UNION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF HANCOCK UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 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

July 30, 2023 Joint Service with Hancock Point Chapel Some hymns this morning were written by Rev. Curtis Beach who had ties to Hancock. (Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 9, 1914--February 23, 1993, Bangor, Maine). Today’s flowers are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of her parents, Helen & Norman Padelford, by Peggy Karns.

Silent Prayer Holy God, we try to fix and fasten you, but you will not be stayed. You are love in motion: always breathing us into being, calling us to serve, sustaining us in the wilderness. Come to us as the morning breaks. Soften what has grown dry and brittle in our hearts until we worship with abandon. Amen * Indicates points in the service when we stand in body or spirit Announcements Mission Moment – Maine School of Ministry Phil Devenish Prelude Monteux Musicians Welcome Rev. TJ Mack *Introit Weave Hymns of Truth & Light #75 Weave, weave, weave us together, Weave us together in unity and love. Weave, weave, weave us together. Weave us together, together in love. *Call to Worship Shannon Waldner One: O Creator of the Cosmos, who knows what the kin-dom of God is like, but also remembers what it was like before. All: Before creation and kin-doms, before mustard seeds and fine pearls, before yeast and bakers to make bread. One: So, you know what it is like to long for them, to imagine them into being, All: And it is from this longing for your kin-dom and for you that we enter our worship. One: Yes, come, let us praise and pray to our God of promise. All: Let us rejoice in the Good News together—how nothing can separate us from the presence of God. Amen *Passing of the Peace (ASL) and lighting Peace & Justice Candle Peggy Karns *Hymn Praise to the Living God Hymns of Truth & Light #18 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 this 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) Shannon Waldner O Spirit, who helps us in our struggles, and teaches us how to pray when we don’t know what to say or how to feel, we call on you from a sigh too deep for words. Within that sigh, we wonder, we question, and we hope that all things do, indeed, work together for your good. And in this experience of being here together, in this time set apart to be side by side in community, we are reminded how connected we already are. Let us open ourselves to your presence here. Amen Children’s Message Godly Play - Parable of the Mustard Seed Rev. TJ Mack Hebrew Scriptures Psalm 100 Ken Emerson Christian Scriptures Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 Poem “Called to Become” by Edwina Gateley Karen Meecham Special Music Monteux Musicians Message Rev. TJ Mack Special Music Surely The Presence of the Lord is in this Place by Lanny Wolfe Mandy Schumaker Prayer for Transformation and New Life All: We call upon our ancestor, Solomon, who knew to ask God for the wisdom to discern between what is in the spirit of God, and what is not. Like Solomon, we admit that we don’t always know how to make our way through life—in its nuances, violence, chaos, and unexpected burdens. We also admit that in our struggles, we’ve made the wrong choice, hurt others, and clung to our shame. Forgive us, O God of Wisdom, and teach us your ways of repair. Amen Words of Grace Prayers of the People – Sharing Joys & Concerns Bill O’Meara 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 – Our scripture today says that the kin-dom of heaven is like a treasure. May we take a moment to remember the ways in which these two churches have made the kin-dom come alive for us. Let us take this time to give thanks by considering how we can give of our time, money, skills, and unique gifts to this beloved community. Amen Offertory Special Music Mixed Choir Just Two Words Frombach/Lau *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) Like the net that was thrown into the sea and brought in fish of every kind, we celebrate the multitude and diversity of gifts shared here today. May God bless these treasures with the abundance of Christ’s love and passion to embody justice in our world. Amen *Hymn O How Glorious, Full of Wonder Hymns of Truth & Light #66 Alt. Tune: Hymn to Joy O how glorious, full of wonder is your name o'er all the earth. God who wrought creation's splendor, bringing suns and stars to birth! Rapt in reverence we adore you, marveling at your mystic ways. Humbly now we bow before you, lifting up our hearts in praise. When we see your lights of heaven, moon and stars, your power displayed, Who are we that you should love us, creatures that your hand has made? Born of earth, yet full of yearning, mixture strange of good and ill, From your ways so often turning, yet your love does seek us still. As your stewards, you have set us, o’er the wonders of your hand, as your servants, you have made us guardians over sea and land. Soaring spire and ruined city, these our hopes and failures show. Teach us more of human pity, that we in your image grow. O how wondrous, O how glorious is your name in every land. God, whose purpose shines before us toward the goal that you have planned! Yours the will our hearts are seeking, conscious of our human need. Spirit in our spirit speaking, make us yours, O God, indeed! *Sung Blessing 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. *Benediction Postlude Monteux Musicians (Please remain seated for the Postlude) Our hymns this morning were written by someone with ties to both the Hancock Point Chapel and this church. A brief bio found in The New Century Hymnal in our pews, states “Curtis Beach, born into a family of several generations of ministers, was educated at Harvard University, the Boston University School of Theology, and the University of Southern California. A minister in the United Church of Christ, Beach authored The Gospel of Mark: Its Making and Meaning.” Today’s flowers are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of her parents, Helen & Norman Padelford, by Peggy Karns. Support our Church Financially Please visit Hancock (Maine) UCC on Facebook or our new webpage www.hancockucc.com (please note that www.hancockucc.org still exists as an archival site) 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 Many thanks to those who make this service possible – in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Music Minister – Debbie Riley Monteux Guest Musicians – Allion Salvador (violin) and Laura Salgado (cello) Special Music – Mixed Choir & Mandy Schumaker Deacons – Robin Long & Pat Summerer Liturgists – Ken Emerson, Peggy Karns, Karen Meecham, Shannon Waldner Prayers of the People – Bill O’Meara Offertory – Meecham Family Graphics Minister – Cynthia Wood Audio-Video Support – Ron Schwizer Office Secretary – Vicky Espling Settled Minister – Rev. TJ Mack The Body of Christ – You Allion Salvador (violin) and Laura Salgado (cello). Mr. Allion Salvador (5th year, violin; 4th year, conductor) is the 1st prize winner of the 2021 Music International Grand Prix, concertmaster of Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, associate concertmaster of Yakima Symphony, guest concertmaster at Seattle’s Paramount Theater, and a member of the Spokane Symphony and the Missoula-based String Orchestra of the Rockies. He is a regular guest artist with the Yakima-based Sempre Chamber Music series and SMCO Secret Chamber Music, collaborating with artists including Nathan Chan, Maria Larionoff, Jorja Fleezanis, and Denise Dillenbeck. As a conductor, he is the founding music director of the Seattle Philharmonic Strings, a chamber orchestra bringing rarely played string repertoire to new communities. Mr. Salvador graduated with degrees in Violin Performance and Neurobiology from the University of Washington. He is currently completing graduate work with Peter Winograd and Lisa Kim at the Manhattan School of Music. His principal teachers include Hal Grossman and Ronald Patterson in violin, and Michael Jinbo, Adam Stern, and Ludovic Morlot in conducting. Festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival, Round Top Music Festival, and the Pierre Monteux School. Cellist Laura Salgado (1st year) born in Mexico City, began her cello studies at an early age before studying with Monica Del Aguila and graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Performance with Mastery in Cello. From an early age, Laura was introduced to chamber and orchestral music. She was part of the Carlos Chavez Youth Orchestra and the Eduardo Mata University Youth Orchestra of UNAM. As part of the Eduardo Mata Youth Orchestra she performed at the Auditorium Parco della Musica of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome and participated in the Emilia Romagna festivals in Imola and Music Weeks in Merano Italy, also performing with the violinist Massimo Quarta (winner of the 1991 Paganini Prize). Laura has appeared in masterclasses with Denis Parker, Jesus Castro Balbi, Steve Doane, Hans Jensen, Alan Rafferty, Sarah Kim, Johannes Moser, and Alban Gerhardt, among others. She has actively participated in national and international festivals such as Morelia Music Festival, SA’Oaxaca, Cello Fest in Dallas Ft. Worth, and the Santa Catarina Brazil Music Festival, performing actively as a chamber, orchestral, and solo musician. Laura now performs as a guest musician in the major orchestras of Mexico City, and is a cello instructor in the Delegation Orchestras of Mexico City Program. Resources UCC Worship Ways, black liturgies, Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion "Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License #A-738532. All rights reserved.

Weaving Round - Suzanne Toolan Words and Music - ©1995 OCP Praise to the Living God Words Copyright © 1966 by the Estate of Curtis Beach O How Glorious, Full of Wonder Words Copyright © 1958; renewed 1980, 1991 by the Estate of Curtis Beach Go with Us, Lord Words - ©1990 Hope Publishing Company Contributors: Mary Jackson Cathey