Hybrid Worship

29 January 2023

Sunday Morning Greetings!

No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. 

At 9:00 am Adult Spiritual Formation today, we're continuing our exploration of prayer experiences. This week, we will look at the language that feels most comfortable and genuine for our theological campfires.

WORSHIP BEGINS

Welcome and Announcements

Call to Worship

One: O Foot Washing God, who bends down,

All: who comes prepared with water and linens,

One: who first loved us, so that we may know how to love,

All: we gather here in your Spirit of service.

One: You taught us how no one is greater than the other,

All: no messenger outranks the sender.

One: And so, we come to worship both as givers and receivers,

All: the washers and the washed.

One: We unite at the basin and the table, finding the grace only you can give,

All: to embolden us to go and do likewise.

One: On this Health and Human Service Sunday, let us wrap our towels around our waists,

All: ready to partake in communal care.

One: Let us root ourselves in ritual, steadying us for the Good News at hand,

All: and the sprouts of healing yet to come. Amen.

Singing Our Faith ~ "Garden Song"

Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow,

All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground.

Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow,

Someone warm them from below 

‘til the rain comes tumbling down.

Pulling weeds and picking stones, 

we are made of dreams and bones,

Feel the need to grow my own 

‘cause the time is close at hand.

Grain for grain, sun and rain, find my way in nature’s chain.

Tune my body and my brain to the music from the land.

Opening Prayer and Silence

Special Music ~ "Quiet Place"

In this quiet place

In this quiet place

Help me be still and know

How I can give, and how to forgive

In this quiet place

In this quiet place

Help me be still and know

You

Like Jesus in the garden

Let me be in this quiet place

Let me see your path for me

Let me trust in your grace

In this quiet place

In this quiet place

Help me be still and know

How to be true in all I do

In this quiet place

In this quiet place

Help me be still and know

You

Celebrations

At this time, we share moments from our lives: birthdays, 

anniversaries, works of peace and justice. We celebrate even sorrows and grief as part of a comprehensive view of life. 

Celebration Song

Celebrate your heart and your spirit.

Celebrate your life while you live it.

Even when it’s hard to do,

celebrate the best of you!

Celebrate your dreams and your visions.

Celebrate the love you’ve been given.

Cherish all that you’ve been through.

Celebrate the best of you!

The Sacrament of Baptism

Malek Nicholas Morrison, Born August 14, 2019

Parents— Hisae Morrison and Ryan Shaldjian Morrison

Grandparents— Timothy N Morrison, 

Janice Margaret Morrison, Mutsuko Oba

Siblings— Sebby and Lucia

Baptism is the church's way of celebrating and naming the grace of God living in every person. It is the way we enfold new people into the life of the universal community of faith. And it marks the entry point into the life-time pilgrimage of following in the Way of Jesus. It is one of the ways we live out our Covenant. In baptism the uniqueness and greatness of every life is radically affirmed. In the spirit of celebration, I invite Malek and his family to join me for the blessing of baptism.

Baptism Vows

Ryan, Hisae, family and friends: I ask you now to respond to God's graciousness and life’s promise to you by making your vows:

Will you do your best to make your home a welcoming home of love and trust?  

With God's help, we will.

Will you commit yourselves to help Malek grow in understanding and appreciation of a broad and inclusive spirituality?

With God's help, we will.

Will you strive to encourage Malek to reach out to all people with love and compassion?  

With God's help, we will.

Will you do everything possible to ensure that Malek is nurtured in faith so his trust in life and love is healthy and strong?  

We will.

Act of Baptism

Malek Nicholas Morrison, in the touch of this water, the ancient symbol of new life, I baptize you into the love, service and joy of God, known to us as Parent, Child, and Holy Spirit... Source of Life, Companion, and Enlivener.

Congregation’s Statement of Support

We stand as witnesses to the commitment made to and for Malek this day. We pledge ourselves to you all for spiritual support and care as you discover together as a family the ways the Spirit unfolds for you.

Baptismal Prayer

Bless this newly baptized human being. May he always know that the Source of all Love lives and comes to unique expression in him. Amen.

Bless these faithful people as the new spiritual family for Malek. May we all live in love and may we continue to draw 

encouragement from the faith which connects our loving with the mystery we call God. Amen.

Invitation to Give

One: Giving is mystery: when we pause and decide to give, despite worries and scarcity.

All: Giving is mystery: when our gift moves away from us and towards a need in the world. 

One: Giving is mystery: when somehow, our spirit lightens in grace and assurance.

All: Giving is mystery: when the Spirit enters our giving and burdens are lifted. We rejoice in gratitude.

Offering and Offertory

Word About Life

The Ghost of Christmas Present (video clip from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)

Micah 6:8:

“With what shall I come before the Lord

  and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

  with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

  with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

  the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

God has told you, human one, what is good,

  and what the Lord requires of you:

to do justice, embrace faithful love,

  and walk humbly with your God! 

Word About Life for Today

shared by Dr. Rev. Patricia StandTal Clarke

Words for Mission

One: Friends, may you be blessed with the growing edge of the Spirit.

All: At this edge, hope emerges alive and dissipates all despair.

One: Let us forage for such grace in the most forgotten places. Let us find in relationship all we thought we had lost.

All: And as we go forth from this space, may we take with us the medicines of compassion and service to make the world a more just place for all.

One: These are the times!

All: We are the people.

One: All of Creation is blessed.

All: May we love all and serve all.

One: May God be with you.

All: And also with you.

One: Amen.

All: Amen.

Sending Forth Song ~

"I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me"

I’m gonna live so God can use me, 

Anytime, Lord, and anywhere. 

I’m gonna live so God can use me, 

Anytime Lord, and anywhere!

I’m gonna work so God can use me…

I’m gonna pray so God can use me…

I’m gonna sing so God can use me…

You're invited to Sermon Reboot this morning. We will gather with Dr. Patricia in the Narthex immediately following worship. Folks on Zoom are also welcome to stick around. This time together is an informal and open-hearted discussion of the sermon.