WELCOME – Rev. Talia Raymond

AN INVITATION FROM OUR BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:
Compassion in Action
Small Groups Committee
Board of Membership

PRELUDE – Mary Fukuyama, drums and Shirell Hix, bamboo flute

CALL TO WORSHIP – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan

One:   If I were called in
To construct a religion
I should make use of water.

All:      Going to church
Would entail a fording
To dry, different clothes;

 

One:   My liturgy would employ
Images of sousing,
A furious devout drench,

All:      And I should raise in the east
A glass of water
Where any-angled light
Would congregate endlessly.   ― Philip Larkin

*HYMN – “God of the Waters” words by Shelly Wilson below, tune by George W. Warren,

Gather us in, we all return this day,
Full of the mem’ries made along our way,
We bring the waters from the lakes and seas
That speak of healing, power, home, and peace.
Waters that heal, pour down in summer rain,
Cleanse the dry Earth, renew our souls again.
Ease all our sickness, quench our deepest thirst
Like tiny ferns, green us into new birth.Like ocean waves, waters of power roll,
Break down the walls and free the captive soul!
Wash all injustice, violence, pain, and greed,
So all creation may be free, indeed!We have returned from journeys far and near,
Join we today with friends we hold so dear,
Love now compels us to this place again,
Where we find home, and welcome others in.Waters of peace invite us to be free,
Releasing guilt and long–felt enmity,
May love and grace within our hearts increase,
May we be instruments, O God, of peace.

TIME WITH CHILDREN/BACK TO SCHOOL BLESSING/BIRTHDAYS – Rev. Talia Raymond

INTERLUDE – Phillip Herr-Klepacki – Children 3 years – 5^th grade may leave for Activity Time in the children’s wing. Our nursery for babies and toddlers and child care for older children are available until 12:30pm. Parents who wish to keep their small children with them are invited to use the parents’ room in the back of the Sanctuary.

THE WATERS OF POWER – Jim Harper, co-chair, Creation Justice Committee

Do not be hardened by the pain
and cruelty of this world.
Be strong enough to be gentle,
to be soft and supple like running water,
gracefully bending around sudden turns,
lithely waving in strong winds,
freely flowing over sharp rocks,
all the while quietly sculpting
this hard world into ever deeper beauty,
gently eroding rigid rock into silken sand,
tenderly transforming human cruelty
into human kindness.
Remember, true strength is not found in the stone,
but in the water that shapes the stone.                          ― L.R. Knost

 Bring forward the Waters of Power

SPECIAL MUSIC AND OFFERING – “Before the Deluge” by Jackson Browne, offered by David Evans guitar, vocal, Art Crummer dobro, vocal, Jackie Davis, bass,
Andrew Driscoll, fiddle, Vicki Evans, Susan Kirkland, Hannah Norton, vocals
Your gifts support all facets of the UCG community. You can also give online: bit.ly/ucgplate.

Some of them were dreamers
And some of them were fools
Who were making plans and thinking of the future
With the energy of the innocent
They were gathering the tools
They would need to make their journey back to nature
While the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for the golden ring
With their hearts they turned to each other’s hearts for refuge
In the troubled years that came before the delugeSome of them knew pleasure
And some of them knew pain
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered
And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
They went flying around in the rain
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
And in the end they traded their tired wings
For the resignation that living brings
And exchanged love’s bright and fragile glow
For the glitter and the rouge
And in a moment they were swept before the deluge
Let the music keep our spirits high
Let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal its secrets by and by, by and by
When the light that’s lost within us reaches the sky
Some of them were angry
At the way the earth was abused
By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power
And they struggled to protect her from them
Only to be confused
By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour
And when the sand was gone and the time arrived
In the naked dawn only a few survived
And in attempts to understand a thing so simple and so huge
Believed that they were meant to live after the deluge
Let the music keep our spirits high
Let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal its secrets by and by, by and by
When the light that’s lost within us reaches the sky

THE WATERS OF HEALING AND WHOLENESS – Rev. Ellen Ribe

And then, summer rain. Do you know what a summer rain is? To start with, it is pure beauty striking the summer sky, awe-filled respect absconding with your heart, a feeling of insignificance at the very heart of the sublime, so fragile and swollen with the majesty of things, trapped, amazed by the bounty of the world.

And then, you pace up and down a corridor and suddenly enter a room full of light. Another dimension, a certainty just given birth. Just as teardrops, when they are large and round and compassionate, can leave a long strand washed clean of discord, the summer rain as it washes away the motionless dust can bring to a person’s soul something like endless breathing.

That is the way a summer rain can take hold in you – like a new heart, beating in time with another’s.

                    ― from The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery

Bring forward the Waters of Healing 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Rev. Talia Raymond

MEDITATIVE MUSIC – Shirell Hix, piano, Mary Fukuyama, native flute

THE WATERS OF PEACE – Rev. Chad McGinnis

Every part of the earth is sacred . . . The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors.  Each glossy reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of our people. The water’s murmur is the voice of our grandparents. The rivers are our brothers and sisters. They quench our thirst, carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give the waters the kindness that you would give to your family. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is our mother and what befalls the earth befalls all the earth’s children. The earth does not belong to humans; humans belong to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all.  Humans did not weave the web of life; we are merely a strand in it.  Whatever we do to the Earth, we do to ourselves.   – “Chief Seattle’s Message” from A Peace Reader by Ted Perry

Bring forward the Waters of Peace 

CONGREGATIONAL SINGING – “I’ve Got Peace Like a River” (vs. 1-3) 

I was sitting in the river on a water–splashed stone
and all afternoon, I listened to the voices of the river talking.
Whenever the water struck the stone, it had something to say,
and the water itself, and even the mosses trailing under the water.
And slowly, very slowly, it became clear to me what they were saying.
Said the river: I am part of holiness.  And I too, said the stone.
And I too, whispered the moss beneath the water.
Said the river: imagine everything you can imagine.
Yes, it could be that I am a tiny piece of God, and each of you too,
or at least a part of God’s intention and God’s hope, which is a delight
beyond measure.  I only know that the river kept singing, and still,
pressed deep into my mind, the river keeps coming, touching me,
passing by on its long journey, its pale, infallible voice singing me home.
– adapted from “At the River Clarion,” from Evidence by Mary Oliver.

Bring forward the Waters of Homecoming

HOMECOMING BLESSING for Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan, led by RD Bonnaghan, chair, Congregation-Ministry Review Board

Leader:  Today we give thanks for a summer of Clergy Renewal Leave and a time of Congregational Renewal.

Bromleigh:  I give thanks to God for this congregation and for the gift of this time away.

People: This summer, we have been guided by God’s wisdom, God’s peace, and God’s Spirit. We pray you have found the needed time and space for a renewal of soul, a refreshed spirit, an energized mind, and a cared-for body. We have prayed for you and for our staff, leaders, and volunteers. 

Bromleigh: This summer, I too, have been guided by God’s wisdom, God’s peace, and God’s Spirit during this time away. I pray that you have also been renewed and energized through worship and reflection. I have prayed for you and for the staff, leaders, and volunteers of UCG.

Leader:  We greet you and your family with joy upon your return. We pray that you have enjoyed experiences of grace, laughter, and renewal; individually and together as a family.

Bromleigh:   Thank you for your prayers and blessings. I look forward to the ways God will lead us and guide us in ministry together.

People: We sent you off with our blessing and we now receive you home with love to continue our work together. Amen.

CONGREGATIONAL SINGING – “The Peace of the Earth Be With You”

THE WATERS OF COMMUNITY – Blessing of Gathered Water – The Ministers

READING – United Church of Gainesville Compact, back of bulletin

CLOSING SONG – “Down to the River to Pray” vs. 1,2,5 (brothers, sisters, neighbors)

As I went down to the river to pray, studyin’ about that good old way and who shall wear the starry crown, Good Lord, show me the way.

Oh sisters, let’s go down, let’s go down,

come on down. Oh sisters,

let’s go down, down to the river to pray.

As I went down to the river to pray, studyin’ about that good old way and who shall wear the robe and crown, Good Lord, show me the way.

Oh brothers, let’s go down…

As I went down to the river to pray…

who shall wear the starry crown

Oh neighbors, let’s go down… 

BENEDICTION – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan

ALLELUIA

POSTLUDE – Phillip Herr-Klepacki

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