A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union
Second Sunday after Pentecost 10:30 am
Meditation
“Violence is what happens when we do not know what else to do with our suffering.” ~ Parker J. Palmer
From There to Here: We Gather
Welcome
Welcome to this service of worship! Please sign in using the pew folder, pasing 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! During the service, you are invited to rise in body or in spirit, standing or sitting, at points in the service marked “<>.”
¨ The Call EJ Stokes, Reader
One: God says:
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am…
Be still and know…
Be still…
Be…
¨ Hymn #293 Sweet, Sweet Spirit Sweet, Sweet Spirit
1. There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord;
There are sweet expressions on each face,
And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.
Refrain: Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet heavenly Dove,
Stay right here with us, filling us with your love;
And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived,
When we shall leave this place.
2. There are blessings you cannot receive
Till you know Him in His fullness and believe;
You’re the one to profit when you say,
“I am going to walk with Jesus all the way.” Refrain.
¨ Prayer of Approach and Confession
One: Spirit of God, you are the breath of creation, the wind of change that blows through our lives, opening us up to new dreams and new hopes, new life in Jesus Christ.
All: Forgive us our closed minds which barricade themselves against new ideas, preferring the past to what you might want to do through us tomorrow.
One: Forgive our closed eyes which fail to see the needs of your world, blind to opportunities of service and love.
All: Forgive our closed hands which clutch our gifts and our wealth for our own use alone.
One: Forgive us our closed hearts which limit our affections to ourselves and our own.
All: Spirit of new life, forgive us and break down the prison walls of our selfishness, that we might be open to your love and open for the service of your world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~ United Church Publishing House, Celebrate God’s Presence (United Church Publishing House, 2000).
¨ 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
Scripture Reading Psalm 42 and 43
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your torrents; all your waves and your billows have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me? “As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, “Where is your God?”
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; from those who are deceitful and unjust, deliver me! For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you cast me off? Why must I walk about mournfully because of the oppression of the enemy? O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
~ New Revised Standard Version, updated
Children’s Moment as the children return to their seats we sing:
May God’s blessings 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 Reading Luke 8:26-39
Then they arrived at the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on shore, a man from the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had not worn any clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, shouting, at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me,” for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding, and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd stampeded down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country.
Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they became frightened. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then the whole throng of people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
~ New Revised Standard Version, updated
Sermon Jesus and the Demon Pigs Rev. Kent Gilbert
Video Reflection
A chance to take in what we have heard and reflect together.
Living Prayer
Call to Prayer
Ringing 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.
Embodied Prayer
You are invited to reflect and pray at the candle tables. You may also choose to source the essential ingredient of solitude and private prayer, remaining with your own thoughts in your pew.
For Reflection
The Power of Lament, The Power of Connection Not everything is “in your head.” Life can be very hard, present terrible choices, and feel very isolating. Often connection helps. Even connection without solution can make a difference. Psalm 42 and 43 lament the absence of this kind of connection, but also remind the hearer that God’s power, even unseen, holds us even in dark places.
Where are you feeling isolation and disconnection? Breathe into that place, but imagine in your prayers, that each breath is drawing a cord of light or stretching a thread from where you are to God’s company, the Holy Hill. This is prayer enough. Nothing else is needed. Allow yourself to be drawn a little closer by this thread as you acknowledge both what is hard and the strength surrounding you.
Out of Our Minds Many things can make us “out of our minds.” It might be grief, or anger, or passion, or even just exhaustion. With stillness and connection we can often restore both “right mind” and “right heart”. Think of prayer like rebooting your phone. The reset sometimes clears the buffers and allows the same circuits to process the needs so much better.
Now or in a quiet time this week: assume a posture where you are supported. Begin by feeling the weight of every part of you as it touches other surfaces. Breath into what is supporting you: the chair, the floor, the joists under the floor, the foundation under the joists. Breathe down to bed-rock. Spend as much time as you need connected to the rock, the quiet earth. When you are ready, breathe up slowly, retracing your path but feeling the deep support under you. When you are ready come back into your right mind.
What community do you want to connect to now?
How can you offer and receive healing strength when you need it?
When you know, step forth.
Offertory
A Chance for Generosity: www.easytithe.com/union
A community of caring relies on support. Your recurring or one-time donation will make a ministry of healing, justice, and teaching available to all in need.
¨ Use your smart phone or computer and go to www.easytithe.com/union. No registration required, but registering once makes future generosity simply entering an amount and a click.
¨ Baskets for checks or cash are located at the head of each aisle for those who wish to make an in-person donation.
¨ Give by Text. Text an amount to 859-448-3403 (Example: Text “$50.00 Offering”).
¨ Give by Mail to: 200 Prospect St., Berea, KY 40403.
Your contribution is love made visible. Thank you!
¨ Doxology Gathered Here in the Mystery of This Hour Phil Porter
Silent Prayer and Prayers Community EJ Stokes, Reader
Lord of “right mind” and “right heart” demons of our own separate us from community that heals. Broken, we break with others and with you, and the care we need is exiled beyond our reach. The power of your Christ breaks these barriers and restores us even now. When our hurt possesses us, when our minds are tortured, when care seems far away, send your ambassadors of grace and hold in your loving arms those who suffer. Cast out the demons of those who would harm others. Banish the many voices of unreason and fear in us. Put within us new connections to new life, healing both body and soul, cities and nations. Liberate us from killing impulses and indifferent stares.
Come again and again to your people as the Living Word to help us embody the beloved community you call us to become. In you all divisions cease and we rejoice in the power of your love. Call us there. Hold us there. In Christ’s name we pray, reaching to you as…
Our Lord’s Prayer
Our Maker, Our Mother, and Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kin-dom 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 kin-dom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
¨ Hymn #394 In Christ There Is No East or West McKee
1. In Christ there is no east or west,
in Christ no south or north,
but one community of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
2.In Christ shall true hearts everywhere
their high communion find.
God’s service is the golden cord
close binding humankind.
3. In Christ is neither Jew nor Greek
And neither slave nor free;
For men and women live in God,
and all are kin to me.
4. In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north.
One joyous, true community
throughout the whole wide earth.
From Here to There
Community Connections
Announcements
We share opportunities for Beloved Community and ways to serve. Please see the listing of church & community events, prayers, and notices in the pages following the service.
Lighting the Justice Candle to Lead us Forth
June is a month celebrating freedom and love, from Pride and Father’s Day to Juneteenth. Mixed in with the celebration for many men is a challenging need for mental wellness support. June has gained popularity for Men’s Mental Health Month. A powerful shift in our culture has men speaking up against stigma and championing efforts for support, as mental health is part of one’s overall health. They’re encouraging therapy and policies that support access to care and suicide prevention. CDC reported that in 2023, men made up 50% of the US population and accounted for 80% of the suicides.
Heads Up Guys launched in 2015 with a mission to support men to improve mental health, reduce risk of suicide, and inspired living healthier lives. They offer worldwide resources, including those in the USA and Kentucky. Heads Up Guys website offers linkage to help individuals and friends/family navigate educational materials, screening tools, finding local therapists, learning how to support and talk to someone about suicide/depression, and linking to 988 and the Trevor Project for LGBTQ+ support.
¨ Benediction
¨ Benediction Response Send Down the Fire M. Haugen
Our Prayers for Others
¨ 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 (World Council of Churches Ecumenical Prayer cycle: union-church.org/ministries/prayer). Let us hold the people of Malawi and Zambia and our siblings at First Baptist Church of Berea in our hearts, and pray for them today and throughout the week.
¨ All the people of Ukraine for their safety and sovereignty. Prayers also that the government of Russia will turn to reason & respect for their own peoples’ lives as well as for Ukrainian families.
¨ All those affected by the devastating losses in the current conflict, and starvation of those in Gaza.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes or who are homebound: Jerry Cooper, Jan Hamilton, Betsy Hoefer, Dorie Hubbard, Susan Kramer, Lois Morgan, Sara Parker, Cheryl Payne, Alva Peloquin, Laura Robie, Theresa Scherf.
¨ We pray for our country, and those who are directly affected by the actions and inaction of our govern-ment to address the needs of its people and the world.
¨ Members and Friends who need safer housing and income security.
¨ Rev. Kent’s cousin, Kathy, undergoing chemotherapy for esophageal cancer, and her mother, Helen, who is Rev. Carla’s sister.
¨ Kelly Mehler, responding very well to treatment for his lymphoma.
¨ Barb Taylor’s son, David, undergoing treatment for prostate cancer
¨ JoAnn Russell, Reda Hutton’s aunt, facing several medical challenges.
¨ Laurie White’s mom, Skippy, facing a long and painful recovery from spine surgery.
¨ Dave Reilly’s nephew, Herb Post, ill with kidney cancer that has spread to his lung.
¨ Rev. Christina Ryan Perkins recovering very well from complex jugular vein surgery. Please hold her in your prayers!
¨ Claudia Munson-Scrumpf has two friends with serious health concerns and asks for prayers.
¨ The Rutledge and Lockwood family in the death of Elaine Rutledge, Tuesday, June 10. Memorial arrange-ments will be in Fort Wayne, IN.
¨ Steve and Teresa Gowler in their move to their new home in Louisville.
¨ Charlie Hoffman, with cardiac issues.
¨ Jerry Cooper, struggling with continuing health issues, at home at Morning Pointe.
¨ Meal Train for George Marshall & Brigitte Fowler and kiddos, Seymour and Beatrice! Brigitte Fowler and George Marshall are having another baby! Their new addition will be here soon, and we’re going to make them lots of yummy, nourishing food. As they prepare to become a family of five, let’s help make the transition a little easier (and a lot more delicious). By providing meals, we can help free up their time and energy so they can soak in this sweet (and sleep-deprived!) season with their growing family. mealtrain.com/trains/13rm83
¨ Rev. Carla Gilbert, preparing for gastric surgery.
¨ Deb Beishline, recovering from eye surgery.
¨ Celebrations with Prayers of Joy!
Birthdays: June 22 – Alida Schuyler, Teri VanPelt; 23 – Eva Sutherland; 24 – David Duffee; 25 – Stephanie Woodie; 27 – Toby Wilcher; 29 – Olivia Puckett; 30 – Patty Boyce, Kerry Jones, Mathew Parrish
Anniversaries: June 23 – Steve & Sandy Bolster; 27 – Greg & Rachel Lakes; 30 – Mathew & Courtney Parrish
If we haven’t got your important dates, let us know. We’ll help you get connected in FellowshipOne Go!
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