The United Church of Gainesville – September 27, 2020

If you would like to watch the service as a playlist, please click here and you will be directed to our YouTube page. If you prefer, you may click on the individual links below at your own pace.

Welcome, Prayers, and Musical Response

Welcome – Rev. Andy Bachmann

Time of Prayer – Rev. Talia Raymond

Prayer Response – The Gift of Love (arr. Zach Neece) Cindy Martin, flute; Tane’ DeKrey, Piano

Though I may speak with bravest fire,
And have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love, my words are vain,

As sounding brass,
and hopeless gain.
Though I may give all I possess,
And striving so my love profess,
But not be given by love within,
The profit soon turns strangely thin.

Come, Spirit, come,
our hearts control,
Our spirits long to be made whole.
Let inward love guide every deed;
By this we worship, and are freed.

Time with Children – “Billy and Penelope” and “Griffin and Shelly: A Tale of Togetherness” both written, illustrated, and read by Jhett Hill.

Join us at United Tribes Activity Time at 10am!

Reading, Sermon, and Responsive Song

Reading – from Psalm 139 – Read by Taylor Williams

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night’,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts,
O God! How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you.…

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Sermon – “Search and Know,” Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan

God is a Body, words and music by Steve Thorngate, printed with permission

Here are the UCG friends celebrating a birthday this week.
Happy Birthday!

Kathy	Berg	09/27
Eden	Ivines	09/27
Maggie	Wise	09/27
Jaxon	Bonnaghan	09/27
Jennifer	Larson	09/28
Terrie	Mullin	09/28
Evelyn	Ragsdale	09/28
Kari	Shattuck	09/28
Eliza	McGinnis	09/28
Glenn	Acomb	09/30
Lew	Fabrick	09/30
Sara	Ivines	09/30
Carol	James	10/01
Susan	Kirkland	10/01
Kate	Boisseau	10/01
Bethany	Highsmith	10/03
Rachel	Howard	10/03

 

 

Sunday Seminars Today!

Sunday Seminar, September 27, at 11:15AM –  Join Andy Bachmann and members of our Enlistment Committee for an open discussion about the value of giving, even in stressful times. Don’t worry, we won’t be asking for your pledge commitments for 2021 (that will come NEXT week!)! Our hope is to talk about what the church means to us, and why it is important for us to support it. We hope you will join us! Join here! If the link does not work, you can enter this Meeting ID:829 6457 0385.

Sunday Seminar, September 27, at 12:30pm – Congregational Coffee Hour. Bromleigh will be available on our Zoom account to talk and share. She’ll be prepared to talk about the online worship experience, but with no set agenda other than hoping to see your faces and have a chance to touch base. Join here.

 

Important Announcements

TODAY! Invitation to UCG Young Adults Sunday Lunch Group -UCG Young Adult Group is holding a fall virtual lunch meeting today, September 27th, and each Sunday this fall. Are you a UCG young adult? Older than high school, younger than 30ish? Grab your lunch (optional) and join the UCG YA group for a meal, making connections, and for discussions on various topics. We will start off with welcoming new folks to the group and discussing “Spiritual Practices that help with stress.” Call Judy Parsons 352-213-6516 if you have any questions or need more information. Join here at Noon.

 

Call to Attend!
Fall Congregational Meeting – Next Sunday, October 4^th at 10:30am

In advance of the meeting, please have reviewed the proposed Three-Year-Plan that you can find here. The Board of Business will present the proposed budget for 2021 in addition to updates on the Corona Contingency Fund and PPP loan. We will also hear from the Board of Endowment Management, the COVID Advisory Team, and the Enlistment Committee. Watch for the Zoom link in the E-vents email and the Sunday Worship Bulletin.  Please Attend!

Compassion in Action Announces Drive-By Donation Next Sunday, October 4, 2020 – 11:30am – 1:00 pm (Immediately following Congregational Meeting) in UCG Parking Lot. Bring for Gainesville Community Ministries: non-perishable food items. Bring for Grace Marketplace: much needed full-sized self care products – such as bug spray, toothbrush/toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, body wash, razor, bar soap, bandages, hand sanitizer, feminine products . Drive by, wear your mask, pop your trunk, and our awesome volunteers will pick up your donations. Be prepared for some happy surprises!!

Share Your Story! – We will be celebrating PRIDE Sunday on October 18. One element that makes our Pride service so meaningful are the personal stories shared by our members. This year’s theme is: “History of Pride.” Would you be willing to share your story of your history of Pride? This can be about your own life story as a member of the LGBTQQIA+ community or as a friend or family member that has been on a journey with our community. It can be about an experience at a live Pride festival, your story of finding Pride in yourself or a loved one, or something else that this theme brings to mind for you. If you would be willing to share a 2-5 minute reflection/story, please email Talia. We will most likely still be virtual, and you are welcome to submit your own video, or we will coordinate a time for you to record in the Sanctuary. Thank you for sharing your story, your history of Pride with your UCG family.

White Privilege Study Group – This small group will be meeting on Tuesday nights from 7:00-8:30pm via Zoom for four weeks, beginning on October 6th and ending October 27th. We will be discussing our white privilege and identify how it has benefitted us and disadvantaged people of color. We will identify specific incidences in our lives when we did not understand how our white privilege hurt people of color & become more cognizant of our privilege in our daily lives. The group will be facilitated by Joyce Orr and will be open to 12 participants. If you are interested in this group, please sign up here.

—

If you are a regular supporter through our collected offering, please consider making your donation now.  Our budgeted (anticipated) amount of Plate Income for 2020 is $40,000, so we rely on the weekly passing of the plate. To GIVE, click here to make a one-time donation to UCG -or- to set up a recurring donation via your bank account or credit card click here.  Thank you for your support.

—

Please note: While the Church Office remains closed, we are still available by phone or email from 9am – 4pm, Monday – Friday.