worship format and original content: Rev. Kathryn M. Schreiber (c) 2021

BCCC Community Announcements

• Live in-person service this Sunday July 25^th at 11am. Please email or text prayer requests to Pastor Kathryn by Saturday evening, 8pm.

• You may bring a printed copy of this handout or use your device during worship.

• Please arrive a little early for careful seating. Inside, in the sanctuary, EVERYONE wears masks, keeps social distance, and uses hand sanitizers. Offerings may be left in the donation basket.

• You’re welcome to stay after service for outdoor socializing. Some folks bring a lunch to eat with friends on the patio.

• If you cannot attend, please use this handout as a personal devotion. We will post a video of the scripture reading and sermon on our Facebook page after live Sundays.

• We’ll be on ZOOM August 1^st and 8^th, 2pm. Next in-person service will be August 15^th.

We Gather

“We will be laying down blessings… a ceremonial way of bringing Salmon home, who have historically been the keepers of the water, and whose jobs are essential to keeping our waterways healthy for human life and for all other life that depends on these rivers.” –Run4Salmon, 2021

Prelude (live or recorded music)

Welcome (pastor)

Invocation (liturgist) This invocation is inspired by St John of Patmos’ vision of the City of God.

In the City of God there is a crystal-clear waterway, the Water of Life River. It sustains the life of all beings. The Tree of Life spans this holy river. It bears different fruit each month and its leaves manifest what is needed to heal each nation.

In the City of God there are no polarizations – No US and THEM. No NIGHT and DAY. Rather, everyone is illuminated with God’s eternal light. Imagine that – a reality filled with luminous beings, healthy and healed, reigning together… eternally? Amen.

Lighting the Christ Candle (liturgist)

Welcoming Those Not Present (lighting votives on altar)

Passing the Peace Please remain in place, turning to one another offering joyful gestures and soft-spoken words of peace: “Peace be with You.”

We Rest in God’s Grace

Music (live or recorded music)

Prayer and Silence Let us shift into silence in God’s presence. This simple prayer, based on Psalm 46:10.

Be still and know that I am God. (breathe slowly)

Be still and know that I am. (breathe slowly)

Be still and know. (breathe slowly) 

Be still. (breathe slowly)

Be. (breathe slowly)

(breathe in silence) Amen.

Words of Assurance (pastor)

No matter what engages our hearts or minds, bodies or souls; no matter the climate of our social or political, natural or created worlds; always, always, we are called to meditate upon the City of God. God’s Dream for all beings.

God continually invites us to harbor a vision of us being whole and holy together. The grace to encounter even a moment of this ultimate reality is offered to all. The Author of Life extends this vision to all peoples, all nations, all beings, all the time. May we dwell in the possibility of God’s Dream.

We Listen

Scripture: Book of Revelations: 22:1-5 (NRSV, slightly adapted) Today’s reading comes from the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelations. These writings recount the visions given to St. John of Patmos. This passage, the last vision in the last chapter, includes this powerful description of the River of Life.

Then the angel showed me the River of the Water of Life, bright as crystal, flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street in the City of God. On either side of the river is the Tree of Life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 

Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. But the Throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and God’s servants will worship God; they will see the divine face, and the Holy One’s name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever.

May God add a blessing to the reading and reflecting upon God’s Holy Word. Amen.

Sermon “For the Healing: Run4Salmon” Pastor Kathryn will introduce us to a local indigenous-led effort to restore, heal, and encourage life abundantly in Northern California. Sermon video will post on our Facebook page. (see Worship Resources to learn more about the Run4Salmon)

Music (live or recorded music)

We Pray

Pastoral Prayer

Sometimes we forget, Holy One, that we are originally and essentially linked to each other. All life, throughout the cosmos, is interconnected. This is Your handiwork forever weaving us together. We pray, O Creator of All, that these stories may deepen our relationships with all our relations, all our siblings, all living beings. Help us to awaken to Your Dream, O God. Amen.

Prayers of the People, Private Prayer, The Lord’s Prayer

We Give

Offering of Praise “Doxology” (live music or acapella; seated) Let us collectively offer praise to God by silently or softly singing. Please use the donation basket or mail your donations to the church or directly to Treasurer Diane Huie.

We Continue in Hope

Announcements

Musical Benediction “Water So Deep, Water So Wide” Created and performed by Jesi Naomi, Desirae Harp, Cole Oak, and Mikilani Young. Laying prayers on Winnemem Wintu Lands for the Mountains, Waters, Salmon. August 2019. Shared with permission and blessing.

Postlude (live or recorded music)

(the service is concluded)

Music Suggestions based on scripture:

“Shall We Gather at the River” Words and Music: Robert Lowry, 1864. Performance by Bill & Gloria Gaither, featuring Buddy Greene. (C) 2012 Spring House Music Group. (4:18 min) https://youtu.be/El7QNtXqavo

“Bring Forth the Kingdom” Words and Music: Marty Haugen, 1986. Performance by Dama. (3:18 min) https://youtu.be/iKBFSW_et3w

Worship Resources:

(NRSV) New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text formatted, adapted by Kathryn M. Schreiber, 2021.

(kms) All content prepared and written by Rev. Kathryn M Schreiber, unless attributed to another source.

Run4Salmon Resources:

Regular postings, updated throughout the journey:

FB: run4salmon

IG: run4salmon

Website: http://run4salmon.org/

COPYRIGHT NOTE: Copyright laws changed in early 2021. Please check with your denominational legal counsel as to the appropriate use of licensed materials, especially print and recorded music when sharing content publicly. Please observe ethical use of resources and follow the publishing requirements of any broadcasting or publishing platforms you use. Thank you.

Online Image: Chief Caleen Sisk of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, posted on Run4Salmon FB page January 21, 2020

Online Publishing Date: July 21, 2021

Permission: Permission is not granted to share or distribute this resource beyond your community without additional permission from the author. Please observe ethical use of resources and follow your platforms publishing requirements for all created content.

Donation for Use of Content: Due to the current coronavirus pandemic this content is offered free. If you’d like to support the congregation I serve as pastor – Berkeley Chinese Community Church – we’d be most grateful for your support. Please send checks to: BCCC UCC, 2117 Acton Street, Berkeley, CA 94702, Attn: Diane Huie, Treasurer. Thank you!

Living Liturgies: www.inthebiglove.com; Facebook: “Living Liturgies”; YouTube: “Kathryn Schreiber”

(This is an adaptation of Rev. Kathryn Schreiber’s weekly email message to her congregation, Berkeley Chinese Community Church, UCC. Published July 16, 2021)  

Hello Dear Ones,

I hope you and yours are staying strong and enjoying fun summertime activities. One of the summertime activities many UCC folks do every other year is attend General Synod. UCC members from across the USA gather to worship and build relationships, to learn together and make decisions. We do so by listening to the Still Speaking God… together.

Usually, we really are physically together. This year, we’re in our own homes connecting through digital devices. Lots of hours of screen time using different apps, sometimes they don’t work, but we plug along. Most of the speakers and presenters I’ve heard have been filled with big “push” energy – so many words, ideas, passions! It’s wonderful… and a little overwhelming, too. I miss slowly walking from event to event, running into friends and pausing to chat or have a cup of tea.

During opening worship, a lovely new tech thing happened. Sitting in front of our private screens we were asked to “Pass the Peace” however we could. A UCC friend texted me and I texted her right back! On different coasts, a nation between us, we were immediately connected in the Peace of Christ thanks to our smart phones! Wonderful!

During in-person Synods, I always carve out a few quiet breaks to reflect, to ponder the Big Picture. Recently, I had a chance to do a little of that.

These past 16-months have asked so much of all our faith communities. We who thrive on coming together once or twice a week to worship God, fellowship, and engage in service were stilled and separated; but we adapted, and adapted, and adapted, and we have done the best we could. We who believe in God’s beautiful dream for all people have been wounded and shocked by successive waves of violence and hatred. Sometimes, we or our loved ones have been targeted or wounded. We are resilient, but we have been rocked to our cores. We who know well the dance of life, death, and life eternal have been heavily leaning on our faith. God has not failed us, but the loss of ritual and community has left us lonely and weary from successive losses.

I’m convinced we should not be okay, not yet. The COVID-19 virus is still a globally disruptive and deadly pandemic, as are the related breaches in our social fabric. Praise God, our congregation and extended communities have fared much better than most, but we, too, have not made it this far without struggles or suffering.

As we slowly increase our in-person worship services and activities we face new challenges. We need to develop support for our evolving physical ministry. Our digital ministry needs attention, too.

Since March 2020, we’ve been critically dependent upon digital communications and online technologies. Unfortunately, our equipment and skills haven’t kept pace – true for most churches. Every pastor I’ve talked with is equally excited about new uses of media and daunted by the help and technology we need to do so.

This pandemic time put a halt to what we were doing. As we restart, we’re called to deeply reflect on our ministries. How are we going to evolve as Christ’s Church now? A lay leader said this week, “We’re building the plane while we’re flying it.” This isn’t easy, is it?

Recently, Jenny Smith wrote about a “second marathon.” She was writing to pastors, but I believe this will speak to you, too:

Our bodies are still recovering from the first marathon.

Maybe the answer is to stop running the second race.

What if we looked at each other and gently nodded.

Slowed our forced jog.

And started walking.

Together.

What if we walked our second marathon?

Side by side. No racing. No competing with anything or anyone.

Resting when it’s time to rest.

Saying yes to a new idea when it glistens with possibility.

Saying no when something feels too heavy.

Asking new questions in places we assumed the old answer.

Giving others permission to rest because we choose rest.

Questioning the speed at which we live and move.

Loving our people with beautiful boundaries in place.

Taking a nap.

Going to therapy and spiritual direction because we’re humans too.

Breathing deeply of God’s grace and love and restoration.

Maybe this is how we disrupt the deeply engrained oppressive realities of our world. We choose to walk.

Together. (js)

Days before shut down began in early 2020 none of us knew we’d quickly be shifting mission focus. Our new goal became staying alive and virus-free, and supporting frontline medical and essential workers. The global public health crisis also revealed social inequalities. Old wounds and new tensions and vulnerabilities exploded. A once-in-a-century outbreak of national political upheaval shocked and shook us. Economic, workplace, educational challenges, and family dynamics impacted us, too. And climate change. Let us not forget the Western wildfires and that horrible orange night-day. Yes, we’ve all been running a marathon for over a year.

Most of our Synod speakers have passionately spoken Gospel truth to power. They remind us of the Hebrew prophets, Jesus Christ, and the change-making saints of the Church. Many bold injunctions to keep on going, keep on pushing! But do we have to immediately begin another marathon? How do we go forward faithfully?

I am sensing something internally, it might be from God, it might not be. You judge. This is what I’m hearing:

“Dear Ones, please be careful. Remember Moses and the liberated Hebrews? Do you know why it took them 40-years to make a 5-day journey? It took that long because that’s how long it took for them to change. Be gentle with yourselves and each other.

Dear Ones, you are not alone. I am with you. The sacred way forward moves at the pace of relationship.* Tend us! Tend your relationship with me, each other, and your own precious souls. We’ll get there… together. Truly, I am with you.”

We are all listening for God’s Still Speaking voice as we advance into this newest era. It isn’t easy, is it? I believe God is offering us abundant guidance. The God I know, worship, and preach speaks with hope and care, inspiration and affirmation, wisdom and kindness, encouragement to stand up to systemic injustice as we hold ourselves, and others, personally accountable with grace and mercy.

May we listen to the Still Speaking God walking… together.   

In the Big Love,

Pastor Kathryn

(js) Jenny Smith, “The Second Marathon: A Thought For Pastors On Walking the New Normal” posted 7/2/2021. https://www.jennysmithwrites.com/post/the-second-marathon-a-word-for-pastors-on-walking-the-new-normal

*I heard Rev Sandhya Jha quote Adrienne Maree Brown’s “move at the speed of trust” which became “move at the pace of relationship.”

worship format and original content: Rev. Kathryn M. Schreiber (c) 2021

Please note: Bulletins for all three Synod Worship Services are available to everyone registered for General Synod 33. Content below was inspired by General Synod events held Sunday July 11 through July 13, 2021. See Resources below for details and links.

Format Shifts

Our weekly format shifts to meet the changing needs of our congregation. Currently, we are alternating between in-person and online worship. We freely share our materials during the pandemic. If you’re sharing this content with a group, please see “Permission” and “Donation for Use of Content” comments at the end. Thank you and God Bless!

For the BCCC Community

This Sunday’s worship service will be live in-person at BCCC beginning at 11am. You may wish to bring a copy of this handout to the worship service. We’ll be back in person on 7/25, too!

We Gather

“Build Beloved Community right where you are.” –Valarie Kaur, Synod Keynoter

Prelude (live music)

Call to Worship (inspired by Valarie Kaur’s actual words and larger message)

We, the people, are called into peaceful coalitions rejecting polarizing “us” against “them” war cries.

We, the people, are called to build a world rooted in love; a revolutionary love that leaves no one behind. No one.

We, the people, lift up our gaze envisioning a society where every child is as safe as the safest child.

We, the people, give our bodies over to labors of rebirth, a sweet labor – emotional, fierce, bold, and imperfect.

We, the people, choose – again, and again, and again – to honor the original, ancient call to love deeply.

We, the people, claim our cosmic birthright to love without limit. Amen. (kms/vk)

Lighting the Christ Candle

Opening Music (live)

We Rest in God’s Grace

Let us shift into silence in God’s presence. This simple prayer, based on Psalm 46:10, has been slightly adapted by Harriet Ward of the Scared Ally Quilt Ministry.

Please repeat after me:

Breathe, be still and know that I am God. (pause)

Breathe, be still and know that I am. (pause)

Breathe, be still and know. (pause) 

Breathe, be still. (pause)

Breathe, be. (pause)

Breathe. (pause)

(breathe in silence)

Amen.

Words of Assurance

After the tragic death of George Floyd members of UCC churches in New Hampshire were filled with the Holy Spirit – inspired to make quilts based on his last words. The quilts became a testament to their rage, pain, grief, and desire to form deeper solidarity. Ten quilts were made and blessed. These words come from those blessings:

Each stitch carries the intentions of our hearts.

Breathe life into their purpose, O Lord.

Fill each quilt with life,

for if it breathes, it will speak,

that we all might be rescued by love,

and, together, heal. Amen. (saqm)

We Listen

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17 (NRSV, adapted)

Please note: As Rev Traci Blackmon noted, the word “you” in this passage is plural. For this reading we have substituted words to more accurately capture St Paul’s original message to the Living Church of Jesus Christ.

“Do we not know that we are God’s temple

and that God’s spirit dwells in us?

If anyone destroys God’s temple,

God will destroy them.

For God’s temple is holy,

and we are that temple.”

May God add a blessing to the reading and reflecting upon God’s Holy Word. Amen.

“Synod Stories: We”

Pastor Kathryn will share stories, live, at Sunday morning worship service from uplifting moments during General Synod 33. Sermon video will post on our Facebook page.

Special Music: “Let’s Do the Work” Written by Kevon Carter, arr. By Bryan Johnson, sung by members of Trinity UCC, Chicago, for the Opening Worship Special Edition General Synod. https://youtu.be/JNFEt6kKq3A (cue up: 1:18:06 to 1:22:23)

We Pray

Pastoral Prayer (inspired by Youth Reflection on July 11, 2021)

O Holy God, through our trials and challenges, through our doubts and fears, You guide us. You speak through prophets and saints. You speak through the Holy Spirit. May we be open.

St Paul, inspired by the prophet Joel, was able to proclaim, “I am resilient.” Joshua, was uplifted and empowered others, saying “Be strong, be strong and courageous, because God is with you.”

Bless us this day, O God, may we hear You saying to us: “You are resilient. You are strong. You are courageous because I am with you. I am on your side.” Amen. (yr)

Prayers of the People, The Lord’s Prayer

We Give

Offering

Please consider a special gift to the national United Church of Christ. Online, please visit https://www.ucc.org/ and click on the “Donate Now” button. You are most welcome to support your local UCC church, too! Thank you!

We Continue in Hope

Affirmation of Faith: All about the “We”

(edited quotes from the Re-nomination Speech of AGM Candidate: Rev. Traci Blackmon)

Anything the United Church of Christ has ever been able to accomplish is because of the “We.” Anything we accomplish in the future can only be possible because of the “We.” And yet, the most challenging part of church work, the most challenging part of the Gospel, and the most challenging part of following Jesus, is the “We.”

What a difference it makes in our understanding of the ministry of Jesus and the mission of the church when we discover our sacred text is not all about me, not all about you, but rather it’s all about “We.”

“Do you all know that you all are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in all of us? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy them. For God’s temple is holy, and y’all — all of you — are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

Do we not understand when we crush the spirit, the creativity, the heart of any of God’s people, we damage ourselves? We desecrate the holy, we damage the temple, because the temple, my friends, is us. All of us.”

Our public witness and voice is sought after in every area where injustice breeds. This is good work and this is holy work, but please understand we are not done, we are not well, we have not arrived. There is much work to do. And yet healing is possible in the “We.” Love is possible in the “We.” Justice is possible in the “We.” (tb)

“Great is Thy Faithfulness” Words: Thomas O Chisholm. Music: William M Runyan. 1923. Performed by the NCNC UCC Conference Choir 2020 directed by Mike Ellard. Sung in English, Japanese, Cantonese, and Tagalog. Recorded on Oct 24, 2020.

Benediction (Holy Spirit led)

(the service is concluded)

Worship Resources:

(NRSV) New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text formatted, adapted by Kathryn M. Schreiber, 2021.

(kms) All content prepared and written by Rev. Kathryn M Schreiber, unless attributed to another source.

(kms/vk) Rev Kathryn Schreiber’s poem based on quotes from Valarie Kaur’s UCC keynote on July 12, 2021. Recordings of similar speeches can be found on her website: https://valariekaur.com/

(saqm) Sacred Ally Quilts Ministry. “Stitch, Breathe, Speak” a documentary film about the project, will release later this year.

Sacred Ally Quilts visibly underscore anti-racism work in New Hampshire

(tb) Rev. Traci Blackmon’s speech/sermon (video) appears at the bottom of this article:  https://www.ucc.org/traci-blackmon-embrace-the-power-of-the-we-in-the-ucc/?fbclid=IwAR1_G_49KoXr5DmorKN0JSNjooEcfIrLQxUcRN0U-TnitOLQvAPE6rt-eWg

(yr) Youth Reflection: https://www.ucc.org/youths-invite-synod-peers-and-elders-to-be-resilient/?fbclid=IwAR273LneC59Q7Lmx2va2GNMEyR7IlnZOpbRJ4Mw3LfZKHQN4PG1rhg6jWUA

COPYRIGHT NOTE: Copyright laws changed in early 2021. Please check with your denominational legal counsel as to the appropriate use of licensed materials, especially print and recorded music when sharing content publicly. Please observe ethical use of resources and follow the publishing requirements of any broadcasting or publishing platforms you use. Thank you.

Online Image: EHS Daily Advisor, 2010

Online Publishing Date: July 14, 2021

Permission: Permission is not granted to share or distribute this resource beyond your community without additional permission from the author. Please observe ethical use of resources and follow your platforms publishing requirements for all created content.

Donation for Use of Content: Due to the current coronavirus pandemic this content is offered free. If you’d like to support the congregation I serve as pastor – Berkeley Chinese Community Church – we’d be most grateful for your support. Please send checks to: BCCC UCC, 2117 Acton Street, Berkeley, CA 94702, Attn: Diane Huie, Treasurer. Thank you!

Living Liturgies: www.inthebiglove.com; Facebook: “Living Liturgies”; YouTube: “Kathryn Schreiber”