Blog

July 6, 2025
5th Sunday of Pentecost
Communion Service
Union-Congregational Church

Gathering Music                                         

Welcome and Announcements                      

Sharing the Peace of Christ

Call to Worship                            
A poetic call to worship, for one voice.
The congregation can remain seated
If you come into this place with the hope of growing deeper, with the hope of connecting, with the hope of glimpsing God, and if all of those things take place, and your spirit is moved, and you swear God is near, and you feel more than lucky for the gift of faith, and then the service comes to an end, and it’s time for you to leave, and you ask yourself, “Where do we go from here?” Then I would say to you, “Go out into the world to love and to share and to learn, but come back soon, because this is the beginning. This is only the beginning. So come on in. Fill your cup here. Be present here. God is here.” Let us worship Holy God.

Opening Prayer (unison)                   
God of conversation, we are here, trying to be courageous. We are trying to be curious. We are here trying to build connections in this lonely and isolated world. We want to be somewhere other than here. We want to be standing in a place and time that is closer to your promised day—where all are fed, the prisoners are freed, the homeless are housed, and every person knows their worth. And we know we can’t get there without honest and vulnerable conversation, but we don’t always know what to ask. We fear saying the wrong thing. We fear offending, so we eat our words and stay quiet, hoping that answers will come, but they don’t always come. Connection has never been quite so easy for us. So today we ask for your words. Plant questions in us that, like seeds, grow into a garden of connection. Plant affirmation in us that, like laughter, is contagious and mood-changing. Plant curiosity in us that, like rain, washes away any judgment we carry, replacing it with a desire to understand. And when we have your words in our mouth, and your mind in our hearts, then teach us how to listen. Help us to hear and make space for unspoken truths. Then teach us how to listen to voices that differ from us—voices with different opinions, with different histories, with different perspectives. So that like Ruth and Naomi, we might move through disagreement and ultimately find you. Amen.

Opening Hymn: #451 Be Still, My Soul

Children’s Time                               

Reading of Scripture                       
Ruth 1:1-22 (CEB)
1 During the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. A man with his wife and two sons went from Bethlehem of Judah to dwell in the territory of Moab. 2 The name of that man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the territory of Moab and settled there. 3 But Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died. Then only she was left, along with her two sons. 4 They took wives for themselves, Moabite women; the name of the first was Orpah and the name of the second was Ruth. And they lived there for about ten years. 5 But both of the sons, Mahlon and Chilion, also died. Only the woman was left, without her two children and without her husband. 6 Then she arose along with her daughters-in-law to return from the field of Moab, because while in the territory of Moab she had heard that the Lord had paid attention to his people by providing food for them. 7 She left the place where she had been, and her two daughters-in-law went with her. They went along the road to return to the land of Judah. 8 Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, “Go, turn back, each of you to the household of your mother. May the Lord deal faithfully with you, just as you have done with the dead and with me. 9 May the Lord provide for you so that you may find security, each woman in the household of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 But they replied to her, “No, instead we will return with you, to your people.” 11 Naomi replied, “Turn back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Will there again be sons in my womb, that they would be husbands for you? 12 Turn back, my daughters. Go. I am too old for a husband. If I were to say that I have hope, even if I had a husband tonight, and even more, if I were to bear sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you refrain from having a husband? No, my daughters. This is more bitter for me than for you, since the Lord’s will has come out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth stayed with her. 15 Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her gods. Turn back after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to abandon you, to turn back from following after you. Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do this to me and more so if even death separates me from you.” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it. 19 So both of them went along until they arrived at Bethlehem. When they arrived at Bethlehem, the whole town was excited on account of them, and the women of the town asked, “Can this be Naomi?” 20 She replied to them, “Don’t call me Naomi, but call me Mara, for the Almighty has made me very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has returned me empty. Why would you call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has deemed me guilty?” 22 Thus Naomi returned. And Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, returned with her from the territory of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
 

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

Song: “Show the Way” by David Wilcox 
 

Message: The Tough Choices and God’s Grace

Affirmation of Faith (unison)
We believe that God is a conversationalist, drawing close to us and asking, “What do you need? Where does it hurt? Who do you long to be?” We see this conversational God in Jesus Christ, God’s own flesh, who walked the earth speaking with the poor, the hungry, the lonely, and the outcast. Therefore, we believe that our call as people of faith is to continue this holy conversation with those who look and think like us, as well as with those who share little in common with us. We believe that through these conversations, we are able to catch a glimpse of the Kin-dom of God, so we continue the conversation in hope. Amen.

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, thank you for these gifts, which offer us the opportunity to care for our community. Help us use them with compassion for the good of all who are in need. Amen.

Sharing Holy Communion
Pastor: One of the holiest things about sharing a meal together is the conversation that accompanies it. Think back to the tables of your life—the kitchen table you grew up with as a child, cafeteria tables with friends, date night tables with your beloved, the table in your current home that has hosted meals with family and friends. At all of these tables, conversation has flowed: “How are you? What do you need? How is work? How is your grief? When can I see you again? What are you learning these days? Tell me everything!” And there may be some tears, and there usually is some laughter. That is the holy thing about tables. They bring us together in conversation.
 All: This table is no different. Here at this table all people are invited—no matter what you have done or left undone. And here at this table we wear our hearts on our sleeves. Here at this table, we are free to tell God the truths of our lives—where it hurts, what we need, where we’re from, and where we hope to go. And here at this Table we are not alone. We are surrounded by community, surrounded by connection.

Pastor: So come to this table—with your courage and your fear, with your curiosity and your doubt, with your hope and your vulnerability. God is here. There is a seat saved for you. Jesus set a special place for his friends when his time had come.

Words of Institution
So Holy Spirit, come alive in these gifts of bread and cup, that we may be reminded of the beloved community you open to us.

Sharing the Elements

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Thank you, God, for the opportunity to be together at this table and share in these great blessings. Help us embody your beloved community in each and every part of our journey. Amen.

Closing Song: “We Will Rejoice in Love” by Mark A. Miller (One License #U01373) 
 

We will rejoice in love,
lift up our voice in love, 
make every choice in love, 
we will uphold your world in love.
We will delight in love, 
share and invite in love, 
till all unite in love,
we will enfold your world in love.
 

We will repent in love, 
raise our lament in love, 
dare to dissent in love,
we will uphold your world in love.
We will persist in love, 
choose to resist in love, 
and coexist in love,
we will enfold your world in love.

*Reading of Mission and Vision Statements (Unison Commission)
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
Family of faith, as you leave this place, may God grant you the curiosity to counter assumptions, the vulnerability to befriend, the bravery to speak your truth, the wisdom to listen, the strength to ask for help, the resiliency to choose love, even when it’s hard, and the awareness of the Holy Spirit always beside you. In the name of the Great Connector—Love itself, go in peace.

Sending Music                                      

Liturgy adapted from prayers by Rev. Sarah Are | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org.

“We Will Rejoice in Love” by Mark A. Miller ©2022 GIA Publications. Used by permission.