Welcome to Worship
The United Church of Gainesville – September 19, 2021
Join us here for a live chat and premiere of Sunday Worship beginning at 11:15am.
Return, Reunite, Reimagine
WELCOME – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
PRELUDE MUSIC – Phillip Herr-Klepacki
CALL TO WORSHIP – led by Rev. Daniel Webster
One: Our return is not the one we first imagined.
Many: We are not all here. We have lost too many. Things are different now.
One: We long to reconnect: with one another, with our truest selves, with the Sacred
Many: This time of disconnect has not really ended. How will we go forward?
One: Let us reimagine: turn again, unite again, find new ways to live as God’s people.
Many: In our work and in our rest, on our own and in community, may the Spirit of Love and Life be present, filling us with the hope of imagination.
HYMN – “God is Here! As We Your People Meet” vs. 1 & 3
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
READING – “Nothing Is Lost” by Noël Coward, read by Daniel Webster
Deep in our sub-conscious, we are told
Lie all our memories, lie all the notes
Of all the music we have ever heard
And all the phrases those we loved have spoken,
Sorrows and losses time has since consoled,
Family jokes, out-moded anecdotes
Each sentimental souvenir and token
Everything seen, experienced, each word
Addressed to us in infancy, before
Before we could even know or understand
The implications of our wonderland.
There they all are, the legendary lies
The birthday treats, the sights, the sounds, the tears
Forgotten debris of forgotten years
Waiting to be recalled, waiting to rise
Before our world dissolves before our eyes
Waiting for some small, intimate reminder,
A word, a tune, a known familiar scent
An echo from the past when, innocent
We looked upon the present with delight
And doubted not the future would be kinder
And never knew the loneliness of night.
SPECIAL MUSIC – “From a Distance” by Julie Gold, offered by Cynthia Granger
SCRIPTURE – Genesis 33:1-4
Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. He put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on ahead of them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother.
But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
SERMON – “Reunification Narratives” – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
CLOSING HYMN – “Come O Thou Traveler Unknown,” vs. 1-2 & 4
BENEDICTION
ALLELUIA
Here are the UCG friends celebrating a birthday last week and this week.
Happy Birthday!
| Hillary | Craven James | 09/14 |
| Blossom | Sprinkle | 09/14 |
| Susan | Eichner | 09/15 |
| Taylor | Trosper | 09/15 |
| Chad | McGinnis | 09/15 |
| Jim | Archer | 09/16 |
| Rebecca | Beachy | 09/16 |
| Mark | Hostetler | 09/16 |
| Remy | Bachmann | 09/18 |
| Sheila | Ginsberg | 09/18 |
| Grant | Gravlee | 09/19 |
| Elise | Lee | 09/19 |
| Deb | Dippre | 09/20 |
| Allan | March | 09/20 |
| Melvin | Smith-Lopez | 09/20 |
| Barbara | Beynon | 09/21 |
| Anni | Maxwell | 09/21 |
| Marc | Smith | 09/21 |
| Stella | Bachmann | 09/22 |
| David | Dick | 09/22 |
| Suzi | Kaufman | 09/23 |
| Cheryl | Poe | 09/23 |
| Luke | Engels | 09/24 |
| Jane | Day | 09/25 |
Sunday Seminar
Sunday Seminar at 10:15am on Zoom – How Do You Experience Awe? – Hosted by John Harvey. How do you experience awe in your life? Why is the awe experience important? Today, the world seems fraught with more stress and fewer avenues for escape, as COVID shuts down movie theaters, music festivals, and even travel. During these difficult times, I have found that taking an “awe” break of just five minutes to recognize and celebrate the amazing world in which we live, helps me tune into my spiritual purpose and generates a sense of wonder and joy. What is an awe moment? That’s what I’d like to learn from you! This is a seminar about those moments and what they mean to you. Please come and share your experiences and thoughts on the moments of awe in your life. Join here. Meeting ID: 829 6457 0385, Passcode: 1624.
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Announcements
Small Group Registration Ends Today – Signing up for one of our small groups is a great way to make some friendly connections with your fellow UCG’ers while enhancing your life through one of our amazing offerings. Click here to register on ShelbyNext or here for additional instructions.
United Tribes Registration – If you plan on having any of your children attend church at any point this school year, please take a moment to complete this online registration. You are not making any commitment now. You are simply helping us to plan best for our children. Please take two minutes to get this done right now! Thanks!
Do You Want to Join UCG? – The Board of Membership is hosting a new member gathering this month on Wednesday, September 22nd, on zoom at 6:30pm. We will then welcome new members in the Sunday services on Sunday, October 3rd. Contact Lisa or Shanna in the office if you’d like to attend.
UCG Family Promise needs your help with providing for families experiencing homelessness in our community by offering catered meals each weeknight of our weeklong “hostings.” Your continued financial support will allow us to continue our catering until it is safe to gather again for on-site hostings. Donations can be made by sending a check to UCG with “Family Promise” noted in the memo line or by donations made to UCG’s online giving page here. Use the drop down menu to choose Family Promise. Thank you for your generosity!
All Church Book Read, Caste by Isabel Wilkerson –All are encouraged to participate in our “all church book read” of the best selling book, Caste; The Origins of Our Discontents by Pulitzer prize winning author Isabel Wilkerson. “In this brilliant book the author gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores how America…has been shaped by a hidden caste system…Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste system…”There will be 4 separate book groups offered in the Fall Small Groups for discussion. Join us! Sponsored by Racial Justice Committee. Please join us!
Looking Ahead to Next Sunday
- Sunday Seminar – Sweetwater Branch Greenway: An Opportunity to Connect Downtown Gainesville – With Greg Young, President of the Matheson History Museum. at 10:15am on Zoom.
September 18 Covid Update
According to the Florida Department of Health, last week the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Alachua County decreased from 468 to 361 per 100,000 per week, still remaining far above the threshold of 100 for the red zone (high risk of transmission).
Your help is needed on Sunday mornings. We are still looking for volunteers willing to assist with setup and greeting congregants at the 9:15AM outdoor Sunday service. There’s some moderate lifting involved if you want to come at 8:30AM and help with chairs or no lifting involved if you can come about 25 minutes early and help at the greeting table. To sign up please click here, email Dar Mikula, or call (352) 378-3500.
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!