UNION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF HANCOCK
We respect tradition — and we welcome inclusive language about people and expansive language about God. Please pray using words most meaningful to you.
Open and Affirming of ALL God’s Children
Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost - November 17, 2024
This service will be in-person and on Zoom at 10 a.m.
(Recorded for Facebook and YouTube)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 822 2425 2518 Passcode: 755650
The first pew in front of the pulpit has books and quiet activities for people of all ages.
Please borrow something that suits you, and return it after the service.
Silent Prayer
“They die into each other’s life, and live into each other’s death…and this exchange goes on and on, round and round, the Wheel of Life rising out of the soil, descending into it, through
the bodies of creatures.”
* Indicates points in the service when we stand in body or spirit
Announcements
Prelude In Heavenly Love Abiding Nyland, Finnish Folk Tune/ Gilbert Martin
Welcome
*Introit God, Creation's Great Designer B. #371
God, creation’s great designer, architect, and artisan,
dreamer, builder, and refiner - how we marvel at your plan.
You have formed us to reflect you, filled us with your Spirit’s breath,
freed us to accept, reject you, and in Christ, defeated death.
*Call to Worship
One: Giver of Life, we stand, poised at the edge of the salty ocean, sensing and seeking with our entire being.
All: From across the ages we feel you, in the rising and lowering of eternal tides.
One: The swaying grasses of the silty marshes beckon us forward.
All: Their roots flowing downward into the ancient muddy depths.
One: We watch in awe, as the birds of the sea and shore take flight.
All: With wings spread wide, they invite us in, to sing in praise Creation’s song.
*Passing of the Peace (ASL) and Lighting of Peace & Justice Candle
*Hymn Morning Has Broken R. #258
Morning has broken like the first morning, blackbird has spoken like the first bird.Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!
Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven, like the first dewfall on the first grass.Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, sprung in completeness where his feet pass.
Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning - born of the one light Eden saw play!Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day!
*Invocation (in unison)
Indwelling and ever present Giver of life, in the beginning you created the heavens and the earth. You looked upon these works and declared them Good. Since the beginning you have abided within every living thing, giving love and support as creation has struggled and groaned. Through the endless cycles of life across the eons, You have been ever present and loving. As a sunflower turns her face toward the shining sun, so we turn to you, ever seeking Your love, direction and care. Amen
Children’s Message
Hebrew Scriptures Job 12:7-10 Greek Scriptures Revelation 21: 1-4
Special Music A Gladsome Hymn of Praise Southern Harmony/ Austin C. Lovelace
Message Student Ministry Intern Sarina Brooks
*Hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful B. #31
Refrain:All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small,All things wise and wonderful, our dear God made them all.
Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings,God made their glowing colors, and made their tiny wings. [Refrain]
The purple-headed mountain, the river running by,The sunset and the morning that brightens up the sky. [Refrain]
The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun,The ripe fruits in the garden, God made them every one. [Refrain]
Prayers of the People – Sharing Joys & Concerns
Beloveds, bring all your burdens and lay them down at the feet of the Giver of Life. Know that the Holy will hear us as we lift up our prayers and petitions, joys and sorrows, hopes and fears. Since the beginning of Creation, God has been with us, hears us, rejoices with us in our laughter and sorrows with us in the agony of our tears.
The Lord’s Prayer from New Zealand (spoken in unison)
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is Heaven: The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world! Your Heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on Earth. With the bread we need for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and for ever. Amen
Lead me Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my face.
For it is thou Lord, thou Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.
Invitation to Offering –
Giver of Life, you created the world and sent your own Son to live among us. He was made of the same stuff of the cosmos as all life on earth. From his first inhalation he breathed the same air and over his life marveled at the same sunrises and sunsets we do. With our giving of our resources, time and talents, we repeat the cycle of love, hope, giving and sacrifice that exemplified who Christ was.
Offertory I Come with Joy Tune: Dove of Peace/ Gilbert Martin
*The Creation Doxology
Praise Christ for Whom the stones cry out. Trees raise their hands. All nature, shouts!
Creation, waits expectantly. On tiptoe or on bended knee! Amen
*Prayer of Dedication (spoken in unison)
Generous and giving God, help us to continue to participate fully in the life around and within us. You have made us of the same stuff as the rest of the cosmos and in so doing have linked us irrevocably to one another, to all of Creation and to You. May we keep giving and caring knowing that you live in us, us in you, and in each other and all of Creation. So linked, we are intertwined and connected to all things, giving and sharing with love what already belongs to All. These gifts we bring, ultimately flow from You, and may we be as giving and generous, as we use these gifts in Your name. Amen
*Hymn For the Beauty of the Earth B. #28
For the beauty of the earth, for the splendor of the skies,For the love which from our birth over and around us lies,
Refrain:God of all, to you we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night,Hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light,
[Refrain ]
For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,Friends on earth, and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild,
[Refrain]
For the good that love inspires, for a world where none exclude,For a faith that never tires, and for every heart renewed, [Refrain]
*Benediction (spoken in unison) Creator God, at the beginning of time your voice brought light into the darkness. Your hands shaped dry land. Your creativity exploded in colors and shapes and smells. And your breath brought life to all creatures. As we step outside, may we discover the light of your presence, hear your purpose-giving voice of direction, and be amazed and inspired by your creativity. And as we breathe in fresh air, may you fill us with the breath of your Spirit who brings us true peace, rest, and strength.
*Sung Blessing Go Now in Peace (sing twice) R. #347
Go now in peace, go now in peace, may the love of God surround you
everywhere, everywhere, you may go.
Postlude Toccata in E minor Johann Pachelbel
(Please remain seated for the Postlude)
Support our Church Financially
Please visit Hancock (Maine) UCC on Facebook or our new webpage www.hancockucc.com
or visit this link to our PayPal account: paypal.me/hancockucc
or mail offerings to:
Union Congregational Church, PO Box 443, Hancock, ME 04640 (Attention: Treasurer)
Contact Us
207.422.3100 207.323.6743
Many thanks to those who make this service possible –
in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Music Minister – Debbie Riley
Deacons – Nick Davis & Robin Long
Liturgist – Pastor TJ
Audio-Video Support – Patrice Alexander
Office Administrator – Vicky Espling
Student Ministry Intern – Sarina Brooks
Settled Minister – Rev. TJ Mack
The Body of Christ – You
Resources
Cover Art The Goddess of Nature and Animals (https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/n1lprvvtNrcI0fDfl1Ud)
Silent Prayer Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1977), pg. 86
The Lord’s Prayer from New Zealand Originally From The New Zealand Prayer Book (https://thevalueofsparrows.wordpress.com/2017/10/30/prayer-the-lords-prayer-from-new-zealand/)
Invitation to Offering Adapted from The Earth Community: In Christ through the Integrity of Creation (https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/creation-prayers)
Doxology Creation Doxology from Nature Journal by Rick Mylander (December 12, 2015) (http://www.rickmylander.com/2015/12/from-my-nature-journal-creation-doxology.html)
Benediction Adapted from A Prayer for Experiencing God in Nature
The New Century Hymnal (B.) Hymns of Truth and Light (R.)
Copyright © 1995 The Pilgrim Press Copyright © 1998 First Congregational
Church of Huston, Texas
"Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE,
License #A-738532. All rights reserved
God, Creation's Great Designer
Words Jane Parker Huber 1984
Music J.T. Morrow 1950
Morning Has Broken
Words Eleanor Farjeon Enlarged Songs of Praise 1931
Music David Evans, Revised Church Hymnary, 1927
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Music Adapt. Martin Shaw 1915
For the Beauty of the Earth
Words (St. 1-3) Folliott Sandford Pierpoint 1864, (St. 4) Miriam Therese Winter 1993
Music Adapt. William H. monk 1861
Go Now In Peace
Words and Music - ©1976 Hinshaw Music, Inc.
Contributors: Natalie Sleeth
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