A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union
Sixth Sunday of Easter Celebration of the Lord’s Supper May 5, 2013
Meditation
To be converted is to commit oneself to the process of the poor and oppressed, to commit oneself lucidly, realistically, and concretely. It means to commit oneself not only generously, but also with an analysis of the situation and a strategy of action. To be converted is to know and experience the fact that, contrary to the laws of physics, we can stand straight, according to the gospel, only when our center of gravity is outside ourselves.
— Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation, 1973
Gathering to Worship
Welcome and Announcements
Prelude This Joyful Eastertide (Vruechten) Wilbur Held
* Call to Worship (based on Revelation 22, written by Nancy C. Townley on ministrymatters.com)
One: Come, one and all. Gather together! For this is the day of the Lord!
All: Let’s gather at the river by the throne of God! For there is blessing forever!
One: From the throne of God flows a mighty river of peace and hope for all God’s people!
All: And there shall be rejoicing at the sight of the healing waters!
One: Our journey brings us to God’s wondrous river of Life!
All: Praise be to God who has drawn us from darkness and filled our world with light.
One: Let us praise, and let us sing!
* Opening Hymn #597 Black Shall We Gather at the River Hanson Place
* Passing the Peace of Christ
All who come to this sanctuary are welcome companions on this day. Please turn to those nearest you and greet them with words of peace.
Hearing the Word
Anthem If Ye Love Me Thomas Tallis
Union Church Choir
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, And he shall give you another comforter. That he may bide with you forever, E’en the spirit of truth. John 14:15-17
Gospel Lesson John 14:23-29 (p. 1305)
“Those who love me keep my commandments,” says Jesus as he speaks of his believers’ relationship to the glorified Christ.
Children’s Moment
Following Children’s Moment, child care for ages kindergarten & under is available in the Nursery, downstairs off the Community Room, and Children’s Church for kids ages 5-8 is available in Room 104. The activities provided acquaint the children with the structure of the regular service in a way that engages them and encourages their participation. Children’s Church is staffed by Anna Kate McWhorter, and parents who wish to accompany their children are very welcome.
This Sunday, we celebrate our children who are rising up to fourth grade and beyond. These children are graduating into “Big Church,” an opportunity to participate more fully in the worshipping life of the congregation. We invite you, when signaled, to participate in the following blessing for these children:
Though you are leaving one comfortable space, Here is another. We welcome you. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Peace we give to you. You bring many gifts to us, And we are eager to receive them. God is in your hearts, And God is here, too. Welcome to worship. Amen.
As the children return to their seats we sing:
Acclamation Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks Donald Fishel
Lesson from Acts Acts 16:9-15 (p. 1343)
Paul sees a man in a dream, who convinces him to come to Macedonia, where he brings about the conversion Lydia, who offers him and his companion hospitality.
Sermon Visions of Home Rev. Rachel Small Stokes
Hymn #349 Black I Come with Joy Dove of Peace
OFFERING OUR GIFTS
Offertory Trio Ludwig Krebs
* Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise God all creatures here below;
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise God above, ye heavenly host; Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
* Prayer of Thanksgiving
Responding to God’s Love in Communion
* Invitation to Communion
One: May God be with you!
All: And also with you!
One: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up to God.
One: Let us give thanks to God.
All: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
One: Jesus sat with all sorts, the many different colors of humanity, but mainly those excluded, and broke bread.
One: So along with everyone the world has turned its back on, along with everyone hungry, and everyone hungry for justice and truth, along with everyone abused as stranger and foreigner, along with everyone who does not fit “normal,” along with everyone who questions, doubts, and even denies, along with every prejudice that has ever been flung, along with every one made poor by other’s riches, you, you and I, are welcomed at this table.
One: Let us pray…
[please be seated]
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
One: As we prepare to gather around your table, God, we are humbled. We are reminded of your holiness, and chastened by your greatness. And then, we remember too this prayer by Thomas Merton:
All: Everything that is, is holy…
One: A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be, it is obeying Him…The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him. This particular tree will give glory to God by spreading out its roots in the earth and raising its branches into the air and the light in a way that no other tree before or after it ever did or will do…The special clumsy beauty of this particular colt on this April day in this field under these clouds is a holiness consecrated to God by His own creative wisdom and it declares the glory of God. The pale flowers of the dogwood outside this window are saints. The little yellow flowers that nobody notices on the edge of that road are saints looking up into the face of God.
All: …Everything that is, is holy.
One: This leaf has its own texture and its own pattern of veins and its own holy shape, and the bass and trout hiding in the deep polls of the river are canonised by their beauty and their strength.
The lakes hidden among the hills are saints, and the sea too is a saint who praises God without interruption in her majestic dance. The great, gashed, half-naked mountain is another of God’s saints. There is no other like him. He is alone in his own character; nothing else in the world ever did or ever will imitate God in quite the same way. That is his sanctity.
For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self.
All: …Everything that is, is holy.
Communion Prayer
One: And so, O God, as you sit with us at table, remind us again of our holiness, and the holiness of those around us. Remind us of the sanctity of this bread and this cup.
All: You who created all with love and in love. You, who gave all with love and in love.
One: Remind us how you offered bread to those who came to tell of your love, even when they might not have known the full picture.
One: Remind us how you slaked the thirst of those who feared your peace would leave them when they could no longer see you.
One: Remind us how you refreshed even those who had sinned hard and heavy, with new life and new hope.
All: Remind us how to love the things you love, to serve the peoples of your heart.
One: Great God, may these acts of breaking and sharing be the act of your reigning, bringing all people to your grace, gathering every disciple in every time and place, every follower no matter how hesitant, to the place of grace and service.
One: Remind us, as we sing, that everything that is, is holy.
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.
Words of Institution
One: So many times Jesus fed us: In pastures, in houses, at banquets, while teaching…in the boat, at the well, in the upper room, on the road when we didn’t know him, and in the room when we were afraid…
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: Therefore, Holy God, we remember, and we cry for your Spirit.
Enliven this bread, awaken this body, pour us out for each other.
Transfigure our minds, ignite your church, nourish the life of the earth.
One: Make us, while many, united.
Make us, though broken, whole.
Make us, despite death, alive.
All: Come, Holy Spirit!
One: Come and bless to us this bread and cup, that those who are hungry may be fed, and that those who are fed may hunger for justice in Christ’s name.
All: Amen.
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, and as your reflect on your communion, you are invited to sing with us.
Communion Music Prelude on “Ave Verum Corpus” W. A. Mozart
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
Walking Forward in Faith
* Hymn #308 Black At the Font Westminster Abbey
* Benediction & Sending Forth
Postlude O Sons and Daughters of the King (O Fili et Filae) Frank Speller
_____________________________
* All are invited to rise or rise in spirit as you are able and willing
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 Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda and our brothers and sisters at First Baptist Church of Berea at Middletown in your hearts, and pray for them. Please also hold these concerns in your prayers today and throughout the week.
* Those in harm’s way in the service of our country.
* Bill Stolte, recovering at Cardinal Hill from tearing ligaments in his legs
* Joan Bates, recovering from knee replacement surgery
* Sarah Stopenhagen Broomfield and the family, at the death of her mother Nancy Stopenhagen, in Cincinnati. Sarah is at 511 Center St.
* Maurice Hibbard, recovering from knee replacement.
* Toby Wilcher, recovering at home.
* Anne Thomasson, having some health problems.
* Dorothy Chao, recovering well from breast cancer surgery in Tucson.
* Joan Moore, happily recuperating at home!
* Paul Wells, recovering from heart surgery at home.
* Whitney Louise Wellinghurst, who was born at 25 weeks on December 8, weighing 1 pound, 7 ounces, now weighs over 7 pounds! Whitney is now at home! Please hold the family in prayer as Whitney faces some serious health challenges.
* Abi Dietz, who is now in rehab in Philadelphia. Cards may be sent care of her mom, Georgina Bard, 403 Edge Hill Rd., Glenside, PA, 19038. Abi is showing some small signs of improvement!!
* Edith Hansen, at The Terrace.
* Shirley Dean, on hospice care for lung cancer.
* Ruth Wesley, at The Terrace.
Announcements…
May 8, 12:00 noon: Special Event regarding Climate Change, Community Room:
• the unprecedented retreat of Arctic sea ice
• the near-total surface layer melt of the Greenland ice cap
• the Colorado Springs wildfire
• the midwestern drought
• the mile-high Arizona dust-storm
• Hurricane Sandy
For nationally celebrated authors and teachers Connie Barlow and Rev. Michael Dowd evidence of the speed and magnitude of human-caused climate disturbance became undeniable in 2012, clarifying it, for them, as the fundamental moral issue of our time.
Michael and Connie’s fresh and extemporaneous storytelling explores how last year’s climate-change news and statistics rocked them out of complacency and offers an invitation for program participants to make a similar shift in their outlook and priorities.
Through their personal “waking up” story, Connie and Michael share a frank overview of the challenges of global-warming while also offering opportunities for hope and suggestions for action.
As members of the generation in power, Michael and Connie exhort their fellow “boomers” to awaken to the “generational injustice” that will become our sad legacy if we continue address climate change with a business as usual mentality.
This event is brought to you by Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light and Union Church.
Congregational Meeting May 15. As a congregation, we adopted a Provisional 2013 Budget at the December 12, 2012, Congregational Meeting with the understanding that it would be revisited in May, 2013. That meeting has been set for May 15, 2013, after WNL supper. At this meeting we will also review the Constitutional changes that have been proposed and circulated, and vote upon their adoption. Copies of the Budget (provisional as presented in December and updated) and Constitution (old versions and updated) are available.
Union Church is a place where your faith can grow and deepen. We are actively looking for those who would like to explore discipleship with Jesus in this congregation. If you’d like to formally join Union Church, please call the office or either pastor. YOU are welcome here!
You Matter! Please sign in on the Pew folders which will be passed in your row, with the last person taking out the sheet and placing it in the offering plate. Thank you.
Parents Meeting about Camp: All parents of youth who are attending Passport Camp this summer (July 7-13) should attend a meeting at 6:00 on Tuesday May 21st at the church.
The Mission & Service Board and CELTS thank you for your attendance at A Place at the Table about hunger in America. Together we generated many letters to our members of Congress and senators in Washington, D.C. Today after church, will you take a few minutes to write a letter to our Madison County representatives about hunger in Madison County? In the back of the sanctuary we have paper, envelopes, stamps and a sample letter based on good Kentucky data and A Place at the Table. Let’s work toward a world where none of God’s children go hungry.
Letter Carrier Food Drive May 11. Please join your Berea letter carriers to feed the less fortunate in your community. On Saturday, May 11, simply place non-perishable food items on or near your mailbox. Your letter carrier will deliver your mail, collect your food donation, and get the food the Food Bank. Thank you for your kindness. Together, we deliver! (This food drive, happening nationwide on May 11, is a service project of the National Association of Letter Carriers).
Last week of Exhibit! More than a dozen church members are represented in the “Community and Young at Art Show” that has been hung at the Berea Arts Council on Main Street. One member is a sponsor for the exhibition that will remain up until May 11.
Save the Date! Vacation Bible School will be June 2-5th, from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm, with supper included. The Faith Development Board would like to offer classes and learning experiences for adults as well as children during this time. If you have something you’ve been hankering to lead for a night (or four nights), please contact Rev. Rachel.
Food Labyrinth June 2! Please bring non-perishable food to church May 19 to be used in the Food Labyrinth on June 2.
Tuesday Coffee, Bagels, and Church Fixes: Come One Come All… Tuesday 8:30-Noon – Come join for whatever time you can in fellowship and helping with minor repairs, etc. There will be job opportunities for people of all skill levels.
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