A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union
March 16, 2025 10:30 am
The Second Sunday of Lent
Meditation
“And then the day came,
when the risk
to remain tight
in a bud
was more painful
than the risk
it took
to blossom.” ~ Anaïs Nin
From There to Here: We Gather
Prelude
Welcome
Welcome to this service of worship! 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! During the service, you are invited to rise in body or in spirit, standing or sitting, at points in the service marked “<>.”
Invocation
¨ The Call Steve Gowler, Reader
One: Come as you are.
All: If you have deep faith or your faith has run dry,
One: if you know every scripture or none at all,
All: if you have calloused hands and live your faith through good works,
One: or if you kneel at God’s feet, with a million hungry questions,
All: come as you are. This is God’s house.
One: None are turned away.
All: All are welcome here.
¨ Hymn #286 Sprit, Spirit of Gentleness Spirit
Refrain: Spirit, Spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness calling and free, Spirit, Spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness, wind, wind on the sea.
1 You moved on the waters, you called to the deep, then you coaxed up the mountains from the valleys of sleep; and over the eons you called to each thing: “Awake from your slumbers and rise on your wings.”
2 You swept through the desert, you stung with the sand, and you goaded your people with a law and a land; when they were confounded by their idols and lies, then you spoke through your prophets to open their eyes.
3 You sang in a stable, you cried from a hill, then you whispered in silence when the whole world was still; and down in the city you called once again, when you blew through your people on the rush of the wind.
4 You call from tomorrow, you break ancient schemes from the bondage of sorrow the captives dream dreams; our women see visions, our men clear their eyes. With bold new decisions your people arise.
¨ Prayer of Confession (unison)
God of Grace, we long to do the “right” thing. We long to make the “right” choice. We long to stand on the “right” side of the dividing line.
In our earnestness, we sometimes miss the sacred right in front of us. In our earnestness, we sometimes miss opportunities to show love.
Show us how to hold our heart’s desire for perfection loosely. Show us how to lead with grace and love, over anything else.
For even more than our desire to be right, we desire to be close to you. Show us the way. Amen.
¨ Words of Grace
One: Faithful friends, God knows your heart. When you mean well and lose your way, God knows. When you try to do the right thing and miss the point, God knows. When you long to be close to God, and doubt your worth, God knows.
You are seen. You are loved. You are forgiven. You have been sent to serve. This is the good news of the gospel! Nothing can separate you from God’s love. Thanks be to God! Amen.
¨ 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 x x Union Church Choirx
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.
Sung Psalm #15 p. 627
The psalms were originally musical compositions. During Lent we will pray the psalms in musical form. You are invited to sing the response when invited, at the “R” if using the hymnal.
Scripture Reading Luke 10:38-42
Now while they were on their way, Jesus entered a village [called Bethany], and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was continually listening to His teaching.
But Martha was very busy and distracted with all of her serving responsibilities; and she approached Him and said, “Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part.”
But the Lord replied to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen that which is to her advantage, which will not be taken away from her.”
Video Reflection
A chance to take in what we have heard.
Sermon Everything [in] Between – a Viso Divina: Faith [and] Works Rev. Christina Ryan Perkins
Singing Together Breathe, Listen, and Notice Paul Vasile
Living 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.
Offertory
Embodied Prayer
You are invited to reflect and pray at the candle table. There are artistic reflection opportunities at stations around the sanctuary. Please join us in our collaborative art. You may also choose to source the essential ingredient of solitude and private prayer, remaining with your own thoughts in your pew.
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 Old Hundredth
To God all glorious heavenly Light, To Christ revealed in earthly night, To God the Spirit now we raise Our joyful songs of thankful praise. Amen.
Silent Prayers and Prayers of the Community Steve Gowler, Reader
One: Loving God, when our anxiety hovers close, when fear clings to our bones, when our stress rises like the tide, see us. Speak to us. Call us by name.
See us in the kitchen, in the classroom, in the hospital waiting room. Speak to us in the quiet, in the crowd, in the inky black of night. Call us beloved. Call us by name. Call us your child. Whatever you do, speak to us, for we cannot live on bread alone. And so we turn to you, praying the prayer you taught us…
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 God of the Women Slane
Reprinted with permission using OneLicense #A-723786
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
This week, as we celebrate “Elimination of Racial Discrimination Day,” let us acknowledge that this is an aspiration that has not yet been accomplished in our country. At a time when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives are under attack, our justice candle today honors President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 affirmative action executive order 10925 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (proposed by Kennedy and passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson) that represented some of the earliest DEI initiatives. Affirmative action required that federal contractors treat applicants and employees equal without regard for race, creed, color, or national origin.
The Civil Rights Act, born of the great personal sacrifice and good trouble of the Civil Rights Movement, prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, sex, color and national origin, and banned segregation in public places, such as schools.
The Joy of Welcoming New Members
Partnership & Purpose
Today presents an opportunity to covenant together! All who would like to are welcome to join the church family – you will be received in joy.
Questions of the Congregation and New Members
¨ Covenant of Welcome
And we, the members and faithful friends 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.
¨ Sending Forth
One: The world will try to rank, rate, and declare winners, but we know love has no limit. So with God’s help, may we nurture our faith and do good work. Amen.
During Lent we depart to serve without a postlude as a kind of “fasting” from our regular routine. Please join for fellowship downstairs where coffee, tea, and light refreshments await.
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 Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; and our brothers and sisters at Wallace Chapel 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, and prayers that the cease-fire will hold.
¨ 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.
¨ All those suffering from mental strain, trauma, and disease, and those who care and worry for them: may God soothe and heal all who are troubled.
¨ Our Kentucky neighbors, recovering from the devastation of flooding.
¨ We pray for our country, and those who are directly affected by the actions and inaction of our government to address the needs of its people and the world.
¨ Members and Friends who need safer housing and income security.
¨ JoAnn Russell, Reda Hutton’s aunt, facing several medical challenges.
¨ The Guild family as Will continues his struggle with brain cancer and stroke.
¨ Muse Watson, recovering at home from surgery
¨ Rev. Kent’s cousin, Kathy, undergoing chemotherapy for esophageal cancer.
¨ Ally Nurre, having some complications from a recent knee replacement.
¨ Kelly Mehler, awaiting the next phase of treatment for lymphoma.
¨ Barb Taylor’s son, David, undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
¨ Dodie Murphy asks for prayers as she sees a kidney specialist for an ongoing illness.
¨ The Shaffer family, at the death of Carol Shaffer, widow of Rev. Bob, who passed in 2022, and a beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. The family will gather privately at this time.
¨ Meg Suters, who has had a minor stroke, and for her daughter, Ellen, caring for her.
¨ Rev. Christina’s family: her brother-in-law, Jamie, with stage 4 cancer and his wife, her sister Veronica. They’ve got two small children.
¨ Celebrations with Prayers of Joy!
Birthdays: March 16 – Pete Campbell, Peter Haik, Sarah Vaugh; 18 – Landen Doring Zook; 19 – EJ Stokes, Laura Bellnier; 22 – Carla Gilbert
Congratulations to Robert and Mariah Melton, son and daughter-in-law of Jeff & Jennifer Melton – married on March 12!
If we haven’t got your important dates, let us know. We’ll help you get connected in FellowshipOne Go!
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