UNION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF HANCOCK
We respect tradition — and we welcome inclusive language about people and expansive language about God. Please pray using words most meaningful to you.
Open and Affirming of ALL God’s Children
January 21, 2024 - Third Sunday after Epiphany
This service will be in-person and on Zoom at 10:00 (Recorded for Facebook and YouTube)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 822 2425 2518
Passcode: 755650
The first pew in front of the pulpit has books and quiet activities for people of all ages.
Please find something that suits you, take it to your pew, and return it after the service.
Silent Prayer
O God of light, from whom all life flows, may we glimpse the shinings of your presence
in all things. In the darkness of our world, in places of fear and terrible wrong, and in the darkness of our own lives, in times of confusion and doubt, may we glimpse
the shinings of your life-giving presence. Amen
* Indicates points in the service when we stand in body or spirit
Announcements
Prelude Hymnus A. Von Fielitz
Welcome
*Introit Arise, Your Light is Come! (vs. 1) Red Hymnal #167
Arise, your light is come! The Spirit’s call obey;
show forth the glory of your God which shines on you today.
*Call to Worship
One: Good people of the church, lift up your eyes and see.
All: Have you not seen? Have you not heard? Our God greets us here.
One: Good servants of the Most High, open your ears to hear.
All: Have you not seen? Have you not heard? Our God meets us here.
One: Good children of the light, open your hearts and know what it means to delight in God.
All: For we have seen, heard and known from the beginning to the end, Our God…is.
*Passing of the Peace (ASL) and Lighting of Peace & Justice Candle
*Hymn Our God Our Help in Ages Past R. #80
Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!
Under the shadow of thy throne thy saints have dwelt secure; sufficient is thine arm alone, and our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood, or earth received its frame, from everlasting thou art God, to endless years the same.
A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone, short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.
Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears mortals all away; they fly, forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.
Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be thou our guard while troubles last, and our eternal home.
*Invocation (in unison)
Eternal God, Creator of the universe…and then some. We call on you, you who greet us here. We give you thanks for making it possible to gather, and to ponder your eternal mysteries. Make us, creatures of this time and space, ready collaborators with your endless grace. Amen
Children’s Message
Hebrew Scripture Psalm 17:6-9, 13, 15
Christian Scripture 1 Timothy 4:1-6, 9-10 and Mark 1:29-31 Contemporary Reading C.S. Lewis - The Screwtape Letters Excerpt from Letter # 1
Special Music Be Still and Know Trad. Melody/ Richard Williamson
Message Rev. TJ Mack
*Hymn Lead Us From Death to Life B. #581
Refrain:
Lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth,
from despair to hope, from fear to trust.
Lead us from hate to love, from war to peace;
let peace fill our hearts, let peace fill our world, let peace fill our universe.
Still all the angry cries, still all the angry guns,
Still now your people die, earth’s sons and daughters.
Let justice roll, let mercy pour down,
come and teach us your way of compassion.
Refrain:
So many lonely hearts, so many broken lives,
longing for love to break into their anguish.
Come, teach us love, come, teach us peace,
come and teach us your way of compassion.
Refrain:
Let justice ever roll, let mercy fill the earth,
let us begin to grow into your people.
We can be love, we can bring peace,
we can still be your way of compassion.
Refrain:
Confession and Assurance of Pardon
One: What do we hold and treasure most?
All: Is it the promises of God?
One: What captivates our attention?
All: Is it the grace of God?
One: God of mercy and grace:
All: We are vulnerable people who sometimes ignore the vulnerable. We are broken people who don’t always pay attention to the world’s brokenness.
One: Heal us, O God, to make us better healers. Mend our rifts, that we might be better builders. Cleanse our hearts, so we can clear out the damage of hurt and oppression. We are yours, loving God. Help us to live and to know this better.
All: God is great in strength, mighty in power, and full of endless love for us all. Amen
Prayers of the People – Sharing Joys & Concerns
Our Father (Creator, Mother) who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen
Lead me Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my face.
For it is thou Lord, thou Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.
Invitation to Offering – Having received new life through the generosity of God and the hope Christ brings, let us give thankfully and abundantly that we may be called God’s generous people.
Offertory Lauda anima J. Goss/ Kevin Norris
*The Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God for all that love has done; Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Amen
*Prayer of Dedication (spoken in unison)
All good gifts around us come from you, O God. You have given us life, and new life in Christ. As you have given us gifts, so we offer our gifts that we may be gifts to one another, even as Jesus so taught and lived. Amen.
*Hymn There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy R. #72
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea; there’s a kindness in God’s justice, which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than up in heaven;
there is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgment given.
For the love of God is broader than the measure of our mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more faithful, we would gladly trust God’s word; and our lives would be illumined by the presence of our Lord.
*Benediction
*Sung Blessing Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing (vs. 1) R. #333
Lord, dismiss us with your blessing; fill our hearts with joy and peace;
let us each, your love possessing, triumph in redeeming grace:
oh, refresh us, oh, refresh us, traveling through this wilderness.
Postlude Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal The Olive Leaf/ G. Martin
(Please remain seated for the Postlude)
If you are visiting with us today, please sign our Guest Book in the back of the sanctuary.
Support our Church Financially
Please visit Hancock (Maine) UCC on Facebook or our new webpage www.hancockucc.com
or visit this link to our PayPal account: paypal.me/hancockucc
or mail offerings to:
Union Congregational Church, PO Box 443, Hancock, ME 04640 (Attention: Treasurer)
Contact Us
207.422.3100 207.323.6743
Many thanks to those who make this service possible –
in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Music Minister – Debbie Riley
Deacons – Everett Espling & Doug Kimmel
Liturgist – Renata Moise
Audio-Video Support – Patrice Alexander
Office Administrator – Vicky Espling
Settled Minister – Rev. TJ Mack
The Body of Christ – You
Resources, adapted
John Philip Newell - Silent Prayer
UCC Worship Ways – Call to Worship, Invocation
& Offertory Prayers
"Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE,
License #A-738532. All rights reserved.
Arise, Your Light is Come!
Words - ©1992 GIA Publications, Inc.
Contributors: Ruth Duck
O God, Our Help in Ages Past
Words and Music - © OCP Publications
Contributors: ST. ANNE, William Croft, Isaac Watts
World Peace Prayer
Words and Music - ©1985 GIA Publications, Inc.
Contributors: Marty Haugen
There's a Wideness in God's Mercy
Words and Music - ©1969 Concordia Publishing House
Contributors: Frederick Faber
Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing
Words and Music - © Public Domain
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