A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost 10:30 am
Meditation
Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another. ~ Mark 9:50
From There to Here: We Gather
Prelude
Welcome
¨ Call To Worship Maranda Weckman, Reader
One: The teaching of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandments of the Lord are clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
All: More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer!
One: Let us worship in peace, let us worship to make peace, and let us to offer sweet peace to a waiting world.
All: Amen! ~Based on Psalm 19:7-14
¨ Opening Hymn #70 God Is Here! Abbot’s Leigh
1 God is here! As we your people meet to offer praise and prayer, may we find in fuller measure what it is in Christ we share. Here, as in the world around us, all our varied skills and arts wait the coming of the Spirit into open minds and hearts.
2 Here are symbols to remind us of our lifelong need of grace; here are table, font, and pulpit; here the cross has central place. Here in honesty of preaching, here in silence, as in speech, here, in newness and renewal, God the Spirit comes to each.
3 Here our children find a welcome in the Shepherd’s flock and fold; here, as bread and wine are taken, Christ sustains us as of old. Here the servants of the Servant seek in worship to explore what it means in daily living to believe and to adore.
4 Sovereign God, of church and kingdom, in an age of change and doubt keep us faithful to the gospel; help us work your purpose out. Here, in this day’s dedication, all we have to give, receive: we, who cannot live without you. We adore you! We believe!
¨ Prayer of Approach and Confession
One: Let us pray…
All: Holy God, in earth, sea and sky, you are there;
in everything we touch;
in everyone we meet;
your presence is ’round us,
and we give you thanks.
When we have not touched, but trampled you, in creation;
When we have not met, but missed you, in one another;
When we have not received, but rejected you, in the poor.
Forgive us. Free us and change us as love demands.
One: In Christ’s name we pray,
All: Amen. ~adapted from the Iona Community liturgy
¨ Words of Assurance
One: The God who challenges us is also the God who encourages us. The God who confronts us is also the God who accepts us. Be assured that God is with us even now, accepting, guiding, forgiving and transforming all who seek. This gift we have from God.
All: Thanks be to God for a love like that! Amen.
¨ 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.
Word and Worship
Anthem Sing, Pray and Walk J.S. Bach Union Church Choir
Sing, pray and walk at God’s direction, and do thy duty faithfully, and trust thy bounteous Lord’s protection, so shall it ever wait on thee, for if on God our minds we stay, God never will that trust betray.
Scripture Reading James 5:13-20
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.
The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
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 Mark 9:38-50
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. “
If any of you cause one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.
“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Sermon Salt and Fire Rev. Kent Gilbert
Video Reflection
A chance to take in what we have heard.
Living Prayer
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.
Offertory Blessed Assurance Union Church Orchestra
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.
The Promise of Salt… Salt gives life both purification and savor. It was prized so highly that workers were paid in salt (a “salary” = Salt measure) and without it food can be bland as sand. The blessing of salt is in you, says Jesus. Renew it’s potency in you so you can season the world around you, and you can bless and cleanse as you move through life. Maybe you forgot? Maybe you’ve lost a sense of your salt and your worth? Come to the table at the front to dip your finger in the salt pattern there and in tasting be reminded.
The Promise of Fire… Jesus promises that good work may bring heat: the heat of effort, the heat of opposition, the fire of struggle. Those struggles often “salt” us: they sharpen the flavor and nature of our service, they reveal what is important to us, even when they leave a bitter taste in our mouth. What has fired you up? What has burnt you out? What would you ask of God as you consider the struggles you are engaged in? You are beloved. Allow the seasoning to blend within you as you take strength for your journey.
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Your contribution is love made visible. Thank you!
¨ Doxology Old Hundredth
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise God all creatures here below. Praise God above ye heavenly host: Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost! Amen.
Silent Prayer and Prayers of The Community Maranda Weckman, Reader
Keep us rightly salted, God. Save us from bland ambitions and tasteless endeavor. Salt us with the fire of such love as to burn away hatred and division. In our week to come, flavor our lives with focus for what matters; heat our passion for a just and right world, and warm our hearts to any and all working for the same. Better, you tell us, to cut our losses than to cause loss to others. So help us keep salty and savory in your sight. Help us help all taste and see the Goodness of God.
If there are those here suffering, help them as we lift our prayers to you. And if any of us are weary, strengthen them in mercy and care. With passion and purpose, season us to serve as your love demands in the way of your Christ, Jesus. We pray to you in the way he taught, reaching to you as…
Our Lord’s Prayer
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.
¨ Hymn #181 You Are Salt for the Earth, O People Bring Forth
1 You are salt for the earth, O people: salt for the reign of God! Share the flavor of life, O people: Life in the City of God!
Refrain: Bring forth the reign of mercy, bring forth the reign of peace; Bring forth the reign of justice, bring forth the City of God!
2 You are a light on the hill, O people: light for the City of God! Shine so holy and bright, O people: shine for the City of God! Refrain
3 You are a seed of the Word, O people: bring forth the reign of God! Seeds of mercy and seeds of justice, grow in the City of God! Refrain
4 We are a blessed and a pilgrim people: bound for the reign of God! Love our journey and love our homeland: love is the Kingdom of God! Refrain
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
John and Charles Wesley and Spiritual Revival
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” ~ John Wesley
Today we honor the 18th century evangelist brothers John and Charles Wesley, whose revival movement in the Church of England led eventually to our modern Methodist and Wesleyan denominations. They were itinerant preachers and hymn writers (Charles is credited with some 6500 hymns) who travelled throughout England and for a time in the American colonies. Their revival movement attracted working class people, who were mostly ignored by the Church of England. They added social services to their activities, visiting prisoners, paying debts and finding employment for the working class.
According to many historians, the Wesleys and their Evangelical Revival helped prevent England from having its own bloody revolution on the model of France. The message preached in these revivals emphasized not an easy conversion experience, but repentance resulting in turning away from sin and a transformed life.
¨ Benediction The God of Second Chances David Haas
Those who are able & willing are invited to fill the aisles as we sing the Benediction Response together. If you’re at home or in the balcony, you are part of the embrace too. The embrace is as wide as God’s love!
Reprinted with permission using OneLicense #A-723786
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 Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela; and our brothers and sisters at Living Waters Sanctuary in our hearts, and pray for them today and throughout the week.
¨ Mary Ellen Sarafin, Betty’s sister, suffering from cirrhosis.
¨ Nick Lockwood, 21-year-old nephew of the Lockwood and Methler family.
¨ Darlene Lowe, seriously ill with Covid complications and C.Diff, and for her wife, Lauri McVicker , as she cares for her.
¨ Becky McCane, prayer request received online
¨ Christopher Gerritt Levey, son of Molly Levey (for whom our choir room is named) passed away September 24. Chris grew up in the church and was a frequent and dedicated participant in Christmas Country Dance School activities after earning his Ph.D and teaching at Dartmouth. Our prayers rise for his wife and son, and for the rest of the Levey family. His obituary may be found here: www.knightfuneralhomes.com/guestbook/christopher-levey
¨ 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 in the Middle East.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes or who are homebound: Jan Hamilton, Betsy Hoefer, Dorie Hubbard, Susan Kramer, Lois Morgan, Sara Parker, Cheryl Payne, Alva Peloquin, Laura Robie.
¨ All those suffering from mental strain, trauma, and disease: may God soothe and heal all who are troubled.
¨ Members and Friends who need safer housing and income security.
¨ JoAnn Russell, Reda Hutton’s aunt, facing several medical challenges.
¨ For all those caring for others in their illnesses and needs: may God give them both strength and encouragement in this work of costly love.
¨ Erikke Meadows’ mom, Prudy Meadows, with COPD.
¨ The Guild family as Will continues his struggle with brain cancer and stroke.
¨ Prayer for a restored and renewed sense of integrity in all public officials and work: that justice may be louder than greed; fair and good governance a blessing to all people, not the favored few.
Prayers for Healing and Hope from Union Church’s Spoonbread Booth
¨ Pray for our family
¨ My Nan’s toe
¨ Healing for Father-in-law with oral cancer
¨ Healing for Father with Heart condition
¨ Me – Back surgery
¨ Prayers for me and all police in the USA
¨ Pray that my legs start working again. Thank you, Kathy.
¨ Hope and prayers for the world – End of wars!
¨ Pray for Blake D. whose best friend passed
¨ Blessings for healing to the world, the needy, the sick. God’s love to all.
¨ Jeff B. for healing ad peace with retirement
¨ Pease help to show the true love and full accepting nature of God. Help show that despite what many say, God loves All!
¨ Amanda N.: Me and people on earth
¨ Prayers for us to keep our house and land (Barbara and Barbie)
¨ Prayers for my son-in-law Scott D.
¨ Prayers for my husband, just diagnosed with oral cancer – Thank you Jesus.
¨ Prayers for Dewey T. – pain in back and right leg! In a wheelchair.
¨ Tammy H.
¨ Our nation. Our families.
¨ My sister is a diabetic. Pray for her health.
¨ 2 babies born 2/10/24 & 3/2/24
¨ For safety in this hour of chaos.
¨ Pray for my best friend Lille. She has a bad immune system and she is sick at the moment.
¨ Pray for my family and the world so others know God.
¨ Pray for our country in the upcoming election.
¨ Celebrations with Prayers of Joy!
Birthdays: Today, Sept. 29 – Abi Woodie; 30 – Michelle Hayden; Oct. 1 – Teresa Dickson, Cerra Miller; 2 – Jeff Melton; 3 – Dorie Hubbard, Ellen Mink, Dana Carlberg; 6 – Scott Smith, Paige Garrett
Anniversaries: Sept. 29 – John & Claudia Munson-Schrumpf, Alan Connor & Maggie Park; Oct. 3 – JR & Kelly Anderson, Brice & Meaghan Catlett
If we haven’t got your important dates, let us know. We’ll help you get connected in FellowshipOne Go!
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