Our worship service is

streaming on Facebook Live:

facebook.com/UPCBinghamton/videos/

Everyone is welcome here

Sunday

April 26, 2020

10:00am

Pastors

Rev. Kimberly P Chastain

and Rev. Becky Kindig

Welcome to the Celebration!

April 26, 2020 • 10:00am

We Gather as a Community of Faith

GATHERING MUSIC “Beautiful Things” by Gungor

WORDS OF WELCOME

CALL TO WORSHIP (together) Psalm 148, Common English Version

Praise the Lord from heaven!

Praise God on the heights!

Praise God, all of you who are his messengers!

Praise God, all of you who make up his heavenly forces!

Sun and moon, praise God!

All of you bright stars, praise God!

You highest heaven, praise God!

Praise the Lord, you waters that are above the sky!

Let everything in heaven praise God’s name

because God gave the command and they were created!

God set them in place always and forever.

God made a law that will not be broken.

Praise the Lord from the earth,

you sea monsters and all you ocean depths!

Praise the Lord, fire and hail, snow and smoke,

stormy wind that does what God says!

Do the same, you mountains, every single hill,

fruit trees, and every single cedar!

Praise the Lord, you animals — wild or tame —

you creatures that creep along and you birds that fly!

Do the same, you monarchs of the earth and all the nations,

you princes and every single person on earth!

Praise the Lord, you young people — men and women and trans and ace!

you who are old together with you who are young!

Let all of these praise God’s name

because only God’s name is high over all.

Only God’s majesty is over earth and heaven.

God raised the strength of his people,

the praise of all his faithful ones —

the people who are close to him.

Praise the Lord!

SONG OF GATHERING “All Creatures of Our God and King” (Worship & Rejoice #23)

Used by Permission. CCLI License #11598067

PRAYER FOR WHOLENESS (together)

Compassionate God, we know that our lives are bound up with other species

and when we look around us, we realize all of the ways we have mistreated

your creation.

On this Earth Day Sunday, we pray especially for creatures that have been

endangered for the sake of profit, for creatures killed by environmental

disasters brought on by human carelessness, and for flora and fauna that have

lost their habitat. We remember animals that suffer in unhealthy environments,

animals that are neglected and ill-treated, animals inhumanely raised in factory

farms, homeless animals that face euthanasia.

Give us clean hearts and caring hands, O God. Remind us that we too are

creatures, interdependent and vulnerable. Amen!

WORDS OF ASSURANCE (responsive)

One: With the whole church,

All: we affirm that we are made in God’s image,

befriended by Christ, and empowered by the Spirit.

One: With people everywhere,

All: we affirm God’s goodness at the heart of humanity,

planted more deeply than all that is wrong.

One: With all creation,

All: we celebrate the miracle and wonder of life and the unfolding

purposes of God, forever at work in ourselves and in the world.

Thanks be to God. Amen!

Blessing of the Animals

INTRODUCTION

We gather here today in the beauty of creation and give thanks that we have been

made partners in the caretaking of this world.

We gather here today alongside the creatures of the earth: those that fly overhead,

those that creep below on the ground, those who bring joy to our homes, those that

fill us with awe and delight.

We gather here today as a part of creation, filled with the breath of God and made

of the dust of the earth.

May God bless the animals of the earth and sea and air with security of habitat,

plentiful food, and clean water. May God bless creatures that are endangered with

our concern and protection. May God bless our efforts to ensure that no creature is

exploited or forgotten.

We ask God’s blessing for the interdependent web of creation, and to make us

mindful of all the ways we depend on animals.

May God bless companion animals. We give thanks for the comfort, play, and joy

they bring us. May God bless the memories of beloved pets that have died.

We ask God to keep all of creation in divine arms of redemptive love.

Let us be a consoling, understanding, loving, and forgiving people toward all of

God’s creation. Amen!

TIME OF BLESSING

LITANY OF THANKSGIVING (responsive)

One: We thank you, Lord, for the gift of animals in our lives. We thank you for

animals that comfort us, delight us and give us companionship. We thank you

for dogs and cats, birds and hamsters, rats and iguanas, guinea pigs and fish.

All: We thank you, Lord, for the gift of animals.

One: We also thank you, Lord, for animals that give us wool and feathers to keep us

warm. We thank you for animals that give us milk, cheese and eggs to help us

grow and to keep us healthy. We thank you for horses, donkeys and oxen that

work hard on farms around the world.

All: We thank you, Lord, for the gift of animals.

One: We thank you, Lord, for animals that eat plants and fertilize the soil, making it

richer and more fertile for new growth and new life. We thank you, Lord, for

the gift of insects, and especially bees, to pollinate fruit and vegetable plants

for us to eat and flowers to give us joy.

All: We thank you, Lord, for the gift of animals.

One: We thank you, Lord, for being our Good Shepherd, for seeking us when we are

lost, for showing us water to quench our thirst, and for leading us to green

pastures. Help us to share our blessings with others and to help others have

clean water and green pastures to feed and nourish their families, too.

All: In Christ’s name, Amen!

SONG OF GRATITUDE “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” (Worship & Rejoice #80)

WORDS and MUSIC: African-American spiritual. Used by Permission. CCLI License #11598067

Refrain: (Refrain) (Refrain) (Refrain) (Refrain)

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!

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 “As the Deer” (Worship & Rejoice #471)

PRAYER OF DEDICATION

O God, we thank you for creating this world and calling it good;

for putting us down in the middle of it

and helping us to have eyes to see the ways that we are a part of all of life.

We return to you now our tithes and our offerings,

our thoughts, our hearts, our hopes;

and we ask you to gather them all together

and make something beautiful with them.

We ask these things in the name of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. 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!

We Bless Each Other on the Way

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND INVITATIONS

SONG OF SENDING “God of the Sparrow” verses 1, 3, and 6 (Worship & Rejoice #29)

BLESSING EACH OTHER (responsive)

One: The pieces of our lives are all held in God’s hands,

and we are blessed with new life through God’s forgiveness and grace.

All: We are called to hold each other in love and compassion —

and to cherish the pieces we each hold in our relationships —

with others, with Creation, and with our God.

One: May we all find wholeness and new life in this season.

All: Let us journey together in compassion and understanding,

recognizing that our God reclaims us in love, again and again. Amen!

Used by Permission. CCLI License #11598067

Announcements

Zoom Book Study Mondays starting April 27, 6:15–7:30pm

Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? by Bill McKibben

Read, then join us on Zoom for a three-week book study led by Chris Burger. This book alerts us to the dangers faced by humanity: even as climate change shrinks the space where our civilization can exist, new technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics threaten to bleach away the variety of human experience. Falter tells the story of these converging trends, and offers some possible ways out of the trap. We’re at a bleak moment in human history; Falter is a powerful and sobering call to arms, to save not only our planet but also our humanity.

Books are on back order, so you may have to download on Kindle. Everyone is welcome to join the discussion, even if you didn’t get to read the book.

Zoom Bible Study Mondays, 12:00–1:00pm

Starting on Monday, April 27, we will be shifting our format slightly and looking at the gospel texts that Pastor Kimberly will be preaching on for the coming week. Help her think about the text and its meaning, compare the story to parallel stories in other gospels, look at Hebrew Bible texts that might have shaped the gospel's telling, and prepare to engage more deeply with the text in Sunday's worship.

The text for Monday, April 27 and Sunday, May 3 is Luke 24:13–35. If we have time during the bible study we will finish reading chapter 24.

It would be good to have you with us.

Regular events on Zoom:

Mondays: Noon Bible Study, 12–1pm Book Study, 6:15–7:30pm

Wednesdays: Sewing Group lunch hour, 12–1pm Hymn sing with Choir, 7–8:30pm

Thursdays: Story Time for kids, 10–11am

Fridays: Cocktail hour, 5–6pm

Pilates with Karen Cole & Dave Ruston Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,

9:30–10:30am on Facebook Live

You’re invited to join UPC member Dave Ruston and certified Pilates instructor Karen Cole for Pilates on Facebook Live. We’ll focus on relaxation and stretching along with a few easy strength-building activities. To fully participate, you want a mat, a chair, and room to move your arms & legs without kicking over a lamp.

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://zoom.us/j/8652748433

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.

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.

We invite you to join us in the Zoom room https://zoom.us/j/8652748433

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 #