3/8/26 Bulletin
- 19 hours ago
- 9 min read
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
“Far More Abundantly” by Lauren Wright Pittman
March 8, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. – Third Sunday of Lent
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Meeting ID: 839 3635 9115
Passcode: 776780
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.
Lauren Wright Pitman, Artist Statement: I read this Ephesians text alongside the feeding of the five thousand. I placed Jesus at the center of the image,12 but he did not feed the crowds alone. He asked his disciples to offer what they had. They responded with meager resources, yet those small gifts were enough.
Through the lens of Ephesians, if Jesus were to ask us today what we have to give, our answer would be:
We have the power you have given us to do the impossible. The same power that turned five loaves and two fish into a feast for thousands—with leftovers—empowers us “to accomplish far more abundantly than all we can ask or imagine.”
Do we allow this truth to settle into our bones and animate our actions?
I’ll admit, I tried to avoid this passage because it felt overly optimistic in light of today’s world. People still go hungry. Wars rage. The earth groans under our misuse. Yet if we reimagine the systems we created, studies show it is possible for every human being to have what they need. 13 That would require massive restructuring, international cooperation, and the reallocation of resources—but not more than we already possess. We don’t need a miracle of multiplication. We simply need to use what we’ve been given.
In a world convinced of scarcity, this is astonishingly good news. We already have enough. And as my mentor used to say, “Enough is abundance.” What will we do with this abundance? Is it too lofty to dream of a world that sustains all of life? Perhaps. Yet I believe it is God’s own desire that all may have life, and have it abundantly.14 This is the work before us, accomplished through the power at work within us, through Jesus Christ. Amen. —Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman
Look: Consider the archway and what it could symbolize. Do you see a table, a tablet, a boat, a door, a tomb—or all of these things or something else?
12 In the center of the image, Jesus raises his arms and breaks bread. Above Jesus’ hands is a mustard seed. Surrounding the baskets are thin line carvings of mustard flowers. Like the seed, we may be small, but we hold so much potential inside of us. Surrounding the archway are twelve baskets of seven loaves or fish which take on the shape of flowers. The number twelve represents community, and seven represents wholeness. When everyone has what they need, the community is whole.
14 John 10:9-11
Third Sunday of Lent - the good news is... together, the impossible is possible
Silent Prayer
For the freshness of this new day / thanks be to you, O God. / For morning’s
gift of clarity / its light like the first day’s dawn / thanks be to you. / In this newborn
light / let us see afresh. / In this gateway onto what has never been before / let our soul breathe hope / for the earth / for the creatures / for the human family. /
Let our soul breathe hope.
* Indicates when we stand in body or spirit.
Announcements
Prelude Choral Song Samuel Wesley/ Gilbert Martin
Welcome
*Introit Come and Find the Quiet Center (tune: Beach Spring)
Come and find the qui-et cen-ter in the crowd-ed life we lead; / Find the room for hope to en-ter, / Find the frame where we are freed; / Clear the cha-os and the clut-ter, / Clear our eyes, that we can see / All the things that real-ly mat-ter, / Be at peace, and sim-ply be.
*Call to Worship
One: If you need good news,
All: settle into this space. We have good news to share.
One: If you need a word of hope,
All: then trust us when we say, there is hope enough to go around.
One: If you need a glimmer of joy,
All: then you’re in luck! We have resilient joy abounding.
One: If you need to feel God’s presence in your midst,
All: then know that this is God’s house.
One: This is the good news of the gospel.
All: God is here. Love is real. Joy is on the move. Let us worship our with-us God!
*Passing the Peace (ASL) and Lighting Peace & Justice Candle
*Hymn Praise to the Living God B. #8
Praise to the living God, the God of love and light, / Whose word brought forth the myriad suns and set the worlds in flight: / Whose infinite design, which we but dimly see, / Pervades all nature, making all a cosmic unity
Praise to the living God, from whom all things derive, / Whose Spirit formed upon the sphere the first faint seeds of life; / Who caused them to evolve, unwitting, toward God’s goal / Till humankind stood on the earth, as living, thinking souls.
Praise to the living God, who knows our joy and pain, / Who shares with us our common life, the sacred and profane. / God toils where’er we toil, in home and mart and mill; / And deep within the human heart God leads us forward still.
Praise to the living God, around, within, above, / Beyond the grasp of human mind, but whom we know as love. / In these tumultuous days, so full of hope and strife, / May we bear witness to the Way, O Source and Goal of life.
*Invocation (in unison)
Holy God, we could press our ear to the page, hoping to hear you more clearly. We could silence all the alarms and notifications, hoping to catch a murmur of your voice. We could still our beating hearts, and still we might miss your voice. So today we pray, open up space in our hearts, in our spirits, in our minds, to feel your presence among us. With you, anything is possible. We believe. Help our unbelief.
Children’s Message
Call to Confession
Friends, we are like the disciples. The day that Jesus fed 5,000, his disciples could not imagine a solution to the crowd’s hunger. They told Jesus to send the crowds away. We often do the same. Like the disciples, we try to follow Jesus around, but when we run into issues, we often cannot imagine how we could play a part. That is why we need the Prayer of Confession. For in this prayer, we remember that we can make a difference. So friends, join me in this moment of truth. Join me in prayer:
Prayer of Confession
Holy God, with you the impossible is possible. 5,000 can be fed. The blind can see. The hopeless can find hope. With you the impossible is possible, but we are quick to forget that. We look at our hurting world and tell ourselves that nothing can be done. We forget that you empowered the disciples to feed the crowd. We forget that you are always with us. Forgive our small-minded ways. Forgive us for doubting that change could ever come. But even more so, forgive us when we refuse to be a part of it. We pray, with hope for a better tomorrow. Amen
Words of Forgiveness
Family of faith, no matter how many mistakes the disciples made, Jesus still washed their feet. Jesus still fed them. Jesus still called them beloved. The same is true for you and me, so hear and believe this good news: today is a new day, and once again, we belong to God. We are forgiven. We are called. We are not alone. What good, good news. Amen!
Scriptures Mark 6:32-44; Ephesians 3:20-21
Special Music When Jesus Wept William Billings/ W. Ringham B. #192
Message Rev. TJ Mack
*Hymn Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated R. #464
Take my life, God, let it be consecrated Lord to thee;take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of thy love;
take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for thee.
Take my will, and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine;
take my heart, it is thine own, it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love: my Lord I pour at thy feet its treasure store;take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee.
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 The New Century Hymnal #842
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 O Rest in the Lord Felix Mendelssohn/ J. Elloway
*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 The New Century Hymnal #845
O God, most merciful and gracious, of whose bounty we have all received: accept, we pray, this offering of your people. Remember in your love those who have brought it and those for whom it is given; and so follow it with your blessing that it may promote peace and goodwill among all people and advance the realm of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
*Hymn God of Grace and God of Glory B. #436
God of grace and God of glory, on your people pour your power; / crown your ancient church’s story; bring its bud to glorious flower. / Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour, / for the facing of this hour.
From the evils that surround us and assail the Savior’s ways, / from the fears that long have bound us–free our hearts to faith and praise. / Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the living of these days, / for the living of these days.
Cure your children’s warring madness; bend our pride to your control. / Shame our reckless, selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul. / Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, make our broken spirits whole, / make our broken spirits whole.
Set our feet on lofty places; gird our lives that they may be / Armored with all Christ-like graces, in the fight to set us free. / Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, in the quest for liberty, / in the quest for liberty.
Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore; / let the search for your salvation be our glory evermore. / Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, serving you whom we adore, / serving you whom we adore.
*Benediction
*Sung Benediction Go With Us, Lord R. #336
Go with us, Lord, and guide the way through this and every coming day,
That in your Spirit strong and true our lives may be our gift to you.
Postlude Trumpet Tune in C Robert Lau
(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 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
Vicky – hancockmaineucc@gmail.com – 207.422.3100
Jennifer – treasurer@hancockucc.com
TJ – revtjmack@gmail.com – 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 – Alison Boden & Everett Espling
Liturgist – Pat Summerer
Audio-Video Support – Mike Summerer
Office Administrator – Vicky Espling
Settled Minister – Rev. TJ Mack
The Body of Christ – You
Resources: A Sanctified Art
The New Century Hymnal (B.) Hymns of Truth and Light (R.)
Copyright © 1995 The Pilgrim Press Copyright © 1998 First Congregational
Church of Huston, Texas
"Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License #A-738532. All rights reserved.
Come and Find the Quiet Center (BEACH SPRING)
Words and Music - ©1992, 2021 Hope Publishing Company
Contributors: Shirley Erena Murray, Joe Galyon
Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated
Words and Music - ©2000 Jubilate Music
Contributors: Frances R Havergal, Mark Hayes
God of Grace and God of Glory
Words and Music - Public Domain
Contributors: Public Domain
Go with Us, Lord
Words - ©1990 Hope Publishing Company
Contributors: Mary Jackson Cathey
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