A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union
10:30 am Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Meditation
“There is something in everyone of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.” ~Howard Thurman
From There to Here: We Gather
Prelude
Welcome
The Call Lorilyn Howie-Kipphut, Reader
One: Wisdom reminds us to Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
All: To Love one another with mutual affection and outdo one another in showing honor.
One: To do it, we strive to not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, to serve the Lord as best we know how.
All: To rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, to persevere in prayerful action and love.
One: In true worship we contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
All: We work to bless even those who persecute us and those we love; bless and not curse them, lest the world be filled with the hate that corrodes.
One: Today we will rejoice with those who rejoice; we will weep with those who weep.
All: Today, we will strive to live in harmony with one another; not be haughty, and associate with those the world has laid low. We will not claim to be wiser than we are and we will not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
One: If it is possible, so far as it depends on us, let us live peaceably with all, neither seeking vengeance, nor permitting atrocity, engaging the Lord to guide as we strive to subvert the world’s expectations.
All: Let us not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good: this moment, this hour, this day, in all our lives. Amen!
One: Come friends, let us support this hope together welcoming each other and bidding the Spirit with all we do!
¨ Hymn Stepping In Christopher Grundy
Used by permission
¨ 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 Lord, I Need You Cansas Dowell, guitar and vocals
Scripture Lesson Exodus 3:1-15
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.
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.
Scripture Lesson Matthew 16:21-28
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”
But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Sermon Holy Ground, Holy Crosses, and Holy Cats! Rev. Kent Gilbert
Video Reflection
Responding to God’s Love in Communion
Invitation to Communion
One: God be with you.
All: And also with you.
One: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift our hearts in prayer.
One: Let us give thanks to God.
All: It is right to give God thanks and praise. We are stepping into holy ground.
One: Jesus sat with all sorts, the many different colors of humanity, but mainly those excluded, and broke bread to make a community out of mere company, and to make family out of friends.
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 a stranger and foreigner, along with everyone we’re not getting along with, along with everyone we might label as “weird,” or “wrong,” 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, or enriched by graces we could not have deserved: you, you and I, are welcomed at this table. You need not be a member of this church or any church to partake. All are guests at this table as love demands. Let us pray…
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.
Communion Prayer
One: Loving God, Source of all, we thank you and praise you with our lips and with our lives, that, having created us and all things through your Word, you welcome our prayer and praise.
One: For the goodness of creation, and the glory of redemption, we praise you.
One: For the law of holiness, inviting our obedience, and the call of prophets, rebuking our disobedience, we praise you.
One: With all that is, seen and unseen, and with the faithful of every time and place, we join in this hymn of praise and thanksgiving:
Sanctus
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest.
Words of Institution
One: Loving God, Holy One, we offer you praise and thanksgiving over this bread and cup, because in Jesus Christ, your only Son, you have joined yourself forever to us, uniting heaven and earth.
One: Now, therefore, we gratefully remember: Jesus’ birth into our humanity, baptism for our sin, compassion for our suffering, intimacy with our frailty, rebuke of our pride, bearing of the cross with its death, and rising from the tomb by the power of God.
One: On the night before he died, it was Jesus who took a loaf of bread, gave you thanks, broke it, and said,
All: “Take, and eat; whenever you do this, remember me.”
One: Likewise, after supper, he took the cup, saying,
All: “This is the new covenant, remember me.”
One: Loving God, creative Power, blessing your name, we seek your Spirit.
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. If it is not convenient to come forward, the elements can be brought to your seat by signaling to the usher.
Offering gifts may be brought to any of the baskets, or given to an usher.
If it is not your tradition to receive, you are invited to join in prayers for the unity of the Spirit within your tradition. You may remain in your seat, or you may come forward for a blessing, as you wish.
Prayer Reflection Questions
What is Your Holy Ground?
Where do you see, feel, touch, and taste the audacious call of God most strongly? (Hint if it makes you feel comforted and assured, that might be your “still water” but it’s probably not your burning bush).
How and with what is “I am” is calling to you? If you are comfortable, now or later in the day, take off your shoes, take off your socks, and connect to the Holy ground beneath your feet.
Life Healing Not Death Dealing: The cross was an instrument of capital punishment as well as political terror and yet Jesus subverts it’s power and encourages disciples to “Step in” and not away. What would you transform this way in your world?
What are you praying will become “Life Healing,” and what do you make of the call to “take up” this work? Take a moment to offer up your fears and hopes. Take a moment to consider “what next, O Lord?”
Offertory
As we come forward, our gifts are received for this common work together.
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 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!
Prayer of Thanksgiving Lorilyn Howie-Kipphut, Reader
In the flaming bush you proclaimed liberation to your people, Lord. On a cross you showed us the greater power of costly love, stronger than the misery and death around us. You have shown us holy ground and called us to holy work, holy love for you, for each other, for all creation.
Thank you for the blessing of this meal shared together and for communion with everything holy that you have made. By it we pray to sharpen our sight to see the world alight with your liberating fires! Find in us and magnify the strength we need to carry each cross that leads to lives of justice and joy for ourselves, those who oppose us, and those we do not yet know. We live by such light.
We are sustained by such love. Help show that we have been changed by what we know.
Our Lord’s Prayer
All: 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: We Depart
¨ Hymn #204 Take Up Your Cross Heinlein
- “Take up your cross,” the Savior said,
“if you would my disciple be;
take up your cross with willing heart,
and humbly follow after me.” - Take up your cross; let not its weight
fill your weak soul with alarm;
Christ’s strength will bear your spirit up,
and brace your heart, support your arm. - Take up your cross; heed not the shame,
and let your foolish pride be still;
For Christ did not refuse to die
upon a cross on Calvary’s hill. - Take up your cross, and follow Christ,
nor think till death to lay it down;
for only those who bear the cross
may hope to wear the glorious crown.
Community Connections
Announcements
We share opportunities for Beloved Community and ways to serve.
Lighting the Justice Candle to Lead us Forth
The first Monday in September is celebrated as a national holiday to honor the workers of America. The idea dates to 1882, and was adopted by 23 States by 1894 when it became a national holiday. Enjoyed as an end-of-summer long weekend, Labor Day nevertheless calls to light current tensions between labor and capital, workers and management. We light this candle for all those in every setting who work for the well-being of others, and for fair and just treatment and remuneration for all who labor.
Did you know? The Federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour, well below a living wage, and many states peg their minimum wage at the same level. In Kentucky a person earning minimum wage would have to work more than 80 hours per week to afford the average cost of a 2 bedroom apartment. While there have been increases in the minimum wage, it has not kept pace with inflation. Minimum-wage purchasing power peaked in 1968 at $1.60 per hour, equivalent to $13.00 today.
After decades of declining union membership and low public support, the post-pandemic labor shortages have given a boost to workers’ voices and increased support for labor rights. The extreme and increasing gap between labor compensation and executive salaries has reached unseen levels, and we hope and pray for a much more equitable wealth distribution and the opportunities and dignity fairly paid labor provides.
¨ Benediction
Postlude
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 the Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo; and our brothers & sisters at West Side Baptist Church in our hearts, and pray for them today and throughout the week.
¨ Prayers for 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 seeking a new and just society and those fearful that they will be supplanted, may God open their hearts and include them in grace.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes or who are homebound: Jan Hamilton, Doug Hindman, Betsy Hoefer, Dorie Hubbard, Lois Morgan, Sara Parker, Cheryl Payne, Alva Peloquin, Laura Robie, Betty Wray, Sally Zimmerman
¨ Family and friends of Tom Parker, who passed away on Tuesday, Aug 29th. Husband of Sara and father of Tina, and beloved family member of the Baileys and Parkers.
¨ Loyal Jones, in hospice care. His daughter, Susan, reports he’d love to hear from friends. His address is 200 Tabernacle Rd. L-205; Black Mountain; NC; 28711.
¨ Rita Barlow, receiving care at home.
¨ All those suffering from mental strain, trauma, and disease: may God soothe and heal all who are troubled.
¨ Doug Hindman, at The Terrace, under hospice care.
¨ James Stephens, Charlie Hoffman’s brother-in-law, suffering with cancer.
¨ Debbonnaire Kovacs’ nephew who, with his wife, was involved in an active shooting situation in Columbus, OH. They were not injured, but are struggling with the emotional aftermath.
¨ Edda Keuchel, relative of Diana Hultgren, who broke a hip and is not doing well after surgery.
¨ Jen Eich’s family, especially Matthew (Jen’s cousin) and wife Hailey, whose 16 year old daughter Lily was killed in a car accident August 26. Their daughter Izzy, 19, passed away of leukemia in February.
¨ The many church family members with Covid, and those caring for them.
¨ Members and Friends who need safer housing and income security.
¨ John Stanley & Heather Lundy, former Union Church members & still beloved friends, as John recovers from a stroke.
¨ JoAnn Russell, Reda Hutton’s aunt, facing several medical challenges.
Celebrations with Prayers of Joy!
Birthdays: Sept. 5 – Brian Madden; 9 – Hailey Biggs; 10 – Laura Nagle; 11 – Lisa Shroyer, Mary Lou Wiese, Cameron Stites-Stevens
Anniversaries: Sept. 3 – Greg & Adria Sutherland; 9 – Jim & Dana Wangsgard
If we haven’t got your important dates, let us know. We’ll help you get connected in FellowshipOne Go!
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