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

Consecration Sunday

October 28, 2018       10:30 am

Meditation
In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, And sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things The Heart finds its morning and is refreshed.        ― Kahlil Gibran

From there to Here: We Gather

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 Miracle Justin Levitt
If you have ever witnessed a miracle, it is something that sticks with you forever. This piece reflects the emotions felt when trying to understand such an event.
The Call from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Prayer for Approach, Confession & Release
¨  Hymn  For Everyone Born  (next pages) Everyone Born
¨  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 hospitality.

The Living Word among us

Anthem      The God of Love My Shepherd Is       based on St. Columba
Union Church Choir               setting by John Ness Beck
The God of love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never, I nothing lack if I am God’s and God is mine forever. Where streams of living water flow my ransomed soul God leadeth, and where the verdant pastures grow, with food celestial feedeth.
In death’s dark vale I fear no ill with Thee, dear Lord, beside me; Thy rod and staff my comfort still, Thy cross before to guide me.
And so through all the length of days Thy goodness faileth never; Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise within Thy house forever.
Lesson from Psalms Psalm 34:1-12 (p. 668)
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 the Children’s Moment, children kindergarten through 5th grade are invited to Children’s Church in Cowan Chapel. They are also welcome to stay in the service if they prefer. The Children’s Worship Center in the back of the sanctuary has toys, books, and drawing materials for children (or parents) who would like help staying present in the service. For children preschool age & under, care is available in the Nursery, downstairs in Room 104 off the playground.
Gospel Lesson  Mark 10:46-52 (p. 1210)
On their way into Jericho, Jesus and his disciples are confronted by a blind beggar who asks for healing.
Sermon True Generosity  Rev. Kent Gilbert

Living Prayer

Prayers in Action and Reflections
You are invited to reflect and pray, either in your pew or at one or more of the 4 stations.  Some suggested prayer direction is printed below.  You are also free to choose to rest in private prayer, remaining with your own thoughts and in your pew.
Prayer in Action Reflections

True Generosity Means Giving One’s Self. It’s possible to give outwardly but not give of the heart. It’s possible to cling too tightly, so that our outward generosity does not match our inner generosity of spirit. It’s also possible to give of ourselves to the unhealthy point of not having much self left. Where on this (constantly moving) spectrum do you feel yourself to be right now? Are you where you want to be, or do you wish to move; if so, in which direction, and how can you begin that movement? By the peace bell, add salt for those things you regret or sorrow over.

True Generosity can be Hindered by Blind Spots of the Spirit. By definition, blind spots are, well, blind! If you’re human, you likely have one or more. How can you discover and recognize blindness in yourself? What have you done in the past if someone pointed out a blind spot to you? What, if anything, should you do if you notice what seems to be a blind spot in someone else? On the piano side, try on a blindfold and consider how blindness—and restoration of sight—feel.

Restoration Station If you’ve discovered blindness in yourself, or if your sight has been restored: If you’ve realized a stinginess you didn’t know was there, or you are rejoicing in the blessing of giving: If you just want to celebrate human connection: Come to the back to give and get restoring hugs!

Our Offering
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.
Many friends give online, and you can use your smart phone or computer and go to www.easytithe.com/union. You don’t have to register to make a contribution, but if you do, it can make future generosity that much easier. You can even give by text! Text to 859-448-3403 (Example: Text “$50.00 Offering)
Your contribution is love made visible. Thank you!
Musical Meditation
When invited, please join in singing “God Our Author and Creator”  page 530 in the Black Hymnal
God our Author and Creator, in whose life we find our own, make our daily witness greater by our lives make your love known. Help us show how love embraces those whom fear and greed downtrod; in all yearning hearts and faces let us see a child of God.
Prayer of Consecration & Our Lord’s Prayer
One: Lord of our hearts, make ready our lives to be generous, caring, active bearers of your light.
All: Help us to Live Generously in all we do.
One: May you bless these hopes…
All: Bless these hopes!
One: May you bless these gifts…
All: Bless these gifts!
One: That we might be a blessing in your name:
All: With all we give, with all we do, with all whom we gather, here and through all the world.
One: Consecrate and make powerful every card and pledge, every generous act, that we may boldly and creatively embody the life and ministry of your Son, holding out life and light in his name.
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

¨  Hymn #565 Black God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending Austrian Hymn
¨ The Sending and Blessing
Postlude (please be seated) Giga Ludovico Giustini
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 The Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and our brothers and sisters at Bearwallow Pentecostal Holiness 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.
¨ Children in detention centers, that they may be reunited with their families soon.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound: Ruth Butwell, Edith Hansen, Nancy Hindman, Loyal Jones, Mary Miller, Alva Peloquin.
¨ Dan Rohrer, with  a severe liver disorder.
¨ Emily Spires, daughter of Randy Stone, diagnosed with breast cancer.
¨ Tina Parker, diagnosed with breast cancer.
¨ Ellen Mink is recovering well from her second knee replacement. She could use some help with meals. Please use this link: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/o397qd.
¨ Judy Rowell, at the death of her sister, Gertrude Martino, in Texas. She was 96.
¨ The Bolster family, at the death of Steve’s father, Stan Bolster.
Justice Candle. Today we light the Justice Candle for Jim Webb, a pioneering Appalachian voice for land justice, beginning with his work countering strip-mining, and continuing with his infamous essays, poetry, and broadcast work with WMMT, Appalshop, and other media outlets.
A fantastic storyteller, and an indefatigable voice against mountain-top removal and other scourges, he worked his whole life trying to make sure that the dignity of both the people and land of Appalachia were respected and preserved.
Announcements
You Matter! Please Sign the Register, Check in on Facebook/Twitter and try a nametag! It’s hard to get to know people elsewhere, but we don’t want it that way at church.  Let’s all try to get to know each other better.
Learn more about the church today! Come One, Come All! Each fourth Sunday of the month anyone wanting to know more about Union Church or wanting to explore church membership, are invited to come to the Classroom and join in conversation with the Community Life and Growth Board after worship.
This afternoon Planned Parenthood of Indiana & Kentucky invites everyone to an afternoon of refreshments and conversation about reproductive justice and the importance of increasing access to care in the community. Please join the staff and President & CEO, Christie Gillespie, to discuss the growth of tele-medicine and contraceptive access and how that affects Berea. 3-5 pm, in the Community Room.
Coalition for Homelessness meeting in the community room of City Hall today at 2 pm.  For more information, please contact Emily LaDouceur at 859-694-0533 or email at emilyforberea@gmail.com.
Beginning, Monday Church member David Parks will offer Zen teaching: Meditation, Koans, Conversation on Mondays beginning Oct. 29, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, Cowan Chapel. No experience necessary, all welcome. Experience the beauty of Zen, hearts opening to life just as it is.
Wednesday Nite Live menu for Halloween: Soups are black (black bean & sausage), orange (carrot & tomato) and green (spinach & rice), breads are black (pumpernickel), yellow (cornbread) and brown (rolls), and the salad is spinach & sweet potato.  Citrus salad, Halloween candy and cookies for dessert. Next week: POTLUCK for the first Weds. of the month. Then it’s soup season! Cooks needed, see clipboard in the vestibule.
The Berea College Christmas Concert will be Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 here at Union Church. Tickets are $5 each, maximum of 4 per person, available online only. We will share the link when we receive it (projected to be on Nov. 1).
Two Hundred Strong: a Choral-Orchestral Collaboration. November 4, 3:00 pm, sancturay, in honor of the Spring, 2019 Retirement of Dr. Stephen Bolster.
Five musical ensembles from three regional colleges/universities will be joining the Berea College Concert Choir in a collaborative performance in Union Church.
The Asbury University Chorale, Vicki Bell, conductor; and the Centre College Choir, Johann Van Niekirk, conductor will form a 140-voice choir along with the Berea College Concert Choir, Stephen Bolster, conductor.  The Asbury University Orchestra, Nathan Miller, conductor, and the Centre College Orchestra, Robert J. Seebacher, conductor will join forces to form a 60-member orchestral ensemble to perform sections of the Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky, and will also accompany the choirs on the centerpiece of the program, the Schicksalslied, Op. 54 (Song of Destiny) of Johannes Brahms, conducted by Stephen Bolster.
Professor Bolster will also conduct the massed choirs on “I’m gonna sing ‘til the spirit moves in my heart,” a stirring African-American spiritual arranged by Moses Hogan. Collaborative pieces conducted by the other conductors include Laudate pueri from the Vesperae solemnes de confessore by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, David Pegel’s anthem “Keep watch, Dear Lord,” Ecce sacerdos magnus by Anton Bruckner, and Indondana, a South African song.
Resilient kids, connected parents Parenting Classes Wednesdays in November (7th, 14th, 28th)! Come to a three-week group at Wednesday Night Live to support each other in the hard work of nurturing children in the 21st century. When we first have our children, it’s tempting to think that the job will get easier as our children sleep through the night, get out of diapers, and get past the tantrum stage. In reality, we find that each age and stage presents challenges and struggles, and we need support! Led by Jenny Hobson from our Faith Development Board, this group will use excerpts from the work of Daniel Siegel and Tina Bryson as a jumping-off point to support each other and learn new strategies for dealing with the challenges that face our growing kids. Siegel and Bryson are pioneers in using new knowledge about neuroscience to craft everyday, practical strategies to help children become balanced, resilient, insightful, and empathetic. 6:30 -7:30pm on Wednesday, after the meal, on November 7th, 14th, and 28th. Childcare is provided. Call or text Jenny with questions or to sign up: 859-893-1075 or jennyhobsonschoice@gmail.com.
 
You may have noticed some mobiles of piano hammers hanging around the church! These mobiles have been made from the hammers taken out of our grand piano during its renovation this past summer.  If you are interested, please take one.  We are asking for a donation of $25 that will be credited to account Organ Fund. Make a note on any donation that it is for the mobile and checks can be made out to Union Church. Thanks, and enjoy!
Pick up your Directory in the vestibule or the office. PDFs available for the asking.
Betty Wray is having a birthday (11/11) and we want to celebrate her! Come to a special birthday coffee hour after worship on Nov. 11. Call Sarah Miller if you can bring something sweet! 859-544-3873.
Meals for Jennie Kiteck. Friends, if you or your children ever played strings with Jennie Kiteck, now might be a nice time to reconnect briefly. She’s not doing much cooking these days and Union Church has set up a MealTrain to provide a home-cooked meal for her once a week on Friday evenings. She is an adventurous eater and does a great job washing up your containers! Use this MealTrain link: https://mealtrain.com/dwkg44
Please Sign up to Read Scripture or to Help Greet and Usher!  Please use our electronic sign up system, http://signup. com/go/xkdVtB, where you can pick a date that works for you and get reminders!  OR you can also call the office and we’ll get you on the lists.