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

Ascension Sunday

May 28, 2017             10:30 am 

 
 
Meditation  
Let the links of my shackles snap at every step of thy dance,
   O Lord of Dancing,
and let my heart wake in the freedom of the eternal voice.
Let it feel the touch of that foot that ever sets swinging the
   lotus-seat of the muse,
and with its perfume maddens the air through ages.
Rebellious atoms are subdued into forms at thy dance-time,
the suns and planets, anklets of light, twirl round thy moving feet,
and, age after age, things struggle to wake from dark slumber,
through pain of life, into consciousness,
and the ocean of thy bliss breaks out in tumults of suffering and joy.  
—Rabindranath Tagore

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 O Jesus, I Have Promised K. Lowenberg
¨  Call to Worship
One: Friends, Our Eastertide is drawing to a close.
All: But of resurrection power there is no end.
One: Jesus is lifted up, but not removed from us.
All: And so we praise the one who opens abundant life to us and sends us to be good news throughout the world.
One: Let us worship God in Spirit and in Truth!
¨  Opening Hymn #257 Alleluia! Gracious Jesus! Hyfrydol
¨  Prayer of Approach
One: Giver of power and strength, you take a rag-tag bunch of denying disciples and feckless followers, creating a new community of servants who seek to do your will.
All: Keeper of all time, you are enthroned on the rubble of death’s shattered power, calling us to your side and giving us a new vocation, by which we serve the broken of the communities in which we live.
One: Lord of constant presence and hope, strengthen us so we may never give in while confronted by evil; you continually pray for us that we never quit when faith proves to be more of a challenge than we imagined. Lift your people, Lord, even as you are lifted in the Lord.
¨  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 and joy. 

The Living Word among us

Anthem Sing to the Lord Antonio Vivaldi
Union Church Choir
Sing to the Lord. Heaven and earth rejoice. Sing praises. Heaven and earth rejoice. Sing to the Lord. All heaven and earth rejoice and sing. Hear, O Israel. The Lord is a mighty God. All earth rejoice and sing.
Lesson from Acts of the Apostles Acts 1:6-14
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.
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               John 17:1-11
Sermon      Knowing What We Don’t Know        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                    Simple Gifts D. Wood
¨  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!

Praying it Forward

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 Prayers and Prayers for the Community
Our Lord’s Prayer
One: 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

¨  Closing Hymn  The Kingdom of God Hanover
Postlude Six Preludes on Easter Hymns, III W. Held
Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain
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 Angola and Mozambique and our brothers and sisters at Liberty Avenue Baptist Church in our hearts, and pray for them.
Please hold these concerns in your prayers, today and throughout the week. Prayer requests to be printed may be sent to the office anytime before 10:00 am Fridays.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound:  Ruth Butwell, Edith Hansen, Mary Miller, Alva Peloquin, Gloria VanWinkle.
¨ Prayers of love and support surrounding the Carlberg and Park families in the loss of Steve Park, Shirley’s brother and Hattie’s son. A service will be held here in Cowan Chapel at 2 pm today. 
¨ In sorrow for the death of Betty Kate McLemore Todd, mother of BJ Godby, who passed away Tuesday in Vidalia, Georgia.
¨ Mim Pride, recovering well at home from hip surgery.
¨ Loretta Mountjoy, struggling with several health issues
¨ Waves of comfort and blessing for those who remembering loved ones lost this Memorial Day, especially those who lost their lives in service to communities they loved and cared for. May they rest from their labor and may peace be upon all who remember their lives.
¨ Families in difficulty
Union Church recently became involved in Stephen Ministry.  
     Your Stephen Leaders will seek to provide a “Safe House” for our Stephen Ministers. As you will see in the “Safe House” graphic, the foundation of the Safe House is Grace-Based Acceptance, for both our care-givers and our care-receivers. The walls of the House are built of Listening and Empathy as we all learn, practice, and improve these skills together. The roof of the House is constructed of Confidentiality, essential to a successful Stephens Ministry. And, finally, the door to the House is Trust, the basis of our relationships as Leaders, care-givers (Stephen Ministers) and care-receivers. As you prayerfully consider your own role in this Ministry, be reminded of these words from Colossians 3: “. . . clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience . . . And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Betty Hibler
Berea Leadership Experience – A Camp for Building Bridges of Peace and Resolving Conflict.  Registration for The Berea Leadership Experience is now open!  It’s a weeklong camp for kids ages 6-13 that is designed to help kids develop skills of transforming conflict into community.
We’re using a curriculum that helps kids learn to build peace through Mindfulness, Connecting with Nature, Media Literacy, and Conflict Resolution.
   Here are the details: Berea Leadership Experience will be July 24th-28th, 9am-3pm at the Berea Friends Meeting House. Kids ages 6-13 are invited to be campers, and teenagers older than 13 are invited to be Junior Counselors. The cost is very low: $75 per student, and up to half of the campers can receive scholarships of $50 to make it even more affordable. Register them here: www.union-church.org/ble
    Want to help?  

• Could you sponsor a kid through a donation? $10 pays for a t-shirt; $50 will pay for a scholarship; $100 pays for a Counselor; $200 pays for a teacher; $500 pays for the curriculum! (Go to www.union-church.org/donate, click on “Give Online” and choose “Berea Leadership Experience” in the drop-down box.)

Questions? Please contact the camp director, Kim Kobersmith kim.kobersmith@gmail.com.
    Thanks for helping this dream come true!
    Your BLE Steering Committee: Jeff From, Jenny Hobson, Rachel Small Stokes, and Kim Kobersmith
Pentecost is June 4! Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit 40 days after Easter. Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian church. Before Jesus was crucified, he told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come after him:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16–18
And 40 days after Jesus was resurrected (10 days after he ascended into heaven), that promise was fulfilled when Peter and the early Church were in Jerusalem for Pentecost:  “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:1–4
Next Sunday -Wear RED! Stay for Lunch, a Pupusa Party for Pentecost! Come join us for good food to support a good cause – a pupusa (stuffed corn tortillas) party! Alejandra Sanchez de Rosales will cook! Tyler Thompson will play music & there will be a short presentation about CoCoDa (Companion Community Development Alternatives). Suggested $10 donation.
The community of Berea has long supported grassroots work in El Salvador. In 2013, a team of Bereans went to learn and support the building of a community school in El Roble. We worked with community members to clear the space and work on the school began after we left. However, the increase in violence in El Salvador led to fewer delegations and construction has slowed. Sadly, the children of El Roble still walk by the half complete school each day on their walk to the school in Palo Grande.
The entire project will take just $8,000 to complete. Can we raise $1,000 of that with this lunch together?
Peacecraft Needs Volunteers. Do you love pretty things and helping empower people throughout the world? Peacecraft is looking for volunteers to help in the store for several shifts throughout the week.  Peacecraft is a nonprofit Fair Trade gift store on College Square that works to promote peace through economic justice. Their staff is almost all volunteer. Find out more at 859-986-7441, peacecraftinberea@windstream.net, or by stopping in the store at 128 Main St.
House Concert Saturday June 10, with award-winning singer-songwriter Tret Fure at the home of Barbara Prairie, 314 Jackson Street. Doors open at 7:30 pm, showtime 8:00, suggested donation $15. 
Godspell coming, Hosts needed! 11 Hosts for ONE NIGHT Lodging needed June 16! Godspell will be performed at Union Church on June 16 at 7 pm by Elation, a youth choir from St. Stephen United Methodist Church in Mesquite, Texas.  Church Member Amy Williams was part of Elation and is bringing this blessing to us!  We will provide dinner for the choir at 5 pm the day of the performance and housing for choir members and chaperones that night.  Hosts are asked to provide breakfast the following day and get the guests back to Union Church.  Beds are a plus but not required; choir members and chaperones will have sleeping bags. If you can help with hosting, please contact Amy Williams at 859-358-1836 or amy_williams75204 @hotmail.com .  If you can help with food, please contact Sue Peterson Blyth at 859-328-3805 or sweetsue49@gmail.com .
FYI Elizabeth Barrett is helping with Directory updates. She may give you a call to confirm your info. Thank you, Elizabeth! We’d like to print June 1 (copier permitting). If you don’t like your current photo, or need to change info, send it today to office@union-church.org. Thanks!
We are sad to report the impending demise of our copier/printer (parts are on order but the prognosis is grim). If you need copies, the public library has a copier and we’ll have a new one soon-ish.
Help Wanted.  We have an ongoing need for volunteers to help with Sunday services.  Can you be a worship reader, greeter, coffee angel, etc.?   For details go to the church website, union-church.org and click on “Volunteer” near the upper right corner (or talk to Doug Hindman).
2017 Summer Music Program: Ready to try something new this summer?? Union Church has some wonderful musical opportunities for you to do so! We have crafted yet another wonderful summer program geared at those who want to make music!  Please check out our link (https://union-church.org/the-arts/summer-music-program/) to find out all of the great things we have! Programs include:

• Summer Choir
• Beginning Handbell Opportunities
• Handbell Workshops
• Community Hymn Sing
• Share-YOUR-Music Sunday
• Beginning Music Theory Bootcamp
• August Guest Musicians
• Music Ministries Picnic

June Summer Music:

• June 11: Summer Choir, 9:30am
• June 18: Summer Choir, 9:30am
• June 21: Handbell Anthem Rehearsal, 7:00pm, Sanctuary
• June 25: Handbell Anthem in Worship, 9:30am