Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the

Church of Christ, Union

Transfiguration Sunday

February 26, 2017         10:30 am 

Meditation
“But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying…sharing in the great common task of bringing…that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace.”
—President John F. Kennedy in his announcement of the establishment of the Peace Corps

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 Steal Away A. Giamanco
¨  Call to Worship
 One:    Have you come to retreat from the world, to find your rest, and strength?
All: We come to be transformed.
One:    Have you come to be inspired, refined, and blessed in your heart’s work?
All:    We come seeking the light of God.
One:    Are you ready to seek company with God and with each other; seeking peace, will you offer justice? Hungering for action, will you offer Sabbath rest?
All: We come to be challenged and changed; we come to deepen and to be blessed.
One:    Then let us with different needs and voices, raise our worship to our one and holy God!
¨  Opening Hymn #183 Jesus, Take Us to the Mountain Silver Spring
¨   Prayer of Approach and Confession 
One: We wait for God to show up and, while waiting, do not notice the words we might have spoken, the good we could have done.  Let us confess to our God, who waits to surround us with grace and hope, as we pray together, saying:
All: Our judgment often becomes clouded by our foolishness, Sheltering God, and so we make all the wrong choices.  We let fancy philosophies draw us away from your grace.  The slippery words of politicians can lead us into valleys of worry and despair.  Our fears can convince us that those around us are conspiring against us.
   You can take all our foolishness, Creative God, and make us wise enough to see you among us. You can take the shards of our broken lives to recast us into a faithful people.  We ask for your forgiveness and your help.
Speak gently to us, so we can listen to your dreams and see each person as your beloved, even as Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, sees us through such eyes.
[Silence is kept ]
¨  Words of Assurance
One: On mountaintops and in valleys, in moments when our lives are shrouded and as well as when we reflect Christ’s light, God is with us, declaring we are the beloved!
All: In this moment, in every moment, may we glimpse the grace of God which comes and transfigures our lives.  Thanks be to God, we are forgiven!  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

Anthem      Go Up to the Mountain of God    Michael Helman                Union Church Choir, Susan Pross Kramer, flute
Go up to the mountain of God where Christ transfigured shines as the morning star. Gaze in  awe and wonder upon the beauty of Jesus the Lord. Alleluia.
Go up to the mountain of God and speak with prophets Moses, Elijah. Join with all the angels and saints in praising the incarnate Word. Alleluia.
Go up to the mountain of God, and hear the loving God proclaiming: this my beloved Son. Hear his word and follow his way. Alleluia. 
Go up to the mountain of God and there renew your faith in the Son of God. May your life of faith reflect the light of Christ to the world. Alleluia.  
Hebrew Scripture Lesson Exodus 24:12-18
God calls Moses to climb Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. Moses climbs the mountain and waits until God speaks to him from the cloud covering the top of the mountain.
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.
Gospel Lesson Matthew 17:1-9
Jesus takes three of his disciples up on a mountain. There he is miraculously transfigured before them and a voice declares, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” The disciples, upon seeing the vision and hearing the voice, were overcome by fear.
Sermon The Up Side of Down Rev. Kent Gilbert

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                   He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands trad., arr. V. Stephenson
Union Church Handbell Ensemble
¨  Doxology   New Doxology

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

¨  Closing Hymn #184            O Wondrous Sight, O Vision Fair  Deo Gracias
¨  Benediction & Sending Forth
Postlude (please be seated)    Suite on Afro-American Hymn Tunes, IV.        C. Callahan                     Postlude on Two Spirituals       
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 Belgium, Luxembourg & the Netherlands, and our brothers and sisters at Berea Church of the Nazarene in your hearts, and pray for them.      
Please also 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.
¨ The healing of families, communities, and our nation and world, wracked by violence; may we be agents of transformation.
¨ Prayers of solidarity and support for those made most vulnerable by the recent elections. May the people who follow Jesus follow him to the refugee, the stranger, the outcast, the foreigner, and the destitute.
¨ BJ Godby’s mother, who is very ill in Georgia, and her father, who is caring for her
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound:  Ruth Butwell, Edith Hansen, Mary Miller, Alva Peloquin, Gloria VanWinkle.
¨ Loretta Mountjoy, hospitalized at Central Baptist with a heart infection.
ABLE (Achieving and Building Life Equally) will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 28 (and every 4th Tuesday), at 5:30 pm in Room 101. ABLE is a support group/network for those who self-identify as differently-abled: to inspire, encourage, and empower one another, and to make Berea a more accessible community.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 1. We will observe it with a service at 7:00 pm in the Community Room. Sarah Culbreth will be our special guest and will lead us in clay work. Come in clothes you can get dirty!!
Ash Wednesday gets its name from the ancient practice of placing ashes on worshippers’ heads or foreheads as a sign of humility before God, a symbol of mourning and sorrow at the death that sin brings into the world. Ash Wednesday ashes are made from burning the palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday service. It not only prefigures the mourning at the death of Jesus, but also places the worshipper in a position to realize the consequences of sin.  Ash Wednesday is a somber day of reflection on what needs to change in our lives if we are to be fully Christian.
Please note: no WNL supper on March 1
Noodling Around with Theology …at Noodle Nirvana March 2. Topic: Atonement Interested in deepening your “TQ,” theology quotient? First Thursdays are for you — and you can enjoy some  noodles at the same time! We will meet at Noodle Nirvana (315 Chestnut St), 8pm, March 2. You can purchase food, or just come for the discussion.
Lenten lunches begin next week! Right after worship in the Community Room. As has become a Union Church tradition, lunch following worship will be served during Lent through April 2. The members of the various Boards collaborate to prepare lunch for the five Sundays.
March 5: the Worship & Nominating Boards will cook together. $5 donation if able.
Hosts & Cooks needed March 10! The Kenyon College Chamber Singers will be performing a concert at Union Church on Friday, March 10, as part of their spring tour. Hosts would house at least 2 singers overnight (they are willing to share beds), give them breakfast, and return them to the church Saturday morning. We will also be serving dinner to the choir before their concert, and food contributions to supplement soup and bread would be welcome. If you can help, please contact Carrie Jadud (440-334-6686; cjadud@gmail.com).
Help Wanted.  We have an ongoing need for volunteers to help with Sunday services.  Can you be a worship reader, greeter, coffee angel, etc.?   For details go to the church website, union-church.org and click on “Volunteer” near the upper right corner (or talk to Doug Hindman).