Fourth Sunday of November

Sunday, November 27  Worship in Action

 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  Colossians 3:17
An invitation to live externally focused. Contact:  reneen@upc.org for information.

Seattle Marathon Water Station| 6:40 am| near King Station
If you are looking for an early start to your day and have wanted a support the Seattle Marathon, join some of us at the water station at Fifth Avenue & South King Street.  6:40 AM (yes, I did say early start!). We still need a few more folks.   

Breakfast at Mary’s Place Guest Rooms l9 am | 2213 8th Ave, 98121
We have been invited once again to serve breakfast at the newly opened Mary's Place Guest Rooms located on 8th Ave just south of Denny. 2213 8th Ave, 98121.  Join with us to welcome new families to our neighborhood.  If you can join us, please arrive between 8:45  and 9:00 a.m for set-up and serving.  Children welcome.  We also need a few more hands to help cook at 7 a.m. at 415 Westlake.  

Hymn Sing at Skyline Retirement l 10:15 am |725 9th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
This project is perfect for families as it is kid and adult friendly! Meet in the lobby at the NE corner of the building. We will sing hymns and visit with  elderly residents.

Seattle Cancer Care Brunch Team l 10 am | 207 Pontius Ave N
Instead of meeting at 415 Westlake go directly to 207 Pontius Ave N, 2nd floor dining room. Serve food and engage in conversations with residents staying here for treatment.  This is a vital ministry of presence. 

DESC Gift Baskets l all ages l 10 am |415 Westlake – we will put together baskets of useful and fun items for the Downtown Emergency Service Center that serves 2500 vulnerable men and women.  Imagine receiving a new laundry basket with kitchen tools, laundry supplies, snacks and fun leisure items!  We will have supplies for 24 baskets, if you love putting gifts together, this service opportunity is for you.

Card making l all ages l 10 am| 415 Westlake --  help create festive cards to accompany the gift baskets and to also give to teachers and staff at Lowell Elementary School.

Help for the Hungry l all ages l 10 am | 415 Westlake
Pack sack lunches for the Immanuel Community Services Hygiene Center.  The ICS Hygiene Center, located in the gymnasium of Immanuel Lutheran Church, provides the opportunity for homeless men and women to wash their clothes, take a shower, and spend the morning in a warm, safe, and clean environment. The Center is open weekdays from 8:00 am to noon. 
  
Bulk Food| 10 am | 415 Westlake
On these dark and shortened days, what a difference a cup of coffee can make!  This month we are supporting our local food bank by providing and re-packaging coffee for those who will come to Immanuel Food bank this month.  

New to Union|  10 am | 415 Westlake
Meet with James B to learn more about Union Church’s vision and mission to live externally focused, inwardly alive and eternally connected as followers of Jesus in our world. 

A prayer of confession & a word of assurance based on Luke 3 from Stephanie Templin Ashford.

When we were talking about confession, my husband joked: I did it in the library with the candlestick.

We both had a good laugh and while I wanted to brush off the notion that worship is like a game of clue, my mind couldn’t stop hearing the truth in these words.

Because when I spent some time in Luke 3 looking at today’s scripture passage I heard those familiar words of John the Baptist who calls to the people “prepare a way in the wilderness!” as he quotes from the Book of Isaiah:

Every valley shall be filled in
Every mountain and hill made low
Crooked roads will be made straight
And the rough places will be made smooth

And I found myself standing with one theater spotlight on my heart and I was saying, I confess..  I did it.

Will you enter a time of confession with me?

Powerful, powerful, powerful God… hear our confessions. It can be a difficult thing to come before you and admit the moments in our lives that do not live out your gospel vision.  It can be embarrassing to shine light into those dark corners because there, all that we have been hiding is suddenly in plain view. 

It is sometimes too challenging to completely tear out the playbook page that says “this is how I think things should be,” and replace it with the pages of truth that you have provided for us.

You know what really happened.  You saw where I was. You heard what I said. You know the weapons I used. 

I was in the restaurant with the women and I let my eyes fall to judgment of another person’s clothes, another person’s shoes, another person’s body…. instead of finding beauty, I found comparison and distance. I was in the kitchen with dishes allowing my heart to fill with bitterness, wallowing that I was alone in the chores, instead of asking for help or finding gratitude in a warm home with a table to set.  

I was on the couch with my phone, more eager to spend time on Facebook instead of engaging in the beautiful play of the children in front of me.  

But most of all, greatest of all, deepest of all, I was at the dining room table, reading the bible, focused on the quote from Isaiah and doubting. I was reading the Bible and doubting.

Powerful, powerful, powerful God, 

When you say that the valleys will be filled, I see people in the valley, drowning in sadness and pain and instead of believing you will fill the gaping holes, I find myself in disbelief that those hollow places can ever be full.

When you say that mountains will be made low, I stare at the towers of wealth, the height  of greed and I am filled with anger that you haven’t brought down the empire to its knees.

When you say that the crooked roads will be made straight, I stand at the fork in the road and I don’t really believe that you can make a clear path through this mess.

And those rough places…  you say you will make them smooth. But the seas are so rough that many are sick.  The splinters that are piercing so many… how can it be made smooth enough so everyone is safe?

In fact, I’d like to be able to say that I stand against it all, but mostly I sit, watching all of the ways that I feel you haven’t made these promises come true and I confess that I have done too little to be part of your prophetic plan.  I confess that I have been in the supermarket, in the school yard, on the street corner and I have passively shrugged off your call for justice with the safe statements that you’ve got it all in your control, which really translates to: ”I can now rationalize why I don’t have to change anything in my life.” 

Help  me, O God.  Help us, O God. Help us to see and hear the call to prepare a way in the wilderness with new ears.  Because, I confess right now I’m doing a better job preparing for a large meal and a football game than I am preparing for your kingdom to come on earth.  

And so.. this week, this day, raze the empire of my heart. Bring it to the earth and cut the height of my indignant pride to its knees and help me to confess again and again in the moment… help  me to name where I am, claim what I’ve done (or left undone) and to repent… so that you can make a new place in me and in us.    Amen!

Assurance of Pardon                                                                                                                   John the Baptist says all of this…names all of these challenges, all of these mandates and he says it is all for the forgiveness of sins.  All so that the people will see God’s salvation.  Even in our doubt and our shortcomings, God’s promises are true. God’s grace and forgiveness are for each one of you, redemption and new life push through the darkness and bring a new day of peace and of freedom for us and for humanity.  Praise God!

Prayers of the People on November 13, 2016

Walter Brueggemann (b. 1933)

Post-Election Day

You creator God
     who has ordered us
       in families and communities,
       in clans and tribes,
       in states and nations.

You creator God
     who enacts your governance
       in ways overt and
       in ways hidden.
     You exercise your will for
       peace and for justice and for freedom.

We give you thanks for the peaceable order of
   our nation and for the chance of choosing—
     all the manipulative money notwithstanding.

We pray now for new governance
   that your will and purpose may prevail,
   that our leaders may have a sense
     of justice and goodness,
   that we as citizens may care about the
     public face of your purpose.

We pray in the name of Jesus who was executed
   by the authorities

A Day to Reflect & Pray

The day after the election

My dear friend, Sandra Fisher, sent this scripture that has helped me ask, “who do I want to be today?” I want to be a person who cares for the vulnerable, the suffering, the maligned, the marginalized.  To be a blessing. To seek equality.  To be attentive.

I give thanks for you, my friends. Let us love with the love of Christ together. 

I Peter 3:8-18 – Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

Whoever wants to embrace life
    and see the day fill up with good,
Here’s what you do:
    Say nothing evil or hurtful;
Snub evil and cultivate good;
    run after peace for all you’re worth.
God looks on all this with approval,
    listening and responding well to what he’s asked;
But he turns his back
    on those who do evil things.

13-18 If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.

Renée

What Do You See?

WHAT DO YOU SEE? — LUKE 2:22-54

When Simeon and Anna, who had waited a long time for God to rescue Israel, meet the baby Jesus in the temple, their expectations are disrupted for GOOD -- for the good of all people. They hoped that God might act for a portion of people but instead discovered their God is a God for all people. In a tumultuous time, Simeon is attentive to the Spirit, "My eyes have seen your salvation." We live in a time that is disturbing for many people. Where is God desiring to disrupt our view of how God, our Savior, is engaged in our world? When you look at Jesus, what do you see?  May we see beyond this election, our Jesus who is the true Lord of justice and truth.

Rooted

"Reach out and experience the depth of God's love, test its length!" Eph 3.

Women from Union Church stepped outside of the ordinary days to retreat this weekend (October 21-23). We shared three amazing days of prayer, yoga, nature, friendship and an exploration of how we are rooted in the love of God.   

"I do not understand the mystery of grace-- only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us."  Anne Lamont

For information about future retreats contact stephanietemplin@lizardland.net