Order of Worship

See this week’s order of worship at UUMC below. For a large print edition, click here.

ORDER OF WORSHIP
University United Methodist Church
March 13, 2022
Lent Theme: Full to the Brim: An Expansive Lent
Today’s Theme: “Under God’s Wing”

Prelude: “Cantique” By: Edward Elgar
Welcome

Pastor: Greetings, and welcome! I am Pastor Alicia and I am so glad you have joined us for worship this morning. At University Church, we embrace and value diversity in all of its forms–across faith traditions, life experience, racial and gender identity, age and ability. We are a member of the Reconciling Movement of the United Methodist Church–which means that you are welcome here regardless of who you are or whom you love.

We are a church committed to “Feeding God’s People: Body, Mind and Spirit.” We do that through:
? A vigorous outreach program
? Bible and book studies
? A vibrant music ministry
? And online and in-person Sunday services

In these and in many other ways, we are living and growing our faith by doing God’s work in our neighborhoods, in our city, in our world, and in our hearts.

None of this can happen without a loyal group of volunteers. If you would like to help with worship or get involved with outreach or in other ways, please talk to me after the service or
reach out to me through the church office.

Today, Caleb Goldberg will be doing readings within the service, and our Music Director, Aimee deBergeois, will be leading our hymns as Dennis Triggs accompanies. If you would like to
follow along with the full text of the liturgy, the link is on the screen. Remember capitalization matters.

Here are some brief logistics for today’s worship service:
? For those of you here in the sanctuary, please put your name and phone number on one of the yellow attendance slips in the pews so we can stay connected. The slips will be collected
during the offering.
? As you entered the sanctuary, our greeters asked if you had a prayer request. If you have a request that you did not get to the greeters, write it on one of the yellow slips in the pew and
bring it up to a greeter now.

? Please continue to social distance, wear your masks and sit in the smiley face pews. You will be invited to stand for the hymns and hum or sing along with our song leader.
? Children are always welcome to stay in worship. There are activities planned at the “Children’s Table” at the front of the church. They can come forward at any time during the service.

? If you are worshipping online, please enter your prayer requests now in the comments field on Facebook. These will be collected and read aloud later in the service. If you do not want
your prayer request read aloud, but want it to be shared with our prayer ministry, please indicate that in your post.

? Please feel free to check in and say “hello” in the “comments” field on the right or bottom of your screen during the service. Remember, you can’t see the “comments” field if you are in
“full screen” mode.

As we enter into worship today, join Aimee as she leads us in our “Full to the Brim” theme song.

Theme Song: “Full to the Brim” By: Paul Demer

Lord, your love is full to the brim,
Lord, your love’s a cup running over.
Lord, your loving heart is a river that rolls over us
And calls us to join in the stream.

Threshold Moment

Pastor: God is our refuge. There is nothing that can separate us from God, or could keep God from gathering us in, protecting you fiercely. Jesus’ lament for Jerusalem is surprising given how
he is treated by Jerusalem. And yet, no matter how much we try to separate ourselves from God, God will run to protect us. God’s love for us is fuller than we can imagine. The artwork from the
Lenten Devotional Booklet this week is about God loving and protecting us. Lisle Gwynn Garrity in response to the 27th Psalm, suggests God is gathering us under their wing while
Denise Anderson’s wood inlay responds to Jesus’ sadness that God’s people, once again, reject God’s message and messenger.

Theme Song: “Full to the Brim” By: Paul Demer

Lord, your love is full to the brim,
Lord, your love’s a cup running over.
Lord, your loving heart is a river that rolls over us,
And calls us to join in the stream.
And calls us to join in the stream.

Call to Worship

Leader: Please stand in body or spirit and join me in the responsive Call to Worship.

Leader: If God is a hen,

People: we are under God’s wing.
Leader: If God is a table,
People: we each have a seat.
Leader: If God is a house,
People: we are safe from the storm.
Leader: If God is a party,
People: we’re invited to dance.
Leader: If God is a melody,
People: our names are the lyrics.
Leader: If this is God’s house,
People: then all are welcomed. All are loved. All belong.
Leader: Let us worship Holy god.
All: Amen.

Opening Hymn: “Full to the Brim” Words and Music by Paul Demer

Leader: God’s love is overflowing. We have been singing the refrain from “Full to the Brim,” for a few weeks, today we will sing the entire song. A printed copy of the music is in the pews.
The way the song is laid out, we will sing the two verses both with the chorus, all on the front page, and then turn it over and sing the bridge, finally returning to the chorus one more time.
Please remain standing and join Aimee in singing “Full to the Brim,” a hymn written for today’s theme.

1. Lord, we pause to give you thanks for your boundless goodness.
In the shadow of your wing here we are so safe.
Still we need more than frugal faith, how we want to stand in amazement.
Won’t you show us a spring in the desert where love can flow out.
Lord, your love is full to the brim.
Lord, your love’s a cup running over.
Lord, your loving heart is a river that rolls over us
And calls us to join in the stream.

2. You still run to meet us here, grace in the far country.
Gardener who won’t give up, stones cry out with praise.
Still we need more than frugal faith, how we want to stand in amazement.
Won’t you roll back the stone again so love can flow out.
Lord, your love is full to the brim.
Lord, your love’s a cup running over.
Lord, your loving heart is a river that rolls over us
And calls us to join in the stream.
Lord, you have filled us, now send us in your name.
Light for all nations, healing for their pain.
Lord, you have filled us, now send us in your name.

Flow to all nations, healing for our pain.
Lord, your love is full to the brim.
Lord, your love’s a cup running over.
Lord, your loving heart is a river that rolls over us
And calls us to join in the stream.
You call us to dream when you dream.

Affirming the Peace Among Us

Leader: The peace of Christ is right here with us, in-person and online together!

All: Thanks be to God.

Leader: Look around and soak in the beauty of all God’s children who are worshipping here today. Wave or share sign language applause (demonstrate) to let them know you are glad they
are here. Friends online, if you are comfortable sharing, check in by saying hello in Facebook comments so we can greet each other.

Call to Confession

Leader: Please be seated. Family of faith, we come to confession not to wallow in our own guilt. Instead, we come to confession because we know that change starts with being honest.
So in a desire to grow and change, let us pray to a God who loves us like a mother hen. Let us confess our sins together. . .

All: “I will keep on.”
I will keep on healing.
I will keep on teaching.
I will keep on preaching.
I will keep on flipping the tables of injustice.
I will keep on treating every person like a child of God.
I will keep on believing that this world can change.
I will keep on
and keep on
and keep on until God’s promised day.
Forgive us, God, for the times when we stop.
Amen.
Words of Assurance
Family of faith, because Jesus’ love just keeps going, we can trust that that love and
grace exists for us.
So rest in this good news:

All: No matter what we do wrong or what we leave undone, we are under God’s wing. We are loved, held, and forgiven. Thanks be to God for a love like that! Amen.

Scripture: Psalm 27: 1-5 (CEB)

Leader: Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity, the artist who created this image from our Lenten Devotional
Booklet, wrote:

“Scholars think the author of Psalm 27 may have been seeking asylum in the temple, fleeing
persecution. Learning that contextual detail expanded the psalm for me—it was no longer just
my personal prayer, but the prayer of someone fighting for their life.”

Her image of a young boy, symbolically, under God’s wing, speaks to the sheltering peace of God’s love. Today, 1 million Rohingya people live in exile, driven from their own country, 2 million people have fled Ukraine seeking safety, our church is a part of the CNY Interfaith Sanctuary Coalition, formed to provide physical sanctuary to undocumented immigrants. Many of us take a roof over our head as a given. We hear, in the Psalmist’s cry, the reality of persecution and war, both then and now. I am reading verses 1-5 from Psalm 27. Listen…

The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Should I fear anyone?
The Lord is a fortress protecting my life.
Should I be frightened of anything?
When evildoers come at me trying to eat me up—
it’s they, my foes and my enemies,
who stumble and fall!
If an army camps against me,
my heart won’t be afraid.
If war comes up against me,
I will continue to trust in this:
I have asked one thing from the Lord—
it’s all I seek:
to live in the Lord’s house all the days of my life,
seeing the Lord’s beauty
and constantly adoring his temple.
Because he will shelter me in his own dwelling
during troubling times;
he will hide me in a secret place in his own tent;
he will set me up high, safe on a rock.

Scripture: Luke 13: 31-35 (CEB)

Leader: In today’s Gospel reading from Luke, reflected in the prayer poem you will hear later in the service, Jesus is affirming one simple fact, “I’m gonna do what I’m gonna do.” Jesus then reflects sadly, using the parental image of God as a mother hen, on how once again, the people have failed to hear God’s truth. In this wood inlay, the artist, Rev. T. Denise Anderson, depicts Jesus’ sadness, God’s sadness. Because Jesus has used feminine imagery for God she purposely creates an androgynous image, writing, “I decided to depict a figure who could be perceived as feminine, but perhaps could also be perceived as masculine or nonbinary. The Parent’s eyes are closed as if they cannot bear to watch what’s happening.”

What emotions arise within you when you consider the human condition? What do we do to prophets today? I am reading from verses 31-35 in the 13 th chapter of Luke’s Gospel.

At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”
Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today
and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. However, it’s necessary for me to
travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed
outside of Jerusalem.’

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How
often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But
you didn’t want that. Look, your house is abandoned. I tell you, you won’t see me until the time
comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.”

Leader: This is the word of God for the people of God.

All: Thanks be to God.

Hymn #479: “Jesus, Lover of My Soul”

Leader: The Wesley brothers both tried to earn God’s love through human effort, without ever finding peace. When they did find peace, it was because they finally experienced God’s grace,
given without price, and in John’s words, he “felt his heart strangely warmed,” and believed that “even he” was forgiven and fully loved by God. Charles reinforces Jesus’ “mother hen” imagery
in the opening line of this hymn, as he writes “Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to your bosom fly.” Please stand in body or spirit and sing hymn #479, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” with Aimee.

1. Jesus, lover of my soul,
let me to your bosom fly,
while the nearer waters roll,
while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
till the storm of life is past;
safe into the haven guide;
O receive my soul at last.

2. Other refuge have I none,
hangs my helpless soul on thee;
leave, ah! leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me.

All my trust on you is stayed,
all my help from you I bring;
cover my defenseless head
with the shadow of your wing.

3. You, O Christ, are all I want,
more than all in you I find;
raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is your name,
I am all unrighteousness;
false and full of sin I am;
you are full of truth and grace.

4. Plenteous grace with you is found,
grace to cover all my sin;
let the healing streams abound,
make and keep me pure within.
You of life the fountain art,
freely let me take of you;
spring you up within my heart;
rise to all eternity.

Sermon: Pastor Alicia

Transition Music: #393: “Spirit of the Living God”

Affirmation of Faith

Leader: Our “affirmation” today is a paraphrase of Psalm 27 that I read earlier. Please join me in affirming our faith in an expansive God.

All: The Lord is my light.
The Lord surrounds me
like a warm, familiar quilt,
in layers of grace.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the sturdy foundation
and the roof over my head.
I am not afraid.
When the world is at its worst—
when grief clings to my bones,
when fear eats at my confidence,
when loneliness moves into my house—
God sets the table,
turns on the lights,

and invites me to dance.
So even though there are days
that feel like too much to bear,
I know—I am not alone.
So I ask the Lord,
I seek and I pray—
let me live in your house
all of my days. Amen.

Call to Prayer #393: “Spirit of the Living God”

Hymn Leader: Let’s remain seated and join together in our Call to Prayer, “Spirit of the Living
God.”

Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me,
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me,
fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.

Pastor: As we enter a time of prayer, will you join your heart with mine? Let me share the prayers you have brought today…… (read from greeters list and Facebook comments)

Pastor: Lord in your mercy…

All: Hear our prayers.

Pastor: Let us share a moment of Silent Prayer.

Silent Prayer: “Full to the Brim” (after 10 seconds of silence — refrain piano only)

Prayer of the People: “Come Rain or Shine” By: Rev. Sarah A. Speed

Leader: Sarah Speed’s prayer poem, “Come Rain or Shine,” reflects on Jesus’ words I read from Luke when certain Pharisees warned him to “lay low” because King Herod wanted to kill him. Listen.

Leader: “I will keep on.”
That’s what I heard him say.
I will keep on
driving out demons
and healing people,
speaking the truth
and loving endlessly,

searching for the lost sheep
and crying for the brokenhearted,
feeding the hungry
and welcoming the outcast.
“I will keep on.”
That’s what he said, right
after he said my name, right
after he called me beloved, right
after he welcomed me home
and saved me a seat.

And I knew,
there was no stopping him.
I was under his wing.
Come rain or come shine,
today and tomorrow,
this love keeps on. Amen.

Prayer of Jesus

Leader: As we recite the Lord’s Prayer together, speak the prayer in whatever language and with whatever words bring you closest to God. Please pray with me and then join together in singing our prayer song:

All: Creator God, who are in heaven, blessed be your name.
Your Kindom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
(Underscoring for UMH #393 can start.)
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the Kindom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Prayer Song Prayer #393: “Spirit of the Living God”

Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me,
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me,
fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.

Offering

Leader: Celebrating our 150th Anniversary last summer gave us a “big picture” understanding that we wouldn’t be here without the work of those who came before us, and without us, our
future church cannot exist.

Your support makes this, and everything we do here at UUMC, possible. And it helps ensure that this work–God’s work–continues and grows in ways that put our faith into action now, and
strengthen the church and its ministries for generations to come.

Please place your yellow slip and your donation in the offering plate as ushers pass it to you. You may also give online through our website or continue to mail your check. Thank you for
your generosity–and for all you do to support University Church.

 

Offertory #479: “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” (piano only — improvise until offering is collected)

Doxology #94: “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, All creatures here below;
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God, the source of all our gifts!
Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts!
Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Prayer for Illumination

Leader: Please be seated.

We want to give…time, money, things…but we don’t always know the best way. Teach us what shelter we can offer in your name so your Kin-dom may come, on earth as it is in heaven. Please remain seated and join me in our Prayer for Illumination.

Leader: Holy God,
this life of ours is full to the brim.

People: Our days are overflowing with emails and to-do lists,
schedules and notifications,
assignments and deadlines.

Leader: We wake up feeling behind,

People: we go to sleep worrying about tomorrow,
and we know—there has to be more than this.

Leader: So we pray:

People: bend down and show us the way.
Leave breadcrumbs in the street.
Point us toward awe and wonder.
Guide us to intimacy and trust.
Gift us with laughter that will make us cry
and hope that will make us feel alive.
We want a new kind of full to the brim.

11

Leader: Show us the way.

People: We are listening for your cues.

All: Gratefully we pray. Amen.

Closing Hymn #512: “Stand by Me”

Leader: The “storms of life” are surely raging today. As we pray for a just solution in Ukraine and the avoidance of broadening hostilities, we are encouraged by the persistence in faith of
those who prayed daily for almost 30 years for the Berlin Wall to come down. Please stand in body or spirit and join Aimee in singing hymn number 512, “Stand by Me.” If you are singing from the hymnal, we are not singing verse 3.

1. When the storms of life are raging,
stand by me (stand by me);
when the storms of life are raging,
stand by me (stand by me).
When the world is tossing me
like a ship upon the sea,
You who rulest wind and water,
Stand by me (stand by me).

2. In the midst of tribulation,
stand by me (stand by me);
in the midst of tribulation,
stand by me (stand by me).
When the host of hell assail,
and my strength begins to fail,
You who never lost a battle,
stand by me (stand by me).

4. In the midst of persecution,
stand by me (stand by me);
in the midst of persecution,
stand by me (stand by me).
When my foes in battle array
undertake to stop my way,
You who sav-èd Paul and Silas,
stand by me (stand by me).

5. When I’m growing old and feeble,
stand by me (stand by me);
when I’m growing old and feeble,
stand by me (stand by me).
When my life becomes a burden,
and I’m nearing chilly Jordan,
O you Lily of the Valley,

stand by me (stand by me).

Closing

Pastor: Please be seated. I would like to thank all the people who have contributed to today’s service. Their names are on the screen. I also want to thank you for being with us today, whether
in-person or remotely. We are truly blessed by your presence both in this place and online. I hope you experienced both the depth of God’s boundless love and the immanence of the Holy Spirit as we worshipped together.

 

Pastor: We invite you to worship with us each Sunday, either in-person or online. I am online to
touch base on Zoom or Facebook Live each day Tuesday through Friday. The schedule is on our
web site and Facebook page. It is our tradition at University Church to remain seated for the
postlude. If you need to catch a bus, we understand.

Blessing/Benediction

Pastor: As you leave this place,
may you be awestruck by the beauty of this world.
May you laugh, and may it be contagious.
May you overflow with love for those around you.
May you be effusive with hope and quick to point out joy.
And in all of your living, and breathing, and being,
may you find yourself full to the brim with God’s Holy Spirit,
and may it change your life.
In the name of the Lover, the Beloved, and Love itself—
go in peace, full to the brim.

All: Amen.

Postlude: “Gloria” By: Francois Couperin

Thanks for Coming Slide (LEAVE UP UNTIL THE MUSIC STOPS)