July 1, 2018                                                                                           Nonviolence as a Spiritual Practice

*Gathering Hymn                                   #1018 Come And Go With Me

 

Call to Worship                                      Margot Page, Worship Associate

 

Chalice Lighting                                     Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic.

                                                              Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month,

                                                               or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime.

                                                              Never, ever be afraid to make some noise

                                                              and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.                     ~ Rep. John Lewis

 

Music for the Morning                            There is a Balm in Gilead                                          with Zanaida Robles

 

Welcome

 

*Opening Hymn                                    #199 Precious Lord, Take My Hand

 

*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                                  Enemies Story                                                           by Christopher Buice

                                                              read by Kathleen Hogue

 

*Song of Blessing                                 #1007 There's a River Flowin' in My Soul

 

Life Together

 

Pulpit Message

 

Offering

 

Offertory Anthem                                   Eli Eli                                                                           with Ryan Humphrey

 

Devotional Time

 

Reading / Reflection                              “Integrated Bus Suggestions”

                                                              Montgomery Improvement Association flyer, December 19, 1956

 

Pastoral Prayer

 

Silence

 

Musical Response

 

Sermon                                                 Nonviolence as a Spiritual Practice                                       Abby Arnold

 

Going Deeper                                        Can you imagine a Beloved Community that includes

                                                               people whose beliefs and experiences are different

                                                               from yours?

 

                                                              Can we truly love our enemy?

 

                                                               How can we harness the power of our anger and

                                                               convert it to love?

 

                                                               Our culture focuses on winners and losers. How can

                                                               you change that dynamic in your daily life?

 

*Closing Hymn                                      #169 We Shall Overcome

 

*Benediction

 

Musical Benediction

 

Invitation to Fellowship

 

*Please stand in body or in spirit

 

Greeters:                 Barbara & Kim Andres

Ushers:                   Linda van Ligten & Greg Wood

Coffee:                    Hugo Contreras, Deirdre Dietel, Kit Shaw, Alicia van Ooyen,

Welcome Table:      Linda van Ligten

Bookstore:              Sarah Robson

 

Today, 40% of our offering will go to Voices4Freedom. Contrary to popular belief, slavery is not a thing of the past. Although it is not legal anywhere on the planet, there are more slaves today than at any time in human history. 45.8 million men, women and children enslaved today.

 

Ignorance, racial and cultural bias, governments refusing to enforce laws and the people who are enslaved not realizing that their situation is illegal.

 

Voices4Freedom.org is an LA based non-profit which uses education and media and reporting of corporate corruption to shine a light on labor abuses worldwide.

 

Please support this important application of our principles … Please give what you can to help out those struggling in our larger community. Thank you!