Call to Worship - You are invited to light a candle in your home to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit
Great Is Thy Faithfulness - El Dorado
Welcome - Stephen Folds
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
United Methodist Resources:
Come to the Table: a Conference-Wide Bible Study
Conference-wide Bible Study begins the week of May 8, 2022. All are invited to register and participate for three consecutive weeks, via ZOOM. https://bit.ly/3jp4dwe
The California-Pacific Conference and its Disaster Response Task Force are seeking volunteers to work on restoring living quarters for refugees on the CST campus in Claremont, California. For questions, contact Judy Lewis at DFJKLewis@aol.com or 909.731.8248. https://bit.ly/3uYkj5u
A Quick Guide to Overt and Covert Racism shared by the UMC's Commision on Race and Religion
The 38th Annual Session of the California-Pacific Conference will be held over four non-consecutive days and will feature in-person and online options for participants. This is a way of creating space and opportunity for connection and safety for clergy and laity.
Legislative sections (June 7) and business sessions (June 15) will be held online via Zoom; Worship, ordination mission opportunities, and other celebrations (June 17 & 18) will be held in person in Costa Mesa, CA. All plenary and business sessions will be livestreamed.
Two informational flyers have been made available for download: Save The Date (image file), When is Annual Conference 2022 (PDF).
Registration will open April 1, 2022.
u to give input on what the church in the Western Jurisdiction should look like.
General Conference Postponed until 2024
As the pandemic continues and the wait time for visas stretches to over two years in some countries, the Commission on the General Conference announced this week that the 2020 General Conference cannot be held in 2022 due to COVID-related and governmental policies/constraints.
COMMUNITY RESOURCES:
Ways to Send Aid to the People of Ukraine🇺🇦:
Over 1 million people have fled Ukraine in search of safety and refuge. While neighboring countries are opening their borders to many, the humanitarian need is overwhelming. If you are looking for a way to support the refugees, check this non-exhaustive list for organizations who are on the front lines of assistance.
Free at-home COVID-19 tests: https://www.covidtests.gov
Every home in the U.S. can soon order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests will be completely free—there are no shipping costs and you don’t need to enter a credit card number. Ordering begins January 19: Click here to order your tests.
Sliding Scale Therapy at the Maple Center
As Ashley mentioned last week, the Maple Center is a great place to start if you want to find resources for mental health. They do therapy on an income based sliding scale, and are very respectful and caring people. https://www.maple4counseling.org/
Food Equity
1 in 10 residents struggles with food insecurity. LA County has convened the Food Equity Roundtable to address systemic inequities in our food system. Govt, philanthropy & nonprofit leaders will soon issue a blueprint for change. Have ideas? Email lafoodequityroundtable@gmail.com
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
CALL TO PRAYER: Home - 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.
TESTIMONY: Olusheyi Banjo
Scripture: Acts 9: 36-43, NRSV
Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
One: This is the Word of God for us, the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God!
Sermon: Get Up! - Rev. Mandy McDow
BLESSING OF OUR INDIVIDUAL CREATION
Fathering God, you have searched us and known us. You know when we lie down and when we rise up; you discern our thoughts from far away.
Mothering God, it was you who formed our inward parts, you who knit us together in our mother’s womb. We praise you, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
Holy Son, you have come into the world as the Word made flesh and dwelling among us, as a constant and abiding reminder that God is always with us, even to the ends of the earth. You are the light that has shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Creating Spirit: Where can we go that you are not with us? If we ascend to heaven, you are there. If we make our bed in the depths, you are there. If we perceive the darkness overwhelming us, we know that even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. You hem us in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon us. When we come to the end, you are still with us.
Let us pray:
Loving God, in your wisdom you have created us and given us many gifts. Today, we thank you for all that we mean to each other and to our friends and families. We thank you for the love that has brought us to this time and place, and for your love which abides to tie us all together. Where you are, O God, there is love. Amen.
BLESSING OF OUR RELATIONSHIPS
God, in your wisdom and love, you have created us and called us good. You have created us in your image, and blessed us as men and women. Today we celebrate the joy that we have found in relationship with one another. As you have created us and called us good, so have you said that it is not good that we should be alone, so you have given us helpers as partners. You have given us choice in who we build our relationships with, and we are able to say to one another, as Ruth said to Naomi:
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
Let us pray:
God, your strength is sufficient for us all. We have committed ourselves one to the other in your presence, so we pray that you will continue to be with us in the unfolding of our future. Give us strength and courage in times of difficulty, wisdom and love in times of opportunity and challenge, and the sharing of joy in times of happiness and success. May we continue to grow in your love; through the power of Jesus Christ. Amen.
BLESSING OF OUR FRIENDSHIPS AND FAMILIES OF CHOICE
Incarnate Christ: You have modelled to us what it is to be in relationship with one another. You have broken bread with the weary, comforted the lonely, healed the sick, and wept with friends. We see in your witness what it means to love one another as God has loved us. We thank you for calling us friends, because you have made known to us everything that you have heard from our Father in heaven. Thank you for sharing in relationship with us as equals, and help us to continue to love our friends as you have loved us. Bless us as we form relationships with one another that, as we speak, our souls will be bound up in one another, so that we may love our friends as our own souls, just as Jonathan loved David.
Let us Pray:
God of friends and families, we are linked together in a community of friendship and support. We pray for one another. We remember those who cannot be with us today. May we all continue to share in your gifts of love, strength, courage and wisdom, and to know your joy. Give us growing understanding, sympathy with each other's difficulties, patience with each other's faults, and grace to walk in your ways. Amen.
BLESSING FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
Creator Spirit: You have worked in us to make us open to loving one another in selfless and life-giving ways. For some of us this means the responsibility and joy of raising children. For these lives, which have touched us and blessed us, we thank you. Today we bring to you our children in order that they may be blessed as Christ blessed the children of his day saying, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” And he took them up in his arms and blessed them. Help us to bless them as they have blessed us.
Let us pray:
Loving God: We come today carrying children and youth in our hearts – the children we brought into this world, the children we parent, our grandchildren, nieces, nephews, Godchildren, mentees, the children we care for in our work, and the children we speak out for in our witness. Lord, help us not to be so preoccupied with our purposes that we fail to hear their voices or see their special vision of truth. Keep us with them, ready to listen and to love even as you have loved us, your grown-up and sometimes wayward children. Amen.
THE ANOINTING
All are welcome to come forward to be anointed individually. If you like, you may come as an individual, or with your spouse or partner, children, or with friends and family of choice. All are welcomed. All are loved.
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 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.
ALL: 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, we renew our covenant faithfully to participate in the ministries of the church by our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness, that in everything, God may be glorified.
MUSIC DURING OFFERING AND COMMUNION: Blest Be the Tie That Binds - 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.
