Order of Worship March 29, 2020

* These quilts are made by Yuri Okamoto, Day Kusakai, Frances Kurisu, Gloria Tateyama, and Dorothy Kimura.

UJCC Sunday House Worship Service

March 29, 2020 * 5th Sunday of Lent

Blessings to you this Sunday morning! You are invited to use the following prayers & order of worship as we lift our hearts to God together from our respective homes!

Call To Worship

Leader : God is with us.

God dwells in our midst.

Let’s listen and hear God speak.

All: Our hearts long for God’s word.

We wait upon the Lord

so that we may renew our strength.

Leader : God is our help and our support.

The Holy Spirit moves among us

to lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days.

All: With joyful hearts we sing God's praise.

With rejoicing we call upon the Lord.

Christ is our hope and our salvation. (rjf)

Song of Centering: Blessed Assurance

by Becky Messer, Norman Ocampo, Larry Honda and Rev. Rae Kim

Children’s Time: Kristine Sakamoto & Rev. Rae Kim

Scripture Reading in Japanese Ezekiel 1:28-2:2 Miwa Jones

Sermon “Reminders of God’s Promise” Rev. Akiko Miyake-Stoner

Time of Confession

As we continue in this season of Lent, God invites us to examine our own spirits, to see what is growing, to see what needs pruning, to see what needs encouragement. Let us come to God with what we see, offering our spirit to the One who loves us. Let us pray, first in silence.

[Silence for self-examination and confession]

Holy God,

We confess to you our pain:

Pain we inflict on others,

Pain that wakes us in the night,

Pain of brothers and sisters and people unknown,

Pain in this city, this nation, and this world.

The pain of systems and viruses unyielding.

Lord Christ,

Enter into our pain:

Bear the burdens we feel and create.

Redeem what is crushing and wrong.

By your Spirit,

Forgive us and heal us,

Set us free to love and to live.

Words of Assurance

Hear the Good News: we are forgiven!

We are set free to go out into the world and be the loving, gracious, hopeful people of God!

Thanks be to God! (bmn)

Song of Reflection: New Psalm by Garrett Masterson

Joys and Concerns & Time of Prayer

You are invited to share your joys and concerns with one another using our usual format:

Person lifting the prayer: “O God of Mercy;” everyone’s response: “This is our prayer.”

After you share your joys and concerns, go around the circle and offer prayer, praying freely or using this format:

“God, I thank you for…” and “God, I ask for…”

You are invited to close together with The Lord’s Prayer.

Song

A friend texted this to me, from Fr. Declan McInerney’s Parish of Clonfert facebook page:

And the people stayed home.

And read books, and listened, and

rested, and exercised, and made art,

and played games, and learned new

ways of being, and were still. And

listened more deeply. Some

meditated, some prayed, some

danced. Some met their shadows.

And the people began

To think differently.

And the people healed.

And, in the absence of people living

In ignorant, dangerous, mindless,

And heartless ways,

The earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed,

And the people joined together again,

They grieved their losses, and made

New choices, and dreamed new

Images, and created new ways to live

And heal the earth fully,

As they had been healed. (dm)

This week, take some time to commune with God; breathe the fresh air; enjoy the delicate and grand gifts God gives in creation. Remember the steady pulse of life in you that connects you to all creation; remember the steady pulse of God’s strength that is always with you.

Go in the peace of Christ. Amen.

* You are invited to continue your spiritual practice of giving to the church. Please either mail your offering to the church (136 N. Villa Ave., Clovis, CA 93612) or try our online giving option (LINK HERE). Thank you!

* Please join in our first Zoom Fellowship & Prayer meeting at 11:30, Sunday, Mar 29

From your computer or smartphone, join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/840076506

Meeting ID: 840 076 506

Or simply call: +1 669 900 6833

Ezekiel 1:28-2:2

Just as a rainbow lights up a cloud on a rainy day, so its brightness shone all around. This was how the form of the LORD's glory appeared. When I saw it, I fell on my face. I heard the sound of someone speaking. 1The voice said to me: Human one, stand on your feet, and I'll speak to you. 2As he spoke to me, a wind came to me and stood me on my feet, and I heard someone addressing me.

Worship Resources: (rjf) Richard J. Fairchild, adapted “Call To Worship: Waiting On The Lord,” http://www.spirit-net.ca/sermons/b-or02sm.php; Beth Merrill Neil, adapted “Prayer of Confession,” https://holdfasttowhatisgood.com/liturgy/prayer-of-confession/; (dm) from Fr. Declan McInerney’s Parish of Clonfert page, found on Scott Hahn’s facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Dr.ScottHahn/photos/a.645973518757095/3104914412862981/?type=3