Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the Church of Christ, Union

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 6, 2020          10:30 am

Meditation
“Anything that leaves you more fearful, more isolated, more disconnected from other people, more full of judgment or self-hatred, is not of God, and does not follow the Rule of Love–and you should stop doing it.” — Mark Yaconelli

From there to here: we Gather

Welcome
As the Berea community responds to the governor’s suggestion to avoid gathering in large groups, we worship online to limit the risk of exposure to Covid-19. We’re delighted to welcome you into this virtual circle of God’s healing love and light.
The Call   Meister Eckhart Paige Garrett, Reader
The word of God is always “in the beginning.” And this means that it is always in the process of being born and is already born. Now, it is the nature of the word to reveal what is hidden. The Word that is hidden still sparkles in the darkness and whispers in the silence. It entices us to pursue it, to yearn and sigh after it. For it wishes to reveal to me something about God.
Passing the Peace at Home
Building the Community: News that Connects Us

The Living Word among us

Special Music        Let All the People Praise       
Hebrew Scripture Lesson                            Exodus 12:1-14                               Aidan Broadbridge, Reader
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the  passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
Children’s Moment  Please join in singing as we bless children everywhere:
May God’s blessing 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. 
Gospel  Lesson  Matthew 18:15-20 Amy Williams, Reader
‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’
Sermon Turn, Then, And Live: Gathered in my Name Rev. Kent Gilbert

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.
A Chance for Generosity: www.easytithe.com/union
Our gifts help sustain this particular community of caring by sustaining the building, pastors and staff, and all the materials that make our ministry of healing, justice, and teaching available to all in need. In addition, a portion of our contributions flows out to aid those in need via many external agencies.
Many friends give online, and you can use your smart phone or computer and go to www.easytithe.com/union. You don’t have to register to make a contribution, but if you do, it can make future generosity that much easier. You can even give by text! Text to 859-448-3403 (Example: Text “$50.00 Offering”)
Your contribution is love made visible. Thank you!
Offering Music

Responding to God’s Love in Communion

Invitation to Communion
One:  The Lord Be with you!
All:   And also with those you cherish.
One:  Lift up your hearts!
All: We lift them to the Lord.
One: Let us give thanks to God!
All: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
One: In this time of increased isolation, let us center ourselves in this moment of committed community.
If you have a candle with you. Let’s light it now.
As the disciples saw Christ coming from a distance across the water, we can allow the flame to be a reminder of strong love coming to us.  Let us center ourselves now for prayer. As we do, Please put in the comments or in the chat, what you are most hoping to be in touch with: the people, the ideas, the struggles. Com-Union. By this act together, add in what and who you are praying for.
Communion Prayer
Sanctus     Please join in singing:
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
We remember that Jesus gathered with friends, in the upper room before his death. We remember the resurrection road to Emmaus when we thought all was lost.  We remember his reconciling meal with Peter on the beach. We remember that he was made known to us in the breaking of the bread.
He took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to the disciples saying “Take, eat. This is my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Take now your meal, and as you lift it to share: let us remember the long road through God’s gifts and people that bring this blessing to us: the blessing of water and field, of labor to plant and harvest, mill and bake, to carry, wrap, stock, sell, store and serve. Remembering our common lot and our mutual dependence on such gifts, take now this meal of long love and care. We eat and we remember: in Christ’s name.
Next we remember that Jesus took the cup. He poured, And again blessing it,  shared it with his disciples saying “this cup is my blood, my life, poured out in a new covenant for you. Take and drink it all of you.
As we pour we remember the life-giving elements that fill our cup. We remember the life poured into us by a loving Jesus who didn’t come to condemn but to love and shepherd us to wider life and deeper peace.
A table is set before us in the presence of all our antagonizing anxieties: take and drink of this old promise made new.
Prayers of the People Claudia Munson-Schrumpf, Reader
We ask this in the name of the one 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 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.   
Our Prayers for Others
You are very welcome to email or phone prayer requests to the office for the bulletin. Please do so by 10 am Thursdays, and be sure you have permission to share the information.
¨ 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, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and our brothers and sisters at Berea Baptist Church in our hearts, and pray for them. Please hold these concerns in your prayers, today and throughout the week.
¨ The families of the three Madison County residents who have died from Covid-19.
¨ All those affected by the impact of storms in the southeast, and the fires in California and Colorado.
¨ Families with kids back in school, in whatever from school takes.
¨ 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.
¨ Families and Friends in Crises…may God be present to every need and heal every rift and wound and those who care for them.
¨ Dennis Wright, a friend of Betty Sarafin, very ill with cancer.
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound: Alva Peloquin,  Loyal Jones, Jennie Kiteck, Mary Miller, Lois Morgan, Barb Smith, Jan Hamilton.
¨ Children in detention centers, that they may be reunited with their families soon.
¨ Those affected by the Covid-19 virus, their families and friends living with fear, anxiety, and feelings of isolation, may God bring peace to all who love them; and our wider community as we cope with the new realities of living.

From Here to There

Hymn Now Is the Time Approaching WEBB

1. Now is the time approaching, by prophets long foretold, when all shall dwell together, secure and manifold. Let war be learned no longer, let strife and tumult cease, all earth a blessed garden that God shall tend in peace.

2. Let all that now divides us remove and bass away, like mists of early morning before the blaze of day. Let all that now unites us more sweet and lasting prove, a closer bond of union, in blessed lands of love.

3. O long-expected dawning, come with your cheering ray! Yet shall the promise beckon and lead us not astray. O sweet anticipation! It cheers the watchers on to pray, and hope, and labor till Christ’s new realm is come.

The Sending & Blessing  
Postlude     The Circle Sharona Nelson
Today we light the Justice Candle in honor of Rev. David Beckmann, who retired as President of Bread for the World and the Alliance to End Hunger in June, 2020, having served in that position from 1991-2020.
Bread for the World is an advocacy organization working with churches and other organizations to lobby Congress to address national and international hunger issues through legislation. Each year BfW’s Offering of Letters, which Union Church participates in, addresses a specific issue or pending legislation.
“The progress our country and the world have made against hunger in recent decades has been an experience of our loving God’s continuing presence in our world,” said Rev. Beckmann. “All the people involved in Bread and the Alliance have helped to make it happen.”