Friends—
Because Congregational UCC is closed for in-person worship we are posting our March 22 worship service on our church website, www.uccic.org. Click on “Church Service” on the righthand side at the top of the Home Page. This will take you to a Vimeo site for a recording of the worship service. The worship service will be posted by Sunday morning. So that you can participate in worship at home, the bulletin for the worship service is below. After worship please join us on the Congregational UCC Facebook page for a virtual coffee hour. Click on the Facebook button on the bottom of our www.uccic.org homepage. The Virtual Coffee Hour post will go up at 10:45 on Sunday morning.
CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
30 N. CLINTON ST.
IOWA CITY, IA 52245
319-337-4301
WORSHIP FOR MARCH 22, 2020
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
“Can we think about our focal symbol, the cross of Jesus, and try to rescue it from its frequent fate as the banner of our wounded righteousness? If Jesus is indeed what God communicates to us, God’s language for us, his cross is always both our and not ours; not a magnified sign of our own suffering, but the mark of God’s work in and through the deepest vulnerability; not a martyr’s triumphant achievement, but something that is there for all human sufferers because it belongs to no human cause.”
Rowan Williams
PRELUDE
GREETING AND WELCOME
CALL TO WORSHIP
We are scattered to many places,
but wherever we are, God dwells with us.
In our going out and our gathering in,
God is in our midst.
OPENING PRAYER
Living God, we seek your presence now.
Our minds cannot understand you, yet our hearts rest in your love and compassion.
Our faith cannot grasp you, yet in you we live and move and have our being.
Our way ahead into this week is hidden from us, but we trust that we go through these days kept in your gracious care.
Renew our vision of the goodness in which our day-to-day lives are lived.
Open our eyes to see your presence in the simple glories of everyday things.
Strengthen our relationships with other people.
Help us so to see where we went wrong in the past, that we shall be able to take our bearings afresh for the way ahead.
In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
HYMN “Our God, Our Help in Ages Past”
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home!
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received its frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guide while troubles last,
And our eternal home!
SCRIPTURE LESSON Job 38:1-11
PSALM 86:1-7, 15-16
Turn your ear to me O God and answer me,
for I am poor and in misery.
Preserve my life for I am faithful,
my God save your servant for I put my trust in you.
Be merciful to me, O God,
for I call to you all the day long.
Gladden the heart of your servant,
for to you Lord I lift up my soul.
For you, Lord are good and forgiving,
and of great mercy to all who call upon you.
Give heed O Lord to my prayer,
and listen to my cry of supplication.
In the day of my distress I will call
and surely you will answer me.
You are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
[Unison]
Turn to me and have mercy,
give your strength to your servant
and save the child of your servant.
SCRIPTURE LESSON Mark 4:35-41
SERMON “All in the Same Boat”
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
A TIME OF GRATITUDE
SOLO “My Lord, What a Mornin’” Kristin Ramseyer
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE
After worship please join us on the Congregational UCC Facebook page for a virtual coffee hour. Click on the Facebook button on the bottom of our www.uccic.org homepage. The Virtual Coffee Hour post will go up at 10:45 on Sunday morning.