United Church of Gainesville
Sunday, June 1, 2025 – 10 a.m.
Rev. Drew Willard
New Summer Series begins today with the theme “Resilience”
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life,
and you will call it fate.”
– Carl Jung
Our livestream begins here at 10 a.m.
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS – Jeremy Archer
PRELUDE – Phillip Herr-Klepacki
CALL TO WORSHIP – adapted from “mary’s magnificat (luke 1:47-55) remix” by M Jade Kaiser from enfleshed, led by Jeremy Archer
ONE: My soul is alive with thoughts of God. What a wonder, their liberating works.
MANY: God has shown me kindness, seen my worth, and called me to courage.
ONE: Surely, those who come after me will call me blessed. Even when my heart weighs heavy with grief, still, so does hope abide with me.
MANY: Holy is the One who makes it so. From generation to generation, Love’s Mercy is freely handed out; None are beyond the borders of God’s transforming compassion.
ONE: The power of God is revealed among those who labor for justice. They humble the arrogant. They turn unjust thrones into dust.
MANY: Their Wisdom is revealed in the lives and truths of those on the margins. God is a feast for the hungry. God is the great re-distributor of wealth and resources. God is the ceasing of excessive and destructive production that all the earth might rest.
ONE: Through exiles and enslavement, famines and wars, white supremacy and climate crises, God is a companion in loss, a deliverer from evil, a lover whose touch restores.
MANY: This is the promise They made to my ancestors, to me, to all the creatures and creations, now and yet coming, and in this promise, I find my strength.
ALL: Come, Great Healer, and be birthed through us.
OPENING SONG – “Rise and Shine” #57 UCG Songbook
Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory
Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory
Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory
Children of the Lord
The Lord said to Noah:
There’s gonna be a floody, floody (repeat)
Get your children out of the muddy, muddy
Children of the Lord
Noah, He built him,
he built him an arky, arky (repeat)
Built it out of hickory barky, barky
Children of the Lord
The animals, they came on,
they came on by twosy, twosy (repeat)
Elephants and kangaroosies, roosies
Children of the Lord
It rained and rained for forty daysy, daysy (repeat)
Drove those animals nearly crazy, crazy,
Children of the Lord.
Noah, he sent out, he sent out a dovey, dovey (repeat)
Sent him to the heavens abovey, bovey
Children of the Lord.
The sun came out and dried off the Landy, landy (repeat)
Everything was fine and dandy, dandy
Children of the Lord
This is the end of, the end of my story, story (repeat)
Everything is hunky dory, dory
Children of the Lord
TIME WITH CHILDREN –The Little Star with Big Dreams by Elijah Fiel, read by Betsy Harris
BIRTHDAYS – Rev. Chad McGinnis
INTERLUDE AND OFFERING – Phillip Herr-Klepacki
Your gifts support all facets of the UCG community. You can also give online: bit.ly/ucgplate.
READING – excerpts from Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl Jung, read by Pam Smith
HYMN – “I Love to Tell the Story” #522 UCC Hymnal
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Rev. Drew Willard
MEDITATIVE MUSIC – Mark Burlingame and Shirell Hix
SCRIPTURE – 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Hannah’s Song read by Pam Smith.
SPECIAL MUSIC – “Clap Your Hands” by Patti Drennan, offered by the UCG Choir
SERMON – “North Star, Plumb Line and Guardrails” – Rev. Drew Willard
1 Corinthians 13:1-13, The Love Chapter
Luke 1:26-55, The Annunciation and The Magnificat
CLOSING SONG – “The Gift of Love” #69, UCG Songbook
Though I may speak with bravest fire,
And have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love, my words are vain,
As sounding brass, and hopeless gain.
Though I may give all I possess,
And striving so my love profess,
But not be giv’n by love within,
The profit soon turns strangely thin.
( ) = women echo the proceeding phrase in this third verse:
Come, Spirit, come, ( ) our hearts control ( ),
Our spirits long ( ) to be made whole ( ).
Let inward love ( ) guide every deed ( );
By this we worship ( ), and are freed ( ).
BENEDICTION – Rev. Drew Willard
ALLELUIA
POSTLUDE
Here are our UCG friends celebrating a birthday this week:
June 1
Salina Briseno-Kiker
Eric Lemstrom
Nadira Najm-Cary
Steve Pennypacker
Karina Terry
Quinten Terry
Zakara Skerrette
June 2
Mary Ellen Drummond
Alexis Dixon
June 3
Wes Gullidge
Angela Lucas Hoppe
Sallie Maxwell
Martina Murphy
Ruth Saunders
June 4
Clark Durant
June 5
Priscilla Arinson
Blair Albrecht
Barbara Rienzo
June 6
Charles Boisseau
June 7
Alan Keitt
Karen Martin
****************ANNOUNCEMENTS******************
Today at UCG
Food First Sunday
9:45 a.m. Childcare – children’s wing
10 a.m. Worship Service – Rev. Drew Willard
Coffee Church – Reimer Hall
10:15 a.m. Kids United activity time – children’s wing
11:00 a.m. Fellowship and beverages – courtyard
11:30 a.m. Board of Parish Ministry meeting – Seminar C
Sermon Talkback with Rev. Drew Willard – Reimer Hall
4 p.m. Fitness for Aging – Maintaining and Gaining!* – Sanctuary
5:30 p.m. Work Tour mandatory meeting – Reimer Hall
*Pre-registered Group
Food First – Through May of 2025, our congregation donated over 1,276 pounds to the food pantry of Gainesville Community Ministry. Donations of nonperishable food items are especially needed during the summer months when kids are out of school. Please place your non-perishable donations in the UCG shopping cart in front of the Sanctuary.
Coffee Church will be held in Reimer Hall at 10 a.m. as an alternative space to the Sanctuary. The service will be livestreamed on the big screen TV and coffee and tea will be available. Join us if you want to eat and drink and be together in a less-crowded room for the service.
Sermon talkback – Join Rev. Drew Willard for a talkback on his sermon, “North Star, Plumb Line, and Guardrails” at 11:30 a.m. Drew will offer his thoughts on how he approaches the Bible stories for his own personal relevance, and beyond. He is also curious about how the Bible stories inform us about society today and what we can do. How is God still speaking to us? Join us for a lively and interactive discussion. In person in Reimer Hall and on Zoom.
Resilience for Immigrants – The Justice League is collecting supplies for the Rural Women’s Health Project. They advocate to help women with infants and small children whose partners have been detained or deported by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Please bring donations to Seminar C during office hours or on Sundays. Financial donations are also appreciated at www.rwhp.org. Supplies needed: dry beans (pinto and black), rice, maseca flour (tortilla flour available at Publix), diapers (size 1 – 5), and formula.
Ministerial Mornings with Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper will resume next Sunday, June 8 at 9 a.m. in Reimer Hall. Join us for coffee and conversation. Childcare will be provided. Please note Donna is away and will return Friday, June 6. All pastoral concerns will be handled this week by Rev. Ellen Ribe.
Join UCG’s Open and Affirming Committee at our next “Open and Affirming Sunday Social.” Come get to know members of UCG in a fun and inclusive environment, hosted by ONA. The next Sunday Social will be at 5 p.m. on June 8. We will gather at Anne Casella’s (2245 NW 24th Ave.) for a potluck pool party. Great food and fun – don’t miss out! Families welcome!
Space Cadets – Our effort to clear out spaces on our campus is picking up speed. We will start on Friday, June 13, at 10 a.m., for an hour or two, and continue every Friday through the summer (or until we’re done, whichever comes first!) We will tackle all the closets and corners where stuff is stuffed, to organize and update them. If you plan to participate, please contact Phoebe Papadi.
The Justice League invites you to ACTION with the “No Kings Protest” at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 14. Join members of the Justice League at a demonstration at Bo Diddley Plaza as we march to a demonstration at Cora Roberson Park. Wear a UCG t-shirt or bring a sign! Brunch afterwards?
The Racial Justice Committee is selling advance tickets to “Gospel Meets Jazz”, an event on Friday, June 20 at 7 p.m. featuring music by Lanard Perry and his band, with light refreshments. This event is a fundraiser for the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project. Advance tickets are $35 ($45 at the door). Please support this great organization and have a wonderful evening out enjoying gospel and jazz! Tickets are available at www.gospelmeetsjazz.com or from members of the Racial Justice Committee during coffee time in June.
There will be a free showing of the movie, “How to Become a Man in 127 Easy Steps” at 7 p.m. Friday, June 27 in Reimer Hall. This is a joint venture between Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and our Open and Affirming (ONA) committee. The PFLAG showed it at the Hippodrome as a fund-raiser recently and sold out of tickets. However, many trans people could not afford the tickets, so PFLAG worked with the actor who owns the film to sponsor this free showing. Open to the public.
UCG Directory – The Board of Membership encourages members to wear their name tags and upload a photo of themselves in our ShelbyNext online directory. This helps us put a face to a name and get to know one another. It is also helpful when individuals sign up for boards/committees, small groups, etc. To view your profile, go to https://bit.ly/UCGSNLog.
Next Sunday, June 8
8:45 a.m. Childcare
9 a.m. Ministerial Mornings with Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper
10 a.m. Worship Service – Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper
Coffee Church
11 a.m. Fellowship and beverages
11:15 a.m. Board of Membership meeting
11:30 a.m. Virtual Meeting with Rev. Cameron Trimble from Convergence
5 p.m. ONA Sunday Social
6 p.m. Sacred Sound Symphony
Convergence Update – Rev. Cameron Trimble, who came to UCG in January for a Saturday workshop and Sunday seminar/sermon, will offer a virtual meeting for the folks that attended that workshop and anyone else interested in attending. Join us in Reimer Hall at 11:30 a.m. next Sunday, June 8, or on Zoom. Rev. Trimble writes, “It’s been four months since we were together for our Futures Lab experience, but it feels like it’s been 40 years of change for our nation. Let’s reconnect and explore what has emerged within you since our Futures Lab. I will provide a framework, probably lots of nerdy graphs, and we will deepen our sense-making of how we best honor our spiritual calling and contribute to our mutual thriving.” Also, please watch your email this week for more news about how you can help Convergence with their upcoming UCG assessment process.
Save the date! July 28 – August 1 is our annual C.A.M.P. UCG! This year we are doing a rain forest theme! To sign your child(ren) up or for more information about Critter Camp click here.
Let’s Stay Connected
Read our June newsletter!
Submit Your E-vents and Bulletin Announcements – Please email E-vents and bulletin announcements to Shanna Swiers to have them included in our newsletter, bulletin, and emails.
The deadline for submissions to the July newsletter is
Tuesday, June 17.
Church Office Schedule for June 2025
Mondays and Saturdays – Closed
Tuesdays and Thursdays – 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Wednesdays and Fridays – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Sundays – 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.