Kenilworth Union Church Week of the Epiphany January 12, 2021 12:15 p.m.

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“Magi came from the east to Jerusalem. They asked, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.’” -Matthew 2:1b-2

Opening Response Iona Community

Leader: In the beginning when it was very dark, God said, ‘Let there be light’ All: And there was light. Leader: In the beginning, when it was very quiet, the Word was with God. All: And what God was, the Word was. Leader: When the time was right, God sent the Son. All: He came among us. He was one of us.

Old Testament Reading Psalm 29

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory of God’s name; worship the LORD in holy splendor.

The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. God makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.

The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in the temple all say, "Glory!"

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.

May the LORD give strength to God’s people! May the LORD bless the Lord’s people with peace!

Scripture Reading Acts 19:1–7

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They replied, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." Then he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They answered, "Into John's baptism."

Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied--altogether there were about twelve of them.

A Connected Church Quinn G. Caldwell, edited

June 11, 1963, depending on your point of view, was either a heroic stand against the forces of social decay or an appalling attempt to block the forces of progress. On that day, George Wallace, then- Governor of Alabama, took his famous “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” at an auditorium at the University of Alabama. Almost ten years before, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board had declared it unconstitutional to segregate public schools according to race. When, after much struggle and almost a decade, three Black students were finally admitted to the University of Alabama, Wallace decided to block them from entering to finish their registration. So there he stood, a bulwark of…something…in his own mind. Plenty of people supported him. Plenty did not. History has passed a righteous judgement on Wallace. But if you can’t wait for history to decide, how do you figure out how to act? When change is roiling the nation, when mores and morals and standards and norms shift, when we seem to be split right down the middle, when ugly truths about ourselves are getting harder and harder to deny, how do you decide where God wants you to make your stand? Even if you call yourself a follower of Jesus, how do you really know if you’ve been listening to the Deceiver or the Savior? Jesus got asked this same question once, in different words. “What is the greatest commandment?” they asked him, and you know he said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.” “Ok, but who’s my neighbor?” you might ask, as they did. And if the one you’ve been following answers anything other than, “Every-darn-body,” it just simply isn’t Jesus.

Prayers of the People

Heavenly God, we come before you with awe and gratitude. We are mindful that we are blessed in many ways, but our greatest blessing is to be loved and known by you. Help us to seek You with all our heart and mind and strength, living our lives guided by your light and your spirit. We pray that we will follow you faithfully in the year ahead with willing hearts. Lord, show us how to love others as we love ourselves.

We lay before you the concerns for our country and our democracy. You know how divided we are O God. We bring before you our worries for peaceful transition of government, managing in an enormous and deadly pandemic, through impatience and uncertainty about vaccination supplies, and our unfinished historical reckoning with race. There is so much that has surfaced in the last year and so much struggle and dissension. We have been humbled and we have stumbled. We ask your help O God.

And through such a difficult time, we thank you God for nourishment and peaceful rest. We thank you for your compassion. We thank you for your unconditional regard in the face of our inadequacies. We thank you for your radical grace, that embraces all people. We thank you for lighting our paths and for the hope that our faith gives us, that what seems like the end, might not be the end. Please enable us God, to seek you in our thoughts and everyday living. We share our innermost concerns with you in this silence: ______(90 seconds of silence).

God, we are so grateful for your creation in the good things of this world. Help us to bring your light into dark days, so that as members of the church, the love and kindness that comes from you into our lives will beckon others to know you. We speak the following names of our church membership to you, praying for their protection and faith: Sally Volkert-Bissell, Charlie & Casey Waddell, Rick & Cate Waddell, Scott & Laurie Walker, Gregg Walla & Ann Carey, Bill Walsh, Mac Walter & Marion Stanley, Carol Watkins, Ryan & Lindsey Watson, Samuel & Susanne Watson, Allen & Jennifer Weaver, Tim & Catherine Weaver, Debby Weber, Ray & Gay Weber, Tom & Ellen Wegert, Friedrich & Ertem Weinkopf, Scott & Adriene Weisenberger, Bill & Louise Weiss, Carol Wellman, and Bill & Diane Welnhofer

We pray for the doctors, dentists, medical personnel and the hospitals and clinics, in our communities. Thank you for the study, commitment and work of these people––the knowledge they have and use—to tend us. Thank you for those who organize, manage and sterilize these facilities—and for the businesses that make and distribute health supplies. Thank you for those administering vaccines to protect us from lethal viruses. And we pray for those who live where there are not adequate or skilled medical resources in their communities.

We pray for the ill, the grieving, those suffering the financial toll of the Covid pandemic. Please God, be a balm to those who are weary, the lonely or the hopeless. As we move through these cold, dark winter months, please be a lamp at our feet Oh God.

We ask you for your care, protection and encouragement for those people on our prayer list this day; that those who are going through difficult or complicated times may know your peace.

Loving God, we offer these our prayers to you, and look to you for physical and spiritual light. We pray in Jesus’ name the prayer he taught us to say:

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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Prayer for the Day Iona Community

We are called from the ends of the earth, We are called from the center of our lives Men and women, young and old, Rich and poor, strong and weak, We are all called into God’s love, To yearn for justice and to pray for peace.

Blessing David Adam

Circle me, Lord. Keep protection near and danger afar. Circle me, Lord Keep hope within. Keep doubt without. Circle me, Lord. Keep light near and darkness afar. Circle me, Lord. Keep peace within.