Welcome to Worship
The United Church of Gainesville – October 31, 2021
Join us here for a live-stream of Sunday Worship beginning at 9:15am.
It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
All Saints’ Sunday at UCG
“Death is just a door, Blake said it first
It’s just another room we enter
It’s a threshold that hurts.” Matt Ward
WELCOME – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
PRELUDE MUSIC – Phillip Herr-Klepacki
During the Prelude, please light a candle in remembrance of someone(s) you love.
*INVOCATION, from “Ailey, Baldwin, Floyd, Killens, and Mayfield” by Maya Angelou – Rev. Talia Raymond
When great souls die,
The air around us becomes
Light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly,
See with
A hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
Examines,
Gnaws on kind words,
Unsaid, promised walks never taken….
And when great souls die,
After a period peace blooms,
Slowly and always
Irregularly. Spaces fill
With a kind of
Soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
To be the same, whisper to us.
They existed.
We can be. Be and be
Better. For they existed.
*OPENING HYMN – “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” #86 in the UCG Songbook
Will the circle be unbroken,
By and By Lord, by and by. There’s a better
Home awaiting in the sky, Lord, in the sky.
1. There are loved ones in the glory,
whose sweet forms you often miss.
When you close your earthly story,
will you join them in their bliss? (chorus)
2. In the joyous days of childhood,
often told of wondrous love. Pointed
to the dying Saviour, now they dwell
with Him above. (chorus)
3. You can picture happy gatherings,
round the fireside long ago. And you
think of never parting, will they
leave you here below? (chorus)
4. One by one their seats are empty,
one by one they all went away. Now
this family is all parted, will it
be complete one day? (chorus)
TIME WITH OUR CHILDREN – Felipa and the Day of the Dead by Birte Müller, shared by Vivian Gutierrez
A MOMENT FOR STEWARDSHIP – Jess Archer
SPECIAL MUSIC — “One Hundred Million Years” (w. M. Ward), shared by Art Crummer and Alan Hill, bass
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
SCRIPTURE READING – Ruth 1:1-18
Naomi said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die– there will I be buried. May the LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”
When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
SERMON- “The Beloved Neighborhood” – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
PRAYER FOR ALL SAINTS
UNISON PRAYER
For all the saints — the angels who accompanied us and the ones with whom we wrestled, the instigators, cheerleaders and wisdom givers all — we give thanks. For those near to us and far, for those who protected us and guided us, for the lovers and friends, the ones who gave us pause and the ones who gave us challenges, we give you thanks. Out of our sorrow may we find peace. By their examples, may our lives find meaning; with their passing, may they live on forever in our hearts and in our minds.
For all the saints, we give you thanks. Amen.
CLOSING SONG – “For All The Saints” vs. 1, 4-5 #299 Black UCC Hymnal
BENEDICTION
Go in the name who unites all of creation in love! Go, lifting your voice in the universal chorus!
Go in peace.
ALLELUIA
Sunday Seminar
Sunday Seminar at 10:15am in Reimer Hall or live streamed to YouTube – “When the Veil Between Heaven and Earth is Wafer Thin,” with Sandy Reimer – On this Eve of All Saints’ Day, we will revisit Celtic and other traditions of remembering and honoring our loved ones who have died. Then we will share the ways and times when we have sensed or felt the presence of those dear ones: perhaps in dreams, perhaps in meditation and prayers, perhaps in both ordinary and extraordinary moments of grace. As St. John Chrysostom wrote, “Those whom we love and lose are no longer where they were before. They are now wherever we are.” Click here for live stream on YouTube.
_____________________
Announcements
Imagine, Engage, Invest – Our enlistment campaign to fund the 2022 UCG budget continues. To date there are 179 pledges totaling $521,506 of the required $814,429.00, which equals 64% of our goal. We have many options to make pledging easier, and as always your gift is secure and confidential with our Church Accountant, Catherine Cake. If you have not already made your pledge for 2022, please click here to do so now. Thank you!
Sunday Drive-Up Assistance Now Available – Volunteers are available to assist disabled persons from the apron in front of the UCG courtyard into the Sanctuary. Please call or text Dar Mikula (352-359-4041) directly ahead of time to make arrangements and we’ll meet you out front. A 24-hour notice is preferred but we will help you even if you wake up Sunday morning and decide to attend the worship service.
We are holding services inside the Sanctuary again! Your help is needed more than ever on Sunday mornings with greeting and ushering individuals and families at the 9:15AM service AND the 11:15 service starting November 7. There’s no lifting involved – just a friendly smile illuminating from behind your mask! To sign up, click here, email Dar Mikula, or call (352) 378-3500.
CMRB sends out a periodic survey which boards and committees and church leadership can use to gauge our progress with our Three Year Plan. The next survey is ready, and can be found at this link. The survey has been significantly shortened, so it should only take you a few minutes to complete. Please provide your input today!
The UCG Jazz Band will be playing that great arrangement of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” on November 7. We’ll rehearse at UCG on Tuesday, November 2 at 7:00 pm. Music is available in the church office. If you want Shanna to send it to you, please contact the church office. Please let Larry Reimer know if you plan on playing. Cindy Martin has transcribed the sax music for flute, so we have lots of opportunities for our flutes to join the band. NOTE: The UCG Jazz band is open to anyone playing a jazz instrument.
Small groups have always been creative outlets for UCG, encompassing art and music, health and science, social justice and psychology, caregiving and self-help, the environment and inner space… If you have an idea for a small group that you’d like to lead, we want to hear from you! They can meet once or many times, and can be on almost any topic or practice that interests you. Please click here for the submission form, deadline to submit a small group is Monday, November 8. Have questions? Contact the Committee Chair, Jeff Shapiro, at shap6102@gmail.com or call at (352) 359-2075. (An email subject line including “Small Groups” is appreciated.)
Advent Reflections Submissions Wanted – We are seeking your writings and art for the UCG Advent devotional booklet! Please send in original writings and art, or favorites that remind you of the season. Important: please send in art as jpegs and writings typed in the body of your email, or as PDFs. This makes the editing process run smoothly! Please submit by Friday, November 5. You can send submissions to Taylor Williams at gutsandglorygnv@gmail.com.
CIA – Sunday, October 31 – Grab a reusable bag from the UCG shopping cart in courtyard to fill with non-perishable items during the week and bring back for Food First Sunday on November 7. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Sunday, November 7 – Bring non-perishable food items to church for our neighbors at Gainesville Community Ministries OR if more convenient, you may donate (here). Make plans to attend the Eat Local, Grow Hope Global Seminar at 10:15. The seminar will describe how we are supporting women farmers in Guatemala.
The Racial Justice Committee is sponsoring the UCG All-Church Read and would appreciate your input. Please follow this link to a very short poll that will allow us to gauge interest in the UCG All-Church Read: Caste, The Origins of our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson and our upcoming seminar. Thank you for your help!
October 30 COVID Update
According to the Florida Department of Health, last week the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Alachua County decreased from 72 to 59 new cases per 100,000 per week. The County moved further down in the orange zone.
We are holding services inside the Sanctuary again! Your help is needed more than ever on Sunday mornings with greeting and ushering individuals and families at the 9:15AM service AND the 11:15 service starting November 7. There’s no lifting involved – just a friendly smile illuminating from behind your mask! To sign up please click here, email Dar Mikula, or call (352) 378-3500.
Please help keep our church finances healthy while you stay healthy! Please consider donating online. To GIVE, click here to make a one-time donation to UCG -or- to set up a recurring donation schedule via your bank account or credit card. Our budgeted (anticipated) amount of Plate Income for 2021 is $36,000, so we rely on the weekly passing of the plate. Here is a video on how to use Shelby Giving. Thank you for your support!
