A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 10:30 am
Meditation
The peace we want is something positive and dynamic. In the Hebrew it is called shalom which refers to wholeness, integrity; it means well-being, physical and spiritual. It means the abundance of life which Jesus Christ promised he had brought. It all has to do with a harmonious coexistence with one’s neighbors in a wholesome environment allowing persons to become more fully human. ~ Desmond Tutu
From There to Here: We Gather
Prelude
Welcome
¨ Call To Worship Pamela Chabora, Reader
One: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
All: Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those God redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
One: Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters;
All: they saw the deeds of the Lord , God’s wondrous works in the deep. For God commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
One: They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity; they reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their wits’ end.
All: Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress; God made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
One: Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
All: Let us thank the Lord for this steadfast love, for the wonderful works to humankind. Let us extol the Lord in the congregation of the people, and praise God always in the assembly of the elders. ~ Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
¨ Opening Hymn #546 Jesus, Lover of My Soul Martyn
1. Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to your bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
O receive my soul at last!
2. Other refuge have I none,
In your hands my destiny;
Leave, oh, leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on you is stayed,
All my help from you I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
3. Plenteous grace in you is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound;
Make and keep me pure within.
Fount of life, your love impart.,
Fill my cup abundantly;
Spring up now within my heart,
Rise to all eternity.
With the shadow of your wing.
¨ Prayer of Approach and Confession Pamela Chabora, Reader
One: O God of mystery,
we confess that, more than deep questions,
we love easy answers;
explaining away miracles, disarming the Good News,
we domesticate your wild ways.
All: We have panicked about all the wrong things;
we have ignored that which is life-giving.
Fear of the storm drives the faith of your mastery from our minds.
Teach us to fear less and reconcile more;
Teach us to open to our questions, O God.
Teach us to struggle with integrity, becoming good and true and worthy of your hope in us.
Teach us to live in company with your holy mysteries that we might be free.
~ Kent Gilbert based upon a prayer from United Church Publishing House, Celebrate God’s Presence (United Church Publishing House, 2000)
¨ Words of Assurance
One: God is stillness in the storm, calm breath on troubled waters.
God is the love and yearning for our wholeness, redeemed and unfettered from past brokenness.
From God comes these words: your pain is known, your sincere to desire to transform is and will always be heard: you are forgiven in healing name of Jesus the Christ.
All: Thanks be to God for a love like that. Amen!
¨ Passing the Peace of 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.
Word and Worship
Scripture Reading 1 Samuel 17:1-51
Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah and formed ranks against the Philistines. The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was four cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and his shield-bearer went before him. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants, but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
Jesse said to his son David, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.”
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines. David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. The Israelites said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.” David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men, and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down just to see the battle.” David said, “What have I done now? It was only a question.” He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth, and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”
Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I am not used to them.” So David removed them. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head, and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
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 Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Sermon Stillness in the Storms Rev. Kent Gilbert
Video Reflection
Living Prayer
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.
Offertory
¨ Doxology Old Hundredth
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise God all creatures here below. Praise God above ye heavenly host: Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost! Amen.
Prayer & Reflection Questions
Confronting the Unthinkable:
Both stories today call to mind the times when we confront the overwhelming. Terrors can be sudden or slow-motion taking our breath and turning bones to wax.
If you, or someone you love is in such a terror, see if you can remember that the answer to the question the disciples ask Jesus, “Don’t you care that we are perishing” is a definitive “yes.”
The first step is to help reconnect to life-giving breath and spirit. In your prayers today, or with a trusted loved one in need try to breath from the center of Christ’s stillness in the storm, not from the raging winds around you.
As each breath comes in strive to let God’s intent for strength and calm come inside. Allow stillness to gather and panic to subside. Once you are more still, open yourself to what is needed, what is possible, what is required, and what resources may surround you.
With your stillness and strength ask for what you need in order to live into the challenge. Allow yourself to feel the yearning will of God for your well-being and trust it will help you, even in gravest peril.
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Prayers of the Community Pam Chabora, Reader
Lord hear your people, for we come to you with both gratitude and distress. In you we live and move and have our being. In you we trust and have known grace from your hand. And we are also worried, and fearful, and unsure. We are tossed and we are torn apart, and the forces that we are caught in hardly know our presence, let alone care that we are perishing.
Be mighty to save us, even from our own self-serving follies driven by the winds of our fear.
Be the voice of calm to the storm for us, prince of peace. Keep us seated next to the heart of Jesus, whose presence stills the winds and stirs the soul.
While In your company, O Holy One, speak to us from the whirlwind and show how together with you we might heal our terrors and bring every child, every parent, every traveler, every one born into the center of your saving calm. We pray that you will help us face the winds of change with hope and courage and faith and love. This we pray in Jesus’ name and as he taught, reaching to you as…
Our Lord’s Prayer
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
¨ Hymn Shalom to You Somos del Senor
Reprinted with permission using OneLicense #A-723786
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
Opal Lee is known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth” because she took it upon herself to call attention to the celebration – which took place on June 19, 1865 in Galveston when, after 2½ years, word of freedom for the enslaved was delivered and tacked to the door of the AME Church, and read by the workers when they left work.
Opal began, in earnest, working toward recognition of the celebration as a federal holiday, when in January of 2017 at age 89, hoping to gain some attention to the matter, she began walking from her home in Ft. Worth Texas to Washington DC, a total of 1400 miles at 2 ½ miles per day – symbolically for the 2½ years it took for word to reach Galveston.
She reached the White House in January of 2017, and was cordially received, but didn’t get to see President Obama. She returned home and has continued walking 2½ miles every Juneteenth since and actually did so this June 19th at 97 years old.
Yet it was not until June 18, 2021, that Juneteenth became a federal holiday, signed into law by President Biden. She says very clearly that Juneteenth is for all Americans and she will work until we are One….not African Americans, White Americans, Jewish Americans, etc. Opal Lee was awarded the Medal of Freedom this May for her contribution; but she says one can’t rest on laurels, and she intends to work on climate change, health care for all, homelessness, etc. as long as it takes, and she hope to live long enough to see that day. May it be so!
¨ Benediction The God of Second Chances David Haas
Those who are able & willing are invited to fill the aisles as we sing the Benediction Response together. If you’re at home or in the balcony, you are part of the embrace too. The embrace is as wide as God’s love!
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 Kenya and Tanzania and our brothers and sisters at Galilee Baptist Church 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 in the Middle East.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes or who are homebound: Richard Bromley, Jan Hamilton, Betsy Hoefer, Dorie Hubbard, Lois Morgan, Sara Parker, Cheryl Payne, John Payne, Alva Peloquin, Laura Robie.
¨ All those suffering from mental strain, trauma, and disease: may God soothe and heal all who are troubled.
¨ Members and Friends who need safer housing and income security.
¨ JoAnn Russell, Reda Hutton’s aunt, facing several medical challenges.
¨ For all those caring for others in their illnesses and needs: may God give them both strength and encourage-ment in this work of costly love.
¨ Erikke Meadows’ mom, Prudy Meadows, who has COPD and is facing a possible lung begun cancer diagnosis.
¨ The Guild family as Will continues his struggle with brain cancer and stroke.
¨ Steve Boyce, now back at home.
¨ Good news! Tiffany, a friend of Union Church who’d been experiencing homelessness, has moved to Oklahoma to live with her mom, at least for the summer.
¨ Pat Barrett and all the family, at the death of her brother, Jerry Glonek, of cancer.
¨ The Crowden family, at the death of Jackie Crowden.
The extended Ramsay family, at the death of matriarch Rose Ramsay. Visitation will be this evening from 5-8 pm at Davis & Powell Funeral Home; and service will be tomorrow (Monday), 2 pm at Berea United Methodist Church.
¨ Kaitlyn Ferguson, one of our Connexions students, whose cousins were in a serious car accident. Raylen was killed; Reece has a brain bleed, and Lainey was also involved. Their parents are Jason and Michelle Paynter.
¨ Celebrations with Prayers of Joy!
Birthdays: June 23 – Eva Sutherland; 24 – David Duffee; 25 – Stephanie Woodie; 27 – Toby Wilcher; 29 – Olivia Puckett; 30 – Patty Boyce, 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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