A Gathering in Worship Offered by the People of the
Church of Christ, Union and First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
World Communion Sunday October 4, 2015, 10:30 am
Meditation
As Christians, we are called to be REAL people:
Remember who we are
Embrace the broken heart
Accept God’s healing gift
Learn from each other
FROM THERE TO HERE
Prelude Prelude and Fugue in F Major J.S. Bach
• Call to Worship
One: Around the world people who take on the name Christian gather today, to take Christ into themselves.
All: We gather with them in heart and mind.
One: Around the world the broken body is made whole, integrated in its diversity around one communion.
All: As part of that body we join in its unity.
One: Around the world the Banquet of God is prepared for the table, where rich and poor dine together in harmony.
All: We, who share in the banquet, come eagerly to be fed. Let us worship together, and share God’s bounty!
• Opening Hymn #349 Black I Come with Joy DOVE OF PEACE
• Prayer of Approach & Confession
• Words of Assurance
One: In God’s hands we are becoming the Body of Christ, the love of God in our world. Friends, believe this truth and act with confidence:
All: By the grace, wisdom and love of God, we are forgiven, gifted and beloved! Thanks be to God! Amen.
• Passing the Peace of Jesus 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 joy.
THE WORD IN OUR MIDST
Anthem Let Us Break Bread Together T. Chesterton
Union Church Choir
Let us break bread together on our knees. When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me. Let us drink wine together on our knees. Let us praise God together on our knees.
Epistle Lesson Ephesians 2:12-22
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 Children’s Moment, children grades K-5 are invited to Children’s Church, which takes place in Cowan Chapel. Otherwise, children are welcome to visit the Children’s Worship Center, where there are toys, books, and drawing materials for children (or parents) who would like help staying present in the service. For children preschool & under, care is available in the Nursery, downstairs off the Community Room. Please pick up your children in the Chapel or Nursery after the service.
CELEBRATING THE JOY OF BAPTISM
Invitation and Introduction of Colin Quinn Perman
Promises of Colin and of the Congregation
One: As members of Christ’s beloved community, will you commit yourselves:
• to teaching Colin Christ’s way of unbounded hospitality,
• to encourage his development of a thoughtful Christian faith,
• to celebrate God’s love, care, and challenge as you worship with him,
• to follow Christ in service to others and teach him to do the same, and
• to strive to be good stewards and teach Colin to be a good steward of the gifts that God has given us?
If so, please say, “we will.”
Congregation: We will.
One: Hear now the promises of the Church: The church is the family of God and the Body of Christ, the community in which we grow in faith and commitment.
Congregation: We rejoice to welcome you, Colin, to our care. With you we commit to be a community that embodies Christ’s life and ministry and lives as faithful heirs of Christ’s promise. In all that we do, we will seek God’s grace to make the radical and inclusive love of God, the beloved community proclaimed by Jesus, and the continuing inspiration of the Holy Spirit visible and real to you and to all.
Blessing and Anointing
Colin has chosen to be baptized in the waters of the Brushy Fork Creek. Following the service, at 12:30 pm, we will gather at the bridge overlooking the creek at the end of Harrison Road, just past the Berea Municipal Utilities building. All are invited to join us in this sacrament.
Hymn #327 Black Jesus Loves Me JESUS LOVES ME
Please choose a language to sing in. Our hope is to have many languages singing the same tune all at once.
GIFTS GIVEN FOR LOVE TO FLOW
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 good portion of our contributions flows out to aid to those in need via many external agencies.
This can now be done online or by text to 859-448-3403 (Example: Text “$50.00 Offering” to contribute to the ongoing ministries, or add “youth,” or “missions” or designation of your choice to benefit one in particular.
There are envelopes in each pew marked for First Christian Church and “My Offering” envelopes for Union Church. Please put your offering in whichever is appropriate for you. All loose cash and change will be gathered and given to our shared ministry, the Berea Faith Community Outreach (BFCO), which oversees BUURR (Bereans United for Utility and Rent Relief); the Berea Food Bank, and the Frank Gailey Transient Aid Fund. Thank you for your generosity. It really makes a difference.
Your contribution is love made visible. Thank you!
Offertory Come, Let Us Eat arr. Cathy Mokelbust
Union Church & First Christian Handbell Ensemble
• Doxology Avery/Marsh
SHARING GOD’S LOVE IN COMMUNION
Call to Communion
Ringing of the Peace Bell and Prayers of the Community
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.
Prayers for Bread and Cup
One: As we gather now with Christians in every corner of the world, let us pray:
Bread
Holy One, for us you were born, for us you healed, preached and taught; for love of us you were crucified, and after death, you rose again. Loving Creator, Risen Christ and Holy Spirit, present with us now, we see you in this bread. One whole body, broken for many, restored to wholeness in our hearts, united, committed and consecrated here.
Cup
Faithful One, for us you seek, solve, wait and watch. Your love for us is tireless, though our world is weary. Loving Creator, Risen Christ and Holy Spirit, present with us now, we see you in this cup. One vessel, poured out again and again, yet ever full, released to make us whole and new again. So too, renew and release us, to bring wholeness to your world. Amen.
Words of Institution
One: Let us now pass on what we have received, that on the night before he died, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and broke it and said,
All: “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
One: In the same way, after supper, Jesus took a cup, and after he blessed it, he said,
All: “This cup is my blood, a new covenant, poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.
One: Come, everyone is welcome, for Christ is our host at the table of God’s love.
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.
If it is not your tradition to receive, you are invited to join in prayers for the unity of the Spirit and all people, within your tradition.
Blessing for Those Who Will Receive at Home
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.
Prayer of Thanksgiving (unison)
Gracious One, We who have tasted the bread of this table say thank you! We who have lifted the cup to our lips offer our praise! We long for the day when this taste of grace will become the full feast of your love and all your children will be made whole.
Thank you for your patient, persistent love. In you, Loving Creator, Risen Christ and Holy Spirit, present with us now, we are one. Amen.
From Here to There
• Closing Hymn #391 Black In the Midst of New Dimensions NEW DIMENSIONS
• Benediction & Sending Forth
Postlude (please be seated) Grand Choer in D W. Spence
____________________
• Please rise in body or in spirit as you wish
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 the Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine and our brothers and sisters at Berea Primitive Baptist Church in your hearts, and pray for them.
Please also hold these concerns in your prayers, today and throughout the week:
*Our church family members in nursing homes, or who are homebound: Edith Hansen, Nancy Jones, Mary Miller, Averill Kilbourne, Alva Peloquin
*Mary K. Kaufman, recovering from a fall
*Marlene Payne, undergoing chemotherapy
*Kelly Ambrose and for his family as his treatments continue
*George Oberst, also undergoing cancer therapy
*Heather Warner and Lane Holbrook, married yesterday! Mazel tov!
*Delores Carpenter’s mother, who is very ill
*Judy Gordon, struggling with housing & financial issues
*Elizabeth Long’s brother, whose cancer has metastasized
*Habitat for Humanity International and its efforts to eradicate poverty housing throughout the world, bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope.
*Those killed and injured and their loved ones involved in the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, and victims of gun violence everywhere.
Union Church Announcements
New members are received every second Sunday of a month—next opportunity is next week, October 11. YOU are welcome here!
A warm welcome to our brothers & sisters at First Christian Church! It’s a joy to share worship together, on this World Communion Sunday!
First Wednesday-of-the-month WNL Potluck on October 7! All invited to come with a dish to share. Dave Kobersmith will present the program, on BFCO (Berea Faith Community Outreach)and Glean, KY.
Delicious Youth Group Fundraiser! Youth Group will be doing a fundraiser this fall in partnership with Equal Exchange, a fair trade chocolate and coffee company. Our Community Life & Growth Board purchases the coffee used for church coffee hours, WNL and other events from Equal Exchange. So you know you already love it!
The youth will have catalogs to sell Equal Exchange products, and we will receive 40% of the profits from these sales. The money we raise will go toward getting youth to camp next summer at “Passport Choices” in North Carolina.
The fundraiser will continue until November 11th, when we will send in our final orders to Equal Exchange. The Equal Exchange products you buy from us will not only be fantastic Christmas presents, but will support the youth of Union Church, and help support fair prices from coffee and cocoa bean producers world wide. Thank you all for your support!
Bereans United for Racial Justice (BURJ) is a new group currently forming in Berea. The next meeting will be this Tuesday, October 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Berea Public Library. BURJ is an off-shoot of a more wide-spread organization, SURJ (Standing Up for Racial Justice), and encourages dialogue and action by bringing together people of all ethnicities to better understand each other and move forward together.
Did you know that Union Church now hosts 6 (six!) recovery support groups in our building? We have Alcoholics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Adult Children of Alcoholics, Al-Anon, Al-Anon Step Study and Depression & Bipolar Disorder groups. Check the calendar for meeting times, or call the office for the contact person;
Plus: 3 handwork/craft groups: Knitters, Quilters, and Basketweavers;
Plus: 3 musical groups in addition to our own choirs: ShapeNote Singers, Classic Chorale, Drum Circle!
We are delighted to offer the building as community space to these groups! With all this activity comes … well, a lot of activity. If you want to schedule a meeting, please call the office to be sure space is available before making plans. You can consult the church calendar is on the website at union-church.org. Thanks.
Marlene Payne has a CaringBridge site for those who would like to leave greetings and keep informed. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/marlenepayne
Artist in Residence Coming in October! Thanks to generous contributions to the Worship and Arts Fund, the Worship Board has invited musician and composer, A.J. Bodnar to be our Artist in Residence at Union Church during the month of October, into November.
He will be participating in worship services, conversations on artistic-spiritual expression, and maybe even helping some of you write and compose from your own sense of Spirit.
A.J. began playing piano at the age of six. He has dedicated his life to the study of all types of music, resulting in a totally eclectic approach. Along the way, he has picked up the accordion, the synthesizer, percussion instruments, and four years ago, the melodica.
He is the composer of Holy Women, Holy Men, which he has gifted to the Union Church community.
Library Fundraiser! Make a small quilt based on a favorite book! Contact Rita Barlow at lashleybarlow@gmail.com for details.
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