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

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

July 1, 2018                   10:30 am 

Meditation
“Almsgiving, then, is also a means for positioning myself in the world. I place my money (and thus myself, for money is a symbol, albeit not the only one, of my power) in service to what stands above or below me, depending on whether and how I save it or spend it. …Here lies a deep truth about the sacred circulation of money, be it almsgiving or tithing: The issue is not obligation but responsibility, not enforcement but valuation. …Tithing and its corollaries can perhaps be best understood as weighing of values, an attempt to find one’s place in the cosmic network; it is also a measure against which one strives, against which one balances the other demands of life—paying the rent, financing the car, going on vacation.”
—Philip Zaleski

From there to Here: We Gather

Welcome & Announcements                
Welcome to this service of worship!  During the service, you are invited to rise in body or in spirit, standing or sitting, at points in the service marked “ ”.”
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!
 Prelude               
 The Call  From the Poem “Ceremony for Completing a Poetry Reading”        
¨  Opening Hymn #552 Black       From the Crush of Wealth and Power            Bridegroom
¨  Prayer for Approach, Confession & Release
¨  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 and hospitality.

The Living Word among us

Epistle Lesson                  2 Corinthians 8:7-15 (p. 1408)
Paul urges the Corinthians to excel in generosity, balancing their abundance with the needs of the less fortunate.
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. 
Following the Children’s Moment, children kindergarten through 5th grade are invited to stay in the service or visit the Children’s Worship Center in the back of the sanctuary, which has toys, books, and drawing materials for children (or adults) who would like help staying present in the service. For children preschool age & under, care is available in the Nursery, downstairs in Room 104 off the playground.
Gospel Lesson                  Mark 5:21-43 (p. 1198)
In the midst of a crowd, a woman is healed as she touches Jesus. In the presence of her parents and three disciples, a child who has died is raised to life.
Sermon     Generous Undertakings          Rev. Kent Gilbert

Sharing God’s love in Communion

¨ Ringing of the Peace Bell
¨ Invitation to Communion
One:     God be with you.
All:     And also with you.
One:     Take courage from God’s mercy and power.
All:     We trust in God’s healing grace.    
One:     Let us give thanks for all that God is doing.
All:      We would love what God loves and sing the praise of Jesus!
One:     As we come to this table, we are reminded that this is not the table of this congregation, nor is it the table of any particular denomination.  It is the table of Jesus Christ, the family feast of the whole people of God.
One:    All who seek to be nourished and sustained in the journey of faith, and long to live justly and in peace with their neighbor, are welcome here. You needn’t bring anything with you: not staff, money, cloak, nor provisions. So come weak and strong, churched and not sure.  Come not because you must, but come because you are wanted, welcomed.  Let us eat and drink together for our strengthening in the faith, and for the sake of the world.
One:    Here is bread for the journey. Here is the cup of purpose and hope. Come all who will: come for self and come for others. Come and let us make ready to be called and sent.
Communion Prayer and Words of Institution               adapted from United Church of Canada liturgy
One:     Thanks and praise be to you, O God, for you create life out of the dust and create community even from calamity. We thank you that you are present to direct and guide, to renew and revive. We praise you for sending us Jesus, your Suffering Servant, to walk before us the way of the cross, to turn us to you and to one another. Therefore, we join your long procession of pilgrims praising you along the way:
Communion Sanctus                   please join in singing, opposite page:
Words of Institution
One:     Mighty and tender God, in Jesus of Nazareth we recognize the fullness of your grace: light, life and love, revealed:
All:     in words that confront and comfort us, in teachings that challenge and change us, in compassion that heals and frees us.
One:     And now we gather at this table to remember and to be filled with such longing for your realm,  that we may rise together to turn our worship into witness and to follow in your way.
One:     We remember that when Jesus ate with his friends, he took a loaf of bread and, after blessing it, he broke it and gave it to them, saying,
All:    “Take, eat.  This is my body, given for you.  Each time you do this, remember me.”
One:     Then he took a cup and, after giving thanks, passed it to his friends, saying:
All:    “Drink.  This cup that is poured out for you is the promise of God, made in my blood.  Whenever you drink it, remember me.”
One:     Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us that this meal may be our communion in the body of Christ. Unite us in faith, encourage us with hope, inspire us to love, that we may serve you with the testimony of our lives.
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 the usher. All the bread is gluten-free, and the chalices are filled with non-alcoholic grape juice.
Our Offering
Our offering today, and our spending throughout the week, is chance to reflect on “generous undertakings,” and the chance to make generosity a mark of character and a way of moving through the world, not a single act of giving. Generous undertakings at Union Church include the caring for one another in the form of Emergency Assistance. So far this year, we have been able to offer more than $4100 in aid to local members and families. “No Child Cold, No Child Hungry,” a partnership with local schools, has been able to buy more than $400 in clothing, supplies, and food for Berea school children in need just this last semester. And the need is ongoing. Union Church helps with providing seniors medical equipment, and new parents with diapers. You are a part of these generous undertakings every time you give of your earnings. Together we are making a difference. Thank you for your generous piece of God’s peace in Christ’s service!
When invited, please join in singing the familiar chorus: Alleluia!
Blessing for Those Who Will Receive at Home
Members who have been designated to carry communion to those who could not be with us this morning are invited forward at this time. The elements from our meal will go with our blessing and prayers for our continued unity in the Spirit. If you would like serve by taking communion to others, you are very welcome to do so and are invited to volunteer with the Nurture and Care Board members or by contacting the pastor.
 Prayer of Thanksgiving 
One:     God, you remake the broken. You call back the forsaken. You heal the bleeding. You knit together again that which has been frayed. We thank you that by this meal, and every meal where your healing intention is remembered, we may be partners at this table with Christ.
All:      We hope that by remembering him, his mission, his love, that our will might be turned to healing life, and that our communities might be remade in the image of your wholeness.
One:     Thank you for this holy day and all these holy people. Keep us mindful of all who suffer, and help us do something about it. May the bread we break all week help put your world back together until we reach that day when none shall need or hurt or want for justice. In Christ’s name we pray: Amen.

From Here to There

¨  Closing Hymn #576 Black         For the Healing of the Nations           Westminster Abbey
¨  Benediction
Postlude                
Questions for Reflection:

• If you choose to take communion today, who will you be praying to be in communion with? If you are remembering those not present–either living elsewhere or those who have died–what generous gifts (Greek: “charis”) do you carry from them?
• Contact with just the hem of Jesus robe stops the flow of blood from the wounded woman. Are  you bleeding out somewhere? Are you losing your lifeforce? If so, what touches are healing? What feels too frightening to risk right now? As you come to communion, imagine it as the outstretched hand of Christ; a brush with Jesus that can close the wound.
• Think carefully as you walk about all the circles of community you inhabit, including the people around you in the present moment. Some you know well, others not at all. Communion means “to be WITH TOGETHERNESS.” What could, would, should bring you into a more knowledgeable relationship in all your circles?
• What “generous undertakings” is God prompting in you at this moment? Is there a work, a word, a relationship you are being prompted to offer to someone, or in some context? What work as a community could we do together to be a gift to those in need?

Especially in our prayers
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 Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda our brothers and sisters at West Side Baptist Church in our hearts, and pray for them. Please hold these concerns in your prayers, today and throughout the week.
The Justice Candle this week is lit for Mother Clara McBride Hale. Mother Hale’s long career caring for sick children began in 1969 when a young woman appeared at her door with a drug-addicted baby. Before her death at age 87 in 1992, Mother Hale was a foster-care mother for more than four decades. She also founded Hale House, a safe, loving environment that has nurtured more than 1000 young  victims of New York City’s drug and AIDS epidemics.
Prayer requests to be printed may be sent to the office anytime before 10:00 am Fridays.
¨ Children in detention centers, that they may be reunited with their families soon.
¨ Leaders with authority to make the lives of the poor less burdensome; that they may be generous and loving in all they undertake.
¨ Prayers in honor of Independence Day: that our ideals of the equality of all may reach their fulfillment in a country of plenty and generosity. May there be “Good will to all and malice to none.”
¨ Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound: Ruth Butwell, Edith Hansen, Nancy Hindman, Loyal Jones, Mary Miller, Alva Peloquin
¨ Dan Rohrer, who is suffering from a severe liver disorder.
¨ Dave Wellinghurst, receiving treatment for glioblastoma.
¨ Jimmie Lewis’ sister, undergoing cancer treatment.
¨ Judy Rowell, recovering well from surgery.
¨ Dana Rousey’s continued recovery
¨ John Dobyns, still recovering from foot surgery at home in Nancy, KY.
¨ The Youth Group from the Federated Church of Carlinville, IL, who stayed overnight here last night and will travel to do mission work in NC. Safe travels!
¨ Prayers for the ordination of church member Leslie Small Stokes, who passed her ordination interview with the United Church of Christ on Thursday! Next step: an open meeting of lay and clergy to examine her and vote whether to ordain her.
Announcements
You Matter! Please Sign the Register, Check in on Facebook/Twitter and try a nametag! It’s hard to get to know people elsewhere, but we don’t want it that way at church.  Let’s all try to get to know each other better.
Summer Choir July 8, July 15, July 22–9:45am. Adults and youth are welcome to participate in Summer Choir for any or all of the Sundays we sing.  No commitment is expected. Just show up for rehearsal at 9:45am in the sanctuary on the days you wish to participate.  
Community Hymn Sing July 15, 2:00 pm, Cowan Chapel. Did you know that singing with others releases endorphins in our brains that promote a sense of well-being and community connectedness? Come see, hear, sense, and feel for yourself! All ages welcome! 
Share-YOUR-Music Sunday, July 29 This is an opportunity for vocal and instrumental soloists and ensembles to share the music of their hearts in worship. If you would like to participate in this special worship service, please contact Gabe by Sunday, July 15 with your name, title/composer, instrument, and whether you need an accompanist or microphones. We will need this information well in advance so we can craft an inspiring, and smooth-running worship service, as well as an efficient sound-check schedule. Please contact Gabe to schedule additional practice times. 
Hymn Favorites on Handbells Sunday, August 12, 2:00pm Whether you are a current ringer with UCHE, or you have rung bells in another time or place, we would love to have you join us for the August 12, 2:00 pm, performance. There are three more scheduled “full ensemble” rehearsals.  July 11 & 25, and August 8, at 7pm in the sanctuary.  Please contact Pearl (pmarshall@union-church.org) if you’d like to participate.
Handbell Anthem in Worship July 22. Rehearsals July 18, 7:00pm & July 22, 9:00am. Adults and youth are most welcome. Please contact Pearl Marshall (pmarshall@union-church.org) as soon as possible if you are interested in ringing  the handbell anthem this summer.
Birthday celebration! Amy Williams is hosting a concert on July 7 at 7 pm at the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center to celebrate her 50th birthday! Come hear Sam Gleaves, Deborah Payne and Judith Ann Anderson and join her friends and family from near and far for this wonderful occasion.
Benefit Concert July 7, Berea Arena Theater. The Sparrowhawks will perform a benefit concert for Hospice Care Plus in memory of Andy Blyth. Free admission, $10 donation suggested.
You’re Invited to make a small quilt based on a favorite book! Join the Friends of the Madison County Public Library Fundraiser today! Contact Rita Barlow at lashleybarlow@gmail.com for details. The quilts will be on display at both library branches and are sold by silent auction.
Help Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) provide safe, warm, dry, and accessible housing for children, their families, seniors, and individuals with
disabilities living in poverty.
BuildUP is a one-day service blitz (August 4) with Christian Appalachian Project in Floyd, Johnson, and Rockcastle counties. Volunteer groups serve (primarily) on construction projects and though skilled volunteers are welcome, no prior experience is necessary. You provide your hard work, and we provide meals, materials, tools, and jobsite leadership. Call Betsie at 606-887-3114 or email groups@chrisapp.org for info.
Kentuckians For The Commonwealth Annual Membership Meeting “Claiming Our Commonwealth: Creating Kentucky’s Beloved Community” August 3-5 at Berea College. To register: kftc.org/events/2018-annual-membership-meeting
Pool Party August 1, 7-9 at the Berea City Pool. Pizza provided, please bring salads and desserts.
Please Sign up to Read Scripture or to Help Greet and Usher!  Please use our electronic sign up system, http://signup.com/go/xkdVtB, where you can pick a date that works for you and get reminders!  OR you can also call the office and we’ll get you on the lists.