A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union
Proper 18 of the Season after Pentecost 10:30 am
Sharing of the Lord’s Supper
Meditation
Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
From There to Here: We Gather
Welcome
Welcome to this service of worship! 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! During the service, you are invited to rise in body or in spirit, standing or sitting, at points in the service marked “<>.”
¨ The Call Lorilyn Howie-Kipphut, Reader
One: Like clay, we arrive at this time of worship:
All: Shapeless and full of potential, we arrive.
One: Like clay, we prepare for this time of worship:
All: Stretched and twisted into formation, we prepare.
One: Like clay, we enter this time of worship:
All: Formed and ready for warmth, we enter.
¨ Hymn Have Thine Own Way, Lord Adelaide
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¨ Prayer of Approach and Confession
One: Designer of all good, you envision us as vessels of grace, folding into the clay of each heart the shape of goodness and salvation. Too often we distort your work in us, or wobble on the wheel throwing the pot out of balance. We unbalance when we are too attached to our possessions. When we attend only to our pleasures we cannot feel the pain of those around us. And when we are so stuck on ourselves, we cannot sense our souls slumping into the shadows.
All: God of the potter’s wheel, loosen us from the grip of the world, so we may feel your healing touch. Sever us from our sin, so your Spirit might bind us to you. Like clay, reshape us, redeem us, renew us, so we may be worthy vessels to hold and offer the love our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen!
¨ Words of Assurance
One: The God who calls us is the God who created us; the God who formed us is the God who forgives us. This is the Good News – we are God’s new creation. Turning, we are held and shaped in God’s design.
All: In the name of Jesus Christ, we are reshaped, renewed, forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.
¨ 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 God Has Work for Us to Do Miller, Daw Union Church Choir
‘Til all the jails are empty and all the bellies filled; ‘til no one hurts or steals or lies, and no more blood is spilled: God has work for us to do, ‘til God’s will is done and all things are made new, God has work for us to do!
‘Til age and race and gender no longer separate; politics are free of greed and hate: God has work for us to do. In tenement and mansion, in factory, farm and mill, in board room and in billiard hall, in wards where time stands still, in classroom, church and office, in shops or on the street, in every place where people thrive, or starve, or hide, or meet. God has work for us. By sitting at a bedside to hold pale, trembling hands, by speaking for the powerless against unjust demands. By praying through our doing, and singing though we fear, by trusting that the seed we sow will bring God’s harvest near: God has work for us to do!
Scripture Reading Jeremiah 18:1-11
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.”
So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it.
And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you, from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.
~ New Revised Standard Version, updated
Children’s Moment as the children return to their seats we sing:
May God’s blessings 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 Reading Luke 14:25-33
Now large crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
“Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
~ New Revised Standard Version, updated
Sermon Demonic Possession … and What to Do About It Rev. Kent Gilbert
Video Reflection
A chance to take in what we have heard and reflect together.
Responding to God’s Love in Communion
Invitation to Communion
One: The Potter of all life be with you.
All: And also with you.
One: People of God, lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them to the One who reshapes them into grace.
One: People of God, give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: We praise the One who has shaped us for love and service.
One: The meal we set ourselves today is not set by human hands alone. It is shaped and set by God in co-creation with those who sowed, grew, and harvested all of the elements, and with all those who have brought these gifts into our presence: drivers, store clerks, bakers, kitchen volunteers, and many many more. This communion is community, both earthy and divine.
One: And as a community grace, made of many elements and the labors, so too, is it a meal for all here. No one is excluded from this meal. You do not have to be a member, a resident, documented, dues-paying, or any other mark of “belonging.” God has already drawn the circle to include you and you are welcome.
One: So come, one and all, rich and poor, blessed or broken, young or old. This is the feast of many set for all. This is the gift of God meant to strengthen and never destroy. Come all who are counting the cost, and those who have left all behind. This is a table of blessings where Christ is both host and guest.
Ringing 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.
Call to Prayer
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 Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo; and our siblings at Pilot Knob Missionary Baptist Church in our hearts, and pray for them today and throughout the week.
Communion Prayer
One: With joy we praise you, Creating God. You stooped down and took the clay lying on earth’s floor, shaping us in your image. But we wondered what it would be like to follow our own paths and detached ourselves from your side. We counted the cost of being your children, and found it to be too much for us. We pondered your words and found them useless for our lives. Even so you never take your hands from us, but continue to recreate us, to reshape us, to redeem us.
One: Giver of breath, shaper of words, all the living find voice to praise you, as we celebrate with the people of every time and place, singing to your glory:
Words of Institution
One: Shaping redemption in human form you fashioned for us a love that not even death could destroy. Jesus taught us, and teaches us still of all the might and good work you have for us, all the strength you lend to us, and all the joy you intend for us.
One: We remember that on the night of his betrayal, even then, he gathered with friends for a meal of grace. Taking bread, he gave thanks, blessed it and broken, then gave it to the disciples saying to them:
All: “Take and eat. This bread is my body broken for you. Take and remember.”
One: In the same way he took a cup, and having filled it and given thanks, we remember that he said to his friends:
All: “This cup is my life blood poured for you. Take it, all of you. Drink, and when you do, remember me.”
One: Spirit of the Living God, bless this bread and bless this fruit of the vine. Renew us with this bread and this cup which have been set before us by so many hands. As you refresh our hearts, fill us with all the goodness of the kingdom. Be in us that we may be in you as we serve others: in the ways in which we treat our families;
in our willingness to draw the outcast to our side;
in our efforts to be your healing hands to the sick and grieving.
Send your Holy Spirit on this meal that all may know your care for them through what we do and that we might have the strength and will of your Christ to see it done as love demands.
All: God in community, Holy in One: Amen.
Serving One Another
All who seek the love of God are welcome at this meal and are invited to freely receive from it. 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 an usher. All the bread is gluten-free, and the chalices are filled with non-alcoholic grape juice.
Living Prayer
Embodied Prayer
You are invited to reflect and pray at the candle tables. You may also choose to source the essential ingredient of solitude and private prayer, remaining with your own thoughts in your pew.
Offertory
A Chance for Generosity: 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 easytithe.com/union. No registration required, but registering once makes future generosity simply entering 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!
¨ Doxology Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying Ken Medema
Community Prayer of Thanksgiving Lorilyn Howie-Kipphut, Reader
God of all places and times, Christ of those who suffer, Spirit of justice and hope: We long to linger as long as we can in your company after a meal set with love. As we rise from this place, inspire in us the courage needed to throw off attachments to any of the demons that throttle, and the habits that harm. Hold each heart close when brokenness makes us see the world as through shattered glass.
Mend the broken bodies, Lord. Mend the broken hearts. Comfort the sick and teach us how to do the same. We are your clay. Shape us with sure hands, smoothing the rough, and firing us to strength. Let us always and ever be attached to you and to the mercy work you have for us to do.
We pray in the name of the one you sent who taught us to reach to you as…
Our Lord’s Prayer
Our Maker, Our Mother, and Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kin-dom 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 kin-dom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
¨ Hymn #204 “Take Up Your Cross,” the Savior Said Deus Tuorum Militum
1. “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.”
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
From Here to There
Community Connections
Announcements
We share opportunities for Beloved Community and ways to serve. Please see the listing of church & community events, prayers, and notices in the pages following the service.
Lighting the Justice Candle to Lead us Forth
The Highlander Research and Education Center, formerly known as the Highlander Folk School, is a social justice leadership training school and cultural center in New Market, Tennessee. Founded in 1932 by activist Myles Horton, educator Don West, and Methodist minister James A. Dombrowski, Highlander provides training and education for emerging and existing movement leaders throughout the South, Appalachia, and the world. Some of Highlander’s earliest contributions were during the labor movement in Appalachia and throughout the Southern United States. During the 1950s, it played a critical role in the American Civil Rights Movement. It trained civil rights activists, most notably Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and John Lewis at different times. Lewis revealed later that he had his first meal in an integrated setting at Highlander. “I was a young adult, but I had never eaten a meal in the company of Black and white diners,” the congressman wrote. He continued, “Highlander was the place that Rosa Parks witnessed a demonstration of equality that helped inspire her to keep her seat on a Montgomery bus, just a few weeks after her first visit.”
Recently Berea residents Lisa Abbott and Rev. Kent Gilbert attended a training session and are planning to share their experience and learning on Tuesday 6- 8 pm in the Union Church Community Room as part of the project to provide local communities with helpful information and opportunities for action during this critical time of democracy in the United States.
¨Benediction
¨ Benediction Response ¨ God Has Work for Us To Do Miller, Daw
Our Prayers for Others
¨ Dave Reilly’s nephew, Herb Post, ill with kidney cancer that has spread to his lung.
¨ Joe Tarter is doing well after his heart surgery and recovering at home.
¨ Kelly Mehler and all supporting him.
¨ Prayers for the children of Kevin Kubik, who are safe after being victims of violence at the hands of their mother. Kevin is working with the Georgia Child Protective Services department and has established a GoFundMe to help with the legal costs of gaining custody: gofund.me/828b3edd
¨ Bonnie Donelly, grandma of Tennant Kirk’s daughter-in-law Carlie, on hospice care with pancreatic cancer.
¨ JoAnn Russell, Reda Hutton’s aunt, facing several medical challenges.
¨ 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 affected by the devastating losses in the current conflict, and starvation of those in Gaza.
¨ We pray for our country, and those who are directly affected by the actions and inaction of our government to address the needs of its people and the world.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes or who are homebound: Jerry Cooper, Jan Hamilton, Betsy Hoefer, Dorie Hubbard, Susan Kramer, Lois Morgan, Sara Parker, Cheryl Payne, Alva Peloquin, Laura Robie, Theresa Scherf.
¨ Celebrations with Prayers of Joy!
Birthdays: Sept. 7 – Noah Broomfield; 9 – Hailey Biggs; 10 – Laura Nagle; 11 – Lisa Shroyer, Mary Lou Wiese, Cameron Stites-Stevens; 13 – Steve Connelly, Maranda Weckman; 14 – Debbonnaire Kovacs
Anniversaries: Sept. 9 – Jim & Dana Wangsgaard
If we haven’t got your important dates, let us know. We’ll help you get connected in FellowshipOne Go!
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