Call to Worship - You are invited to light a candle in your home to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit
Love Came Down - El Dorado
Welcome - Stephen Folds
Lean On Me - El Dorado
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.
TOP 5 ANNOUNCEMENTS
VENMO: You can find us here: https://venmo.com/LAFirstUMC
PAYPAL: https://paypal.me/LAFirstUMC
SQUARE:https://checkout.square.site/pay/be673aef7fcb424e98387016d184e57d
All who need a meal on Sunday, young and old, are invited to come sit down at the table with us for a hot, catered breakfast to get their day started! Our volunteers will be acting as servers, so that all who come join us have time to sit and enjoy their breakfast
LA First UMC is starting this ministry with the hopes of helping to fill the need for hot meals served on the weekends when most meal-providing services are closed in DTLA.
LA First UMC's Sunday Breakfast Ministry
Sundays 8:30-9:30am Pacific Time
Outside, at the picnic tables, in the parking lot on the South East Corner of Olympic and Flower
Next to Villa Flores located at 1020 S Flower St
Update to Volunteering Process
In order for the hour to run smoothly and efficiently, Debbie has planned to have jobs for 6 volunteers each week. Don't worry there are plenty of Sundays to sign up for the rest of the year. Please reach out to Debbie to get on the volunteering calendar. She can be reached at debbie@lafirstumc.org. Once you are signed up to be one of the 6 volunteers for a given week, Debbie will send out an email the Friday or Saturday before your volunteer shift to confirm your participation.
Forming an Young Adult Group at LA First UMC
The LA First UMC Admin office has sent out questions asking several of our young adult members their vision the formation of a Young Adult Group within our community. If you have not received an email questionnaire and would like to join the group have some input for activities, email office@lafirstumc.org.
West District United Women in Faith Christmas Celebration - December 10 at 2 pm
LA First UMC United Women in Faith Christmas Meal at El Cholo!
Our UWF are hosting their annual holiday celebration on Sunday Dec 11th after church at El Cholo across the street.
All are welcome, but space is limited. Email Sara Munshin to reserve your spot!
CELEBRATING THE MINISTRY OF BISHOP GRANT HAGIYA
Sunday, November 20, 2022, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM California
Zoom Online Platform. Click here to register: https://calpacumc.formstack.com/forms/celebratebishop2022
On Sunday evening, November 20, beginning at 6 pm, the California Districts will host a celebration to recognize the ministry of Bishop Grant Hagiya, including gathering a Love Offering for the Bishop Hagiya Leadership Fund.
Each California District will share musical celebrations and stories of gratitude for his ministry. Bishop Grant will offer a few words of reflection, and we’ll send him forth from the Annual Conference in prayer and love.
Love Offering: Each District has set a goal to raise $5000 to support the Bishop Hagiya Leadership Fund established by the Cal-Pac Foundation. The funds will support initiatives and projects for clergy and laity as they innovate and learn new understandings of discipleship and leadership. To reach the West District goal, this means about $60/local church. Make checks payable to: Cal Pac Methodist Foundation, Attn: Hagiya Leadership Fund and mail to: CalPac Methodist Foundation, P.O. Box 2590 Pasadena, CA 91102.
Click here to register for this wonderful hour. Zoom information will be included in your confirmation email. You will also receive a reminder email on the day prior to the event.
For more information about this event, contact Jan Newton in the North District Office at northdistrict@calpacumc.org.
Congratulations to the newest Bishops in the Western Jurisdiction!
Bishop Carlo Rapanut, formerly the assistant to the bishop in the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area, is the first Filipino American bishop in The United Methodist Church, and the first U.S. bishop who was ordained in a central conference — a United Methodist region outside the U.S. Bishop Rapanut has been assigned to serve in the Desert Southwest Annual Conference.
“I stand here today on the shoulders of Filipinos all across the globe,” Rapanut said in his first remarks after being elected. “I stand on the shoulders of those who had a vision that even, maybe, a Filipino can be bishop in the United States. I honor them today. I honor that vision today.”
Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth, formerly the director of innovation and communication in the California-Pacific Conference, is the first openly gay African-American man to be elected a bishop in The United Methodist Church. Bishop Bridgeforth has been assigned to serve in the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area.
“It is the church where I found purpose — even when it felt like it was chewing me up and spitting me out,” Bridgeforth said, with his husband, Christopher Huck-Ortiz, standing next to him.
Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank, formerly the senior pastor of Paradise Valley United Methodist Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona, is the jurisdiction’s third Hispanic bishop. Bishop Escobedo-Frank has been assigned to serve in the California-Pacific Annual Conference.
In her election remarks, Escobedo-Frank acknowledged her rich family history and how it calls her to ministry. Her great-grandfather on her mother’s side was a Methodist circuit rider. Her grandmother crossed the Rio Grande while in labor with her father to find religious freedom.
“I have deep roots in the Methodist tradition and I have deep connection to the Latinos of our country and of the world,” she said. “Today it feels like they’re being married somehow, two parts of me again.”
Bishop Karen Oliveto remains in the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area. Bishop Minerva Carcaño, while under suspension, remains in the California-Nevada Annual Conference.
COMMUNITY RESOURCES:
Registration is no longer required for the monkey pox vaccinations now available for eligible residents.
For information and updates on monkeypox, visit ph.lacounty.gov/monkeypox
90th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade
The parade will be presented by Associated Television International and the City of Los Angeles in the streets of Hollywood, CA on Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. GRAND MARSHALL- Danny Trejo
COVID Testing:
You can get your digital vaccination record: myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov
healthvana.com or carbonhealth.com
LA City is now offering free testing, without appointments at City-run sites. Find a site near you: Coronavirus.LACity.org/Testing. For additional COVID-19 resources: Coronavirus.LACity.org/Resources
Vaccines:
In case you missed it: Pfizer's #COVID19 vaccine is approved for kids 5-11!! Children may now get vaccinated at select, walk-up clinics county-wide. Please call ahead to check availability. Visit vaccinatelacounty.com for info or talk to your child’s doctor
All COVID-19 vaccines are now approved for boosters - Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. People may also receive booster doses that are different than their original vaccine. For more info and to make an appointment, visit bit.ly/3m3Uspo--
CVS is already prepared to administer boosters. You can make an appointment for the booster of your choice at https://www.cvs.com/vaccine/intake/store/covid-screener/covid-qns
Vaccine requirements are in effect, LA County is providing mobile vaccinations, testing vendors, as well as a toolkit for owners of bars and businesses that serve alcohol, as well as for those running mega events. For more info visit, ph.lacounty.gov/coronavirus
California residents can now request in-home vaccinations and/or transit assistance to get vaccinated by registering at MyTurn.ca.gov or by calling the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) COVID-19 Call Center at 1-833-422-4255.
Everyone 12 years and older in LA County is now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Children 12-17 are only eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine—to find a location near you, visit bit.ly/PfizerSites. Learn more about the vaccines at vaccinatelacounty.com.
Need a ride? Uber and Lyft are providing free rides to and from vaccination sites. Don't have the apps? Call 833-540-0473 to book your ride.
There are several vaccine sites set up by Carbon Health that you can check: https://carbonhealth.com/
LA County: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/vaccine/index.htm
Orange County residents and workers: Register for a vaccination appointment at https://othena.com
2022 Charge Conference Video - How are we working to end physical and spiritual hunger?
CALL TO PRAYER: Dwell - El Dorado
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.
Scripture: Psalm 136:1-9, NRSV
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who spread out the earth on the waters,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
One: This is the Word of God for us, the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God!
Sermon: Why We Should Be Thankful - Olusheyi Banjo, Preaching
(Congratulations to Olu on becoming our newest Certified Candidate for Ministry!)
The Lord’s Prayer
Our 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.
CLOSING SONG: One Thing Remains - El Dorado
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.
LA FIRST UMC LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - authored by Tom Grode, affirmed by LA First UMC’s Church Council on July 13, 2021
We Acknowledge the Tongva people as original caretakers of this land and their ancient village Yaangna, what we call Downtown Los Angeles.
We Acknowledge the many Native Americans who moved Downtown to Bunker Hill due to the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 as “the 'old' Bunker Hill was effectively scalped by urban renewal in the 1960’s.”
We Acknowledge the work of Skid Row Housing Justice activists in the 1960's and 70's to keep the low income hotel housing in Skid Row from suffering the Urban Renewal fate of Bunker Hill.
We Acknowledge the Native Indigenous peoples of Los Angeles, their special relationship to Mother Earth, and their hospitality, inviting us into that special relationship.
We Acknowledge the patience, kindness, and compassion of Mother Earth.
We Acknowledge our beginnings as a church in 1853 when Methodist leader Adam Bland was sent to evangelize the "rowdy and incorrigible” Southland.
We Acknowledge our relationship with Biddy Mason, one of the Matriarchs of early Los Angeles, and a member of Fort Street Methodist Episcopal Church (the first name our church bore) before she began First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) out of her home, one of the spiritual pillars in Los Angeles for many decades.
We Acknowledge Biddy Mason as the Patron Saint of Downtown Los Angeles, an enslaved woman who fought for the freedom of all who were enslaved. She utilized her training as a midwife to buy land and used her wealth to help others in need.
We Acknowledge the words of Jesus "to whom much is given much is required" as a blessing for us to live out: the legacy and reality of owning the largest piece of undeveloped property in South Park.
Welcome to Tongvaland, Pamela J. Peters
We Acknowledge the land of Downtown Los Angeles - more than a dozen unique and dynamic neighborhoods - as land the eyes of the world look towards for leadership and solutions to the challenges facing all humanity.
We Acknowledge the mission of the United Methodist Church as founded by John Wesley: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.