Today’s service is a single video. Please click here to begin.

 

Opening Meditation- “We Look with Uncertainty” by Anne Hillman, read by Sharon Parker

We look with uncertainty
Beyond the old choices for
Clear-cut answers
To a softer, more permeable aliveness
Which is every moment
At the brink of death;
For something new is being born in us
If we but let it.
We stand at a new doorway,
Awaiting that which comes…
Daring to be human creatures.
Vulnerable to the beauty of existence.
Learning to love.

Time with the Children – “How to Change the World, One Act at a Time” with Andy and Remy Bachmann

United Tribes  Activity Time

Prayers of the People – Bromleigh McCleneghan

Music – “Even When He Is Silent” by Kim André Arnesen. Offered by the Piedmont College Choir, directed by Dr. Walter Hinson
A work about hope in the darkest time of life. The text was written by a Jew hiding in Cologne, Germany, during World War II where the text was found scratched onto a wall.

I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love,
even when there’s no one there.
And I believe in God,
even when he is silent.

Reading – “The Guest House” by Rumi, read by Madeline Davidson

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness
Some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows
Who violently sweep your house
Empty of its furniture,
Still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
Because each has been sent
As a guide from beyond.

Scripture– Luke 12:22-34, “He said to his disciples, “therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will God clothe you– you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying, for it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your God knows that you need them. Instead, strive for the kin-dom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is God’s good pleasure to give you the kin-dom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Sermon – “As Above, So Below” Andy Bachmann

Alleluia

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

Stephen	Bottomly	01/10
Mary	Fukuyama	01/10
Emma	Murphy	01/11
Mary Jay	McClave	01/12
Irma E	Riley	01/12
Mary	Clark	01/13
Courtney	Coates	01/13
Madeline	Cox	01/13
Lauren	McLendon	01/13
Beatrice	Poe	01/13
Lauren	Poe	01/13
Wilson	Bell	01/14
Karen	Archer	01/15
John	Denny	01/15
Catherine	Berg	01/16
Shi	Breedlove	01/16

Sunday Schedule

Sunday Seminar at 11:15am – COVID 2021 Update – Drs. Eric Nelson and Danielle Nelson will return to UCG and give us an update on the status of COVID-19. They gave UCG an initial report on COVID early in 2020, and in this new session they will update the UCG community on recent developments and will cover questions on Vaccines, Testing, and Planning for Summer Travel. Eric Nelson is at the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute, and Danielle Nelson is with the UF Community Health and Family Medicine Dept. Join here.  Meeting ID: 829 6457 0385, Passcode: 1624

Please also join us at 12:30pm for Congregational Coffee Hour – Andy will be available on our Zoom account to talk and share. He’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. Meeting ID: 875 0792 2974 Passcode: 1624

Physically Distanced LifeSouth Blood Drive at UCG this Sunday, January 10, from 9am – 1pm. They have many protocols in place to protect donors and keep them safe and healthy. Click here to set and an appointment. Here is a link to information about blood donation and Coronavirus. Please give the gift of life!

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Sunday Worship on YouTube Premiere – Beginning January 17, our Virtch Church videos will now premiere at 10am on Sunday mornings on YouTube. With the premiere function, we can all watch at the same time, and participate in a live chat. This enables us to continue the quality of our Virtch Church offerings, while also engaging with one another in real time.

The link for services will still arrive on Sunday mornings in your email (or on our website), but the video won’t be public until 10am. After the service concludes, the video will still be available indefinitely.

If you have a gmail account (or an otherwise linked google account), you already have what you need to participate in the chat. If you don’t, click here for information on how to set one up. It’s easy and relatively fast, but if you have any trouble, contact Bromleigh or anyone of the staff and we’ll walk you through it.

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Lenten Booklet Submissions – Hello friends! It’s time again to gather writings, art, and reflections for the 2021 Lenten booklet. Our theme this year is “Elemental.” Please send any of your favorite writings, original pieces, visual art, or photography to Taylor Williams at gutsandglorygnv@gmail.com by Monday, February 1st. **Please send any art as a jpg file, and embed your writing in the email if possible, or as a Word doc attachment for easy copy and pasting into the booklet.** Thank you in advance for your contributions.

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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.

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Please note: While the Church Office remains closed due to Covid-19, we are still available by phone or email from 9am – 4pm, Monday – Friday.