Blog

August 31, 2025
12th Sunday After Pentecost
Union-Congregational Church

Gathering Music                                        

Welcome and Announcements                       

Sharing the Peace of Christ

Call to Worship                                   
One: Siblings in Christ, let us gather in our full humanity
Many: We remember and honor each other’s humanity

One: We remember and honor our own humanity
Many: Yearning for love and connection

One: Vulnerable, resilient, creative, and carrying pain
Many: Dreaming of rest and ease and belonging

One: Under systems of cruelty and unlivable places
Many: We reach for humanity, within and around us

One: Fully Human, Fully Divine - God incarnate, come and lead us.

Opening Prayer (unison)                           
At your holy table, O God, the first are last, and the last are first. Teach us how to share our tables with people who are poor and suffering, so that all may have a foretaste of the heavenly banquet to come at the resurrection of the righteous; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Opening Hymn: #411 How Firm a Foundation

Prayer of Confession (led by liturgist)               
Leader: Our world overflows with stories, Jesus—so many lives, so many ways of being human.
People: So why are we satisfied with so few?

Leader: Why do we keep telling the same stories over and over—of the wealthy and powerful and beautiful?
People: Why do we so carelessly pass by the rich and unpredictable stories of the unseen, who in a million magical ways, make a life out of nothing?

Leader: God, forgive our narrow interests, and our lazy entertainments.
People: Make us biographers of the least, who listen to the untold stories of the shadow people, and bring them into the light.

Leader: Give us the curiosity and the restlessness to search out the forgotten, the neglected, the unwanted, the discarded, and the worn out.
People: Help us learn their legends, and acknowledge their place in the epic story of humanity.

Words of Grace
Pastor: Beloved of God, we are always given new opportunities to change our perspectives. Our human nature may be to judge, but it doesn’t have to win the day. Be encouraged by the grace of God, who can change our hearts. 
All: We are forgiven. Thanks be to God.

Reading of Scripture
Hebrews 13: 1-3, 5–8, 15-16
13 Keep loving each other like family. 2 Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it. 3 Remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place. 5 Your way of life should be free from the love of money, and you should be content with what you have. After all, he has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. 6 This is why we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper, and I won’t be afraid.
What can people do to me? 7 Remember your leaders who spoke God’s word to you. Imitate their faith as you consider the way their lives turned out. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever! 15 So let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise through him, which is the fruit from our lips that confess his name. 16 Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices.
 

After reading, please say, “Here end the readings for today. May God bless us as we learn from these holy words. Amen.”

Song: “Ages and Ages” by Divisionary (Do the Right Thing)

Message: Lessons from a Fish Out of Water

Prayer Song: “We Labor for the Day” by Amanda Udis-Kessler (Jacob leads)
We labor for the day 
When everyone has work enough, 
When everyone has work they love 
That pays a living wage.

We labor for the day 
When work brings meaning to our lives 
And makes us proud and helps us thrive, 
When work is always safe.

We labor for the day 
When work enriches, not demeans, 
When no one has to choose between 
Their morals and their pay.

We labor for the day 
When all our work is valued well, 
The source of tales we love to tell, 
A balance to our play.

We labor for the day 
When work will serve the common good 
And heal our planet as it should 
And help us on our way.

Oh, Maker of our days, 
Inspire us as we labor on. 
Empower us to strive as one. 
In all your names we pray.

Prayers of the People
Time for Silent Prayer
Joys and Concerns 
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer (unison)

We Offer Our Gifts

Doxology

Prayer of Dedication (unison)
Holy One - we acknowledge how vulnerable we are. We are shaped and influenced by so many forces, some chosen, many not. At times, we lose ourselves. We choose ego or arrogance over connection and humility. We live out of a fear of scarcity rather than a spirit of generosity. We get distracted by the voices of empire. And still, we long to live in the direction of love. Imperfectly but earnestly, bless these offerings to the flourishing of humanity. Amen.

Closing Hymn: #391 Will You Let Me Be Your Servant?

Benediction

Sending Music                                    

Call to Worship, Prayer of Dedication, Benediction: Written by Rev. Molly Bolton for Liturgy That Matters by Enfleshed

Prayer of Confession: “Biographers of the Least” by Sacredise

Opening Prayer: Connections Worship Companion, Year C, Vol 2. p. 124. ©2022 Westminster John Knox Press