Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the

Church of Christ, Union

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

July 3, 2016             10:30 am

Meditation
Discernment is a process of letting go of what we are not.  —Father Thomas Keating

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  Prelude and Fugue in B Flat Major J. S. Bach
*  Call to Worship  
One: Sing praises to our Lord:
All: who heals us and makes us whole.
One: Sing praises to our Lord, faithful children of God:
All: whose joy rises in our lives each and every day.
One: Sing praises to our Lord, faithful children of God; give thanks to God’s holy name:
All: God’s Kingdom is near to us; God’s peace resides in our hearts. Let us Worship God! 
* Opening Hymn #253  Yours Is the Glory Judas Maccabeus
*  Prayer of Approach and Confession
All:  O God, gladly we live and move have our being in you. Yet always in the midst of this creation-glory, we see sins shadow and feel death’s darkness: around us in the earth, sea and sky, the abuse of your world; beside us in the broken, the hungry and the poor, the betrayal of one another; and often, deep within us, a striving against your Spirit. O Trinity of love, forgive us that we may forgive one another, heal us that we may be people of healing, and renew us that we also may be makers of peace.
[a silence is kept]
*  Assurance of Pardon
One: The gospel is a shelter and refuge, a reminder and a means to keep us from all anguish. Christ shepherds and forgives; guides and graces. Having confessed we are not left forsaken, but healed and forgiven in Christ’s name.
All: 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

Anthem A Joyful Song Robert Leaf
Union Church Summer Choir
A joyful song we sing to the Lord, all glory and praise to the risen Lord. Let all who will serve rejoice and sing their praises to God: alleluia, praise to the Lord. Alleluia! Praise we sing to honor the Lord. Together with music, our praise we bring. Oh raise your voice with praise to the Lord, let all of God’s children be glad and sing. Rejoice, the victory is won, the Lord has risen, God’s holy Son!
Hebrew Scripture Lesson 2 Kings 5:1-15
Children’s Moment   
As the children return to their seats or move to children’s church, 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 Children’s Moment, children are welcome to visit 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 & under, care is available in the Nursery, downstairs off the Community Room.
Gospel Lesson   Luke 10:1-10, 16-20
Sermon                  The Pride of Place       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 Choral Song T. Smith
*  Doxology Avery/Marsh

Responding  to God’s Love in Communion

*    Invitation to Communion
One: God be with you.
All:  And also with you.
One:     The spirit of the Lord is among us!
All:    The poor hear good news! The captives are released!           
One:     The blind see! The oppressed go free!
All:    These are the ways of God’s Justice! These are the signs of God’s Jubilee!
One:    As we come to this table, we are reminded that this is not the table of this congregation, nor is it the table of any particular denomination.  It is the table of Jesus Christ, the family feast of the whole people of God.
One:    All who seek to be nourished and sustained in the journey of faith, and long to live justly and in peace with their neighbor, are welcome here.  So come, all of you.  Come not because you must, but come because you may.  Let us eat and drink together for our strengthening in the faith, and for the sake of the world.
One:    Here is bread for the journey. Here is the cup of release and hope. Come all who will: come for self and come for others. Come and let us make ready to be called and sent.
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 Prayer and Prayers of the Community  
Communion Prayer and Words of Institution    adapted from United Church of Canada liturgy
One:    Thanks and praise be to you, O God, for you create life out of the dust and create community even from calamity. We thank you that you are present to direct and guide, to renew and revive. We praise you for sending us Jesus, your Suffering Servant, to walk before us the way of the cross, to turn us to you and to one another. Therefore, we join your long procession of pilgrims praising you along the way:
Communion Sanctus  Please Join in Singing
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.         Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest.
Communion Prayer
One:     Mighty and tender God, in Jesus of Nazareth we recognize the fullness of your grace: light, life and love, revealed:
All:    in words that confront and comfort us, in teachings that challenge and change us, in compassion that heals and frees us.
One:     And now we gather at this table to remember and to be filled with such longing for your realm,  that we may rise together to turn our worship into witness and to follow in your way.
One:     We remember that when Jesus ate with his friends, he took a loaf of bread and, after blessing it, he broke it and gave it to them, saying,
All:    “Take, eat.  This is my body, given for you.  Each time you do this, remember me.”
One:     Then he took a cup and, after giving thanks, passed it to his friends, saying:
All:      “Drink.  This cup that is poured out for you is the promise of God, made in my blood.  Whenever you drink it, remember me.”
One:    Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us that this meal may be our communion in the body of Christ. Unite us in faith, encourage us with hope, inspire us to love, that we may serve you with the testimony of our lives.
Serving One Another
All who seek the love of God are welcome at this table and are invited to freely receive from it.  By tradition, unfermented grape juice is used in the cup on Sunday mornings. We will share the elements today by intinction, dipping the bread in the cup.  When invited please come to one of the stations by exiting your pew to the left and returning by the right. If it is not convenient to come forward, the elements can be brought to your seat by signaling to the usher. As you wait for your turn, you are invited to reflect upon your communion and the music.
Blessing for Those Who Will Receive at Home
Members who have been designated to carry communion to those who could not be with us this morning are invited forward at this time. Elements from our meal will go with our blessing and prayers for our continued unity in the Spirit. If you would like serve by taking communion to others, you are very welcome to do so and are invited to volunteer with the Nurture and Care Board members or by contacting one of the pastors.
Prayer of Thanksgiving 
One: God, you remake the broken. You call back the forsaken. You send out the followers. You bring peace to disturbance, and disturbance to injustice.
All: We thank you that by this meal, and every meal where your healing mission is remembered, we may be partners at this table with Christ. Strengthened by your holy Spirit, send us now into the world to boldly and creatively embody your message and mission.  
One: May the bread we break all week put your peace in houses, and make your love powerful in the world until we reach that day when none shall need or hurt or want for justice. Keep us mindful of all who suffer, and help us do something about it.
All: In Christ’s name we pray: Amen.

From Here to There

*  Closing Hymn #591  This Is My Song Finlandia
*  Benediction & Sending Forth
    Postlude (please  be  seated) Three Pieces for Organ,III Chorale Modal C. Callahan
 
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 Brazil and our brothers and sisters at Silver Creek Baptist Church  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.
¨ Those affected by the recent flooding in West Virginia
¨ Victims of the shooting at Pulse Club in Orlando, and all who are reeling in the aftermath of violence
¨ Refugee families and individuals seeking shelter and safety, and all who are working to provide it: May God magnify our efforts.
¨ The family of West Point cadet Tom Surdyke, who drowned this week while saving the life of a person who could not swim
¨ Teri VanPelt, in her recent hospitalization
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound:  Edith Hansen, Mary Miller, Alva Peloquin, Gloria VanWinkle
¨ Terry Confer, facing surgery and treatment for cancer
¨ Kelly Ambrose’s family, at his death
¨ Michelle Hayden’s mother, being cared for by hospice
¨ Judy Rowell, recovering well at home!
¨ Toby Wilcher, recovering from broken bones at home, and for Shane Wilcher
Announcements
Join the church next week! 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!
Today’s Service is Brought to You By….THE SUN! Last week 78 solar panels, inverters and monitoring equipment were installed on the sanctuary roof. This significant investment in the welfare of God’s creation means that 25% of our current electrical consumption will be met by the new system. We will soon share a website where anyone can log on to see real-time production and usage stats.
Look around you! The Sacred Threads travelling exhibit is an exhibition of quilts about life’s journeys: joy, inspiration, spirituality, peace/ brotherhood, grief and healing. This biennial exhibition was established to provide a safe venue for quilters who see their work as a connection to the sacred and/or as an expression of their spiritual journey. It will be hung for the whole month of July! Thanks to Ramona Culp for arranging to bring it here, and also to John Culp and Bob Boyce for hanging the exhibit.
Help those affected by flood in West Virginia. The Union Church Mission and Service Board is working on several fronts to help provide direct aid and support. You can make  a check payable to Union Church or make an online donation at www.union-church.org/donate (choose either Red Cross or Church World Service from the drop down list), or you can donate directly to these agencies. Union Church will be supplementing with some of our budgeted relief funds as well.
Psalm Workshop 2nd and 4th Wednesdays throughout the summer. Our next meeting will be July 13th at 7 p.m. in the classroom at Union Church.  We will reflect on Psalms 52 and 85 at that time.
Do you have a passion for meaningful worship and the mechanics that go along with it? The Worship Board is in need of one more person to serve out Abby Embry’s term, which ends in 2017.
And — if you are committed to building a Beloved Community of Christ and would like to actually help make that happen, Community Life & Growth is looking for that person to serve the relatively new term of John Stanley, which ends in 2019.
For further information, please contact Nominating Board Chair, Carla Gilbert, or Kevin Burke, at 985-1144 or Carla_gilbert@windstream.net. Thank you.
Summer Music Opportunities
Choir: July 10, 17 – 9:15 am Adults and youth are welcome to participate in Summer Choir. No commitment is expected.  Just show up for rehearsal at 9:15am in the Sanctuary on the days you wish to participate.
We will learn an anthem, which will then be shared as part of the 10:30am worship service that morning. We will rehearse and offer our anthems from the sanctuary floor so that this opportunity is accessible to all.
Handbells: July 10, & 17 – 10:00 am On each of these Sundays, anyone interested in ringing along with one of the hymns is welcome to join us in the sanctuary to rehearse.  We will read from chord charts instead of a musical score so that this opportunity may be enjoyed by ringers with any or no music reading experience!
 Baby Shower for Rev. Rachel & Leslie Small Stokes! 3 pm Sunday, Aug. 14, in the Community Room. All are welcome!
BJ Godby, Melissa Neal and Dodie Murphy are coordinating the shower and they need help: setting up, decorating, providing finger foods and desserts, and clean up.