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

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost            July 28, 2013

 
Please use this bulletin to follow along in our worship service.  You can view the service by clicking “Watch Video” on the homepage.
 

Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

—Abraham Lincoln

Gathering to Worship

Welcome & Announcements
Prelude  
Processional                                 Come, All You People                            Uyai Mose
Call to Worship  
One: Come, whether by car or on foot, by horse or by bus.
All: We come to place ourselves in the presence of God.
One: Come, with hearts full of sadness, or joy, or weariness, or anxiety.
All:  We come to empty our hearts and refill them with God’s love.
One: Come, whether your fingernails are caked with dirt or smooth with polish.
All: We come to bless our hands, that they might be used in God’s service.
One: Come, let us worship the living and loving God!
All: Amen!  Let it be so!
 
Opening Hymn                      We Are People on a Journey                       Somos Pueblo
Prayer of Approach and Confession 
One: Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
One: Christ, have mercy.
All: Christ, have mercy.
One: Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Words of Assurance
One: This is the good news that leads to new life:
All: Thanks be to God.
Passing the Peace of Christ
All who come to this sanctuary (or join us by web) are welcome companions on this day. Please turn to those nearest you and greet them with words of peace.
 

Hearing the Word

God Speaking through the Hebrew Scriptures                               Psalm 85 (p. 708)

A Psalm by the people of Korah for the music leader.

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.

 
God Speaking through the Gospels                                                   Luke 11:1-4(p. 1248)

Jesus teaches the disciples to pray.

Sermon             The Disciples’ Prayer                           The Mission Team from El Salvador
There will be a call-and-response portion of the sermon.  When you hear Spanish being spoken, prepare to respond with the English:
One: Padre nuestro, que estas en el cielo, santificado sea tu nombre;
All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
One: Venga a nosotros tu reino,
All: Thy kingdom come,
One: Hágase tu voluntad, en la tierra como en el cielo.
All: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[Pause for Speaker]
One: Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada dia,
All: Give us this day our daily bread,
[Pause for Speaker]
One: Perdona nuestras ofensas, como también nosotros perdonamos a los que  nos ofenden.
All: Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
One: No nos dejes caer en la tentación
All: Lead us not into temptation
One: Y líbranos del mal
All: And deliver us from evil.
One: Porque tuyo es el reino, el poder, y la gloria
All: For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory
One: Por los siglos de los siglos. Amén.
All: Forever and ever. Amen.
 

Prayers of the People

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 Kiyosato, Japan and is also rung in the hope of peace for all nations.
Prayers of the Community
When invited, please join in on this “Salvadoran Creed,” created by Partners with El Salvador
One:      We believe in God,
All:       who created us free and walks with us in the struggle for liberation.
One: We believe in Christ,
All: crucified again in the suffering of the poor, a suffering which calls out to the conscience of people and nations, a suffering which ends in resurrection.
One: We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit,
All: capable of inspiring the same compassion which has led our best brothers and sisters to martyrdom.
One: We believe in the church,
All: called forth by Jesus and the Holy Spirit
One: We believe that when we gather,
All: Jesus is with us, and that Mary his mother is a sign of living faithfulness.
One: We believe in the Christian community
All: where we proclaim our ideals, through which we practice our Christian faith.
One: We believe in building a church
All: where we pray and reflect on our reality, and share in the prophetic, priestly, and pastoral mission of Jesus. We believe that one day all peoples will love under Christ’s gentle rule.
One: We believe in unity in the midst of differences. We believe that Christ calls us
All: to communion and to live as sisters and brothers.
One: We believe that we need
All: to love one another, to correct one another compassionately, to forgive each other’s errors and weaknesses.
One: We believe that we need
All: to help each other to recognize our limitations, to support each other in the faith.
One: We believe that the poor,
All: the illiterate and the sick, the persecuted and the tortured, are always close to the heart of Jesus. Through them, Christ challenges us to work for justice and peace. Their cause is our cause.
One: We believe that Christ is also present
All: in those who are slaves to their passions, to vices, lies and injustice, to power and money.
One: We pray
All: for the possibility of conversion; to love those who slander, persecute and kill, and to help each other so that one day we may all live simply and humbly in the way that the Gospel calls us to live. Amen.
 

Offering Our Gifts

Call to Offering
Offertory
Doxology                Praise God from whom all blessings flow              Lasst Uns Erfreuen

Praise God all creatures here below;

Alleluia, alleluia!

Praise God above, ye heavenly host;

Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost. 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Prayer of Thanksgiving
 

Walking Forward in Faith & Receiving New Members

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. Thanks be to God for these ministers among us.
Invitation Hymn                                               We Are Marching in the Light of God     

                 Sung by delegation:

Caminando en el luz de Dios. (x4)

¡Caminando, caminando, ooh!

Caminando en le luz de Dios.

 

                 Sung by congregation:

We are marching in the light of God. (x4)

We are marching, marching, we are marching, ooh!

We are marching in the light of God.

We are praying in the light of God…

We are singing in the light of God…

Caminando en el luz de Dios…

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 and Sending Forth
Postlude
________________________________________________

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 & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and our brothers and sisters at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in your hearts, and pray for them.  Please also hold these concerns in your prayers today and throughout the week.

• Those in harm’s way in the service of our country and all those who wait and worry for them.
• Bob Bates, recovering at home from emergency surgery
• Teri Van Pelt, experiencing pain from stenosis in the cervical vertebra
• Jerry Cooper, recovering from shoulder surgery
• The father of Debbonnaire Kovacs, hospitalized with serious health issues
• Ed Poston’s sister, and the family, at her serious illness
• Rose Brandenburg, Larry’s aunt, at Kenwood Nursing Home in Richmond
• Edith Hansen, at The Terrace
• Shirley Dean, on hospice care for lung cancer

____________________________________

Announcements…

You Matter! Please Sign In, Check in on FB/Twitter and Try a Name Tag! It’s hard to get to know people elsewhere, but we don’t want it that way at church. Use the pew folder in your row, passing it back when all have signed, and whether you are a first time visitor or a long-time member, a name tag helps everyone connect the dots.  Mobile phone users can also check in on Facebook and Twitter.
Explore Union Church! This is a place where your faith can grow and deepen! We are actively looking for those who would like to explore discipleship with Jesus in this congregation. YOU matter, and so does YOUR faith journey.  If you’d like to join Union Church in pursing the way of peace, justice, and hope, please call, email, or Facebook either pastor, or call the church office.  YOU are welcome here!
Quilt Extravaganza, August 2 and 3! Union Church will be having a quilt display again this year! We need hosts! If you can spare some time between 10 & 4, please call Ramona Culp at 986-0521.
“Instead, speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15)… You are invited to be a delegate to the 2013 Kentucky Council of Churches October 24 & 25.  The theme is Civil Dialogue. The place is Kentucky Dam Village State Park in Gilbertsville, KY. Brochures are available in the office if you’d like to consider attending, or you can visit the website at www.kycouncilofchurches.org.  The deadline to identify delegates to the KCC is August 5.
Berea Faith Community Outreach, Inc. (BFCO) is in need of your financial help. While our supply of food is in good shape, funds for utility and rent relief, the transient fund, and liability insurance are at a low point.  If you can make a contribution, please make your check to Union Church with “BFCO” in the Memo line. Thank you from the BFCO Board.

Help Wanted

Looking for a way to get involved?  Try one of these!

• Tidy up spaces by moving various heavy and light objects to the correct room or closet. Contact Dave Kobersmith at the office.
• Hang pictures,  2 white boards and 1 bulletin board. Contact Dave K.
• Can you make a meal for Jerry Cooper as he recovers from shoulder surgery?  Call Lynn Cook at 985-2508.
• Calling artists!  The Community Life and Growth Board is looking for someone who might like to help us design and order banners regularly for our signs on the front lawn. Contact Betty Hibler betty_hibler@berea.edu or Rev. Rachel for more info.
• Can you make small Roman shades for the glass on the interior classroom and office doors to indicate that they are “in use?”  Needed for the Pastors’ Offices, Conference Room and Office Classroom . Contact Dave K.
• Who likes pie?  We do!!  We’re looking for some cooks willing to provide pie for Rev. Rachel’s installation on Sunday, Aug. 18^th.  Look for a sign-up sheet in the back of the sanctuary, or contact Kevin at kevin_burke@windstream.net
• Greeters, Offering Taker-Uppers and Worship Leaders Wanted and Needed… See Carla Gilbert (985-1144), Dorie Hubbard (986-0839) or sign up on the back wall.
• Lemonade on the Porch Volunteers Needed over the summer for Lemonade on the Porch — please sign-up on the Volunteer Bulletin Board on your way out of the sanctuary this morning. Kevin Burke will provide information and/or answer any questions you might have: 985-1144.

 

Youth News!

 
Pizza and pins!
Youth Group is going bowling on August 5th.  Meet in church parking lot at 6:00 pm.   Incoming 6th grade students are invited to join us.  Please bring $10.  If this is a hardship, please let Chris or Grace know and we will provide funding.
We need to know how many people will be coming for transportation reasons, so please give us a call or message by  Saturday August 3rd if you are planning on coming.
Youth Group meetings are back!
Youth Group meetings will begin on August 14th. Middle school group will meet at 4:45 a high school group will meet at 6:30.  We realize that meeting at 4:45 may not be conducive to some work schedules, so if you will call Chris (678-982-1731) or Grace (205-451-7444) we can arrange to pick up your youth if you need us to.