WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS – Rev. Sandy Reimer

LIGHTING THE UNITY CANDLE, SOUNDING THE CHIME

PRELUDE- “I Arise Facing East” (Mary Austin, Deborah Langstaff) – Phillip Herr-Klepacki, Cynthia Granger, and Judy Parsons

CALL TO WORSHIP

All – I arise, facing East.

Leader – I am asking toward the light.

People – I am asking toward the light.

Leader – I am asking that the day shall be beautiful with light.

People – I am asking that the day shall be beautiful with light.

Leader – I am asking that the place where my feet are shall be bright.

People – I am asking that the place where my feet are shall be bright.

Leader – That as far as I can see, I shall follow it aright.

People – That as far as I can see, I shall follow it aright.

Leader – I am asking for the courage to go forward through the shadow.

People – I am asking for the courage to go forward through the shadow.

All – I am asking toward the light. I am asking toward the light.

OPENING SONG – “Morning Has Broken” 

Morning has broken, like the first morning.
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them springing, fresh from the Word.
Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning,
Born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation; praise every morning,
God’s recreation of the new day!

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan

Choral Response: “The Peace of the Earth” – #74 in the songbook – Phillip will play the song once; then we will sing it together twice.

The peace of the earth be with you, the peace of the heavens too.
The peace of the rivers be with you, the peace of the oceans too.
Deep peace, falling over you. God’s peace, growing in you.

SERMON – “Two Pauses on the Way to Near Normal” – Sandy Reimer

Introduction – “Fifteen months and nineteen days ago ……”

SCRIPTURE – Jeremy Archer – from the Book of Ezra, in A Poet’s Bible by David Rosenberg

The workers had built up the foundation of the Temple.
The original outline was visible again.
Priests were there in their robes, blowing trumpets of assembly,
and there were cymbals and harps.
And the people sang – back and forth to each other antiphonally –
Sing praises to the Lord in psalms, as it is good to be singing.
God’s mercy sings through us, as it has and always will.
Then all the people continued to sing out, because the house of the Lord was rising again.
But many of those who had seen the first Temple
and could still see it standing, fixed in their memories,
Those broke out in weeping, loudly and openly,
as they stood before this house rising again in their living eyes.
Many others were shouting joyfully – a great noise was going up.
People in the distance could hear it clearly.
And no one could tell by their ears the sound of weeping from the sound of joy.

The First Pause – “These words so beautifully capture that moment of transition ….”

SPECIAL MUSIC – “When I am Listening” (J. Parsons) – Judy Parsons and Cathy Emmett

The Second Pause – “….. in that transitional space of summer”

PRAYER

As swimmers dare to lie, face to the sky, and water bears them,
As hawks rest upon air, and air sustains them,
So would I learn to attain freefall and float into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
Knowing that no effort earns that all-surrounding grace. (Denise Levertov)

CLOSING SONG – “The Lone Wild Bird” 

The lone wild bird in lofty flight
Is still with thee, nor leaves thy sight.
And I am thine! I rest in thee.
Great Spirit, come and rest in me.
The ends of the earth are in thy hand,
The sea’s dark deep and far-off land.
And I am thine! I rest in thee.
Great Spirit, come and rest in me.

BENEDICTION – adapted from Sounds of the Eternal by John Philip Newell

In the gift of this day, in the gift of the present moment,
In the midst of joy and of sorrow, of past and present and future intertwined.
May we be thankful, may we be attentive,
May we have the courage to walk forward through the shadows toward what is emerging,
In the gift of this new day, in the gift of the present moment,
In the midst of joy and of sorrow, of time and eternity intertwined.

“ALLELUIA”

POSTLUDE – Phillip Herr-Klepacki

Please note: the seminar will begin at 11:30am this Sunday.

Sunday Seminar at 11:30am – Bob Knight “The Crisis of Springs in North Florida” – Bob Knight is the well –known Executive Director of the Florida Springs Institute in High Springs, which is tracking the alarming drop in the output of the springs of North Florida.  Should Nestlé be given a permit to remove 1 million gallons of water a day from the aquifer?  Come hear the story of preserving our precious springs.  Join here. Meeting ID: 829 6457 0385, Passcode: 1624. Phone in: 1 301 715 8592

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Announcements
 

The state of Florida has changed their COVID 19 reporting to weekly, each Friday. Beginning today, look for the UCG COVID- 19 update each Sunday in the bulletin rather than in the Tuesday E-Vents email.

June 19 COVID Update – The past week’s average number of daily new cases of COVID-19 in Alachua County stayed level at 9 per day (Yellow Zone). The Yellow Zone represents 3-27 daily new cases (moderate risk of viral transmission).

LifeSouth Blood Drive today, June 20, 9am – 1pm. Covid Safety measures in place. All donors will receive a t-shirt. Please give the Gift of Life!

This year marks the 5 year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando. ONA would like to honor the victims of this senseless hate crime and lift up their names and spirit in prayer. Click here to view the names of those lost to this tragedy.

Hurricane Season starts NOW! – If you live in Florida, you likely know that Hurricane Season is upon us and lasts officially through November 30th. Two years ago, UCG started a group called the Emergency Response Team to check in on those who signed up for both a pre-storm and post-storm check in call. The primary purpose is to educate UCG members on what supplies to have on hand to be prepared as well as a reassuring phone call before and after a severe storm. The best websites to review to be prepared are: The National Weather Service or the official United States government website for Hurricanes. If you want to be on the list or double check that your name is still on the list, email Star Bradbury or call the church office at 352-378-3500.

The results of the Vaccination Survey conducted earlier this month by the Covid Advisory and Health Ministry Teams are in!  Here are the highlights:

• There were 184 responses. Thank you to everyone who responded!
• Nearly all the respondents reported they are fully vaccinated (181).
• A few people are NOT planning to get their children or themselves vaccinated (reasons vary).
• A majority of the respondents were women and people over age 65.
• Almost two-thirds of the respondents had already attended a Sunday worship service in the courtyard.
• Of those who have delayed attending Sunday worship services the top three reasons given were : (1) “Prefer the livestream/stay at home option”; (2) “Didn’t feel safe”; and (3) Tied for third place: “Lack of coffee hour/no opportunity for social connection” backed with “Services are too early.”

Now What? Summer in-person services and the Livestream now start at 10AM. Coffee Hour following the 10AM service has returned and the Sunday seminars will resume in Reimer Hall with simulcast on Zoom soon.  Meanwhile, the Covid Advisory Team has determined that because our youngest population is at the highest risk now, we will continue to wear masks on Sunday and during indoor gatherings.

Sunday Help Needed – We need your help for 30 minutes on Sunday mornings to arrive at 930AM and simply greet members and visitors before the start of the 10AM worship, help hand out bulletins, hang the name tag boards, and/or help people find a seat in the sanctuary.  –OR– If you don’t want to come early, how about staying an extra 15 minutes after you’ve had some coffee or lemonade in the courtyard to help us close up the Sanctuary and put supplies away. Sign up here or email Dar Mikula

Summer Small Groups – A few folks have inquired about holding Small Groups this summer, so we decided to give it a try. If you email your submission for a small group to Jeff Shapiro, he will aggregate the responses. We will post submitted groups in the weekly “E-vents at UCG” newsletter on Tuesdays beginning next Tuesday, June 22. In emailing Jeff, please include 1) Your name and email address; 2) a title for your group; 3) a brief description; and 4) tentative means, dates, and/or times to get together.

Ray Meeks’ Birthday – This is Ray Meeks’ fifth birthday since being released from death row. He is now at Madison Correctional Institute,382 S.W. MCI Way Madison, FL 32340 If you write to him there address it to Douglas Raymond Meeks #046346. Every year we receive contributions for Ray at Christmas and in June for his birthday. Please Send checks made out to UCG with a memo Ray Meeks, or donate online here. Thanks for your continued care and prayers for Ray over the years. You have blessed him beyond words.

Family Promise Raffle – UCGers Phoebe Papadi and Dawn Beachy, along with other members of the Gainesville Modern Quilt Guild, designed and constructed a gorgeous Gator inspired quilt so that Family Promise of Gainesville may raffle it off in effort to raise awareness and funds for their housing programs. You may purchase tickets for the raffle here . Thanks for your support of Family Promise!

Minister Andy Bachmann is in Wisconsin for the summer at Camp Highlands. Please contact the church office to reach him or to speak to the minister handling his programs for the summer.

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!