Welcome to Worship
Sunday, April 10, 2022
Lent: Broken Heroes
Palm Sunday
Join us here for a live-stream beginning at 9:15am
“When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” ~Maya Angelou
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS – Rev. Talia Raymond
PRELUDE -Phillip Herr-Klepacki
READING – Matthew 21:1-11
*OPENING SONG AND PALM PROCESSIONAL – “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”
TIME WITH CHILDREN
BIRTHDAYS
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
PRAYER RESPONSE – All This Joy, All This Sorrow”
All this joy, all this sorrow,
All this promise, all this pain,
Such is life, such is being,
Such is spirit, such is love.
Sing of joy, sing of sorrow,
Sing of promise, sing of pain,
Such is life, such is being,
Such is spirit, such is love.
World of joy, world of sorrow,
World of promise, world of pain,
Such is life, such is being,
Such is spirit, such is love.
All is joy, all is sorrow,
All is promise, all is pain,
Such is life, such is being
Such is spirit, such is love.
RESPONSIVE READING – from enfleshed
One:
To become is a lifelong process.
Nothing is constant,
not even the self.
We evolve in the midst of narratives meant only for some
and ways of being made narrow by fear and power.
We must, then, have the courage to listen to the truth of our own lives, to the wisdom that comes from within –
responding without resistance or need to control,
but with welcome and curiosity.
This is what ensures our becoming is an unfolding
of our truest self.
This lifelong labor cannot be carried out alone. It requires help
from friends, and lovers, family, and creaturely companions
who bear witness to what makes us come alive.
And say to us, “Listen. Look. Feel. Pay attention to that.”
Many: This is loving and being loved.
One:
Telling the stories.
Sharing in the memories.
Giving thanks for the relationships, understandings, and experiences past
that have shaped us to this day.
Many: This is loving and being loved.
One:
Celebrating new beginnings that excite.
Holding risks together.
Leaning into unknowns with the promises of support and companionship.
Many: This is loving and being loved.
One: Listening to the future calling uniquely to each of us in the midst of all of life’s noise.
Helping one another find our place in the shared labor of collective life.
Supporting each other in what it is the world’s ache is asking from us.
Many: This is loving and being loved.
One:
To say, for the first time,
“This is who I am.
This is the truth of my body.
This is what I know about myself.
This is my name and this is where my path is leading me.”
And to have it heard. Have it received. Have it affirmed.
And then,
to say it again,
and again,
as we change
and as the world changes,
and to have each proclamation greeted with an open-armed embrace:
Many: This is loving and being loved.
One:
There is no me without you.
We shape one another.
The Sacred that birthed us
weaves our lives together
so that we can only find ourselves through shared becoming.
For my journey and all its winding ways.
For yours.
For all the saints who labored for what is,
all the kin whose lives made ours possible.
For all those yet to come for whom
living our truths today will mean breaking possibilities open for them tomorrow:
We pause. We give thanks. We acknowledge.
Many: This is loving and being loved.
SPECIAL MUSIC – “This is Me” by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, arranged by Mac Huff. Offered by Jasmine Angelini-Knoll, Remy Bachmann, Stella Bachmann, and Phillip Herr-Klepacki
SCRIPTURE – John 20:24-29
SERMON – “I Am What I Am” – Rev. Talia Raymond
CLOSING SONG – “This Little Light/This Joy I Have” #524 UCC Hymnal
1. This Little Light of Mine, I’m gonna let it shine (x3)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
2. This joy I have, the world didn’t give it to me (x3)
No, the world didn’t give it, the world can’t take it away.
3. This love I have,the world didn’t give it to me (x3)
No, the world didn’t give it, the world can’t take it away.
4. This hope I have, the world didn’t give it to me (x3)
No, the world didn’t give it, the world can’t take it away.
*BENEDICTION
The Peace of the Earth Be With You
Here are the UCG friends celebrating a birthday this week!
Happy Birthday!
|
Pepper |
Durant |
04/10 |
|
Andrew |
Ragsdale |
04/10 |
|
Rose Ann |
Walker |
04/10 |
|
Ed |
Carter |
04/12 |
|
Lynda |
Everitt |
04/12 |
|
Betsy |
Filippi |
04/12 |
|
Ella |
Denny |
04/13 |
|
Scott |
LaFramenta |
04/13 |
|
Andy |
Olivenbaum |
04/15 |
|
John |
Jopling |
04/15 |
|
Paul |
Lyrene |
04/16 |
|
Edward |
Thompson |
04/16 |
|
James |
Dickens |
04/16 |
|
Lucy |
Tims |
04/16 |
Announcements
Today at UCG
9:00am Childcare
9:15 & 11:15 am Worship – Rev. Talia Raymond
9:30am United Tribes
10:15am Fellowship & Beverages
10:30am Sunday Seminar
Confirmation Class (High Schoolers Only)
12:15pm Young Adult Lunch
12:30pm Special Congregational Meeting via Zoom
3:00pm YU & MST Meal and Open Mic Night
Lenten Devotional Booklet – with daily readings to guide you through your Lenten journey, are available in the Courtyard this morning. Click here for a digital version.
United Tribes – Our annual palm parade is here! The children will wave their palms in parade style through the 9:15 service. Looking ahead: Another tradition returns! Egg hunts! Our annual Easter Egg hunt occurs immediately following the 9:15 children’s story.
Sunday Seminar at 10:30am- “How to Taste and Touch the Present Moment: Guidance from Thich Nhat Hahn” led by Alberto Breccia and Mark Burlingame. Join us in Reimer Hall or on YouTube to learn more about the intentional practices of the great Buddhist Monk.
There is a special Congregational Meeting a 12:30 pm TODAY on Zoom. An in-person Zoom session will be available in Reimer Hall for the convenience of those attending the 11:15 service. Voting for those attending in Reimer Hall will take place by paper ballot. For those attending virtually we will utilize the polling system within Zoom for voting. Join here: https://bit.ly/congmeeting041022 Meeting ID: 811 6716 6445 Passcode: 1624
One agenda item:
Motion to express Congregational support, by 2/3 approval of members voting, for:
- the church’s intent to host Constellation Charter School on campus for a contracted period of time and
- the Charter School Collaboration Committee’s continued efforts and due diligence in negotiating the lease agreement with the school’s Board of Directors.
Food First is TODAY – Please bring your non-perishable food items to the shopping cart. Since January, your generosity has totaled 816 pounds of much needed food for the Gainesville Community Ministry (GCM) Food Pantry!
YA lunch is today! If you are 18-30 years old and looking for a great small group to join at UCG please come for lunch with YA. We meet at the fountain after the 11:15 service at 12:15 and go to a nearby eatery for lunch, fellowship, connection, discussion, and support. Questions? Contact Judy Parsons 352-213-6516.
Racial Justice 2022 Book Group for April, May, June– A three-month group to read three books of significance to the Black experience in the US. All are shorter books and available at a reasonable price. Today is the last day to register to Jessica Elkins at jessicaelkins123@gmail.com.
The Youth “Noodles and Doodles” pasta dinner and art auction is coming up on April 24th. If you have artwork that you have made or that you would simply like to re-home, we are accepting donations! Please leave it in the office for Talia by Wednesday, April 20. We appreciate your support of this fun event and of our youth!
UCC Ukraine Relief Fund- The United Church of Christ is appealing for support for refugees, elderly and other vulnerable people who are displaced within Ukraine and unable to leave. Gifts made to UCC Ukraine Relief Fund will provide shelter, food, and other care to war refugees and internally displaced people. You can submit your support via check to UCG (notate Ukraine Relief in the memo line) or click here to give directly. Thank you for your support.
Grushers Needed! We are in need of more Grusher volunteers (aka greeter/ushers) at both services this spring. No experience necessary. Come 15 minutes early and basically be a welcoming presence for our friends and families returning to UCG after the long pandemic-related pause. Click here to sign up. Email denalidar@gmail.com for information or to help!
Join Us for Holy Week
April 14 – Maundy Thursday service at 6:30pm -In the Sanctuary – A simple service of song and holy communion, commemorating Jesus’s last supper and his commandment — mandatum — to the disciples: to love one another.
April 15 – Good Friday service at 6:30pm – In the Sanctuary – A service of personal storytelling and heart-rending music, as we enter into the story of Jesus’s last hours and days. If you have a story to share, please contact Rev. Bromleigh.
April 17 – Easter Sunday services at 8:00, 9:15, and 11:15am – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan -The most joyful morning of the Christian year, we gather to sing and proclaim Good News, accompanied by brass, guided by rich traditions, and imagining a bright future of transformation in love.
Next Sunday, April 17 at UCG
Easter Sunday
9:00am Childcare
8:00, 9:15 & 11:15 am Worship – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
9:30am United Tribes – Egg Hunt
10:15am Fellowship & Beverages
April 9 COVID-19 Update
