UNION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF HANCOCK
Open and Affirming of ALL God’s Children
Breakfast on the Beach, Peter Koenig, 20th century.
Third Sunday of Easter
May 1, 2022
Celebrating Earth Day
This service will be in the sanctuary and on Zoom at 10:00 a.m.
Join us for Zoom Coffee Hour beginning shortly after the service ends.
(Find the link below and in your email in-box.)
10:00 a.m. Sunday Worship Service followed by Zoom Coffee Hour
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Meeting ID: 875 4500 2990
Passcode: 727784
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Silent Prayer
Living God, you meet us in unexpected places and surprise us with the abundance of your love. Feed us by your Word and fill us with your Spirit so that we may follow you this day, and always; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior. Amen
* Indicates points in the service when we stand in body or spirit
Announcements
Prelude Now the Green Blade Rises French Carol/ Cherwien
Welcome
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me, Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
*Call to Worship
One: Holy One, Provider, our ever-present help All: In our emptiness, You remind us of your presence One: In Your abundance, You remind us you are here All: With a love that conquers death, You remind us we are yours.
One: Like Job in the whirlwind, or Jonah in the storm at sea, we come before you in awe of your power, God. We recognize that today’s storms and whirlwinds are not your judgment on your people, but the distortion of natural systems through our own sin and hubris.
All: As the storms and whirlwinds of the climate crisis accelerate around us, may our sanctuary be a place of refuge and resilience, where all of God’s creation might be protected and sustained, and from which we, People of God, might be sent forth to bring healing and justice. Amen
*Passing of the Peace (ASL) - Lighting of the Peace Candle & Prayer for Peace
*Hymn For the Beauty of the Earth R. #54
for the love which from our birth over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light,
For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind’s delight,
for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight,
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild,
For each perfect gift of thine unto us so freely given,
Graces, human and divine, flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
*Invocation (spoken in unison)
The Risen One is with us. Your ways are ways of justice.Your ways are ways of peace. Your ways are ways of love. In You, our hearts are full. In Your ways, we will follow. Amen
Children’s Message
New Testament Reading (Christian Scriptures) John 21:4-19
Poem In Praise of the Earth John O’DonohueSpecial Music – Choir In the Bulb There Is A Flower Natalie Sleeth B. #433
Message Rev. TJ Mack*Hymn Pray for the Wilderness (vs. 1,3,5) B. #557
Pray for the wilderness, vanishing fast,
pray for the rain forest, open and vast;
pray for the people who live in the trees,
pray for the planet brought down by degrees.
Work for the justice created things need,
work for the health of each plant and seed;
work for the creatures abuse has betrayed,
work for the garden God's wisdom once made.
Pray for the atmosphere, pray for the sea,
learn from the river, the rock and the tree;
work till shalom is full harmony rings,
trust the connection of all living things.
Prayer of Reflection and Growth Creator of all that is, and was, forgive us. We do not always love and respect our planet. We do not always love and respect ourselves.We do not always love our neighbors. We have rebelled against your ways. Forgive us. Engage us. Reshape our imaginations. Trade our complacency for your courage, our pettiness for your possibility. Trade our greed for your goodness, our aimlessness for your adventure, our lives for your love.
Assurance of Grace
Open your hearts. Hear the good news. God has not abandoned us. God has not sent us out to find our own way. God is with us, all around us, at work within us. In the name of all that is,
you are welcome into the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of our Creator. Amen
Creation Justice Responsive Prayer – (read responsively)
For all those around the world who have lost their homes, livelihoods, or communities to the climate crisis. Lord, hear our prayer.
For our non-human siblings whose habitats are destroyed by the effects of greed and accumulation. Lord, hear our prayer.
For decision-makers, that their choices might create a more beautiful, whole, resilient world.
Lord, hear our prayer.
For our own church, that we might be bearers of hope and resilience in our communities, a place of refuge in the midst of crisis and disaster. Lord, hear our prayer.
For ourselves, that we take the existing climate crisis into account as we make decisions that affect not only ourselves, but all those sharing the planet with us, now and in the future. Lord, hear our prayer.
Prayers of the People – Sharing Joys & Concerns
Lead Me Lord
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.
Offering
Welcoming our Tithes and Offerings – Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God –
Offertory Reflection on “Bryn Calfaria” Owen/V.Williams/Wagner
*The Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God for all that love has done;
Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Amen
*Prayer of Dedication (spoken in unison)
May these gifts be used to bring life and love and liberation for this world that God so dearly loves. Amen
*Communion Hymn Let Us Break Bread Together R. #311
Let us break bread together on our knees;
let us break bread together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun,
My God, have mercy on me.
Let us drink wine together on our knees;
let us drink wine together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun,
My God, have mercy on me.
Let us praise God together on our knees; let us praise God together on our knees. When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, My God, have mercy on me.
The Lord’s Supper
Invitation to Holy Communion
One: This is the joyful feast of the people of God. Come to this table as you are. It is spread for us that we might again know that God comes to us, shares our common lot, dwells among us, and invites us to join the people of a new age, a new day, a new heaven, a new earth. We come to this table, not because we must, but because we may.
All: This is an open table at which all are welcome.
Words of Institution
All: On the night when Jesus was betrayed, Jesus gathered with his disciples in the upper room where an ordinary meal became an instrument of God. At this table, Jesus broke bread with those who would betray him. At this table, Jesus drank wine with the one who denied him. At this table, Jesus communed with those who would abandon him. At this table, Jesus gave a new commandment. At this table, we learn to love one another as God loves us.
Breaking Bread and Pouring Wine
One: Through the broken bread we participate in the body of Christ.
Through the cup of blessing we participate in the new life Christ gives.
The gifts of God for the people of God. Come, for all things are ready.
Sharing the Elements
One: The bread of life.
All: Amen
One: The cup of joy.
All: Amen
*Prayer of Thanksgiving (in unison)
Bountiful God, we give you thanks that you have refreshed us at your table. Strengthen our faith, increase our love for one another, and send us forth into the world in courage and peace, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen
*Blessing
Now, may the grace of God go with us. May God’s face shine upon us. May we love the world as God has loved us. May we be peace. May we be love. May God’s mercy be present among us. Amen
*Sung Benediction Go With Us, Lord R #336
Go with us, Lord, and guide the way through this and every coming day,
That in your Spirit strong and true our lives may be our gift to you.
Postlude Grand Choeur Craig Penfield
(Please remain seated for the Postlude)
Please visit Hancock (Maine) UCC on Facebook
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)
207.422.3100 207.323.6743
Many thanks to those who helped make this service possible –
in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Deb Riley – Music Minister
Mary Angela Davis, Nick Davis, Jeanne Edwards, Peggy Emigh, Pat Summerer – Choir
Peggy Emigh, Robin Long, & Pat Summerer – Deacons
Peggy Karns – Liturgist
Cynthia Wood – Graphics Minister
Mike Summerer – Audio-Video Support
Vicky Espling – Office Secretary
TJ Mack – Settled Minister
You – The Body of Christ
Resources:
Worship Ways (ucc.org), Creation Justice Ministries
"Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License #A-738532. All rights reserved.”
Spirit of the Living God
Words and Music - ©1963 Jubilate Music
Contributors: Daniel Iverson and Michale Baughen, Daniel Iverson
For the Beauty of the Earth
Words and Music - ©1917 Willow Publishing Pty Ltd
Contributors: Folliot Pierpont, Conrad Kocher
Pray for the Wilderness
Words and Music - ©1991 Hope Publishing Company
Contributors: Daniel Charles Damon
Let Us Break Bread Together - LET US BREAK BREAD
Words and Music - © OCP
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