February 19, 2017

*Gathering Hymn                               #16 ‘Tis a Gift to Be Simple

                                                              ‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free,

                                                              ‘Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be,

                                                              ‘And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

                                                               ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight

 

                                                               When true simplicity is gained,

                                                               To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed

                                                               To turn, turn will be our delight,

                                                               ‘Till by turning, turning we come ‘round right

 

Prelude                                                                                                                                                             Daniel Gledhill

 

Welcome

 

Chalice Lighting                                   Joyce Holmen

 

*Opening Hymn                                    #149 Lift Every Voice and Sing

 

*Covenant                                             Love is the doctrine of this church.

                                                                The quest for truth is its sacrament,

                                                                And service is its prayer.

                                                                To dwell together in peace,

                                                                To seek knowledge in freedom,

                                                                To serve humankind in fellowship,

                                                                Thus do we covenant with each other.

 

*Hymn of Praise                                   From all that dwell below the skies

                                                                 Let songs of hope and faith arise

                                                                 Let peace, goodwill on earth be sung

                                                                 Through every land, by every tongue.

 

Offering for the Westside Food Bank

 

Time for All Ages

 

Song of Blessing                                 #414 As You Leave This Friendly Place

                                                                As you leave this friendly place, love give light to every face;

                                                                May the kindness which you learn, light your hearts till you return.

 

Life Together

 

Pulpit Messages                                  Faith in Action

                                                                Dining for Dollars Fundraising Auction

 

Offering                                                 Del Cabello Mas Sutil (9am)                                                 Fernando Obradors

                                                               Negro Bembon (11am) Electo Silva

 

Devotional Time

 

Silence

 

Sung Response                                #1009 Meditation on Breathing

                                                            When I breathe in, I breathe in peace

                                                            When I breathe out, I breathe out love.

 

Responsive Reading                       Each of Us Has A Name                                    Zelda, translated by Marcia Falk

 

Music for the Morning                       Prelude from Prelude and Caprice                                                 George Walker

 

Sermon                                               All in the Family                                                          Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

 

*Closing Hymn                                 #277 As We Wend Homeward

 

*Benediction

 

*Musical Response                          Ubi Caritas

                                                                 Ubi caritas et amor,

                                                                 Deus ibi est.

 

*Please stand in body or in spirit

 

Greeters:                                     Roberta Frye, Glen Howell, Audrey Lyness & David Olson

Ushers:                                        Steve DePaul, Nina Emerson, Kit Shaw & Ned Wright

Coffee:                                         Sheila Cummins, Rebecca Crawford, Alice Hall & Eileen McCormack

Bookstore:                                  Sarah Harper

 

Today 40% of our non-pledge offering will go to Turning Point , a program of OPCC. In addition to

food, shelter and clothing, Turning Point provides intensive counseling and support groups, money

management, health education and independent living skills. If you are homeless and would like to be

considered for residency at Turning Point, please contact OPCC at (310) 450-4050.

 

To honor African American Heritage Month, in February our opening hymn will be Lift Every Voice

and Sing. Often called the Black National Anthem, this hymn is a setting of a poem that was

originally written to honor President Lincoln in 1899. It is a text that calls us toward the pursuit of

liberty for all, while rejoicing in the progress we have made and honoring those lives that have been

and will be lost to the struggle.

 

About the Offering Music: Negro Bembon

The poem “Negro Bembon” by Nicolas Guillen was translated from Spanish into English in 1948 by

Langston Hughes. Using African American dialect, Hughes translated it as, “Thick Lipped Cullud Boy,”

a cynical criticism of a wealthy young person of color for whom all the blessings in the world cannot

erase his dismay over being identified as “cullud.” With a catchy tune and a Cuban groove, this song is

a celebration of our identity, self-worth, and belovedness, no matter how we look.

           ~ Zanaida Robles

 

Del Cabello Mas Sutil, Translation:

Of the softest hair

Which you have in your braid

I would make a chain,

So that I might bring you to my side.

 

A jug in your home,

Little one, I would like to be,

So that I might kiss you

Every time you took a drink.