Waterbury Congregational Church

at the White Meeting House

October 4, 2026

The vast marvel is to be alive... I am part of the sun as my eye is part of me... My soul knows that I am part of the human race, my soul is an organic part of the great human soul. -- D.H. Lawrence

Prelude

Choral Introit

Welcome

Lighting the Candles                Startlement                          Ada Limón

It is a forgotten pleasure,

the pleasure of the unexpected blue-bellied lizard

skittering off his sun spot rock,

the flicker of an unknown bird by the bus stop.

To think, perhaps, we are not distinguishable

and therefore no loneliness can exist here.

[…]

The world says, One type of dream has ended

and another has just begun.

The world says, Once we were separate,

and now we must move in unison.

The candles are lit in silence . . .

 Please rise in body or mind, as you are able, for every hymn.

Gathering Hymn                       I Come With Joy

No. 349

Please be seated.

Gathering Prayer

Anthem                               Alleluia, Praise the Lord               Ruth E. Schram        

Scripture Reading                1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine. When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper. For when the time comes to eat, each of you proceeds to eat your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. What! Do you not have households to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I commend you? In this matter I do not commend you!

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If you are hungry, eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for your condemnation. About the other things I will give instructions when I come.

A Story for Us All

Hymn                    In Christ There is No East or West

No. 395

Scripture Reading                Isaiah 25:6-9

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

The Startling Invitation

Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

One: This is a welcome table.  At it, we give thanks for justice, love, peace, and freedom for all.  We give thanks for and rejoice in God’s salvation.

All: At this table, we give thanks for friends and strangers, together in community for this safe place.

We open a place at the table; all are invited.

Thanksgiving

We give thanks for the unfolding of matter and mind, intelligence and life that has brought us to this moment.  

We celebrate our common origin with everything that exists.

We celebrate the profound experience we have in our own, individual ways of the reality of God, the ground and sustainer of everything that exists

We acknowledge this comprehensive reality which each of us, in some way, instantiates, giving God new expression.

God is everywhere present. In grace filled moments of sharing. In carefully created communities of loving solidarity.

We give thanks to God for the fire within us that calls us from loneliness to community, from distance to connection, from distractedness to attentiveness.

Breaking the Bread and Pouring the Cup

The bread is broken . . .

We break bread for the broken people and split communities of this planet.

May there be gains in understanding among people, and sharing resources so that all may flourish in right relation.

We break bread for our broken humanity, for the powerless and the powerful, for those trapped by exploitation and those exploiting others.  

May there be healing for our dear, common humanity.

We break bread for those who follow other paths and celebrate their faithfulness.  We break bread celebrating the richness of religious traditions gathering to share a meal in God’s name.  

May there be healing where there is discrimination and religious bigotry.

We break this bread for the unhealed hurts and wounds that lie within us all.

May we be healed.

The cup is poured . . .

This is the cup of peace and new life for all; a sign of love for the community of hope;

a reminder of the call to live fully, to love with all our hearts and minds, and to rise above our own individual concerns to the concerns of the broader human community.

Sharing the Meal

Thanksgiving

Dear God, divine presence in all of life, we give thanks that we have gathered together in this place of sanctuary to share a sacred meal with the rest of the world in harmony.  We rejoice in the gifts that each of us brings in ministry.  We are grateful for who we are for each other.  May we continue to be aware of the world we live in as your creation and be thankful.  We pray now as your son taught us to pray, saying:

Loving God, within and around us, hallowed be your name. We seek to live as you would want us to do: with love and respect for all people and all things in the universe. May we find each day sufficient for our needs; and find forgiveness when we do wrong, just as we forgive those who do wrong to us. In times of trouble, help us place ourselves in you for your being is love, which comes with strength and with beauty. Throughout eternity. Amen.

Community Matters

Invitation to Offering

Offertory                                CROP in the Name of Love

Offering Response

Please remain seated.

We give thee but thine own
What-e’er the gift may be;
All that we have is thine alone,
A trust, O God, from thee.

Pastoral Prayer

Closing Hymn                        For the Healing of the Nations           

           No. 576

Benediction

Doxology                                                                “Lasst Uns Erfreuen”

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God all creatures here below (alleluia, alleluia!)
Praise God with saints in heaven above.
Praise Jesus Christ who shows God’s love,
Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit (alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!)

Postlude

You are welcome to be seated after the benediction to enjoy the postlude.

Announcements and Information

No matter who you are or where you are on your journey, you’re welcome in the Waterbury Congregational Church, United Church of Christ!

• The sanctuary is equipped with personal amplification listening devices. Receivers are located in the back of the sanctuary.
• Rest rooms are located in the basement through the dining room and on this floor in the office area.
• Children are welcome to come to the front for the Time Apart for Children. Church School follows that through the door by the pulpit. Lori Morse will usher them out.
• Following worship, you are invited to stay for coffee or tea and a word.
• You may make an offering online, using the QR code below.

Church Calendar

Thank You!

• Pat King is our deacon of the day.
• Beth Damon is providing the flowers on the table this morning in memory of her grandmother, Catherine Bozarth.

Give using Church Breeze online

If you would like to donate electronically, please do so by scanning the qr code with your phone’s camera.

The CROP Hunger Walk is next Sunday!  We hope that you’ll join us by either walking with us or supporting a walker with a donation.  There’s a blank donation form in the back of the church, or you may speak with Carla Lawrence.  

Evacuation Procedure: Using Main Entrance, exit to the left, thus avoiding emergency vehicles in the main lot, and through entrance to Hope Cemetery, gathering inside the cemetery where children will join us.

Waterbury Congregational Church, United Church of Christ

8 North Main St., Waterbury, VT  •  (802) 244-6606

peter@waterburyucc.com

Rev. Peter Plagge, Pastor  •  Lori Morse, CE Director  •  Mary Jane Austin, Organist  •  Erik Kroncke, Choir Director  •  Betsy Ainsworth, Office Administrator