January 8, 2023, Worship Bulletin & Prayer Concerns

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

Baptism of the Lord

Meditation “I am like the water that runs over me, immune to permanence, recycling endlessly. I am water; I am life. The form may change, but the substance stays the same. Strike me down and I will rise again. Vincit qui patitur.” ~ Rick Yancey

We Gather

Prelude Dejlig Er Den Himmel Blaa, Danish Tune      arr. W. Moats Union Church Handbell Ensemble

Welcome              

¨  Call to Worship

One: Come together in the presence of the eternal God.

All:  The moment is now. The place is here.

 One: In this holy place, may eternity and time overlap.

 All: May this be a sacred place where we know the Lord is our God.

One: Sovereign God calls each of us by name and rests a spirit of grace upon all who seek.

All:  God, wash our eyes to see your world around us.

One: Sluice our ears to hear the voices of your people.

All:  Empower us to cry out for your holy justice.

One:  Strengthen us to love with your unending love.

All: Today as we remember whose we are, may we know what we see, rather than see what we know. May we honor and glorify the God of everflowing streams, and proclaim all that is springing forth. Today let us remember and renew our covenant with the Living God. Amen.

 ~Diane Zaerr Brenneman, Words for Worship 2 (Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2009, ad.)

¨ Hymn #329 Black Jesus, the Joy of Loving Hearts Hesperus

1 Jesus, the joy of loving hearts, fount of life and light of all, from every bliss that earth imparts we turn, unfilled, to hear your call.

2 Your truth unchanged has ever stood; you plead with all to call on you; to those still seeking, you are good, to those who find life is new.

3 We taste of you, the living bread, and long to feast upon you still; we drink of you, the fountainhead, our thirsty souls from you we fill.

4 For you our restless spirits yearn where’er our changing lot is cast; glad, when your smile on us you turn, blessed, when by faith we hold you fast.

5 O Jesus, ever with us stay! Make all our moments calm and bright! Oh, chase the cloud of sin away, shed o’er the world your holy light.

¨ Prayer of Approach and Confession (unison)

Eternal God, you are great and greatly to be praised. Your word is life and truth. We have come to hear it. Like the rain that waters the earth, let your Word water our lives. Let it wash over us like the waves of the sea. Let it splash our sins away. Quiet the voices in us and around us so that we might hear your voice alone. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 ~Diane Zaerr Brenneman, Words for Worship 2 (Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2009, ad.)

¨ Words of Assurance

¨ 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 Chartres, 15th c. French Melody            arr. M. PrinsUnion Church Handbell Ensemble

Scripture Lesson Isaiah 42:1-9

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.  He will not cry out or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:

I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass,   and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

~New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition (Friendship Press, 2021)

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.

Scripture Lesson Matthew 3:13-17 

  Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”

Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him.

And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

~New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition (Friendship Press, 2021)

Sermon Water on Stone Rev. Kent Gilbert

Living Prayer

Call to Prayer and  Offering

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.   

A Chance for Generosity: www.easytithe.com/union

Our gifts help sustain this particular community of caring by sustaining the building, pastor 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 ministries.

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. Baskets are placed at the head and foot of each aisle for those who wish to make an in-person donation. Electronic donations can be made very simply and easily at: https//: www.easy tithe.com/union

You can even give by text! Text to 859-448-3403 (Example: Text “$50.00 Offering”)

You can also use US mail!  Mail to: 200 Prospect St., Berea, KY 40403

Your contribution is love made visible. Thank you!

Offering Music

Water of Blessing Remembered and Renewed

All God’s children are beloved. Today, with many other Christians, we celebrate a renewal of Baptismal Vows, using both words and water. During the readings and music, a branch from a Christmas tree will be used to sprinkle water over the congregation as a reminder that like the rain, the grace of God falls on all people.

Whether baptized or not, we invite all who will to join in prayers for grace and wholeness, and for strength to resist the powers of harm in this world. May this be a way to recommit to service in the way of Jesus. 

Waters of Blessing Litany

One:      God calls us to the water to find a new way:

             a new grace,

             a new hope,

             a new faith,

             a new life.

All:     God calls; we come.

One:      Come to the water and let go of the outworn:

outworn habits,

outworn pains,

outworn angers,

outworn burdens.

All:  God calls; we come.

One: God blesses the water and it

heals us,

cleans us,

renews us,

refreshes us.

All: God blesses; we praise.

One: Come to the water and receive

blessing,

freedom,

mercy,

love.

All: God blesses; we praise.

One: Bless to us this water with your presence, Lord. Amen.

Receive this water, gift of God, and hear for yourself how God names you: Beloved.

All: By the waters of baptismal grace we promise to love and serve God by following the Christ. We pray to boldly and creatively embody the life and ministry of Jesus by celebrating the transforming power of God, the compassion of Christ, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Asperges

Asperges is a Latin term that means “to sprinkle” or “to moisten with dew.” In the context of the Christian liturgy, asperges is a ritual during which the celebrant sprinkles holy water over the congregation as a sign of purification and spiritual cleansing.

Hymn #351 Black I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry          Borning Cry

1 I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old. I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold. I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well; In a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell.

2 When you found the wonder of the Word I was there to cheer you on; You were raised to praise the living God, to whom you now belong. Should you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one, I’ll be there to make your verses rhyme from dusk ’till rising sun.

3 In the middle ages of your life, not too old, no longer young, I’ll be there to guide you through the night, complete what I’ve begun. When the evening gently closes in, and you shut your weary eyes, I’ll be there as I have always been with just one more surprise.

4 I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old. I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.

Community Prayer Steve Bolster, Reader

God who brings the water to earth and causes rivers of grace to flow, wear away all our hardness. Make supple our dry souls and quench our thirsty greed. With the resistless power of these drops unleash the torrent of remembrance and promise in your people.

Remind us of what Love demands. Rinse us free of what has kept us stuck where no love lies. Lift us body and mind and soul on waves of hope and healing and carry it quickly to those who hurt so deeply and need your touch so much. Like water, help us fill every crevice with your compassion, to channel your relentless flow to shape the world like justice.

Like water let us be incompressible;yet gentle as quiet peace in wearing down the rough places: never stopping, never relenting in these holy tasks. You, O, God came to us in our brother, Jesus, and watched as he washed and made covenant with you.

Watch with us, too, that you might also be well-pleased when like waters of love, we rise to serve your kin-dom.

Our Lord’s Prayer

 All: 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.

Community Connections

   Announcements

We share opportunities for Beloved Community and ways to serve.

Lighting the Justice Candle to Lead us Forth

Today we light the Justice Candle in honor of Judith Burris, a representative to the Kentucky Council of Churches from the Lexington, KY, Friends Meeting who, over the years, has consistently been the first and most faithful responder, reaching to legislators (her own and across the Commonwealth) on matters of faith and justice.

The Kentucky Council of Churches was founded in 1947. Union Church is a founding member, with the goal of witnessing to Christian Unity through relationships and actions.

Through the Council, church leaders from differing traditions learn to respect and care for each other, and then speak out together to make Kentucky a better place for everyone. This ecumenical organization works toward a common ministry for justice, peace, and the integrity of creation under the leading of the Holy Spirit, and invites delegates from many Kentucky congregations.

¨  Hymn  I Will Come to You You Are Mine

Benediction

Postlude

You are welcome to be seated to appreciate the music following service, and to show appreciation at the end with applause.