United Church of Gainesville
Sunday, October 6, 2024 – 10 a.m.
Soul Food: Communion
Our livestream begins here at 10 a.m.
”Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation.” – bell hooks
WELCOME – Rev. Talia Raymond
ANNOUNCEMENT – An Invitation to Men’s Retreat – Jeremy Archer
PRELUDE – offered by Mark Burlingame
CALL TO WORSHIP – adapted from Liturgies From Below: Praying with People at the End of the World by Cláudio Carvalhaes – led by Tom Bittikoffer
One: Come, if you are willing.
Come into this place, but be prepared to find yourself sitting next to
someone who may be a stranger to you; offering prayer alongside one
with whom you strongly disagree.
Come into this place, but be prepared to find yourself.
ALL: Be prepared to find in yourself places and thoughts that you
would prefer to remain unacknowledged.
Be prepared to live in a world that can never match your
memories of what it used to be, or dreams of what it might be.
One: Be prepared to know that you are loved, but be prepared also for the
outrageous news that every other human being is loved no more and no
less, no matter what you or they do.
ALL: We come, longing to be prepared for an uncertainty
that will not quickly be resolved, for a discomfort that
will not easily be salved, for a hunger that will not
be willingly satisfied.
One: Come, if you are willing, for all are welcome here.
OPENING SONG – “Gather Us In”
TIME WITH CHILDREN AND BIRTHDAYS – Fear and Fun – led by Finnette Fabrick and Rev. Talia Raymond
INTERLUDE AND OFFERING
Your gifts support all facets of the UCG community. You can also give online: bit.ly/ucgplate.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Rev. Ellen Ribe
MEDITATIVE MUSIC – offered by Shirell Hix, piano, and Jeff Shapiro, clarinet
READING FROM THE HEBREW BIBLE – Selections from Exodus 16 – read by Lindsey Telg
“Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.”
READING FROM SCRIPTURE – Luke 9:10-17 – read by Andy Ingram
[Jesus] took [the disciples] with him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida. When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the reign of God, and healed those who needed to be cured.
The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.’ But he said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.’ For there were about five thousand men [not to mention the women and children]. And he said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
SERMON – “Bread and Blessing” – Rev. Talia Raymond and Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan (in absentia)
HYMN OF RESPONSE – “Bread of the World, in Mercy Broken”
THE CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION – music offered by Shirell Hix and Mark Burlingame – adapted from Liturgies from Below: Praying with People at the End of the World, collected and edited by Cláudio Carvalhaes
BLESSINGS AFTER RECEIVING
As we have been welcomed and nourished by Christ at this table, we now turn to welcome and nourish one another. The peace we have received we now freely give.
Please turn to those near to you and exchange signs of peace: Peace be with you.
CLOSING HYMN – “God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending”
BENEDICTION – From Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg’s Rosh Hashanah blessing
May it be a year of love and laughter and connection and inspiration,
Of learning and delight,
Of just action and righteous generosity,
Of truth-telling, creativity, and bravery,
Of reaching out and gathering in,
Of solidarity and dignity and joy,
Of all our collective liberations, toward a more whole,
more healed world.
Amen.
ALLELUIA
POSTLUDE
The new banner on display at the altar is by Joan Thomas, with the Sanskrit words for faith, hope, and love – Bhakti, Asha, Prema – भक्ति, आशा, प्रेम – are intertwined in a circle around the image of a lamp. Devanagary Sanskrit calligraphy by Joon Thomas.
Flowers this week are offered by Lois McNamara.
Here are our UCG friends celebrating a birthday this week:
October 7
Andy Ingram
Phillip Herr-Klepacki
Liam Walker
October 10
Gretchen Casey
October 11
Charlotte Gravlee
Stan Smith
October 12
Tami Herchel
Andrea Palmer
Paul George
Jackson Kruse
Nancy Henry
****************ANNOUNCEMENTS******************
Today at UCG
Food First Sunday
10 a.m. Worship Service – Rev. Talia Raymond
11 a.m. Fellowship and Beverages
11:30 a.m. Fall Congregational Meeting
4 p.m. Blessing of the Animals
Food First Sunday is today. Thank you for your generous commitment to stocking the Food Pantry at Gainesville Community Ministries with monthly donations. To date in 2024 we have generously provided 1.3 tons of food – 2,523 pounds! If you forget to bring your donations or prefer to donate online, click here.
We will have the blessing of the animals today at 4 p.m. Please bring your fur babies, scaly babies, and everything in between to be blessed in the courtyard.
In cleaning out spaces on campus, we have found several items that are not needed, but could be of value to their original owners, who are unknown to us. We will display them in the courtyard today for you to take a look and reclaim them. If you no longer want them, we will be happy to donate them for you. In addition, if you think you have an item in the sound room, feel free to stop by today before or after service and take your property home.
Open and Affirming Committee (ONA) will be selling the new and exciting Pride Shirts! They are available in the courtyard before and after service for $15.
The next Kids’ Night Out is Friday October 11 from 5:30-9 p.m. at United Church of Gainesville. Infants through 5th Grade are invited for a night of “Things that go Bump in the Night” with activities, crafts and food. Cost is $20 for the first child, and $15 for each additional child. Please RSVP by noon Thursday October 10 by sending an email to juliac@ucgainesville.org. If you have any questions about volunteering for the event, please contact Kathryn Rabb at kaking0812@gmail.com.
The next Visitor’s Coffee is after the October 13 service. We will hold a welcome and reception for new members during and after service on New Member Sunday, October 20.
A few of our small groups still have availability or don’t require registration. Visit bit.ly/OpenSGFall24 to see the offerings and register. Please contact the church office with any questions.
UCG Men’s Retreat 2024 theme is “The Book of Our Lives.” Join us for a weekend of meaningful connection, spiritual exploration, and fun from November 8-10 at beautiful Camp Weed in Live Oak. Men’s retreat is open to all in the wider UCG community who identify as men, including members, friends, and guests. Please contact Jeremy Archer at bdjarcher@gmail.com with any questions, or if you have never tried this event and would like to hear more about what it is like. You can register through the small group signup, by emailing Jeremy, or by signing up in the courtyard during Sundays through mid-October. Schedule and more information available at bit.ly/UCGMensRetreat24. We hope to see you there! Scholarships are available, so please do not let cost be a barrier if you would like to attend. (Donations to the scholarship fund are gladly accepted.)
Next Sunday, October 13
9:45 a.m. Childcare
10 a.m. Worship Service – Rev. Talia Raymond
10:15 a.m. Kids United
11 a.m. Fellowship and Beverages
Visitor’s Coffee
Candidate’s Corner
11:15 a.m. Board of Membership
11:30 a.m. Sunday Seminar – Understanding the Amendments
on the November Ballot
Youth United
Middle School Together
2 p.m. OWL Training
Small Group: Wildflower Seed Swapping
3 p.m. Dances of Universal Peace
6 p.m. Open and Affirming Sunday Social
Sacred Sound Symphony
Looking Ahead
Calling All Artists! We want you to exhibit your creations at our annual United Church of Gainesville Art Show on Sunday, November 10. You can sell your work, show it, or both. We call it “Show & Tell . . . and Sell” and welcome all ages, all kinds of creativity, and all skill levels! Spaces are limited – the deadline for application is Friday, October 25. Applications are available online at bit.ly/artsapp24 or in the church office.
2024 Advent Devotional Booklet Submissions Now Open – We are gathering writings and visual art for the 2024 Advent devotional booklet. This year’s theme is “A Thrill of Hope.” You can contribute one of your favorite writings (poems, sermon excerpts, songs, hymns, etc.) or an original piece of your own. Please submit text as an attached Word document or straight to the body of your email. We also accept visual art, please submit in jpg format. Send submissions to Ligia Ortega. The final deadline for submissions is Friday, November 1. Thank you for contributing!
Capital Campaign Feasibility Study Update: One of the important findings of this spring’s Capital Campaign Feasibility Study was that congregants needed to learn more about the projects on the “Essential Repairs and Improvements” list, what they entailed, why they were necessary, and so on. As part of the effort to address this need, the UCG Capital Campaign Visioning Committee and the Buildings and Grounds Committee are assembling a series of short videos to describe projects on the “Essential Repairs and Improvements” list. Three new videos have been added:
in addition to the first five videos about water supply, the beam that separates Reimer Hall from the west wing, west bathrooms and HVAC. The videos will be available on this YouTube playlist. Please send any questions or comments about the projects, and about the effectiveness of these videos, to either Tim Martin or Erick Smith.
UCG Emergency Volunteer Phone Tree – If you are not already on the call recipient list of the UCG Emergency Volunteer Phone Tree and you would like a call from the UCG Phone Tree about any hurricane warnings issued for the Gainesville area, please contact the front office to add your name to the list.
