United Church of Gainesville
Sunday, July 23, 2023 – 10 a.m.

Resistance

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“Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” –Proverbs 31:8-9

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS – Hannah Norton    

CHIMES 

PRELUDE – Phillip Herr-Klepacki 

CALL TO WORSHIP – Heather Dewar from “Martin Luther King, the Magi, and Divine Civil Disobedience,” by Michael N. Okinczyc-Cruz

(As a young pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a boycott of the city’s segregated bus system – a controversial campaign of mass resistance to Jim Crow laws. One night while his family was sleeping, an anonymous caller woke him with a racist, violent threat. King sat alone at his kitchen table over a cup of warmed-over coffee as a wave of fear, doubt and worry crashed over him. Feeling utterly powerless, King turned to God.)

One: “I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud. The words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid in my memory:

Many: Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right. I think I’m right. I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. 

One: But Lord, I must confess that I’m weak now, I’m faltering. I’m losing my courage. Now, I am afraid.

Many: I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone.”

One: At that moment, King heard a quiet inner voice say to him:

Many: Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you. Even until the end of the world. 

RESISTANCE SLIDE SHOW 

HYMN – “God of Grace and God of Glory” 

God of grace and God of glory,
On thy people pour thy power.
Crown thine ancient church’s story,
Bring the bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the facing of this hour, for the facing of this hour.

Lo! the clouds of evil ’round us,
Hide thy brightness from our gaze.
From the fears that long have bound us,
Free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the living of these days,
for the living of these days.

Cure thy children’s warring madness,
Teach us good and peaceful goals.
Shame our proud and selfish gladness,
Rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
In our seeking to be whole,
in our seeking to be whole.

Fill us with a living vision,
Heal our wounds that we may be
Bound as one beyond division
In the journey to be free.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Ears to hear and eyes to see,
ears to hear and eyes to see.

TIME WITH THE CHILDREN – “All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything,” by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali, a true story about Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins.

BIRTHDAYS – Daniel Webster 

INTERLUDE

OFFERING/SPECIAL MUSIC – “We Shall Not Be Moved” – Offered by Sue Hartman and Susan Kirkland

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PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Chad McGinnis 

PRAYER RESPONSE – “Weave Us Together”

Weave, weave, weave us together.
Weave us together in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together.
Weave us together, together in love.

SCRIPTURE READINGS – Jeremiah 22:3 and Amos 5:24- Offered by Ruth Saunders 

“[God] proclaims: Do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed from the power of the oppressor. Don’t exploit or mistreat the refugee, the orphan, and the widow. Don’t spill the blood of the innocent in this place.”

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKER – Pamela Smith  

SERMON – “Blessed Are the Peacemakers For They Shall be Called Children of God” – Dr. Zoharah Simmons  

Closing HYMN – “Here Am I”   

BENEDICTION – Renee Andrews 

 “ALLELUIA” 

SLIDESHOW REDUX