Bulletin

Welcome to United Christian Parish! Use the bulletin as guidance as you worship.
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MARCH 30 ORDER OF WORSHIP

PRELUDE

WELCOME

CALL TO WORSHIP *                                             
One: Our God is a shepherding God.
All: Our God knows us by name.
One: Our God will never stop searching for us. So if you feel lost,
All: then know that God is seeking you.
One: If you feel found,
All: then know that God will never leave.
One: This is the promise of scripture.
All: This is the promise of God’s love.
One: Let us worship our with-us God.

OPENING SONG *
“A Woman and a Coin” (#74)
A woman and a coin - the coin is lost!
How much it means to her, what time and toil,
what part it was to play in her bright dreams!
Am I that treasured coin worth searching for?
I’m found, and you rejoice!
What love! What love!

A shepherd and a sheep - the sheep is lost!
Far from the flock, the one in hundred cries,
then - risking life - the shepherd’s voice and staff!
Am I that treasured sheep worth dying for?
I live, and you rejoice!
What love! What love!

A parent and a child - the child is lost!
The parent feeds on memories and hope,
the prodigal on husks and one last chance.
Am I that treasured child worth waiting for?
I’m home, and you rejoice!
What love! What love!

Dear God, you sought us when the world was lost,
you gave Your only Son at what a cost;
your spirit welcomes home the tempest-tossed;
now we can be all you were dreaming of.
We’re safe, and you rejoice!
What love! What love!

CALL TO CONFESSION *

PRAYER OF CONFESSION *
One: If God is a painter,
All: let us be the brush.  
One: If God is a musician,
All: let us be the song.  
One: If God is an architect,
All: let us be the tools. Let us be the hands. Let us be the builders.
One: But if God is a shepherd, who never stops seeking,
All: let us be willing to be found, no matter how lost we feel.
One: Our God is never far away.
All: Forgive us for forgetting this good news. Amen. 

WORDS OF FORGIVENESS *
One: Family of faith, we are all a little bit lost and a little bit found. We grumble. We push back. We doubt God. We doubt ourselves. We leave the flock and lose our way. But fortunately for us, our God is a shepherding God who is always by our side. So hear and believe the good news of the gospel:
All: No matter how far we wander, we can never wander from the bounds of God’s grace.  We are loved. We are forgiven. We are not alone. Thanks be to God! Amen.

GLORIA *
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

PASSING THE PEACE *

OFFERING

DOXOLOGY
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise Christ, all creatures here below;
praise Holy Spirit evermore:
one God, triune, whom we adore.
Amen.

CHILDREN’S TIME

SONG

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE (Luke 15:1-7)

SERMON

BLESSING OF THE QUILTS
One: Let us pray. Thank you for those who donated fabric, thread and sewing machines. We especially thank you for all who used their talents to create these beautiful messages of love to people all over our community and nation who may be seeking your word of grace and comfort.
All: Bless these quilts that they may be a blessing in the life of the recipient; that they will bring warmth in the cold, shelter from the sun and heat, a wall for a home, or a carrier for a few precious belongings.
One: May they be a message of care from someone they may never meet wherever they may be used.
All: May they be a beacon of light and hope to those who are suffering and fill them with the peace that is only found in you.
One: May all who receive these quilts be wrapped in your unending love and forgiveness knowing that they are a beloved child of God. May they also encounter your grace and peace and learn the joy of Christ.
All: We thank you for this ministry of service, for the opportunity to comfort those in their darkest hours. Renew our mission to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, cloth the naked, comfort the weary and outcast, welcome the stranger, and be a loving neighbor to all people of the earth.
One: Bless all who give and all who receive, as we are sewn together in the unity of your Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
All: Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
One: Thank you for being a seeking God, a with-us and before-us God, a chasing-after-us God, no matter where we wander or what mountains we climb, —
All: Thank you that Jesus, who was and is God with us, who walked the streets of Jerusalem, shook hands with lepers, patted children on the head, and told stories of love—is always close at hand.
One: So on the good days and the hard days, on the mountains and in the valleys, we believe that we are always being found. Thanks be to God for a love like that.
All: Give us a heart like the shepherd who left the ninety-nine to go looking for the sheep, whose heart was full of joy when he found it, who celebrated and put the lost sheep on his shoulders because he was so happy to have found it. 
One: God of mercy, you invite us not only to receive your grace, but to share it with others. Show us how to reflect your love and mercy in our individual lives and in our life together.
All: God of justice, we pray for our nation in turmoil. Turn the hearts of those in power toward those they have been elected to serve. Give them ears to hear the suffering of those who cannot make ends meet and those whose lives have been upended by job cuts and funding freezes.
One: Shepherding God, we pray for those in our community who need your care this day.  Comfort those who sit in the heavy fog of grief.  Energize those who are weighed down by burdens of care. Bring healing in body, mind and soul to those who are sick and recovering.  We name before you now in the quiet of our hearts all we know who need your healing mercies. We pray all these things in Christ’s name as he taught us to pray, saying…

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 *
“Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us” (#558)
Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
much we need thy tender care;
in thy pleasant pastures feed us,
for our use thy folds prepare.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
thou hast bought us, thine we are;
blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
thou hast bought us, thine we are.

We are thine, do thou befriend us,
be the guardian of our way;
keep thy flock, from sin defend us,
seek us when we go astray:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
hear, O hear us when we pray;
blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
hear, O hear us when we pray.

Early let us seek thy favor,
early let us do thy will;
blessed Lord and only Savior,
with thy love our bosoms fill:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
thou hast loved us, love us still;
blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
thou hast loved us, love us still.

CLOSING MESSAGE *
One: As you leave this place, may you remember our God remains patient with us once again as we seek ways to be better bearers of fruit.
All: May we find God in every messy middle. May we know that the world is bigger than two sides. May we trust that we are made in the image of God, and therefore, we contain multitudes.
One: So may you move through this world with an open heart, with a curious mind, and with the confidence that you do not go alone. God is with you when you are lost and when you’re found, and everywhere in between… Amen.

POSTLUDE

*Rise in body or spirit