Live Stream Worship:
Facebook: Los Angeles First United Methodist Church - Home
Instagram: Los Angeles First UMC (@lafirstumc)
YouTube: Los Angeles First United Methodist Church
Call to Worship - You are invited to light a candle in your home to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit
Spirit in the Sky - El Dorado
When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best
When I lay me down to die
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best
Prepare yourself you know it's a must
Gotta have a friend in Jesus
So you know that when you die
He's gonna recommend you
To the spirit in the sky
Gonna recommend you
To the spirit in the sky
That's where you're gonna go when you die
When you die and they lay you to rest
You're gonna go to the place that's the best
Never been a sinner I never sinned
I got a friend in Jesus
So you know that when I die
He's gonna set me up with
The spirit in the sky
Oh set me up with the spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
I'm gonna go to the place that's the best
Go to the place that's the best
Passing of the Peace: Through the act of passing the peace of Christ, we offer our sincere desire to love our neighbor.
You are invited to greet one another in the live stream chat on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
Announcements:
Stewardship Campaign: Our goal is to raise $20,000/month for payroll, so that we can continue to employ all the people who are working tirelessly to bring the Good News to all who need to hear it. My prayer is that we can raise enough money to cover our church’s payroll over the next three months. This allows the congregation to use any money we have on hand to directly support our ministries.
We have converted our parsonage into a co-housing community, which now has 6 residents living safely and affordably together. We have been able to support people who might not have been able to find sustainable housing in the current market, and we can ensure that they will stay housed during the pandemic. It would be an additional hope to raise $3,000/month to support the utilities and expenses of the co-housing community.
Jubilee Fund: This fund is designated to helping reduce the burden of debt in our community. As we make our way through the pandemic, the economic pressures are going to be challenging. If you feel led, you can now donate through Venmo!
VENMO: You can find us here: https://venmo.com/LAFirstUMC
From the Bishop:
Guidelines for Church Re-Launch of In-Person Worship Services
Bishop Hagiya's Special Message in Response to Racism
“African-American men are literally being killed because of our racism. What this should show us is the pervasive, sinful nature of racism in our country, truly, the unfinished business of our country.
Like all printed words, we can rail against, talk about, and denounce racism until we are blue in the face. We, as Christians, however, cannot allow ourselves to move past this moment without meaningful action. Therefore, I am asking every church in our California-Pacific Conference to have open talk about the sin of racism in our own lives and what we must do about it that we have not yet done before.
This means that we have to own up to our own racism first, before we point fingers at others.
In order to spark this discussion here are some questions you might want to start with:
What are my own racist tendencies that I don’t want to talk about or admit?
How have I been complicit in American racism?
What can I proactively do about it right now?
Zoom Bible Study: LA First UMC Bible Study
Monday, June 1: “Remember the Sabbath and Keep it Holy” A Rabbi’s Perspective on the 4th Commandment - with Rabbi Hillel Norry
Beginning Monday, June 8: Disciple Bible Study
Time: Monday evenings at 5:30 PM PST
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/598868178?pwd=U1B2YjZYWURDRXJXMStKajI3L1RWZz09
Praying with the Daily Examen: What is the Examen?
St. Ignatius of Loyola created the Examen to be a very short prayer that can be prayed at any time. In the Examen, we review our recent past to find God and his blessings in our daily life. Ignatius would say that the Examen should be the most important moment of our day, because this moment affects every other moment.
Relish the moments that went well and all of the gifts you have today.
Request that the Spirit lead you through your review of the day.
Review your day.
Repent of any mistakes or failures.
Resolve, in concrete ways, to live tomorrow well.
21-DAY RACE EQUITY CHALLENGE:
The Adult Faith Formation team from Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC has created a resource to encourage us on a 21-day Racial Equity challenge, based on the work of Dr. Eddie Moore, a diversity and inclusion specialist. In doing so you will be exposed to voices and perspectives different than your own through articles, videos, and podcasts. Each day you will choose one way of engagement and reflect in a journal. At the end of the challenge, we will gather together to share our reflections.
The Challenge
Pick one of the resources listed below every day for 21 days.
Diversify your understanding by doing some of each.
Track and reflect by using the planning tool.
Share your reflections at the end of the challenge.
Pray for the places you are challenged and for those you are learning about whose lives may be different than yours.
Join us for conversation June 7th and 21st at 9:45 a.m. EST via Zoom here.
Watch:
This is Us, Dr. Eddie Glaude explains why blaming current racial tensions on Donald Trump misses the point. (3 minutes)
Racism is Real, A split-screen video depicting the differential in the white and black lived experience. (3 minutes)
Confronting ‘intergroup anxiety’: Can you try too hard to be fair? Explores why we may get tongue tied and blunder when we encounter people from groups unfamiliar to us. (5 minutes)
CBS News Analysis: 50 states, 50 different ways of teaching America’s past, Ibram X. Kendi reviews current history curriculum production and use across the U.S. (5 minutes)
The Disturbing History of the Suburbs, An “Adam Ruins Everything” episode that quickly and humorously educates how redlining came to be. (6 minutes)
What Kind of Asian Are You? Humorous two minute YouTube video that illustrates the utter silliness of the way many white Americans interact with Asian Americans. (2 minutes)
Birth of a White Nation, Keynote speech by legal scholar Jacqueline Battalora, offers a blow-by-blow description of the moment the idea of, and word for, “white” people entered U.S. legal code. (36 minutes)
13th, Netflix documentary by Ava DuVernay about the connection between US Slavery and the present day mass incarceration system. (1 hour, 40 minutes)
How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them, TED Talk by Vernā Myers, encourages work vigorously to counter balance bias by connecting with and learning about and from the groups we fear. (19 minutes)
The danger of a single story, TED Talk by Chimamanda Adiche, offers insight to the phenomenon of using small bits of information to imagine who a person is. (18 minutes)
How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time, TED Talk by Baratunde Thurston that explores patterns revealing our racist framing, language, and behaviors. (10 minutes)
Indigenous People React to Indigenous Representation in Film And TV, Conversation with a diverse range of Indigenous people by FBE about media depictions of Indigenous people, Columbus day, and Indigenous identity. (15 minutes)
What Being Hispanic and Latinx Means in the United States, Fernanda Ponce shares what she’s learning about the misunderstanding and related mistreatment of the incredibly diverse ethnic category people in U.S. call Hispanic. (12 minutes)
Tyler Merrit Project: Before You Call (3 minutes)
Read:
10 Ways Well-Meaning White Teachers Bring Racism Into Our Schools, by Jamie Utt
21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear on a Daily Basis, by Heben Nigatu
Climbing the White Escalator, by Betsy Leondar-Wright
Explaining White Privilege To A Broke White Person, by Gina Crosley-Corcoran
Guide to Allyship, Created by Amélie Lamont
It’s Not Just the South: Here’s How Everyone Can Resist White Supremacy, by Sarah van Gelder
Making America White Again, by Toni Morrison
Understanding the Racial Wealth Gap, by Amy Traub, Laura Sullivan, Tatjana Mescheded, & Tom Shapiro
What White Children Need to Know About Race, by Ali MIchael and Elenora Bartoli
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh
Presbytery of Charlotte letter from Antiracism Team
My President Was Black, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Caught Up In God, by Willie James Jennings
Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?, by Ibram X Kendi
Additional Suggestions from Rev. Mandy:
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, by Austin Channing Brown
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, By Robin DiAngelo
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, By Michelle Alexander
The Cross and the Lynching Tree, by James H. Cone
A Sin by Any Other Name: Reckoning with Racism and the Heritage of the South, By Rev. Robert W. Lee
Listen:
Code Switch, hosted by journalists Gene Demby and Shereen Marisol Meraji
Black Like Me, host Dr. Alex Gee
Scene on Radio – Seeing White Series, host John Biewen and collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika
TED Radio Hour – Mary Bassett: How Does Racism Affect Your Health? host Guy Raz speaks with Dr. Mary T. Bassett, Director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University
Here & Now – Without Slavery, Would The U.S. Be The Leading Economic Power? host Jeremy Hobson and author Edward Baptist
NPR Morning Edition – You Cannot Divorce Race From Immigration journalist Rachel Martin talks to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas
Pod Save the People, Activism. Social Justice. Culture. Politics. On Pod Save the People, organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson
Notice
Test Your Awareness: Do The Test, This video shows us the importance of paying attention, and how much more we see when we are looking for particular things around us.
Use each question below separately as one day’s challenge.
Who is and is not represented in ads?
What are the last five books you read? What is the racial mix of the authors?
What is the racial mix of the main characters in your favorite TV shows? Movies?
Who is filling what kinds of jobs/social roles in your world? Can you correlate any of this to racial identity?
Zoom Fellowship Coffee Hour: Immediately following worship today. Today, we will be welcoming a new member via Zoom! Find the liturgy here.
Zoom Happy Hour: Wednesdays from 5:00-6:00 PM
Stay Connected:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LAFirstUMC/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lafirstumc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LAFirstUMC/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLh1AQKTgxTXSwwXr-J9qvA
CALL TO PRAYER: Holy Spirit - El Dorado
There's nothing worth more
That will ever come close
No thing can compare
You're our living hope
Your presence…
I've tasted & seen
Of the sweetest of loves
Where my heart becomes free
& My shame is undone
In Your presence, Lord
Holy Spirit, You are welcome here
Come flood this place & fill the atmosphere
Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for
To be overcome by Your presence, Lord
Let us become more aware
Of Your presence
Let us experience
The glory of Your goodness
Holy Spirit, You are welcome here
Come flood this place & fill the atmosphere
Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for
To be overcome by Your presence, Lord
Joys and Concerns: We believe that the best way to bear our burdens is to share them with one another. You are invited to share your joys and concerns so that our community can hold these things in our hearts as we lift them to God together.
You are invited to share your prayers in the Facebook Live Chat, or on the YouTube Live chat.
NEW TESTAMENT READING: Acts 2:1-21, NRSV
Watch here to see our members reading in their own native languages.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
One: This is the word of God, for us, the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God!
SERMON: Blood, And Fire, And Smoky Mist: Pentecost is Not Peaceful - Rev. Mandy Sloan McDow
HOLY COMMUNION
Invitation to the Table: As we understand the Body of Christ to be inclusive, we understand God’s table of grace and fellowship can extend into our homes. As you’re able, bring your own elements to this time. Bread, Juice, Coffee, Muffins… the Body of Christ is comprised of wonder and mystery. Today, we celebrate that God can reach us where we are, even if we are not together.
The Great Mystery of our Faith
All: Christ has died
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
The Lord’s PrayerOur Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
MUSIC DURING COMMUNION: Holy Ghost to Nations - El Dorado
Holy Ghost to Nations - Lloyd Stine & Georgia Harkness (arrangement/additional lyrics - Stephen Folds)
Verse 1:
This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine;
this is my home, the city where my heart is here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine
other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
This song.
Verse 2:
Our country’s skies are bluer than the ocean, sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
but other lands have sunlight too, and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine
O hear my song, Holy Ghost to nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine.
This song, this song. One song.
Verse 3:
May truth and freedom come to every nation; may peace abound where strife has raged so long
that each may seek to love and build together, a world united, righting every wrong;
a world united in its love for freedom, proclaiming peace together in one song.
Chorus:
This song, This song, One song
Holy Ghost to Nations.
To us all.
Benediction Remember:
God is with you,
God is for you,
God refuses to be God without you.
And may all of God’s people say: Amen.
Virtual Coffee Hour Begins now! Immediately following worship on Zoom
New Member Liturgy available here:
Pastor: As a member of Christ's universal church,
will you be loyal to Christ through The United Methodist Church,
and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries?
New Member: I will.
Pastor: As a member of this congregation,
will you faithfully participate in its ministries
by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?
New Member: I will.
Pastor: Members of the household of God, I commend this person to your love and care. Do all in your power to increase their faith, confirm their hope, and perfect them in love.
Congregation:
We give thanks for all that God has already given you and we welcome you in Christian love.
As members together with you in the body of Christ
and in this congregation of The United Methodist Church,
we renew our covenant
faithfully to participate in the ministries of the church
by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness,
that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
"New Membership Vows and Ritual" © 2008 by The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. Extracts from the 2004 Book of Discipline and Baptismal Covenants I, II, and IV are from The United Methodist Hymnal © 1989 by The United Methodist Publishing House and are used by permission.