United Church of Gainesville
Sunday, November 17, 2024 – 10 a.m.
Church on the Prairie
Self-Directed Worship – No livestream available today, Church on the Prairie
This Sunday we will enjoy our Annual “Church on the Prairie” Service on the grounds of the Alachua County Conservation Trust. The single service, beginning at 10 a.m., features The Hogtown Pickers, a youth skit, communion, and activities for children. A self guided service is provided below for those unable to join us in person.
GATHERING MUSIC – “Ring Them Bells” by Bob Dylan – offered by Sara Jarosz
CENTERING PRAYER – from enfleshed
God of fresh starts,
of new beginnings,
of renewal and restoration,
We awake to your grace,
embraced by love unconditional.
With each morning
You birth new possibilities
in us; around us.
We are surrounded by Sacred potential.
There are so many ways to love.
May we rise to the day’s call
To listen for the aches
To give voice to the beauty
To be a companion to justice.
TIME WITH CHILDREN – What if Everybody Did That? by Ellen Javernik
Once, someone asked Jesus, “Of all the commandments, all the ways God tells us to live, which is the most important?
Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
There are many ways folks paraphrase this important idea. Treat others the way you want to be treated. But there’s another way to look at it, which I think this book lifts up. Imagine the world if we were all careless. If we all littered or were rude or disrespectful. That could feel like some pressure: but I think it is empowering, too. Every choice we make can make a difference for good.
READING – ”Animals” by Maggie Smith
The president called undocumented immigrants
animals, and in the nature documentary
I watched this morning with my kids,
After our Saturday pancakes, the white
fairy tern doesn’t build a nest but lays
her single speckled egg in the crook of a brach
or a tree knot. It looks precarious there
because it is. And while she’s away,
Because even mothers must eat, another bird
sweeps in and pecks it, sips some of what now
won’t become. The tern returns and knows
something isn’t right — the egg crumpled,
the red slick and saplike running down the tree —
but her instinct is so strong, she sits. Just sits
on the broken egg. I have been this bird.
we have been animals all our lives,
with our spines and warm blood, our milky tits
and fine layers of fur. Our live births, too,
if we’re lucky. But what animal wrenches
a screaming baby from his mother?
Do we know anymore what it is to be human?
I’ve stopped knowing what it is to be human.
SPECIAL MUSIC AND OFFERING – “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen
Your gifts support all facets of the UCG community. You can give online: bit.ly/ucgplate.
SCRIPTURE LESSON – Matthew 10:29-31
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Divine Parent. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
REFLECTION – from “Poet Maggie Smith balances beauty, brokenness in ‘Goldenrod‘” by Andy Downing
An interview with poet Maggie Smith whose poem “Animals” appears above. Smith’s poem is jarring, and I thought twice about including it. But it seemed so perfect for this moment in our lives, as a community, and so perfect for this service’s reflection.
When you were growing up, were there certain groups of people who mattered less, who were seen as less valuable than others, in your family or community?
Are there people who you can recognize are being dehumanized in the present moment, in our community or country?
How did that make you feel as a younger person?
How does hearing that sort of rhetoric or seeing that sort of injustice affect you now?
At the communion table, at the crowded welcome table, the Church claims that God counts every life as valuable. As welcome. Counter to whatever narratives others may tell.
Not only that, but our communal life is diminished when any are cast aside. “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny,” wrote Martin Luther King in Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
Animals, humanity, all of creation — all have sacred value and a right to exist. We need one another. How will you draw the circle wider today?
MUSIC – “None of Us Are Free“ by Solomon Burke
PRAYER – “In the Trees” by M. Jade Kaiser
Whether you are outside or only able to see the trees out the window, take a moment to offer these words.
In the trees, God, you linger.
With branches like arms outstretched in prayer, they invite, they host, they bear witness, they create.
Generations come and go,
but still they remain with such knowing, such history, such wisdom in their flesh.
The Holy in them, as it often does,
requires a disruption of ordinary ways of perceiving,
or else it goes unnoticed.
Through their testimonies
you teach us about growing in every direction,
about becoming sources of home,
about resilience and resurrection and beauty across stages of life.
You – the trees – both sources of our life-breath.
Make us fierce protectors of these sage companions
and the sacred flesh of all the earth. amen.
CLOSING SONG – “The Welcome Table” – performed by Dan and Claudia Zanes
I’m gonna sit at the welcome table
I’m gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days, (Hallelujah!)
I’m gonna sit at the welcome table, sit at the welcome table one of these days!
I’m gonna feast on milk and honey…
I’m gonna tell God how you treat me…
All God’s children gonna sit together…
Art Crummer offers this commentary:
Enough time has passed that some may not remember the background of Welcome Table (aka River of Jordan, I’m A-Gonna Climb Up Jacob’s Ladder, God’s Going to Set This World on Fire), I myself never heard it until the civil rights demonstrations of the 60s but it goes back well before that.
African-Americans bound in slavery were not welcome at their master’s table. This song echoed their hope of the tables turning in future glory.
In 1874 a version of the song was collected and published (Hampton Institute) indicating it was sung by a child in slavery who was being separated from his mother.
In 1922 the Florida Normal Quartet first recorded the song as “The Welcome Table.”
In 1936 the Carter Family recorded a variation of the song as the “River of Jordan.”
In the 1950s and 1960s the song was modified (and known as the “Freedom Table”)
and served as an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement as one of the Freedom Songs.
Older verses from 1800s include:
“I’m gonna tell God on ole Massey”
“I’m gonna be a registered voter…”
BENEDICTION
As you go out from this time of reflection, may you be nourished: by daily bread and the bread of life, by beauty and generosity; that you, too, may be generous and compassionate in all that you do.
Amen.
Here are our UCG friends celebrating a birthday this week:
November 17
Patrick Burger
November 18
Scott Anderson
Ramon Littell
November 19
Sue Littell
November 21
Shanna Swiers
Katy Yanke
November 22
Berta Hernandez-Truyol
Jeremy Archer
November 23
David Rixx
David Aune
****************ANNOUNCEMENTS******************
Today at UCG
Church on the Prairie
10 a.m. Worship Service — Church on the Prairie
2 p.m. Lessons and Carols Rehearsal
Join us today at 10 a.m. at the Prairie Creek Lodge for Church on the Prairie, our annual church and potluck picnic! Prairie Creek Lodge is located at 7204 SE County Road 234, Gainesville (about 25 minutes travel time from the church.) If it rains, we will meet at the church! This is one of our most popular events of the year and we can’t wait to share it with you. Bring outdoor chairs/blankets, a potluck dish to share, and utensils (no foods for grilling), sunscreen, and bug spray (just in case). Water and lemonade will be provided. We’ll have the Hogtown Pickers, holy communion, and activities for children. Join us! Sign up to help and bring potluck dishes here.
Compassion in Action’s annual Rawlings Elementary Christmas Gift Market has moved up to November 21 due to the new 12-month school schedule that Rawlings is following. This year, because of the earlier deadline, we have fewer gifts than we did last year. Please take a moment to look for the holiday gift options through SignUpGenius: https://bit.ly/CIAangel24. We are pricing the gifts this Sunday at 3:30 p.m., so the last moment to drop off would be from 3:30-4 p.m. on Sunday, November 17. If you prefer, make a cash donation here by November 19 and we’ll shop for you! Thank you for your support of this popular annual project. We also need volunteers to host the Gift Market. Please sign up using this link: https://bit.ly/gmteer24.
Soul Food Enlistment Update: We are closing the gap! As of Friday, November 15, we have received 190 pledges totaling $625,905, more than halfway to our goal of $850,000. Thanks to everyone who has pledged! We have about $225,000 still to go for this year’s campaign but the trend is moving in the right direction. It is critical that all UCG families / pledging units submit a pledge card so that Board of Business can plan for next year’s budget. Even if your pantry is bare this year and you can’t commit monetary support at this time, we would like you to submit a pledge card by Thanksgiving so we know where we stand for next year. To pledge, you can visit the web portal at https://bit.ly/UCGpledge2025, turn in a physical pledge card, or email Catherine Cake at catherinec@ucgainesville.org.
Next Sunday, November 24
9:45 a.m. Childcare
Puzzler Exchange
10 a.m. Worship Service – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
Friendship Group
10:15 a.m. Kids United
11 a.m. Fellowship and Beverages
11:30 a.m. Sunday Seminar
Lessons and Carols Rehearsal
Youth United
Middle School Together
6 p.m. Special Service with Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
Friendship group will meet Sunday, November 24 at 10 a.m. in the west wing. We’ll be doing musical things – singing and trying out the chimes.
Meet the Interim Minister Search Committee – Members of the search committee want to chat with you and get your feedback! Meet us at a table in the courtyard for informal conversation. If you don’t have time to chat this morning, feel free to answer our 2-question survey online.
CMRB invites you to a special service in the sanctuary, Sunday, November 24, at 6 p.m., reflecting on our shared ministry with Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan as its close draws near. Special music, prayers, and time to share space together, in thanksgiving and grief for what has been and what yet will be. All are welcome.
Sunday Seminar in Reimer Hall and on Zoom – Theology of Lessons and Carols – Sunday, November 24 at 11:30 a.m. The language of Christmas carols is always a source for conversation and questions: What is a Noel? What is the difference between a Gaudete and a Gloria? Rev. Talia Raymond will lead a discussion about some of our 2024 Lessons and Carols texts. Join us to learn some history, some context, and get a sneak peek at some of our musical pieces for this year’s beloved service.
Looking Ahead
Mark Your Calendar for this Year’s Children’s Advent Craft Fair — This year’s theme is holiday-focused activities that spark interest in our youth and foster intergenerational relationships within our church community. The craft fair will take place on Saturday, December 7, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. in Reimer Hall. Cost is $10 per family as a suggested donation, look in future communications to sign up. Calling all Crafters: if you are interested in sharing a favorite holiday craft, please email Kathryn Rabb by November 20.
Christmas Mini-Grants — The Compassion in Action Committee is soliciting requests for Christmas Mini-Grants in support of people or causes in need of financial assistance during the holiday season. These small grants of $50 to $150 go to local individuals, families, and non-profit organizations known by our congregation members. Forms are available in the church office or online. The deadline for requests is Wednesday, November 27.
Thanksgiving Office Hours — The church office will be closed November 27-29 for the Thanksgiving holidays. Regular office hours will resume on Monday, December 2.
Mark Your Calendars for Flamy Grant in Concert at UCG – Award-winning and Billboard-charting artist Flamy Grant, a shame-slaying, hip-swaying, singing-songwriting drag queen from western North Carolina will have a concert at United Church of Gainesville on December 3 at 8 p.m., tickets are $20 and available online. A powerhouse vocalist and intrepid songwriter who blends country, folk, gospel, and roots music, Flamy delivers a theatrical, therapeutic, and wholly original storytelling experience, all shared through the evocative art of drag.
