Everyone is welcome here

Our worship service is livestreaming on Facebook: facebook.com/UPCBinghamton/videos

Join via phone call on Zoom: +1-646-558-8656, Meeting ID 865 274 8433 #

Sunday, June 14, 2020 • 10:00am

Welcome to the Celebration!

June 14, 2020 • 10:00am

We Gather as a Community of Faith

GATHERING MUSIC

WORDS OF WELCOME

CALL TO WORSHIP by Maren Tirabassi

One: Welcome to Ordinary Time.

Pentecost has come and gone.

All: What does it mean to live with the Spirit?

One: We often say, “It’s dark and we can’t see where we’re going.”

All: The Spirit replies, “Step into the darkness.

If there is no ground beneath you, I’ll give you wings.”

One: What happens if we land in the middle of the ocean?

All: The Spirit says, “I’ll teach you to swim.”

One: What happens if we grow weary of swimming?

All: The Spirit says, “I’ll show you how to breathe underwater.”

One: What happens if the breath of others is taken away?

All: The Spirit says, “Those who have not spoken will speak.

Those who have not listened will listen.

And those who are willing will grow feathers and fins.”

SONG OF GATHERING “To Abraham and Sarah” (Glory to God #51; see next page)

PRAYER FOR WHOLENESS & ASSURANCE OF GRACE a guided meditation by enfleshedword

Beloved One,

You created us in your image,

Divine Life within.

Equipped for healing,

You make us capable of right-ing relationships.

To history. To each other. To the planet. To our futures.

You wove courage into our bones,

and the want for each other into our flesh.

We can feel it when we are in touch with life:

We need each other.

Make all that betrays this Sacred connection —

the everyday and ordinary practices,

and the rising terrors of evil’s gains —

be exposed for what they are.

Deception. Poison. A breach of divine entanglement.

Though they dwell deep within us,

help us pluck them up from the roots.

Search our hearts.

Come with your winnowing fork

and separate out truth from falsehood. (continued )

Used by Permission. CCLI License #11598067

Companion us in the work to clear away

that which destroys from within

and enables destruction around.

Deliver us from the confines of Supremacy in all its forms

and set us onto paths of freedom.

May our labors towards liberation be fruitful.

May we mean what we pray.

May we be compelled by dreams of collective transformation

to rise to the moment but also

to remain committed to mundane labors of long-term, systemic change.

May our loyalties to Love

rise above all others,

that we may no longer tolerate

our complicity with all that damages and destroys.

Made in your image,

we are made capable

of abolishing what is evil

and building a better world.

Make it so among us. Amen!

We Hear the Word

SCRIPTURE Genesis 15

TIME FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART

REFLECTIONS Rev. Kimberly P Chastain

We Respond to the Word

SONG OF RESPONSE “Come Down, O Love Divine” (W&R #330; see next page)

WE SAY WHAT WE BELIEVE (together) from “A Brief Statement of Faith,” PC(USA), 1991

In life and in death we belong to God.

Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit,

we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,

whom alone we worship and we serve.

In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,

we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks,

and to live holy and joyful lives,

even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth,

praying “Come, Lord Jesus!”

With believers in every time and place

we rejoice that nothing in life or in death

can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Used by Permission. CCLI License #11598067

OFFERING

You are invited to support the ministry of this congregation through online giving

at upcbgm.org/giving/donate or by sending a check to the church office.

OFFERTORY “My Good Lord’s Done Been Here”

My good Lord’s done been here, blest my soul, and gone away.

My good Lord’s done been here, blest my soul, and gone.

Never did I think that He was so nigh, blest my soul and gone;

He spoke and he made me laugh and cry, blest my soul and gone.

Sinner better min’ how you walk on the cross, blest my soul and gone;

Your foot might slip and your soul get lost, blest my soul and gone.

WORDS and MUSIC: Traditional spiritual; arr. Moses Hogan, © 2000 Hal Leonard Corporation.

Used by Permission. CCLI License #11598067

PRAYER OF DEDICATION

In grace, we bind ourselves to those who have no hope;

in hope, we bind ourselves to those who live in despair;

in peace, we bind ourselves to all who are damaged by violence and hate;

in gratitude, we offer our gifts and bind ourselves to you, O God, in the work

of justice, love, and wonder as you build your community in the world.

In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen!

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE (responsive)

As each petition is concluded, the prayer leader and congregation respond:

One: Lord, in your loving kindness,

All: hear our prayer.

THE LORD’S PRAYER (together)

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!

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND INVITATIONS

We Bless Each Other on the Way

SONG OF SENDING “Shadow and Substance” (W&R #599; see next page)

BLESSING EACH OTHER ON THE WAY (responsive) Maren Tirabassi

One: May your tongue tingle with the good news.

All: May your heart open to all the people in all the hotspots

and hurts of the world.

One: And, when you are bent over by sorrow,

walking masked in a lonely or dangerous or over-busy day,

All: may you find the Spirit’s feather on the ground,

waiting there to give you hope. Amen

WORDS and MUSIC: Daniel Charles Damon, © 1994 Hope Publishing Company.

Used by Permission. CCLI License #11598067

THE SHARING OF CHRIST’S PEACE

“Namaste” is a Sanskrit greeting that means “the divine within me bows to the divine

within you.” The greeting includes a slight bow with palms pressed together.

In these social distancing days, it is a greeting that we can share across distance,

and still be connected. So I say to you, and invite you to say to each other, both now

as we close our time in worship and when we gather for our virtual coffee hour:

Namaste.

Announcements

Zoom Study Group — Exploring Issues in Presbyterian-ism: Pastor Kimberly is leading a class that explores issues in Presbyterian thought and practice, especially as it relates to our congregation. The class will be starting within the next week or so. If you’re interested, contact Pastor Kimberly or the church office for more details. It would be good to have you with us!

Zoom Book Discussion, Strength in the Storm: We’re offering a Zoom book discussion group on the book Strength in the Storm by Eknath Easwaren. Judy Westcott will lead this group. From the back cover:

“Big or small, global or personal, stress and challenges are woven into the fabric of our days. Life takes us by surprise, pushing us to the limit and beyond. We can’t control what life sends us, but we can have a say in how we respond.”

“This book will discuss practical skills to reduce frustration, anger, and stress.”

“There is nothing magical about calming the mind,” Easwaran assures us. “It is just a matter of training the mind.”

Proposed start date & time: Thursday, July 2, 10–11am. We’re open to adjusting the meeting day and time, if there’s a time that would work better for more people. If interested, contact the church office by June 18.

Planning for summer worship: The worship team would like to hear from you as we plan for summer worship. What really works for you in the virtual gatherings, and what is harder to engage with? Are there things that you would like to see more of, or less? You can talk to the pastors, or to any of the musicians, or to Worship Team chair Suzie Raboy, to share your thoughts. Let us know what you think and especially if there are ways you’d like to contribute!

Regular events on Zoom:

Mondays: Noon Bible Study, 12–1pm We continue our study of the book of Revelation, looking at the book in its historical and political context. Among other things, we’ll try to answer the question, “Why doesn’t this book predict the end of the created order?” Join us if you are able!

Wednesdays: Sewing Group lunch hour, 12–1pm

Fridays: Cocktail hour, 5–6pm Join the fun as we share how our week has been. You never know who you might see — or what they might be wearing!

Our Zoom Hymn sing and Children’s Book Reading are taking a break for a few weeks.

How to get to UPC’s “Zoom Room”

We are using the same “Meeting ID” for all of our programs and worship services, and

no password is needed, just the Meeting ID. You can join online or call in on your telephone.

To join online: https://upcbgm.org/zoom

To dial in as a phone call: 646-558-8656 Then enter Meeting ID: 865 274 8433 #

Tip: If you’re joining online but your internet is slow or unstable, you may want to turn off your camera so you use less of your internet signal.

Pastors Rev. Kimberly P Chastain and Rev. Becky Kindig ~ Liturgist Doug Jones

Music and Technology Aimee Backus, Scott Kindig, Rebecca Mebert,

Starletta Noll-Long, Phil Westcott, and David Williams

We invite you to join us in the Zoom room https://upcbgm.org/zoom

for a time of sharing and fellowship — our “virtual coffee hour”.

To dial in as a phone call: 646-558-8656, Meeting ID: 865 274 8433 #