"The Trinity" by Andrei Rublev, 15th century
We begin the second month of 2022 with lessons from Isaiah 6:1-8 and Luke 5:1-11.
+Choir rehearsals are suspended until St. Paul's returns to in-person worship.
+Join us at 10:00 AM for Wednesday morning Zoom fellowship here.
+Sunrise Early Learning Center has made available a supply of at-home Covid-19 test kits. Contact the office if you'd like one.
+Mission u begins next Sunday @ 2:00 PM via Zoom. Contact Belinda Alkula if interested.
+Beginning February 10, Claudia Mills and Rebecca Glancy will lead “God: Stories: A Discussion of Faith and Literature,” based on the book God: Stories edited by C. Michael Curtis. We will read and discuss eight short stories by eight contemporary authors—some people of faith, some not—that explore faith, grace, and mystery in our lives. We will meet Thursday evenings at 7:00 for eight weeks via Zoom. The book is out of print, so we will make PDF files of the stories available.
Today’s Meditation Verse: “You sin against Christ if you sin against your brothers and sisters and hurt their weak consciences this way.”
– I Corinthians 8:12
Welcome…Pastor Charles
Prelude… “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” performed by Suzanne Polacek and Carol Revier
Call to Worship (Psalm 71:14b-19)...Pastor Charles (Leader) and Joey Vander Vorste (People)
Leader: I will hope. Always. I will add to all Your praise.
People: My mouth will repeat Your righteous acts and Your saving deeds all day long.
Leader: I don’t even know how many of those there are! I will dwell on Your mighty acts, my Lord. Lord, I will help others remember nothing but Your righteous deeds.
People: You’ve taught me since my youth, God, and I’m still proclaiming Your wondrous deeds!
Leader: So, even in my old age with gray hair, don’t abandon me, God!
People: Not until I tell generations about Your mighty arm, tell all who are yet to come about Your strength, and about Your ultimate righteousness, God, because You’ve done awesome things!
If we say we are completely put together, the truth is not in us. But if we confess our distractions, our errors, and our anxieties, God will meet us and renew us.
Before God and God’s people, I confess that I have been reluctant to speak out clearly, naming the injustice I see and declaring God’s vision. Before God and one another, we confess our reluctance to receive our calling as God’s people, made by God and chosen as witnesses to God’s dream of justice and joy. Remind me, God, that You have made me for Your service and recharge me with Your Word. Renew us, God. Grant us courage to live out Your Way of peace and grace. We ask it in Jesus’ name; Amen.
God has promised that whenever we repent and seek a new union with God, forgiveness is ours. That promise comes true now. Sisters and brothers, know that in Christ Jesus, we are forgiven.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
– Church of Christ’s Worship Ways Archive http://www.ucc.org/
Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebrations…Pastor Charles Pastoral Prayer / The Lord’s Prayer… Pastor Charles
First Lesson: Jeremiah 1:4-10… Joey Vander Vorste
Musical offering… “Walk as a Child of the Light”
performed by the Jubilate Ringers
Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13… Pastor Charles
Sermon: “The greatest of these”... Pastor Charles
Hymn… “The Gift of Love”
Words for the Journey… Pastor Charles
Postlude… “God of Grace and God of Glory” performed by Hannah Gu
Wednesday, February 9th at 6:30 PM MST
Virtual on Zoom
Please Register HERE
Guest Panelists: Shelia Newlin, Marge Taniwaki, Jackie Tono
February 19th is recognized as The Day of Remembrance (DOR) in observance of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Our panelists will be sharing their personal and their family's experiences. In addition, we will be learning about the Resisters and the 442nd Infantry Regiment. We will end our time together learning about what this history means for us today. You are invited to attend this important conversation, leading us to a deeper understanding of the DOR and its significance.
We also invite you to join clergy and laity across the Mountain Sky Conference in reading "They Called Us Enemy" by George Takei. Reading this memoir can be a meaningful engagement, preparing us for this panel conversation. More information can be found at this link.
http://ow.ly/FupC50Hvzh0
However, with General Conference scheduled for later this year, preparations are accelerating for the future United Methodist Church and the theologically conservative group that plans to break away. Meanwhile, a theologically progressive group that announced the launch of a new denomination in 2020 is re-evaluating its plans.
Amid all these preparations, long-simmering disputes over LGBTQ inclusion — that led the proposed split in the first place — have started boiling up again.
Read more at this link.
Join the Wednesday fellowship group every week at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom here.
Disasters like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and fires impact an entire community causing physical, economic, and emotional damage.
United Methodists are known to arrive early after disasters and are often the last to leave. Here's a typical time line:
Emergency Responders handle the initial disaster response performing rescues and combating immediate damage.
As the emergency phase winds down, Early Response Teams (ERTs) arrive to help. A main goal is to listen to the survivors, to find out what their needs are. Further tasks might include tarping roofs to limit water damage, removing damaged household items, cleaning, removing wet sheetrock. Typically a team stays for just three days and is replaced by another team as needed.
It's a great privilege to be allowed into a family's experience at the worst time of their life. To listen with love and begin the recovery process reminds everyone involved that God is right there--offering healing and hope.
Today’s Meditation Verse: “This day is holy to our Lord. Don’t be sad because the joy from the Lord is your strength.” –Nehemiah 8:10b (CEB)
Welcome … Pastor Charles
Prelude … “It Is Well with My Soul”
Call to Worship (Psalm 71:14b-19) ... Pastor Charles (Leader) and Joey Vander Vorste (People)
Leader: God who made all things and is beyond our imagining thank You for the gift of life the gift of today, the gift of this space.
People: Jesus Christ who came into our world to be with us thank You for Your healing presence, Your life, Your friendship.
Leader: Spirit of God who animates us with the resurrection life of God breathe on us, be in our midst, and animate our worship.
People: We’re here. You’re here. May that be enough.
Leader: Though we see dimly, though we know in part, though You are a mystery.
People: We long for You, we look for You, we wait for You. Amen.
- Grace Church, Ealing, London
Hymn … “Blessed Be the Tie that Binds”
Litany (inspired by 1 Corinthians) ... Pastor Charles (Leader) and Joey Vander Vorste (People)
Leader: For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (3:11)
People: The foundation for blessing and grace. The foundation for our unity.
Leader: I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. (1:3,4)
People: The source of wisdom. The source of our ministry and teaching.
Leader: God is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1:30)
People: What is God’s wisdom for human sexuality, legal disputes, marriage, singleness, widowhood, food sacrificed to idols? What is God’s wisdom for testing and temptation?
Leader: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body. (6:19-20)
People: How do we glorify God in what we wear for worship, how do we celebrate the Lord’s Supper? How do we recognize and release the gifts of the Spirit for the common good?
Leader: And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, and the greatest of these is love. (13:13)
People: Let us receive and proclaim the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Let us give thanks for this life and for the resurrection of the dead.
Leader: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (15:54-55)
People: For Jesus Christ is our sure foundation.
Leader: For Jesus Christ is our sure foundation. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” (16:23)
–written by April Yamasaki, Emmanuel Mennonite Church (Abbotsford, BC)
Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebrations … Pastor Charles Pastoral Prayer / The Lord’s Prayer… Pastor Charles
Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:13-31a … Joey Vander Vorste
Musical offering: “The Call” ... Alan and Suzanne Polacek
Gospel Lesson: Luke 4:14-21 … Pastor Charles
Sermon: “Unwrapping the gift” ... Pastor Charles
Hymn… “Let There Be Peace on Earth”
Words for the Journey … Pastor Charles
Postlude … “Shine, Jesus, Shine”
