May 8, 2016                                                                                                                            What Binds Us

 

*Gathering Hymn                                        Bind Us Together                                                                          Bob Gillman

                                                                       Bind us together, oh bind us together

                                                                       With cords that cannot be broken.

                                                                       Bind us together, oh bind us together

                                                                       Oh, bind us together with love.

 

Prelude                                                         Overture, Le Nozze di Figaro                          Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

 

Welcome

 

Chalice Lighting                                          Emma Stashin

 

*Opening Hymn                                           #121 We’ll Build A Land

 

*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                                          Westside Food Bank

                                                                         Bruce Rankin

 

Song of Blessing                                          Go Now in Peace                                                                       Natalie Sleeth

                                                                        Go now in peace. Go now in peace.

                                                                        May the spirit of love surround you

                                                                        As you go, as you go on your way.

 

Life Together

 

Pulpit Message

 

Offering                                                          A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief (9am)                          arr. Daniel Gledhill

                                                                        Heilig (11am)                                                                      Felix Mendelssohn

 

Devotional Time

 

Sung Response                                           #315 This Old World

 

Responsive Reading                                  #591 I Call That Church Free                                    James Luther Adams

 

Music for the Morning                                  This I Promise You (9am)                                                        Richard Marx

                                                                         Tewa Prayer (11am)                                                                      John Maas

 

Sermon                                                           Rev. Rick Hoyt-McDaniels & Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

 

*Closing Hymn                                              Life Calls Us On

 

*Benediction

 

Musical Response                                       You’ve Got a Friend (9am)                                                           Carole King

                                                                         Love Is... (11am)                                                                   Marjorie Herman

 

*Please stand in body or in spirit

 

Greeters:                                                        Dwight Flowers, Wendi Gladstone & Katie Malich

Ushers:                                                          Bonnie Brae, Dan Patterson, Rick Rhoads & Kit Shaw

Coffee:                                                           Robert & Phyllis Kory, Jila Tayefehnowrooz & Sylvia Young

Welcome Table:                                           Wendi Gladstone

Bookstore:                                                    Mark Warkentin

 

Welcome back to Rev. Rick Hoyt-McDaniels and thank you to the Chalice Choir from First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles for joining with our choir at the 11am service, today. To complete our choral exchange, our choir will join the Chalice Choir at First Church for their worship service at 11am next Sunday, May 15.

 

Today, 60% of our non-pledge offering will go to the Unitarian Universalist Association. In our covenant as member congregations of the UUA, it is written that we pledge one another our mutual trust and support. This church’s support for the UUA through this offering, as well as through contributing 89% of our Fair Share contribution in our 2015-16 budget, enables us to embody our pledge of trust and support. Among many other expressions of our faith in the world, the UUA supports Standing on the Side of Love, the Our Whole Lives sexuality education curricula, and Tapestry of Faith religious education resources. This year’s UUA General Assembly is June 22-26 in Columbus, Ohio. Are you interested in attending and representing our congregation as a delegate at the largest annual gathering of UUs in the world? Please contact the church office for more information at office@uusm.org.

 

 

           April 24, 2016                                                                                                                                         Earth Sunday

*Gathering Hymn                                     For the Beauty of the Earth                                                       Conrad Kocher

                                                                    For the beauty of the earth, for the splendor of the skies

                                                                    For the love which from our birth over and around us lies:

                                                                   Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

 

                                                                   For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night

                                                                   Hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light:

                                                                   Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

 

Prelude                                                     To a Wild Rose (9am)                                                          Edward MacDowell

                                                                    O Beautiful Gaia (11am)                                                         Carolyn McDade

 

Welcome

 

Chalice Lighting                                      John Zinner (9am)

                                                                   Mark Christiansen (11am)

 

*Opening Hymn                                      #1064 Blue Boat Home

 

*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                                    This Little Light of Mine                                                                       Traditional

                                                                  This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…

                                                                  Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine...

 

Life Together

 

Offering Speaker                                    Community Services United (CSU) of South Los Angeles

                                                                   Neelam Sharma

 

Offering                                                    Adventures on Planet Earth, E.T.                                                John Williams

 

Devotional Time

 

Sung Response                                    Rising Green                                                                                Carolyn McDade

                                                                 My blood doth rise in the roots of yon oak,

                                                                 Her sap doth run in my veins.

                                                                 Boundless my soul like the open sky

                                                                 Where the stars forever have lain.

                                                                 Where the stars, where the stars,

                                                                 Where the stars forever have lain.

 

Reading                                                 #632 Passover Remembered                                             Alla Renee Bozarth

 

Music for the Morning                          Lead, Kindly Light (9am)                                                                    John Dykes

                                                                 Sunshine (11am)                                                                        Michael McGlynn

 

Reflection                                               Alison Kendall

 

Sung Response                                   I feel the tides as they answer the moon,

                                                                Rushing on a far distant sand.

                                                                Winging my song is the wind of my breast

                                                                And my love blows over the land.

                                                                 And my love, and my love,

                                                                And my love blows over the land.

 

Reflection                                              James Witker (9am)

                                                                Beth Brownlie (11am)

 

Sung Response                                   My foot carries days of the old into new,

                                                                Our dreaming shows us the way.

                                                                Wondrous our faith settles deep in the earth,

                                                                Rising green to bring a new day.

                                                                Rising green, rising green,

                                                                Rising green to bring a new day.

 

Reflection                                               Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

 

*Closing Hymn                                    #163 For the Earth Forever Turning

 

*Benediction

 

Musical Response                                So Close, Enchanted (9am)                                                       Jon McLaughlin

                                                                  Have I Not Known (11am)                                Keith Getty & Stuart Townsend

 

*Please stand in body or in spirit

 

 

Service Participants: Sheila Bjornlie, Tom Early, Tom Fortich, Glen Howell, Nancy Howell, Barbara

Kernochan, Kris Langabeer, Leah Moore, Rick Rhoads, Mark Warkentin, Michael Young, Steve Young

& Sylvia Young

 

Today, 60% of our non-pledge offering will go to Community Services Unlimited, (CSU) of South Central Los Angeles to support programs such as Growing Healthy, which engages youth in urban farming and food based learning as a tool to help them adopt a healthier lifestyle and develop an awareness to the food access and environmental justice issues impacting their communities.

 

 

 

     Heart and Soul Service                                                                                                                        April 10, 2016

 

Gathering In                                                  Come, Come Whoever You Are                                           Rumi, Ungar

                                                                        Come, come, whoever you are

                                                                        Wanderer, worshiper

                                                                        Lover of leaving

                                                                       Ours is no caravan of despair

                                                                       Come, yet again, come.

 

Welcome and Chalice Lighting

 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is Book Five of the “Chronicles of Narnia,” a collection of fantasy tales by CS Lewis. In it Eustace, a fairly nasty little boy awakes to find, “He had turned into a dragon while he was asleep. Sleeping on a dragon’s treasure with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself.” His scales were built with his every nasty and naughty act. Eustace tries to shed his skin, but finds, as do most reptiles, that each time he throws off one layer, there is another layer of scales underneath. Aslan, the great

Lion who saves the children from their misadventures, must remove the scales for him. Eustace relates in the story, “…he peeled the beastly stuff right off, just as I thought I’d done it myself the other three times…there it was lying on the grass…and there I was as smooth and soft as a peeled switch…” Aslan then places Eustace in a pool of water, from which he emerges stinging a bit, but clean and new and transformed.

 

Spirit of Life

Spirit of Life, come unto me.

Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.

Blow in the wind, rise in the sea,

move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.

Roots hold me close, wings set me free,

Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.

 

Change or Transformation                                                                                                                   Kikanza Nuri-Robins

 

A Transformation Story                                                                                                                                        Jacki Weber

Group Sharing: tell us your transformation stories

 

 

Sacred Silence

Perhaps you know what you must release in order to make the change or transformation you seek. On the special paper you have been given, write what you are willing to release. When you are ready, place the paper in the bowl of water and watch what happens.

Comfort Me                                                                                                                                           Mimi Bornstein-Doble

                   Comfort me, Comfort me

                   Comfort me, oh my soul

                    2. Sing with me…

                    3. Walk with me…

                    4. Change with me…

                   Comfort me, Oh my soul

 

Offering

 

Benediction

 

 

     April 3, 2016                                                                                                                                       Seeds of Change

 

 

*Gathering Hymn                                     Come, Come, Whoever You Are                               Rev. Lynn Adair Ungar

                                                                    Come, come, whoever you are,

                                                                    Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving.

                                                                    Ours is no caravan of despair.

                                                                    Come, yet again come.

 

                                                                    Ven, ven, cual eres, ven,

                                                                    Nómada͜ en búsqueda, si͜ amas la vida.

                                                                    La nuestra͜ es la caravana de͜ amor.

                                                                    Ven, otra vez ven.

 

Prelude                                                      Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)              Pete Seeger

 

Welcome                                                   James Witker

 

Chalice Lighting                                     Young Religious Unitarian Universalists

 

*Opening Hymn                                     #113 Where is Our Holy Church?

 

*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                                  Jessica Clay

 

Song of Blessing                                  This Little Light of Mine                                                                        Traditional

                                                                This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…

                                                                Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine...

 

Life Together

 

Offering                                                 #1015 I Know I Can

 

Devotional Time

 

Sung Response                                   Rising Green                                                                                         arr. Jim Scott

                                                                My foot carries days of the old into new,

                                                                Our dreaming shows us the way.

                                                                Wondrous our faith settles deep in the earth,

                                                                Rising green to bring a new day.

                                                                Rising green, rising green, rising green to bring a new day.

 

Responsive Reading                        #587 A Litany for Survival Audre Lord

 

Music for the Morning                       Transformation                                                                                  Daniel Gledhill

 

Sermon                                                Growing with Conflict                                                                           Jessica Clay

 

*Closing Hymn                                   #1020 Woyaya

 

*Benediction

 

Musical Response                             So Close, Enchanted                                                                       Jon McLaughlin

 

*Please stand in body or in spirit

 

Greeters:                                              Denise Helton, Tom Foretich & Barbara Gibbs

Ushers:                                                 Barbara Kernochan, Peggy Kharraz, Linda van Ligten & Greg Wood

Coffee:                                                  Deirdre Dietel, Peggy Rhoads, Kit Shaw & Alicia van ooyen

Bookstore:                                            Mark Warkentin

 

 

Thank you to our worship leaders this Sunday! Jessica Clay, preaching, is currently making her way

through her final year of divinity school at Starr King, (our UU seminary up in Berkeley), after many

years of volunteer leadership as a member here in Santa Monica. She is looking forward to future

opportunities, “ to support people, to nurture community, to do social justice work, and to encourage

spiritual growth.” Today’s pulpit host, James Witker, is active with our AAHS group for atheists,

agnostics, humanists, and secularists and enjoys organizing periodic workshops concerning Unitarian

Universalism and how we interact with society and the world around us. We’re very thankful to have

these two leading our worship services this weekend.

 

Beginning this Sunday and concluding on April 24 with a special celebration for the Earth, our

congregation will be exploring issues of Climate Justice and ways to live out our 7th principle of

respect for the interdependent web of all existence. Accordingly, this month 60% of our non-pledge

offering will go to Community Services Unlimited, (CSU) of South Central Los Angeles to support

programs such as Growing Healthy, which engages youth in urban farming and food based learning as

a tool to help them adopt a healthier lifestyle and develop an awareness and political consciousness to

the food access and environmental justice issues impacting their communities. The program currently

operates at Normandie Avenue Elementary School and the Expo Center, and has a history at John

Muir Middle School. Please mark your calendars for our special Healthy Food, Healthy Planet Second

Sunday Supper at 6pm on April 10, when we will also host guests from CSU to learn more about their

programs in promoting healthy eating in South LA.