer
You are invited to reflect and pray at the candle table. You may also choose to source the essential ingredient of solitude and private prayer, remaining with your own thoughts in your pew.
A Chance for Generosity: www.easytithe.com/union
A community of caring relies on support. Your recurring or one-time donation will make a ministry of healing, justice, and teaching available to all in need.
¨ Use your smart phone or computer and go to www.easytithe.com/union. No registration required, but registering once makes future generosity simply entering an amount and a click.
¨ Baskets for checks or cash are located at the head of each aisle for those who wish to make an in-person donation.
¨ Give by Text. Text an amount to 859-448-3403 (Example: Text “$50.00 Offering”).
¨ Give by Mail to: 200 Prospect St., Berea, KY 40403.
Your contribution is love made visible. Thank you!
Ringing 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 Betsy Whaley, Reader
One: Lord Jesus, here are your disciples. We meet you even in the midst of confusion. Help us live into those questions for which there are no easy answers. Feed our faith with the assurance of your presence.
All: May we hear your voice in and through all the other voices we hear. May we find life even among the graves; rising to blossom even in uncertainty.
One: Lord Jesus, here are your disciples. Uncertain and afraid, we meet you between what was and what is; Between islands of comfort and the tombs of hardship. Bring new life where we are worn and tired. Bring new understanding where we have turned hard-hearted. Bring spices of forgiveness to where we have been hurt and to where we have wounded others. Bring joy and release us where we are prisoners of ourselves or one another.
All: May we let go of fear and embrace hope. Heal all the broken places that we may find new life in you.
One: Lord Jesus, here are your disciples, the body of Christ, your Church. We pray for your people throughout the world and for that part to which we belong: that we may find both wisdom and strength to be your hands of mercy, your voice of compassion, and the ambassadors of just and loving conduct.
All: Help us rise free of all that binds us; help us tend and heal those who are ill in body or spirit; help us rise from the grave of silence to the shout of your impartial lovingkindness until none shall suffer. Let nothing divide us from you and your way.
One: Lord Jesus, here are your disciples, poised for peace but afflicted by war; proclaiming life but standing among the dead; sure of your love but unsure what may be required. May those whom you meet between grief and hope find their tombs empty and their hearts full. May we find in you all courage in the struggle for just action and the peace of all. Make us and move us and teach us such that none shall hurt or destroy, nor feel calamity, hunger or need on all your holy mountains. United by this purpose, convicted by your love, we stand in between and reach to you as you taught us..
Our Lord’s Prayer ad. Jim Cotter, the New Zealand Prayer Book
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be; Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! The way of your justice be followed by peoples of the world, Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. In times of temptation and test, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen.
¨ Hymn #243 Alleluia! Alleluia! Hearts to Heaven Weisse Flaggen
1Alleluia, alleluia! Hearts to heaven and voices raise. Sing to God a hymn of gladness, sing to God a hymn of praise. Jesus on the cross as Savior for the world’s salvation bled, But the crucified Redeemer now is risen from the dead!
2 Now the iron bars are broken, Christ from death to life is born glorious life, and life immortal on this holy Easter morn; Christ has triumphed, and we conquer by God’s liberating deed; now the Christ with us abiding to eternal life shall lead.
3 Christ is risen, we are risen; shed upon us heavenly grace, rain and dew, and gleams of glory from the brightness of your face; That we, with our hearts in heaven, here on earth may fruitful be, and by angel hands be gathered, and be yours eternally.
4Alleluia, alleluia! Glory to the god of joy; alleluia! to the Savior, who came death’s bonds to destroy; alleluia! to the Spirit, fount of love and sanctity; alleluia, alleluia! to the Triune Majesty.
If you would like to join the choir in singing the Hallelujah Chorus, please make your way to the choir loft, if able, as the hymn begins. You’re also welcome to sing from your pew!
From Here to There
Community Connections
Announcements
We share opportunities for Beloved Community and ways to serve. Please see the listing of church & community events, prayers, and notices in the pages following the service.
Lighting the Justice Candle to Lead us Forth
The Justice Candle for today is especially relevant as Holy Week and Easter and the Celebration of Passover occur the same time with the final day of Passover concluding on Easter Sunday. Thus we celebrate the National Conference for Community and Justice, aka NCCJ.
NCCJ was initially founded as the “National Conference of Jews and Christians” in response to anti-Semitism and anti-Catholic sentiment during the 1920s.
Over the years, its mission expanded to focus on promoting understanding and fighting biases between people of different backgrounds and has evolved to address a wide range of social justice issues, including race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and ability.
The name was changed to the National Conference for Community and Justice in the 1990s to better reflect the organization’s broader focus.
¨ Benediction
¨ Benediction Response
Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth! The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!
Our Prayers for Others
¨ 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 (World Council of Churches Ecumenical Prayer cycle: union-church.org/ministries/prayer). Let us hold the people of Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia; and our brothers and sisters at Mt. Zion Christian Church in our hearts, and pray for them today and throughout the week.
¨ All the people of Ukraine for their safety and sovereignty. Prayers also that the government of Russia will turn to reason & respect for their own peoples’ lives as well as for Ukrainian families.
¨ All those affected by the devastating losses in the current conflict in the Middle East.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes or who are homebound: Jerry Cooper, Jan Hamilton, Betsy Hoefer, Dorie Hubbard, Susan Kramer, Lois Morgan, Sara Parker, Cheryl Payne, Alva Peloquin, Laura Robie, Theresa Scherf.
¨ On a day when we remember the reversal of an unjustified death, we pray for all who suffer from injustice and cruelty, personal or systemic. We pray for God’s righteousness, mercy and peace to prevail for all who are being wrongfully persecuted.
¨ All those suffering from mental strain, trauma, and disease, and those who care and worry for them: may God soothe and heal all who are troubled.
¨ Our Kentucky neighbors, hit again with flooding in these recent storms.
¨ We pray for our country, and those who are directly affected by the actions and inaction of our government to address the needs of its people and the world.
¨ Members and Friends who need safer housing and income security.
¨ JoAnn Russell, Reda Hutton’s aunt, facing several medical challenges.
¨ The Guild family as Will continues his struggle with brain cancer and stroke.
¨ Muse Watson, continuing to gain strength after his surgery.
¨ Rev. Kent’s cousin, Kathy, undergoing chemotherapy for esophageal cancer, and her mother, Helen, who is Rev. Carla’s sister.
¨ Ally Nurre, doing well after further treatment of her knee.
¨ Kelly Mehler, who has resumed treatment for his lymphoma.
¨ Barb Taylor’s son, David, undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
¨ Dodie Murphy asks for prayers as she is treated for middle stage chronic kidney disease.
¨ Rev. Christina’s family: her brother-in-law, Jamie, with stage 4 cancer and his wife, her sister Veronica. They’ve got two small children.
¨ John McWilliams has a new address: 175 Kings Hwy 234; Punta Gorda, FL; 33083
¨ Terry Scherf, as she navigates her new residence at Dominion in Richmond. She’d love to come to church. If you can provide an occasional ride, please let us know in the office.
¨ Maya Todd, with heart issues.
¨ Melissa Zook, recovering from surgery.
¨ Max Ponnie, Emily LaDouceur’s son, who badly broke his tibia at a track meet.
¨ Celebrations with Prayers of Joy!
Birthdays: today, April 20 – Howard Carlberg; 22 – Shirley Carlberg, Ella Garrett; 24 – Jess Burton, Elaine Vaughn, Sam Franklin; 25 – Betty Sarafin; 26 – Marty Hensley; 27 – Susan Doring-Zook, Bryce Carlberg, Samantha Melton
If we haven’t got your important dates, let us know. We’ll help you get connected in FellowshipOne Go!
Easter Lilies are given…
In memory of …
Betty & John McWilliams, Sr., by John McWilliams
George & Elsie Hardman by Joan English
Paul & Elizabeth Eich, Rev. Cecil Klages, & Laura Sani Jackson by Jen Eich & Amy Schill
Raines & Stella Wilson by Jen Eich & Amy Schill
Tamara and Nick Serhijiw by Nicki Rosen
Guy Patrick, by Peggy Patrick
Her mother, “Skippy” Winter, by Laurie White
Her grandparents, Merle & Edgar by Laurie White
Her mom, Betty Amann, and mother-in-law, Arlen Dickson, by Teresa Dickson
Guy Patrick by Peggy Patrick
Her brother, Doug Hindman, by Sally Hindman
Kevin Burke by Carla Gilbert
Helen, Carl, Carl, Jr., and Lisa Kay by Carla Gilbert
Marlene & John Payne by Dorie Hubbard
Tom Hubbard by Dorie Hubbard
Their grandmothers Helen Lujin and Marie Gilbert; their fathers, Frank Hultgren and Gib Gilbert; and Diana’s mother, Heidrun Hultgren, by Kent Gilbert & Diana Hultgren
Kevin Burke by Kent Gilbert & Diana Hultgren
Steve Boyce, Richard Bromley, Jackie Crowden, Betty Jean Hall, Phyllis Hughes, John Payne, Barbara Prairie, Larry Shinn, Annriette Stolte and Sally Zimmerman by Rev. Kent
Dr. John Payne by Debby Gray
Guy Patrick by Debby Gray
Kathleen O’Brien Moore, Robert Moore, Sr., and Robert Moore, Jr., by Joan Moore
Larry Shinn by Gail Wolford
Phyllis Hughes by Gail Wolford
Charles & Clarice King, Karl and Anneliese Baumann by Lothar & Carla Baumann
Curtis & Bernice Allen by Cron & Delores Carpenter
Richard H. Bromley by Jenny Bromley
Their parents by Chip & Diane Bailey
Kathryn Hutton and John Courter by Jeff & Reda Hutton
Rosemary Deremo and all her cats by Jeff & Reda Hutton
In honor of …
Their sons Sayer and Cavan, by Dave & Kim Kobersmith
Clara Klages in her 103rd year of life by Jen Eich & Amy Schill
Bob and Beth Lockwood by Kelly & Teri Mehler
Andy, Jordan, Story and Lo Lockwood; and Steve Rutledge by Kelly & Teri Mehler
Our dedicated church staff
Christie Hubbard, Susan Hubbard, Jim Gannon and Deborah Payne by Dorie Hubbard
Many beloved unnamed people by Jenny Bromley
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