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

Seventh Sunday of Easter – June 1, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. – Communion Sunday

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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. 

Silent Prayer

You have taught us, O Christ, to love the world. You have shown us the light that is within us and within all things. May we learn to love you more and in loving you more

learn to love the earth and all its people more, for you are the light of all life.

* Indicates points in the service when we stand in body or spirit

Announcements

Prelude         Reflection on “Bryn Calfaria”                              Owen/R.V.Williams/D. Wagner      

Welcome & Land Acknowledgement

*Introit       Here We Gather as God’s People                                                              R. #383

Here we gather as God’s people with our friends from far and near;

let our voices sound with praises knowing Christ has called us here.

Now we seek and greet each other, now in joy approach our friends.

Here we mingle, bound together as to all our love extends.

*Call to Worship 

One: Creator, today we give you thanksAll: for believing we can be born again.One: Creator, today we give you thanksAll: for the diversity of which all of Your creation is birthed.One: Creator, today we give you thanksAll: for the knowledge that we aren’t always right and for the capacity to change.One: Creator, today we give you thanks

All: for the desire to change structures and institutions that tell us community is less valuable than the individual.One: Creator, today we give you thanksAll: for the positivity, resistance, and beauty in this sometimes ugly world.

*Passing of the Peace (ASL) and Lighting of Peace & Justice Candle        

*Hymn       O Day of God, Draw Near                                                                         R. #516

O day of God, draw near in beauty and in power,come with your timeless judgment now to match our present hour.

Bring to our troubled minds, uncertain and afraid,the quiet of a steadfast faith, calm of a call obeyed.

Bring justice to our land, that all may dwell secure,and finely build for days to come foundations that endure.

Bring to our world of strife your sovereign word of peace,that war may haunt the earth no more and desolation cease.

O day of God, draw near as at creation's birth;let there be light again, and let your judgment reign on earth.

*Invocation (in unison) 

By the power of the Holy Spirit open our minds to the Word, your Son, who comes to us as one of us and ascends to the heavens to remain with us. Amen

Children’s Message        

Special Music       I Wander By the Sea                                                 Dale Wood/ Larry Pugh

Scriptures                                                                             Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 16:16-34

Message                                                                                                              Rev. TJ Mack

*Hymn       Help Us Accept Each Other                                                                      B. # 388

Help us accept each other as Christ accepted us;

teach us as sister, brother, each person to embrace.

Be present, God, among us, and bring us to believe

we are ourselves accepted and meant to love and live.

Teach us, O God, your lessons, as in our daily life

we struggle to be human and search for hope and faith.

Teach us to care for people, for all, not just for some,

to love them as we find them, or as they may become.

Let your acceptance change us, so that we may be moved

in living situations to do the truth in love;

To practice your acceptance, until we know by heart

the table of forgiveness and laughter's healing art.

God, for today's encounters with all who are in need,

who hunger for acceptance, for righteousness and bread,

Bring us new eyes for seeing, new hands for holding on:

renew us with your Spirit; God! Free us, make us one!

Prayers of the People – Sharing Joys & Concerns 

The Lord’s Prayer

First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament - Matthew 6:9-13

  O Great Spirit, our Father from above, we honor your name as sacred and holy. Bring your good road to us, where the beauty of your ways in the spirit-world above is reflected in the earth below. Provide for us day by day–the elk, the buffalo, and the salmon. The corn, the squash, and the wild rice. All the things we need for each day. Release us from the things we have done wrong, in the same way we release others for the things done wrong to us. Guide us away from the things that tempt us to stray from your good road, and set us free from the evil one and his worthless ways. Aho! May it be so!

   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 –

For the gifts of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and for the privilege of offering the fruits of our hands, let us give thanks to God with what we have this day.

Offertory             For the Bread Which You Have Broken           Tune: Omni Die/ A. Giamanco

*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)

Gracious and giving God, you are the One who first has given to us all that we need for life. Guide us to use what we now gather for the well-being of your church. Amen

*Communion Hymn     I Come with Joy                                                                     R. #313

I come with joy, a child of God, forgiven, loved and free,

the life of Jesus to recall, in love laid down for me,

in love laid down for me.

I come with Christians far and near to find, as all are fed,

the new community of love in Christ’s communion bread,

in Christ’s communion bread.

As Christ breaks bread, and bids us share, each proud division ends.

The love that made us, makes us one, and strangers now are friends,

and strangers now are friends.

The Spirit of the risen Christ, unseen, but ever near,

is in such friendship better known, alive among us here,

alive among us here.

Together met, together bound, by all that God has done,

we’ll go with joy, to give the world the love that makes us one,

the love that makes us one

Holy Communion LiturgyWords of InvitationPastor TJ: Faith communities around the Earth gather to observe Communion today. Every language and tongue, every tribe and nation, every continent and hemisphere represented as the Body of Christ accepts the invitation to unity around a meal prepared by the One who entered a body, the human condition, and the brokenness of the world. Let us join together in the name of Jesus to gather as one body in Christ.

Deacon: God be with you.All: The Holy One is with us.Deacon: May our hardened hearts be softened.All: We lift them up to the Holy One with thanksgiving and in hopeful expectation.

Words of ThanksgivingDeacon: Gracious God, you are holy, and you make us holy. We declare glory and honor due to your precious name. Like generations before us and the heavenly chorus beyond us, we cry,

All: Holy, holy, holy, God of power and might. All realms are filled with your glory. Redeem us, restore us, renew us. We are blessed by your Holy Name.

Words of RemembrancePastor TJ: We join in remembrance of your incarnation. Your humble beginnings affirm that the strength of God is perfected in weakness. The years of obscurity left unrecorded and unknown to us remind us that good things benefit from preparation and patience. The record of your baptism reminds us of our own baptisms as we entered the waters of life and community with you. Recalling your ministry encourages us to engage in the work of healing, teaching, and presence. Revisiting your passion challenges us to expand our capacity to love generously, sacrificially, and relentlessly.

Words of InstitutionDeacon: For it was the night of betrayal when Jesus enjoyed a meal with his community of faithful disciples. Imperfect people committed to following his way encircled that table. The one who would deny him was at the table. The one who would betray him was at the table. Many who would flee in fear of the risk to their own lives sat at that table. All were welcomed. All were known. All were loved.

Pastor TJ: All were nourished as Jesus took the bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. As he offered the bread to the gathered, he declared, “This is my body. Take and eat in remembrance of me.” After supper, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks, and blessed it. As he offered the cup to the gathered, he declared, “This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. Take and drink in remembrance of me.”

Deacon: Ministering in the name of Jesus, we offer bread and cup as we proclaim Christ lived, Christ died, Christ rose, and Christ lives again. Receive the gifts of God for the people of God.

          The Bread of Life

          The Cup of Joy

Prayer of Thanksgiving (in unison)

Communal God, we give you thanks that as you shared in life and death, you lead us into the resurrected life. At this table, we acknowledge your abiding presence among us. You offered us bread and cup, which we receive in remembrance and expectation of your movement in human history. Form us as your faithful community and shape us as servants and stewards of your realm. By your Holy Spirit, may your covenant reign within our hearts and manifest in the witness of our lives now and forever. Amen

*Benediction       

*Sung Benediction                  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      Postlude on “Joyful Song”                                                       Allen/ David Lasky

(Please remain seated for the Postlude)

If you are visiting with us today, please sign our Guest Book in the back of the sanctuary. 

The church’s Hook & Hastings Pipe Organ was built in 1929 (OP 2577) for the Northern Conservatory of Music in Bangor. It was moved to Bar Harbor and to Hancock Point and was given to the Church by Edward Steinbach (1887–1984). It was installed by Stoddard Smith    (of Northeast Harbor) in 1988 and was restored in 2020 by Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc., Northampton, MA.

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

hancockmaineucc@gmail.com     treasurer@hancockucc.com      revtjmack@gmail.com

                    207.422.3100                                                                          207.323.6743

Resources

Silent Prayer – from J. Philip Newell’s Celtic Treasure: Daily Scriptures and Prayer

Call to Worship – Worship Ways @ ucc.org

Invocation, Offering Prayers – Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion

Holy Communion Liturgy – Adapted from Worship Ways @ ucc.org –  Oct 2024

Many thanks to those who make this service possible –

in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

Music Minister – Debbie Riley

Deacons – Doug Kimmel, Ron Schwizer, David Wildes

Liturgist – Jodie Kimmel

Audio-Video Support – Mike Summerer

Office Administrator – Vicky Espling 

Settled Minister – Rev. TJ Mack

The Body of Christ – You

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.

Here We Gather as God’s People

Text: Daniel B. Merrick, 1991. Text © 1995, Chalice Press. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Music: Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, 1813

Help Us Accept Each Other

Words - ©1975 Hope Publishing Company

Contributors: Fred Kaan

I Come with Joy

Words © 1971, 1995 Hope Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Harmonization © 1989 The United Methodist Published House (administered by The Copyright Company). All rights reserved. Music © 1977 Hope Publishing Company

Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing

Words and Music - ©pd Public Domain

Contributors: Public Domain