Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the

Church of Christ, Union

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

August 14, 2016  10:30 am

Meditation
We bring swords that you turn into plowshares. We bring expectations of peace and you meet us with swords. God help us.    —Katherine Hawker

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!
Prelude     
*  Call to Worship  
One: In faith, Abraham and Sarah set out for a new land.
All: In faith, we seek to follow God in our lives.
One: In faith, our ancestors faced hardships and trials, keeping their eyes fixed on the Resurrection.
All: In faith, we gather now to worship, also seeking new life in Christ.
One: God of present, past, and future, guide us now to your new age of promise.                               Adapted from a prayer by Ruth C. Duck
*  Opening Hymn #497 Guide My Feet Guide My Feet
*  Prayer of Approach and Confession
One: In faith, we have set our minds on paths of good intentions.
All: Despite faith, we have stumbled and veered, or been distracted by shiny objects.
One: In faith, we teach our children to love their enemies.
All: Despite faith, we struggle to hold in diatribes against our political rivals, or avoid making eye contact with those with whom we disagree.
One: In faith, we worship a God who calls for peace.
All: Despite faith, all we can see is devastation and destruction.
One: We do believe, O God.
All: Help our unbelief. Amen.   
*  Words of Assurance
One: In faith, we pray, seeking God’s forgiveness and a chance to right ourselves.
All: Despite our faith, or lack thereof, God responds with grace. Thanks be to God. Amen!
*  Passing the Peace of Jesus 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 Word in our Midst

Special Music  
Hebrew Scripture Lesson Hebrews 11:29-12:2
The Letter to the Hebrews recounts the stories of the great heroes of faith who endured much suffering. Their witness emboldens us today in our living of the faith.
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 Middle-Aged Moment, children are welcome to return to their seats or follow volunteers to the front entrance of the sanctuary to the Children’s Worship Center, where there are 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 off the Community Room.
Gospel Lesson               Luke 12:49-56
Jesus declares that his startling mission is to cast fire upon the earth and to divide families, saying he has come to work remarkable change in the world.
Sermon                  Find Your Drishti        Rev. Rachel Small Stokes

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  
*  Doxology Avery/Marsh

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 Prayers and Prayers for 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

Introduction and Invitation to Membership
Union Church is a vital and growing family of faith, a home to those committed to the way of Christ’s sacrificial love and service. All who feel led to join will be received in joy, and are welcome to come forward during the Closing Hymn. Thanks be to God for these ministers among us.
* Closing Hymn #610 My Eyes Have Seen the Glory Battle Hymn
*  Questions of the Congregation and New Members
*  Covenant of Welcome
And we, the members of this church, renewing our own covenant to God and to each other, do now heartily welcome you to our fellowship, promising to watch over you in love, and praying that  you, and we, may be true witnesses for Christ, a light in the world, and continue to increase in usefulness and joy in his service.
*  Benediction & Sending Forth
* Postlude (please  be  seated) Grand Choeur in D Major W. Spense
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 Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and our brothers and sisters at Berea Church of Christ in your hearts, and pray for them.
Please also hold these concerns in your prayers, today and throughout the week:
¨ Members of the armed services and reserves and all who are in harm’s way and their families. We pray for the day when war shall be no more.
¨ For the healing of families, communities, and our nation wracked by violence and murder. May we be agents of transformation.
¨ Gratitude from Jasmine Beltran and Elijah and Christopher Mullins for all the help and support in welcoming their new baby.
¨ Jim & JoAn Gaines, at the sudden death of Jim’s son, Eric
¨ Gary Dillon, undergoing chemo for lung cancer.
¨  Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound:  Edith Hansen, Mary Miller, Alva Peloquin, Gloria VanWinkle.
¨ Toby Wilcher, recovering from broken bones at home, and for Shane Wilcher.
Special Music today: The Firebird Chamber Ensemble is a community flute orchestra based in Lexington, KY. The group is open to all ages and levels of flutists without auditions or fees, and is proud to offer a multigenerational experience.
They perform with the full flute family- twelve sizes of flutes- from piccolos to the rare and beautiful subcontrabass flute, which sounds as low as a tuba. The ensemble performs five concerts per year and can next be heard at their annual Side by Side event (guest flutists welcome!) on Sunday, October 9, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington at 7:30pm. Please visit www.firebirdsongs.com for more information.
 
Join the church today! Union Church is a vital and growing family of faith, a home to those committed to the way of Christ’s sacrificial love and service. All who feel led to join will be received in joy! New members are received every second Sunday of a month. YOU are welcome here!
Baby Shower 3:00 pm today! Rev. Rachel & Les Small Stokes’ baby is due in early October. Come on down to the Community Room & celebrate!
Kitchen Elves Wanted: Orientation Wednesday, August 17, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. If you have wanted to be a Kitchen Elf (that’s a helper in the church kitchen before or after events), but feel intimidated by so many cabinets or the commercial dish washer that looks nothing like yours at home, then this opportunity is for you!
The Community Life & Growth Board will have an orientation to the kitchen and its equipment on Weds., August 17, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Please consider joining us. It would help to know if you plan to come, so please either sign up on the bulletin board in the back of the sanctuary or e-mail betty_hibler@berea.edu. Thanks in advance from the CL&G Board, because we can certainly use your help!
 
 
LBGTQIA Safe Space gathering for sharing and support. Wednesday Aug. 17, 7:00 pm, and every 1st and 3rd Weds., Wayside Room. This is not a religious group, fyi. The church is hosting it because we think all people deserve safe space.
Music Ministries Picnic Thursday, August 18 – 6:00pm  Rev. Kent’s House, 298 Harrison Road, Berea.
Open to all, this will be a time of fun and fellowship.  You will have an opportunity to meet current Union Church choir members, handbell ringers, and your music staff!  RSVP: Gabe at gevans@union-church.org
August 21, noon: Cowan Chapel Lighting Dedication Cowan Chapel is receiving new artisan lighting in loving memory of Chad and Janet Spring.
Made possible by their daughters and family, handmade glass fixtures by Michelle Weston will adorn a chandelier similar to those in the main sanctuary. The colors echo the varied blues of the stained glass windows and will provide much needed additional light for services and gatherings. Members of the Spring family will join us for a brief dedication ceremony immediately following church on August 21st.
Chad and Janet Spring were valued members of the Berea community. Chad, a retired Unitarian minister, and Janet, a powerful organizer for groups such as the League of Women Voters, retired to Berea after a life of service all over the country. Janet passed away in 1997 and Chad in 1998.
Service with a Celtic touch next week! The Annual Celtic Festival will be next week, August 19-21. The Sunday service will have a touch of Irish tradition and harp music by Jeni Balcom of Cincinnati.
Kids’ Underwear, Weekend Backpack food needed for back-to-school! The Family Resource Centers that serve Berea schools has asked No Child Cold/No Child Hungry in Berea to provide boys’ and girls’ underwear in children’s sizes 4 to 10. Donations can be left outside the church office marked to the attention of Dodie Murphy or given to Dodie in church on Sundays.
Here’s a list of food the Family Resource Centers need to send home with children on the weekends: (nothing metal or in glass or in need of cooking)
— juice boxes (real juice rather than sugary stuff preferred)
— tuna in pouches
— graham crackers
— pudding cups, fruit cups
— peanut butter
–cereal with not much sugar such as Cheerios (generic okay)
— granola bars
— crackers
— raisins or other dried fruit
Help for local asylum-seekers. Douglass Boulevard Christian Church in Louisville has received a call for help from Kentucky Refugee Ministries. They are trying to help a lesbian couple who aren’t refugees, but are seeking political asylum. Funds are  being raised to find them a place to live while they await a work authorization (which can take up to 6 months). Consequently, they are stuck here without income while they await the bureaucracy to work out the kinks.
The total amount they are trying to raise is $4,800 dollars, which will cover six months rent. Any additional funds raised over and above the $4,800 will go to support the couple’s basic living expenses and, beyond that, the work of Kentucky Refugee Ministries. The GoFundMe page is at gofundme.com/2eb6xf6j/donate
Alternatives to Violence Project Basic Workshop October 1 & 2. At Knapp Hall on Berea College Campus, email Berea.avp@gmail.com to register or visit avpusa.org for more info.
It’s time to re-enroll with Kroger Rewards. Kroger has been committed to supporting the communities it serves by assisting local charitable organizations through its Rewards Program. Union Church will earn rewards on all eligible purchases you make using your Kroger Plus Card. The Kroger rewards will accumulate and be donated quarterly to Union Church. This is an easy way for all to fund-raise for Union Church.

• Go to www.Kroger.com
• Click the blue Sign In tab at top of the page, follow the step-by-step instructions.
• Call 1-800-KROGERS, Option #3, with questions.

If you haven’t enrolled in Kroger rewards & would like to, visit www.Kroger.com for instructions.
Sojourners, anyone? If you are interested in getting three free issues of Sojourners magazine, please get in touch with Dodie Murphy & she’ll make arrangements.