Bulletin

Welcome to United Christian Parish! Use the bulletin as guidance as you worship.
(download the bulletin as a PDF)

AUGUST 10 ORDER OF WORSHIP

PRELUDE

WELCOME

SONG
“Circle Dance”
by Jerry & Petie Hebenstreit
Come join the circle of caring and love.
Come join the dance with your talents and offerings.
Move to the music now, living the song,
dance with the children of God.

Open the circle now, hold out your hand.
Beckon the lost ones, the lonely, the questioning.
Dance with the silent ones, dance with the poor.
They are all children of God.

Open it wider now, stretch farther still.
Reach for the grumpy, the plain disagreeable.
Dance with the sceptic, the scoffer, the scold.
They, too, are children of God. 

Open it fully now, reach 'round the world.
Touching all races, all colors, all languages,
Look past the diff'rences, see Christ in all!
Welcome the children of God. 

Come join the circle of caring and love.
Come join the dance with your talents and offerings.
Move to the music now, living the song,
dance with the children of God.

CALL TO WORSHIP *                                                      
One: The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.
All: In the bountiful creation around us: “The midnight skies tell of God’s glory, the midday sun displays holy handiwork. Praise God for the amazing and awesome beauty.
One: In the beauty of this moment,
All: we worship you.
One: In the fellowship of your people,
All: we worship you. 
One: In the presence of your Spirit,
All: we worship you.
One: In the company of all creation,
All: we worship you,
One: our Rock and our Redeemer. Alleluia! Amen.

OPENING SONG *
“For the Beauty of the Earth” (#28)
For the beauty of the earth,
for the splendor of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
over and around us lies,

Refrain: God of all, to you we rise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour,
of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light. [Refrain]

 For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild. [Refrain]

For the good that love inspires,
for a world where none exclude,
For a faith that never tires,
and for every heart renewed, [Refrain]

CALL TO CONFESSION *
One: Your glory, O God, is declared in the holy silence of the heavens, and told in the silent succession of day and night.
All: No speech, or word or voice is heard; yet they speak to all the world, and their words reach to the ends of the earth. 
One: The sun joyfully leaps across the sky, from one end of the heavens to the farthest reaches, and nothing is hidden from its heat or light.
All: So nothing that we do or say or whisper in our hearts is hidden from you, Lord God.
One: Release us from darkness we hide deep within our lives.
All: Let our lives be radiant with holy fear; delighting in your teaching, receiving insight from your commandments and wisdom from your encouraging. 
One: Enliven our desire for your everlasting judgements over wealth or fame:
All: to enjoy the sweet drippings of the honeycomb, that are to be found in right relationship with those around us, and with you.
One: With hearts of sorrow, we come before you, O God, 
All: to confess what you already know— 
One: Again and again, we have followed our own selfish will, rather than your holy and life-giving will for our lives. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION *
One: Lord God, all creation points to your glory, honor, and loving-kindness. Though you continuously reveal your  perfect ways throughout the world in which we live, we confess that we have marred your creation and not lived up to our responsibilities to you and others.
All: Forgive us for not seeing the beauty that surrounds us. Forgive us when we look at screens rather than sunsets; forgive us when we read about a crisis and do not respond. Forgive us for thinking that we are the source of power and beauty and life  
One: and cleanse us from hidden faults, that the words of our mouths, and the meditations of all our hearts, may be acceptable to you, our Rock and our Redeemer.
All: Turn us around, and give us new eyes to see; eyes to see hope in the clouds, eyes to see life in the blade of grass, to see power in the water and stone. This we pray in the name of Jesus, the beautiful Savior. Amen.

WORDS OF FORGIVENESS *
One: This is the beauty of the gospel, and it is for you and for all. “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is God’s steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
All: Thanks be to God. Alleluia, Amen.

GLORIA *
Glory to God, whose goodness shines on me,
and to the Son, whose grace has pardoned me,
and to the Spirit, whose love has set me free.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.
World without end, without end. Amen.
World without end, without end. Amen.
World without end, without end. Amen.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.

PASSING THE PEACE

OFFERING

DOXOLOGY
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise Christ, all people here below;
praise Holy Spirit evermore;
praise Triune God, whom we adore.
Amen.

CHILDREN’S TIME

SONG
“Rainbow”
Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Natlie Hemby
When it rains it pours, but you didn't even notice
it ain’t rainin’ anymore.
It's hard to breathe when all you know is
the struggle of stayin’ above the rising water line.

Well the sky is fin’lly opened,
the rain and wind stopped blowin',
but you’re stuck out in the same old storm again.
You hold tight to your umbrella.
Well darlin’ I'm just tryin’ to tell ya
that there’s always been a rainbow hangin’ over your head.

If you could see what I see, you'd be blinded by the colors. 
Yellow, red and orange and green,
and at least a million others.
So, tie up the boat, take off your coat, and take a look around.

‘Cause the sky is fin’lly opened,
the rain and wind stopped blowin',
but you’re stuck out in the same old storm again.
You hold tight to your umbrella.
Well darlin’ I'm just tryin’ to tell ya
that there’s always been a rainbow hangin’ over your head.

Oh, tie up the boat, take off your coat, and take a look around.
Ev’rything is alright now.

‘Cause the sky is fin’lly opened,
the rain and wind stopped blowin',
but you’re stuck out in the same old storm again.
Let go of your umbrella
‘cause darlin’ I'm just tryin’ to tell ya
that there’s always been a rainbow hangin’ over your head.
Yeah, there’s always been a rainbow hangin’ over your head.
Mmmm…It’ll all be alright
for everyone born, the right to be free, [Refrain]

SCRIPTURE (Psalm 19)

SERMON

ELDER ORDINATION

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
One: God created the heavens, star-spattered with beauty, and the earth, teeming with life. And God set us on the Earth, alive and wide-eyed, able to see and hear, feel and taste life's beauty, able to dream and plan, create and build out of the richness of the earth.
All: Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise!
One: God gave us families to love us, teachers to teach us, elders to guide us, and leaders to inspire us. God gave us his Son to save us from the path of destruction and sin, and to be a strengthening presence in our trials and temptations.
All: Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise!
One: Every good thing that fills our souls with gladness and our lives with light is a gift from God. We have been entrusted with unfathomable riches. For this, let us come before God in thanksgiving and grateful praise.
All: Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise!

LORD’S PRAYER
All: Our Father, 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

CLOSING SONG *
“When in Our Music God Is Glorified” (#561)
When in our music God is glorified,
and adoration leaves no room for pride,
It is as though the whole creation cried:
Alleluia!

How often, making music, we have found
a new dimension in the world of sound,
As worship moved us to a more profound
Alleluia!

So has the church, in liturgy and song,
in faith and love, through centuries of wrong,
Borne witness to the truth in every tongue:
Alleluia!

Let every instrument be tuned for praise!
Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise!
And may God give us faith to sing always:
Alleluia!

CLOSING MESSAGE
One: Creator God—as we return now to our homes, workplaces, and communities, may Your Spirit open our eyes anew to the vastness and splendor of Your beauty all around us.
All: May we hear, and smell, and see, and touch your glory evident in all of Your creation.
One: Above all, let us see Your beauty even in the brokenness of our brothers and sisters—all of them, created in Your image, and waiting to experience that redemption that comes only through Christ Jesus our Lord. 
All: We go now to love and serve our Lord imaging a world with more beauty.
One: And now, may God's caring arms embrace us,  Jesus' comforting words fill us, and the Holy Spirit's renewing Presence surround us today and always.  Amen.

POSTLUDE

*Rise in body or spirit