Call to Worship - Those of you joining us from home are invited to light a candle to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit
Isaiah 61 - Matt Maher - El Dorado
Where Do I Go? - Ellie Holcolmb - El Dorado
Welcome - Stephen Folds
Blessed Assurance - Fanny Crosby- 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.
Class resumes this week with Chapter 14 (Psalms)
Ways to Donate to Support our Breakfast Ministry:
VENMO: https://account.venmo.com/u/LAFirstUMC1
PAYPAL: https://paypal.me/LAFirstUMC
SQUARE:https://checkout.square.site/pay/be673aef7fcb424e98387016d184e57d
For more information: https://abc7.com/homeless-food-breakfast-church/14125358/
No matter your heritage, culture, or racial background, Black history is EVERYONE’s story. Here are 29 ways you, your family, and your congregation can celebrate and participate in Black History Month. - The UMC General Commission on Religion and Race
Patronize a local or online Black-owned business.
Attend church, Bible study, or worship at a historically Black church and experience the Gospel from another vantage point.
Sing hymns or songs during worship by a composer from the African diaspora. Include the history of the song or hymn in the church bulletin or on your website.
Attend or co-host a Black history or Black culture event in your community, in partnership with a Black congregation.
Take a church family field trip to a Black history site or museum in your area.
Learn more about “Black Harry” Hosier (c. 1750-1806), an African-American Methodist preacher and evangelist.
Research other Black United Methodist leaders from our church’s heritage.
Fearlessly learn more about how racism has and still affects Black people around the world and start confronting racism.
Donate to a Black nonprofit or empowerment organization in your community.
Watch a film by and about the heritage and lives of Black people. Titles to consider: “Antwone Fisher,” “Malcolm X,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Hidden Figures,” “The Hate U Give,” and “One Night in Miami.”
Watch and discuss documentaries about the Civil Rights movement and other series on the challenges and triumphs of Black people. Suggestions: “Eyes on the Prize,” and Henry Louis Gates’ recent series, “The Black Church: This Is Our Story. This Is Our Song.”
Visit a landmark about the lives of local Black heroes in your area.
Read a contemporary book by a Black author.
Read a story featuring a Black hero to your children, grandchildren, or to a local school class.
Seek out and talk with a Black elder (75 or older) about their experience in your community.
Study one of the 54 nations on the continent of Africa, including the language, culture, current events.
Donate to one of the 12 United Methodist-related historically Black colleges and universities in the United States and Zimbabwe.
Learn about an unsung hero of Black history.
Attend shows featuring local Black artists, actors, poets, local musicians, or dancers.
Explore the breadth of Black music, from jazz to hip-hop, and gospel to southern African folk songs.
Call out racism and prejudice aimed at Black people and other People of Color in your church and community.
Learn about “colorism” and how it plays out in our society.
Learn more about the Black UMC caucus, Black Methodists for Church Renewal.
Subscribe to and learn from Black media and the Black press.
Engage in positive, supportive conversations about Black history and culture on social media.
Learn the lyrics to “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”.
Read Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” The letter can be found here: Letter from Birmingham Jail (csuchico.edu)
Read a biography of an influential Black figure, such as Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, Shirley Chisolm, Kobe Bryant, Michelle Obama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Justice Thurgood Marshall, the Rev. Joseph Lowery.
Register and vote.
Rev. Dr. Denyse Barnes, Director of Justice and Compassion Essential Ministry Team
Our call as followers of Jesus has always been to love others, to take care of the stranger in our midst and the alien in our land. Following the inauguration of a new President and administration this week, a number of executive orders aimed at removing undocumented migrants have been signed and are being put into action. You can read more about these here.
The immigration strategy group leadership team met this week and will be meeting with the full group next week to further discuss, inform, and strategize. This is a volatile, fast-moving, and quickly evolving situation, and we will be updating ways in which you can help and respond. We have a network of churches from our border to LA who work together in keeping people safe, transporting them where they need to go, and sharing resources and information.
One of the things our group is so good at is understanding the intersectionality of all those who are in this situation currently and paying particular attention to those who are afraid for more than one reason because of who they are. We are also working with CLUE, LA Voice, and the UMC RRT teams to gather information and know ways in which we are able to best respond.
Sanctuary churches are no longer a tool we can employ due to the executive order giving ICE permission to enter schools, religious buildings, and other places traditionally considered ones of sanctuary. If, however, you are interested in taking part in this work in other ways, some of them are listed below. Please reach out to Rev. Denyse dbarnes@calpacumc.org if you would like to add your church or missions group to the list of those taking part in this work.
Here are some things you can do right now:
Watch the video from the training session we had with Alba Jaramillo from the Immigration Law and Justice Network.
Print out and make available these Know your right cards in whatever languages are relevant to your context. Link to know your rights cards.
Host a “Know Your Rights” training session at your church or mission area.
Host a “Safety Packet” session at your church or mission area.
Research and make note of the RRT phone numbers in your area here.
Switch to a safe and encrypted messaging app such as Signal.
Watch our page for updates.
Additional Reading:
College of Bishops: Pastoral letter addressing plight of migrants, immigrants and refugees
Facilitation Guide for Congregational Conversations about Risk Discernment(Unitarian Universalists)
After Day One: A High-Level Analysis of Trump’s First Executive Actions(American Immigration Council)
A Guide to Supporting Migrants and Immigrants Globally (Church and Society)
Preparing for Trump in 2025: What to Expect and Know Your Rights(Immigration Law & Justice Network) (Spanish version)
Know Your Rights:
You have constitutional rights:
• DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR if an immigration agent is knocking on the door.
• DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS from an immigration agent if they try to talk to you. You have the right to remain silent.
• DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING without first speaking to a lawyer. You have the right to speak with a lawyer.
• If you are outside of your home, ask the agent if you are free to leave and if they say yes, leave calmly.
• GIVE THIS CARD TO THE AGENT. If you are inside of your home, show the card through the window or slide it under the door.
I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution.
I do not give you permission to enter my home based on my 4th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution unless you have a warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it that you slide under the door.
I do not give you permission to search any of my belongings based on my 4th Amendment rights.
I choose to exercise my constitutional rights.
These cards are available to citizens and noncitizens alike.
As the United States faces potential large-scale immigration policy changes, including the likely mass deportation of thousands of migrants, Global Ministries and UMCOR will prioritize protecting migrants’ rights, reaffirming a longstanding commitment to core humanitarian principles. We will intensify efforts to amplify the voices of migrants and create pathways for integration. Through comprehensive programs spanning global advocacy, church engagement, legal support and practical assistance, Global Ministries and UMCOR will continue to provide hope and support to those most vulnerable in their journey to safety and opportunity.
There are several ways that individuals, pastors and local churches can get involved in ministry with migrants and refugees:
Pray for the protection and well-being of migrants, for bold leadership and for positive action on the part of individuals, churches and communities.
Volunteer with local organizations in your community. Contact Church World Service, Immigration Law and Justice Network or similar organizations to see how you can assist the affiliate nearest you.
Implement a Mustard Seed Migration Grant project to assist migrants in your own community. Applications for grants of $2,000 will be accepted up to December 13, 2024. Learn more and apply here.
Contact your elected officials to let them know that you welcome migrants. You can sign up for Church World Service Action Alerts to learn how to become involved in advocacy efforts that support migrant rights.
Donate to the Global Migration Advance (#3022144) to support programming that aids migrants and refugees. Give here.
MONETARY DONATIONS:
We've set up a special fund - the Los Angeles Fires Recovery Fund - where you can contribute directly towards relief and recovery from the effects of the winds and firestorms this week. www.calpacumc.org/donate
Check donations payable to the California-Pacific Conference can be mailed to California-Pacific Conference, Los Angeles Fires Recovery Fund, PO Box 6006, Pasadena CA 91102.
If you'd like to include a QR code to donate in your worship bulletins or slides this weekend, you can download that at this link.
TARGET GIFT CARDS
We are collecting gift cards to Target for clothing and other immediate needs items. Please send gift cards of any denomination to the conference office for distribution:
Denyse Barnes
c/o California-Pacific Annual Conference
PO Box 6006
Pasadena, CA 91102-6006
WILDFIRES RESOURCE HUB NEXT WEEK:
Meet with national, state, and local community based organizations collaborating to provide crucial resources and information to those impacted by the 2025 LA Wildfires.
DISTRICT SUPPORT CONTACTS
If you or your church needs support or would like to offer help, please reach out to a designated contact from your district below for coordination:
WEST: Rev. Allison Mark, communications@faithsouthbay.org
NORTH: Rev. Alex Powell, info@bfumc.net, 818-845-1531
EAST: Dorman Jung, depjung9@gmail.com
CALPAC: Rev. Dr. Denyse Barnes, dbarnes@calpacumc.org
ALTADENA UMC:
The congregation of Altadena UMC is requesting gift cards to Target for clothing and other immediate needs items.
1) Altadena UMC GoFundMe Page: Goal of $16,000 ($2.300 raised so far)
2) Altadena UMC's Cash App for Tithes & Offerings: $abundantlife349
Please put in the note “AUMC Disaster Relief”
Please send gift cards of any denomination to the conference office for distribution:
Denyse Barnes
c/o California-Pacific Annual Conference
PO Box 6006
Pasadena, CA 91102-6006
Download the Watch Duty app for up-to-date information on existing and new fires.
List of resources for LA wildfire victims
CALL TO PRAYER: Great is Thy Faithfulness - Thomas Chisholm - El Dorado
Joys and Concerns: Prayers of the People We believe that the best way to bear our burdens is to share them with one another. You welcome 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.
Epistle Lesson: I Corinthians 15:1-11, NRSV, The Resurrection of Christ
Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Gospel Lesson - Luke 5:1-11, NRSV, Jesus Calls the First Disciples
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken;and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
One: This is the word of God for us, the People of God.
All: Thanks be to God!
Sermon: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain, Tom Grode, Lay Leader
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.
MUSIC: Times Like These - Foo Fighters - 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!
