A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union
September 27, 2026 10:30 am
Meditation “When you leave good people afraid to speak on behalf of justice, however awkwardly or insensitively, those unafraid to speak will rise to power.” ~ C.E. Morgan
From There to Here: We Gather
Prelude
Welcome Rev. Kent Gilbert (hon. ‘22), Dr. Cheryl Nixon, Berea College President
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 “<>.”
¨ Invocation All We Need Is Here
All we need is here! All we need is here! God is among us, All we need is here!
¨ Call to Worship Dr. Pamela Chabora (’78), Reader
One: Lord, we hope to know your ways, and be taught your paths.
All: Lead us today in your truth; teach us and reach us, O God of our salvation.
One: Be mindful of your steadfast love and mercy, gifts you have offered from of old…
All: and look past the wrong step, the misplaced word, the transgressions of earlier times.
One: For good and upright is the Lord, and you supply us with wisdom and knowledge.
All: Search and keep us, Lord. Guide us in what is right and teach us the humble love of your Christ.
~ Based on New Revised Ps 25:4–9. Standard Version: Updated Edition (Friendship Press, 2021)
¨ Hymn God, Be the Love to Search and Keep Me Green Tyler
¨ Prayer of Approach & Confession
One: On this homecoming weekend, we think about what it means to be “at home” with God and with each other. God’s impartial love calls forth our hope and desire to live in a household of that love, and be heirs of both justice and mercy. Thus, we ask for help transforming relationships and patterns sinfully broken in ourselves, and by ourselves.
In justice, we acknowledge our shortcomings, and in mercy ask that we might be transformed and aid the transformation of others, as we offer forgiveness in measure with what we ourselves have received. We confess together that not everything is right within us, and that we confess our trust that God will show us the path to restoration.
Let us pray…
All: God of all creation, you love us into being,
yet we often flee our rightful place in your realm.
We confess that we too often exploit the gifts you place around us, and impoverish the richness of your creation.
Forgive our greedy grasping.
We confess our part in the devastation of our planet home, mirrored in the violence of cities, and the brokenness of hearts.
Forgive and restore us, O God.
Remind us of other ways to live and of a place called “home,” where creation reflects your goodness and each thing lives in balance with all others.
Come and find us, set us right again, and take us home to your heart.
[a brief silence is observed]
One: Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy on us all.
All: Amen.
~United Church Publishing House, Celebrate God’s Presence (United Church Publishing House, 2000)
¨ Words of Assurance Come, Bring Your Burdens to God South African English Trans: Barbara Clark, Mairi Munro, Martine Stemerick
Come, bring your burdens to God (3x) For Jesus will never say no.
¨ Passing the Peace
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
Anthem The Presence of the Lord Earline Rentz; Words by Kent Gilbert inspired by writings of John G. Fee
OneReunion Choir, Dr. Stephen Bolster, conductor
When trials come, friends fail, and the heavens appear as brass; when earth appears as iron, when all hope is gone. Hold on, stand still, and you will see the face of God. The Holy Presence, Shekinah, will lead you a cross Jordan. Hold on through the storm, our God will comfort and restore you.
The Presence of the Lord will go with you. Hold on, stand still, our God will go before you. Hold on, the Lord Divine will comfort and guide you. Hold on, the Lord will comfort and restore you. God will go before you, always watching o’er you. You will see the face of God. The Presence of the Lord will go with you. Hold on.
Scripture Reading Exodus 17:1-7
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do for this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.”
Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
~ 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 Matthew 21:23-32
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same, and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
~ New Revised Standard Version, updated
Sermon Go and Do Likewise Rev. Christina Ryan Perkins (‘98) Executive Director of Spiritual Formation and the Campus Christian Center, Berea College
Video Reflection
Living Prayer
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. Next week, let us hold the people of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Peru; and our siblings at Wallaceton Baptist Church in our hearts, and pray for them today and throughout the week.
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.
Embodied Prayer
You are invited to reflect and pray at the candle table. You may also choose to source the essential ingredient of solitude and private prayer, remaining with your own thoughts in your pew.
For Reflection
Light for Light
Homecoming is a time of remembrance and connection. You may be remembering friends and family not present, or no longer with us. Perhaps you are connecting with gratitude for those who “struck the rock” in your moment of need so that blessings poured forth. Mentors, family, friends, classmates…even total strangers who brought light are part of everyone’s “home” and “homecoming.”
You are invited to light a candle at either of the stations to the right and left of the sanctuary as you lift your prayers. In prayer we lift light for Light. We honor and remember them all: those who have passed, and those who have passed through our lives with enduring graces.
Do I Have to Like It?
Sometimes faith is not a feeling. And sometimes our feelings aren’t in line with what we know to be the faithful action. But what is more important? The good you might do, or how you feel about it? What if how you feel wasn’t the most important thing? Like the “siblings in the vineyard” parable Jesus tells, maybe what matters is the good work, even if at first it doesn’t feel good at the moment.
Got something like that in your life? Probably. Take a minute in prayer to grumble and complain. God can handle it.
Then settle into the heart of your heart and clear the path to what you are called to do. Need help? Prayer is the time to ask! Faith isn’t a feeling… it’s an investment of our hearts for a world more loving and just.
You and everyone around you are worth it.
Offertory Constellation: A Family of Light Mark Burrows
OneReunion Choir, Savannah Jones and Jonas Yoakley , soloists Dr. XT Hong, conductor
I am a voice: one voice, calling out across the divide, I am a heart: one heart, beating strong the rhythm inside, searching for the song, seeking out the place I belong. You belong. A brilliant bond of friendship, a radiant design, connected in community, together we will shine. A beacon ever bright, a constellation. We are a family of light.
We have a hope: one hope, breathing out compassion and care. We have a dream: our dream. We are a family of light. Join us in the song. Welcome home, and know you belong. A brilliant bond of friendship, a radiant design, connected in community, together we will shine.
A beacon ever bright, a constellation. In beams of light, in waves of sound, we are heard, we are known, we are found. We are a family of light.
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 Words: St. Patrick, adapted Kent Gilbert Tune: Bunessan
Christ be beside me, Christ be before me, Christ be behind me, my rock and my stay; Christ be within me, Christ be below me, Christ be above me guiding my way.
Silent Prayer & Prayers of the Community Pam Chabora (’78), Reader
One: Holy one, stiff-necked as we are, stubborn as we can be, and as resistant to your grace as we have been, still: have mercy on us. Our hearts are not as hard as our actions sometimes show. We seek the way of life, and would turn to you and live. Help us turn toward our neighbor, not away. Help us turn toward forgiveness and toward mercy.
Help us, in your name, turn toward all that gives abundant living and makes joyful the hearts of those around us. Make peace our labor. May Justice our joy. Heal both our bodies and our sorrows that we may give you praise and offer you our whole selves. In all our choices, and in all our stubbornness, help us turn to you and live, and seeking the well-being of all, in your name. This we pray in Jesus name, who taught us to reach to you as…
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 #411 Praise the Source of Faith and Learning Procession
1. Praise the source of faith and learning
that has sparked and stoked the mind
with a passion for discerning
how the world has been designed.
Let the sense of wonder flowing
from the wonders we survey
keep our faith forever growing
and renew our need to pray.
2. God of wisdom we acknowledge
that our science and our art
and the breadth of human knowledge
only partial truth impart.
Far beyond our calculation
lies a depth we cannot sound
where your purpose for creation
and the pulse of life are found.
3. May our faith redeem the blunder
of believing that our thought
has displaced the grounds for wonder
which the ancient prophets taught.
May our learning curb the error
which unthinking faith can breed
lest we justify some terror
with an antiquated creed.
4. As two currents in a river
fight each other’s undertow,
till converging they deliver
one coherent steady flow,
blend, O God, our faith and learning
till they carve a single course,
till they join as one, returning
praise and thanks to you, their Source.
From Here to There
Community Connections
Announcements Rev. Kent Gilbert (Hon. ’22)
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
Today we honor award winning Appalshop filmmaker Elizabeth Barrett, who passed away this year after 4 decades of dedication to giving voice to Appalachian people, their cultures, and their arts. Barrett used her extraordinarily astute skills and sensitive cultural awareness to tell the stories of the central Appalachian region as seen through the eyes of its residents.
She is perhaps best known for her groundbreaking documentary Stranger with a Camera, which explored not only issues of representation in film of marginalized people, but also the conflicts and mistrust between the media and communities, which can often impede mutual understanding and social justice and economic justice. A native of Hazard, Kentucky, her films Coalmining Women, Quilting Women, and Nature’s Way addressed the strong, diverse, and evolving roles of women in Appalachia, and her seminal Long Journey Home was a poignant and critically astute examination of the Great Outward Migration of Eastern Kentuckians following the post-WWII collapse of the coal industry.
She was generous in her mentoring of students and young filmmakers and was also the founding director of the Appalshop Archive.
¨ Benediction Rev. Christina Ryan Perkins
¨ Choral Postlude Sisi Ni Moja (We Are One) Jacob Naverud OneReunion Choir, Dr. XT Hong, conductor
We all laugh, we all cry, we all feel hunger, we all feel pain. We all love, we all hate, we all hope, we all dream. We are one world, one people and we all breathe the same . A tribe of many languages, a group of many heartaches, fighting for peace among the land. Heja, sisi ni moja, we are one.
We all want, we all need, we all seek passion, we all seek joy. We all bruise, we all scar, we all fail but learn to thrive. We are one world, one people and we all breathe the same. In the darkness of the night, and in the glory of the morning we walk along the path and find our way.
Now we stand here to gather and lift our hearts in song to the rhythm of this moment in our lives.
Our Prayers for Others
¨ We are remembering fondly Berea classmates, students & staff who have died and have entered the wider life. We lift them with gratitude.
¨ 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.
¨ Those in danger in the continuing war in Iran. For the leaders of nations to set aside assassination and warfare in favor of just, diplomatic solutions to conflict.
¨ 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 neighbors experiencing housing and food insecurity.
¨ Victims of the flooding in Nepal, that God might provide protection and consolation. One Great Hour of Sharing (our Palm Sunday Offering each year) is on the scene.
¨ JoAnn Russell, Reda Hutton’s aunt, facing several medical challenges.
¨ The children and staff of Samuel’s Kids School and Orphanage in Uganda.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes or who are homebound: Dorie Hubbard, Susan Kramer, Hattie Parks, Alva Peloquin, Laura Robie, Theresa Scherf.
¨ In thanksgiving for all those who offer help to others in their need. Ambassadors of God’s grace and goodwill are so needed and appreciated.
¨ Kari Howie, Lorilyn’s sister-in-law, receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer
¨ Denis Burton, recovering well from abdominal surgery at home.
¨ Mark Workman, struggling with heart issues.
¨ Misty Phillips, anticipating surgery in early October.
¨ Jessi Montgomery, our Director of Development, sick at home with pneumonia and Covid.
¨ The family, friends and parishioners of Father John Curtis, formerly of St. Clare Church, and a long-time friend of the Union Church family, died Sept. 7. kerrbrothers.com/obituaries
¨ Amber Lawson, Deb & Terry Beishline’s daughter-in-law, continuing treatment for breast cancer.
¨ Celebrations with Prayers of Joy!
Joseph Jacobs will be ordained into the United Church of Christ TODAY! Joseph was a student intern here at Union Church; and served as a student pastor with Rev. Rachel Small Stokes at her church, Immanuel UCC in Louisville.
Birthdays: today, Sept. 26 – Stephanie Ryan; 28 – Pat Barrett, Joe White; 30 – Michelle Meadow, Aurora Snow-Hurst; Oct. 1 – Teresa Dickson; 2 – Jeff Melton, Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens; 3 – Dorie Hubbard, Ellen Mink, Dana Carlberg
Anniversaries: Sept. 29 – Allan Conner & Maggie Park; John & Claudia Munson-Schrumpf (25th!); Oct. 2 – Josh & Jessie English; 3 – J.R. & Kelly Anderson
If we haven’t got your important dates, let us know. We’ll help you get connected in FellowshipOne Go!
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