A Service of Word and Sacrament for the Ordination of Les Small Stokes

January 6, 2019 Union Church 4:00pm

Meditation
May you grow still enough to hear the small noises earth makes in preparing for the long sleep of winter, so that you yourself may grow calm and grounded deep within. May you grow still enough to hear the trickling of water seeping into the ground, so that your soul may be softened and healed, guided in its flow. May you grow still enough to hear the splintering of starlight in the winter sky and the roar at earth’s fiery core. May you grow still enough to hear the stir of a single snowflake in the air so that your inner silence may turn into hushed expectation.
Peace….. the angel announced. But peace is as much task as gift. Only if we become calm as earth, fluid as water, and blazing as fire will we be able to rise to the task of peacemaking, and the air will stir with the rush of wings of angels arriving to help us. This is why I wish you that great inner stillness which alone allows us to speak, even today, without irony of “peace on earth” and, without despair, to work for it.
— Brother David Steindalrast

Gathering The Body

Prelude  Christmas Music Al, Alice & Ruth
Welcome Rev. Kent Gilbert
¨  Processional Hymn #181 Black  You Are Salt for the Earth, O People Bring Forth
¨  Call to Worship
One:   Jerusalem, stand up! Shine! Your new day is dawning.
All:    The glory of the Lord shines brightly on us.
One: Open your eyes! Look around!
All:    God of galaxies and spinning solar systems, awaken us to radical amazement. Help us to experience your wisdom in      the micro world and the macro world; help us grow in reverence  for life in all its manifestations. Amen.
¨  Invocation
All:       Companion of All Creation, wake us up. Give us greater sensitivity to your hidden presence in all things. Help us to     go beyond the surfaces of life to experience the holiness of  life, and encounter all things with reverence and care. Amen.

Encountering the Word

Hebrew Scripture Lesson  Isaiah 60:1-6 Rev. Rachel Small Stokes
Gospel Lesson Matthew 2:10-12 Rev. Diana Hultgren
Sermon Lift Up, Roundabout, Thine Eyes; and See Rev. Kurt Shaffert
Special Music Children, Go Where I Send Thee Al, Alice & Ruth

Rite of Ordination

Greeting Rev. Toni Hawkins,  Bluegrass UCC Association Representative
One: Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come,  and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness and the sovereign of the rulers on earth.
The Kentuckiana Association of the Indiana-Kentucky Conference of the United Church of Christ greets you in the name of Jesus Christ, the head of the church.
All: To God, who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all the we ask or think, be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
Presentation
Local Church Representative Rev. Kent H. Gilbert,  The Church of Christ, Union
The Calling Body Representative     Rev. Dr. Frank Woggon,  University of Louisville Hospital
Association Representative Rev. Toni Hawkins,   Bluegrass UCC
 Exhortation Rev. Hawkins
Hear these words from the prophet Isaiah: I heard the voice of the Holy One saying,  “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me!” How wonderful it is to see a messenger coming  across the mountains, bringing good news,  the news of peace! The messenger announces  victory and says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The Spirit of God is upon me, God is upon me, because the Holy One has anointed me to bring  good news to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to those who are bound.
Examination
Acclamation
Official delegates of the association (clergy and others so designated)   who are able may stand.
Association Representative:                                                                       
People of God, you have heard the promises Les Small Stokes has made.    What is your will?
Association Members:
By the grace of God, she is worthy! Let us ordain her. Come, Holy Spirit.
Association Representative:                                                                       
Will you support Les Small Stokes in the ministry of Christ?
Association Members:
We will.
Laying on of Hands
Hymn   Brightest and Best Kentucky Folk Hymn Al, Alice & Ruth, Deborah Payne, Fiddle
Please remain seated for verses. On the final chorus all are invited to surround the ordinand for the laying on of hands. Clergy and family are invited to form an inner ring. Others, then, please gently lay hands on the shoulders of those in front of you.
Association Representative:   
The laying on of hands is the symbolic act whereby the church in every age recognizes God’s call to God’s call to ministry in the lives of faithful women and men and asks the Holy Spirit to confer on them gifts for ordained ministry.
Prayer of Consecration     Rev. Chad Abbot, Conference Minister, Indiana-Kentucky Conference of the United Church of Christ
The Declaration         The newly ordained minister may rise.
Association Representative:                                                                      
…You are granted ordained ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ; and in behalf of its people, we offer you the hand of Christian love!
People:
Amen! Thanks be to God!
Exchange of Symbols and Gifts

The Meal

¨  Invitation to Communion    
One:      God is with You!
All:       And also with you!
One:      Let us open our hearts to the Spirit of Christ, born a long time ago, and born again today, in our lives.
All: We open our hearts to God, the Christ birthing now in our loves, and to one another – precious embodiments of your creation.
One: We give thanks.
All: We thank God with joy.
Confession  (unison)
Jesus is God’s “yes” to the world. Jesus’ ministry invites us to say “yes” to our becoming God’s healing partners, committed to the wellbeing of humankind and the non-human world. We struggle to commit to yes. Social structures, economic systems, and ecological destruction are often impediments to our full commitment to “yes.” Forgive us, God. Remind us of our continuous invitation to join your creative energy in the world.
Assurance of Pardon
God knows your joys and pain and guides you toward abundant life. God shows us what it means to be fully human and to care for Her children everywhere. Our lives are our gifts to God, and the beauty that we bring to the lives of others brings beauty to God’s life as well. God has always loved us, loves us now, and will always love you. This is the Good News that brings us new life.
Communion Prayer
One:  God of humble births and the stars in the heavens, we thank You for Your persistent love for all creation.  We thank You for those who can see You and make connections that lead toward meaning.  We thank You for those who are wise—who will journey out to strange lands and unknown territories in search for truth or to bring justice.  We thank You for Your way of breathing life into us, and of helping us to take deep breaths when we need them.
All:  God of love, creativity, novelty, joy, meaning, peace and hope, in spite of all the challenges on earth and in our personal lives, we give thanks for Your persistence throughout the universe.
One:      We rejoice in Your Word through Jesus the Christ, who was born humbly, who communed with those others called outcast, who lived a complex life that sought justice, who died unfairly, and whose Spirit lives among us still.
Remembrance and Consecration
One: We ask you to bless this bread and this cup.
Through this meal, make us the body of Christ,
that we may join with you in promoting the well-being of all creation.
One: We remember on the night when Jesus and the disciples
had their last meal together, Jesus took the bread, gave thanks,
and gave it to the disciples, saying “This is my body,
which is broken for you. Take and eat it, and as often as you do, remember me.”
In the symbol of the broken bread, we participate in the life of Christ
and dedicate ourselves to being his disciples.
In the same way he took the cup,
and after giving thanks
he gave it to the disciples, saying:
“Drink this, all of you.
This cup is the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
In the symbol of the cup, we participate in the new life Christ brings.
One:  Remembering Your boundless love, we offer our praise and proclaim our faith:
All:  Christ was born. Christ lived and died. Christ comes again and again into our lives.
One:   God, we know that Your Spirit is poured on us and on these elements of bread and juice, and we pray that Your love, peace and justice in the world may be born through us.
All:  All praise to You, rejoicing in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who lives among us, and the Holy Spirit, who binds us together in love.  Amen.
Receiving The Bread and Cup
We will share the elements today by intinction, which means dipping the bread in the cup. If it is not convenient to come forward, the elements can be brought to your seat by signaling to the usher. Please exit your row to your left aisle and return from the right. All the bread is gluten-free, and the chalices are filled with non-alcoholic grape juice. Children of every age are welcome and encouraged to come forward.
A Chance for Generosity: Offering Baskets in the Aisles
Our gifts today will honor the work of Rev. Small Stokes and help sustain local ministries of care and healing through Berea Faith Community Outreach. BFCO was founded by local congregations to help neighbors in need. It operates a Food Bank, a Rent and Utility Relief center, and aid to transient individuals and families. BFCO is actively working to support people experiencing homelessness in this rural area. Your gift will be a shining star of hope. Please make checks payable to “Union Church” with “Ordination gift” or any other specific designation in the memo line.
Communion Music Greensleeves trad.
Marni Stokes, harpist
Prayer of Thanksgiving
One:  Let us pray. We give thanks, loving God, that you have refreshed us at your table. Strengthen our faith; increase our love for one another. As we have been fed by the seed that became grain, and then became bread, may we go out into the world to plant seeds of justice, transformation, and hope. In the name of the one who taught us to pray:
Our Maker, our Mother, and …
All:  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.
Communal Commission
 Hymn #164 Black Arise, Your Light Is Come! Festal Song
¨  Sending & Blessing
Postlude Sinfonia to Cantata #29 “We Thank Thee, God, We Thank Thee”J.S. Bach Rob Hayden, Organist
Liturgy adapted from B. Epperly, Praying with Process Theology
____________________________
¨  Please Rise in Body or Spirit