Order of Worship for November 16, 2025
November 16, 2025
23rd Sunday After Pentecost
TRADITIONAL Service
Union-Congregational Church
Gathering Music
Welcome and Announcements
Sharing the Peace of Christ
Call to Worship
One: Followers of Christ, let us remember the path we have chosen:
All: The way of truth and life.
One: The way of love for our neighbors and ourselves.
All: The way of community and connection.
One: Followers of Christ, let us not grow weary in care for each other.
All: We will not turn against one another.
One: Evil tells stories that harm and isolate, but this we proclaim:
All: We belong to each other.
One: May this be our joy and our hope.
Opening Prayer (unison)
Gracious One, keep us soft in heart toward each other. As struggle multiplies, may we resolve not to isolate ourselves or others. But to move into closer relationship, and into deeper connection. Deeper understanding. Deeper solidarity. We return to the witness of Jesus whose life was shaped by the hope of community, and the courage of compassion. Amen.
Opening Hymn: #649 Gather Us In (1,2,4)
Children’s Time
Reading of Scripture
Isaiah 65:17-25
17
For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
18
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating,
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy
and its people as a delight.
19
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it
or the cry of distress.
20
No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime,
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
21
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat,
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23
They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.
24
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother or sister living irresponsibly and not according to the tradition that they received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not irresponsible when we were with you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you. 9 This was not because we do not have that right but in order to give you an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: anyone unwilling to work should not eat. 11 For we hear that some of you are living irresponsibly, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 13 Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
After reading, please say, “Here end the readings for today. May God bless us as we learn from these holy words. Amen.”
Message: What is Right and What is Easy
Hymn: #595 They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love
Prayers of the People
Time for Silent Prayer
Joys and Concerns
After each prayer petition, Jacob will say, “God in your mercy”, and the congregation is invited to respond: “Receive our prayer.”
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer (unison)
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. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
We Offer Our Gifts
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication (unison)
Provider and Protector, when we grow too arrogant, too individualistic, or too full of shame, we return to your teachings. We remember the utter grace of a planet that feeds us. We remember that the earth is not property but kin, alive and aching. We remember that everyone is indebted to others - that every good thing we experience is connected to others. We do this to remember our places - humble and entangled - in the whole of things. To the flourishing of the common good, we offer our gifts. Amen.
Closing Hymn: #393 Blest Be the Tie That Binds (1,2,4)
Benediction
Friends, this is the good news of God: Thrones of power will never be the seat of our salvation Only love, practiced and cultivated in community, can grow the hope we need. Only love, shared and multiplied through struggle and solidarity, can sustain and assure us. Only love, enfleshed in everyday lives near and far, takes the shape of God. Thanks be to our Divine companion. Go in peace and courage.
Sending Music
Today’s liturgy was written by M Kaiser of Enfleshed for Liturgy That Matters.
Order of Worship for November 2, 2025
November 2, 2025
All Saints’ Sunday
Communion Service
Union-Congregational Church
Gathering Music
Welcome and Announcements
• OCWM needs your help! This fund is in need of approximately $4,000 to meet the 2025 obligation. Please consider directing some of your giving toward this wider mission.
• Decorating the Church for Christmas – Saturday, November 29
Sharing the Peace of Christ
Choral Introit All You Works of God, Bless the Lord
Call to Worship
Leader: God of all the saints, you surround us with a cloud of witnesses.
All: We give you thanks. May your Holy Spirit sanctify us and perfect us in love.
Leader: Risen Christ, you come to us in the humble and the rejected.
All: We give you thanks. May your Holy Spirit sanctify us and perfect us in love.
Leader: Holy Spirit, you live and breathe in us, so that we too may be your saints for the sake of the world.
All: We give you thanks. Holy Spirit, sanctify us and perfect us in love, in the spirit of Christ. Amen.
Opening Prayer (unison)
Eternal God, we give thanks for those you have guided by your Spirit, who have been teachers, lovers, and healers in our lives. We open our hearts and minds to your Spirit, that we too may be perfected in love by your Word of grace, the presence of Christ, and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening Hymn: #72 Great Is Thy Faithfulness (1,3)
Prayer for Transformation and New Life (led by liturgist)
Christ, who abides as our Holy Guest, we rush to find you as if you are our favorite celebrity. We look for you in the pretty people with seemingly uncomplicated lives. And yet, you are hanging with folks who many consider quirky, unique, and holy messes. You seek companions with our neighbors who are scattered and whose lives seem like fountains of chaos. We neglect noticing you as you like to dwell with the ones who abide in corners, shadows, and hidden in trees. May we seek you in the hearts of our neighbors instead of being distracted by shallow charmers and earthly glamour. Amen.
Words of Grace (led by liturgist)
Even when we are drawn into spaces of glitz and glamour, God shares grace. May we each continue to be transformed by Divine Radical Love.
All: We are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Choral Anthem Gather by the River to Pray
Reading of Scripture
Luke 6: 20-31
20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. 27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; 28 bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
After reading, please say, “Here end the readings for today. May God bless us as we learn from these holy words. Amen.”
Media: “Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills & Nash (Deb)
Message: Faith of Our Grandmothers
Remembering the Saints of Our Faith Community
Sharon Peters (September 13, 1947 — December 10, 2024)
Warren Mecklenberg (June 28, 1943 — January 22, 2025)
Debbie Scheller (January 11, 1955 — May 10, 2025)
James Smith (December 30, 1946—June 9, 2025)
Linda Rather (February 18, 1957 — August 31, 2025)
Song: “Heaven and Earth Are Filled” by Christopher Grundy (Jacob leads) (OneLicense #CGHEaEAF2015)
Heaven and earth are filled
With the light of the saints who have gone on before us
Shining around us still
We are running this race
Grateful our path is lit for us
Prayers of the People
Time for Silent Prayer
Joys and Concerns
After each prayer petition, Jacob will say, “God in your mercy”, and the congregation is invited to respond: “Receive our prayer.”
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer (unison)
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. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
We Offer Our Gifts
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication (unison)
God of love, you create us in your image, claim us as your beloved, sanctify us as your witnesses, and include us in the great communion of saints. Send us into the world as agents of your love, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the spirit and the company of Christ. Amen.
Sharing Holy Communion
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your heart.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.
We thank you, God, for you create us in your image,
make covenant to be our God, and set us free from all that oppresses.
You give us a world, an empire of grace,
to which we belong, that this world can’t take from us.
You call us as your saints, and show us the way in Jesus.
You have given us saints, young and old, women and men, who shine for us with the way of love, who in your Spirit gather with us now.
Blessed are all who come in your name, and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He taught and healed, he fed people and set them free.
He gathered a community of those who desire to live by your grace, who would sanctify themselves for the work of love.
He sought justice, and for that he was crucified, but you raised him from the dead, that he might continually embody for us
your Covenant to be with us in love eternally.
Words of Institution
As often as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection until he comes again.
Remembering these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a living and holy sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us.
Pour out your holy Spirit on these gifts of food,
that those who receive them may experience your love and grace.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
though poor in spirit, blessed by your grace;
though ordinary people, sanctified for lives of love,
for the sake of the wholeness of the world,
in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.
Sharing the Elements
Prayer After Communion (unison)
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. In your Spirit you have bound us together with all your saints as one body in Christ. You have sanctified us, set us apart for the sacred work of the healing of the world. Send us out in love, for the sake of the world, in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Closing Hymn: #529 For All the Saints (1,2,5)
Sharing Our Mission and Vision Statement (unison)
We go now to Love God's Creation, Share in Fellowship, and Live Christ's Example, while seeking God's blessing on our lives and on our communities. Living our Core Values, We the family of Union-Congregational Church seek to deepen our own spirituality with acceptance of all through love and a commitment to Christ.
Benediction
May the Spirit of Strength sustain us on our journeys.
May the Christ of Grace fill our hearts with understanding.
May the God of Presence lead us from the depths of shadows into the light. May we know we are never alone in treetops, in corners, or on roads. The steadfast love of God travels with us wherever we go!
Sending Music
Call to Worship, Opening Prayer, Prayer of Dedication, Communion Liturgy: Rev. Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Prayer of Transformation and New Life, Words of Grace, Benediction: Rev. Michelle Torigian, UCC Worship Ways
Order of Worship for October 26, 2025
October 26, 2025
TRADITIONAL Service
Union-Congregational Church
Gathering Music
Welcome and Announcements
Sharing the Peace of Christ
Call to Worship
Leader: God, not by our strength,
All: but by your grace we come.
Leader: Not because of our righteousness,
All: but in your grace, you love us.
Leader: Not by our effort,
All: but by your Spirit in us, our praise overflows. We thank you. We bless you. We worship you.
Opening Prayer (unison)
God of Love, Divine Friend, our hearts are open to you. If a thought crosses our minds, you are present and are ready to hold it for us. There is no emotion radiating from our souls that is too heavy or painful for you. Your Spirit encourages our dreams as we seek to find ways to build your Realm here on earth. May we work side-by-side, co-creating a world of possibilities where all experience your love and joy. Amen.
Opening Hymn: #721 Come Ye Thankful People Come
Children’s Time
Reading of Scripture
Psalm 84: 1-7
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, indeed it faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. 5 Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6 As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles might hear it. So, I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
After reading, please say, “Here end the readings for today. May God bless us as we learn from these holy words. Amen.”
Message: Leaning On God’s Strength
Hymn: #473 What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Prayers of the People
Time for Silent Prayer
Joys and Concerns
After each prayer petition, Jacob will say, “God in your mercy”, and the congregation is invited to respond: “Receive our prayer.”
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer (unison)
We Offer Our Gifts
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication (unison)
Gracious God, we give you these gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace, and use them according to your will. You have poured your Holy Spirit into us; now pour us out into the world as the embodiment of your love. We pray, as we serve, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.
Closing Hymn: #496 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Benediction
Sending Music
Opening Prayer: Rev. Michelle Torigian, UCC Worship Ways
Call to Worship, Prayer of Dedication: Rev. Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Unfolding Light
Order of Worship for October 19, 2025
October 19, 2025
TRADITIONAL Service
Union-Congregational Church
Gathering Music
Welcome and Announcements
Sharing the Peace of Christ
Call to Worship
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Leader: The turning leaves remind us of your glory;
All: they sing of the beauty of your love.
Leader: Help us to turn to you, God, and so reveal our deepest beauty.
All: Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!
Opening Prayer (unison)
Persistent God, you remain with us through destruction and uprooting, plucking up and breaking down. You watch over us as we build and plant. Root your covenant within us, that, held steadfast in your grace, we might grow ever more persistent
in following you, whether the time is favorable or unfavorable, continuing on in what we have learned. And let us firmly believe, bound together with those from whom we have learned; through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Opening Hymn: #478 Sweet Hour of Prayer
Children’s Time
Reading of Scripture
Jeremiah 31: 27-34
27 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. 28 And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” 30 But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of the one who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge. 31 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.
Luke 18: 1-8
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’ 4 For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
After reading, please say, “Here ends the readings for today. May God bless us as we learn from these holy words. Amen.”
Message: Justice Is Coming…Do Not Lose Heart
Song: “Do Not Lose Heart” by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Do not lose heart
Do not lose heart
Life is at work
Do not lose heart
Have courage, friends
Have courage, friends
Lean into love
Have courage, friends
Prayers of the People
Time for Silent Prayer
Joys and Concerns
After each prayer petition, Jacob will say, “God in your mercy”, and the congregation is invited to respond: “Receive our prayer.”
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer (unison)
We Offer Our Gifts
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication (unison)
Gracious God, we give you these gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace, and use them according to your will. Help us to listen for your voice, to hear your cry for justice, to discern your Word, and to humbly follow, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.
Closing Hymn: #495 Stand by Me (v. 1-3)
Benediction
Do not lose heart, friends. God is with you, now and forever. May you go from this place empowered to heal the world and bring forth the justice you seek.
Sending Music
Opening Prayer: Connections Year C Vol 2, p.163 ©2022 WJK
Call to Worship, Prayer of Dedication: Rev. Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Unfolding Light
Order of Worship for October 12, 2025
October 12, 2025
TRADITIONAL
U-CC
Gathering Music
Welcome and Announcements
As we all come from different traditions, feel free to use the words that you are familiar with and are in your heart when we pray and worship.
*Call to Worship
One: I call God to my mind
Many: and therefore, I have hope:
One: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
Many: his mercies never come to an end;
One: they are new every morning;
Many: great is Your faithfulness.
One: "The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
Many: "therefore I will put my hope in Him."
One: The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
Many: to the soul that seeks Him.
One: Therefore, we will wait patiently for the salvation of the LORD.
*Opening Prayer (Said by All)
Dear Lord, we come before you today with grateful hearts. We thank you for the opportunity to gather together and worship you. We thank you for your love and your grace. We pray that you would be with us during this service and as we separate and go our own ways at the end. We pray that you would open our hearts to your word and that we would be transformed by your Spirit. We pray all of these things in Jesus' name. Amen
Children’s Time
Hymn: Pg. 550 We Are the Church
Scripture Readings
Throughout the Bible there are many parables regarding the mustard seed:
First regarding faith
Luke 17:5-10 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Or in Matthew 17:20
20 “Because you have little faith,” he said. “I assure you that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Go from here to there,’ and it will go. There will be nothing that you can’t do.” And then regarding God’s kingdom
Luke 13:18-21 18 Jesus asked, “What is God’s kingdom like? To what can I compare it? 19 It’s like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in a garden. It grew and developed into a tree and the birds in the sky nested in its branches.” 20 Again he said, “To what can I compare God’s kingdom? 21 It’s like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through the whole.”
Here ends our readings. May we be blessed by God’s holy words.
Sermon Preparation Prayer
Lord, I pray that you would be with me as I speak, and that you have guided my thoughts, and given me the words to say, that will touch our hearts and change our lives. I pray that you would use this message to draw those who hear it, closer to you and to help us to grow in our faith. Amen.
Message: Mustard Everywhere
Hymn: Pg. 72 Great is Thy Faithfulness
A Time for Prayer
Time for Silent Prayer
Joys and Concerns
The Lord’s Prayer (unison using which ever form you are comfortable with)
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. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
We Offer Our Gifts
Let us now take a moment to offer up our gifts, whether they be tithe, talent or prayer.
*Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise God, all creatures here below,
Praise God above ye heavenly host
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication (unison)
Creator, please accept and bless these gifts. Help them to grow and to be used in a manner that is true and respectful of You. Amen.
*CLOSING Hymn: Pg. 716 God Be With You
*Benediction
Sending Music
All material except music/hymns and bible verses are literary content and property created by John O'Donovan.