4th Sunday after The Epiphany “It Takes Two” Luke 4:14-21

January 25, 2022January 27, 2022inthebiglove Leave a comment

NOTE: This service builds on our 3^rd Sunday after Epiphany’s content “An Acceptable Year” – last week’s post.

We Gather

“There is nothing anti-intellectual in the leap of faith, for faith in not believing without proof but trusting without reservation.” – Rev. William Sloane Coffin

Welcome and Acknowledgements (pastor)

Welcome! No matter who you are… no matter where you are on your faith journey… you are welcome! We are gathering electronically from various places, including Huichin Village, the original name given to the unceded Lisjan-Ohlone territory where we practice ministry.

Call to Hope (pastor)

How can we believe what we have not seen? How can we trust what we have not experienced? Our mortal limitations are real.

God offers divine hope – a hope that changes us, changes our world. May we offer ourselves to God for an uplifting illumination of our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.

O Redemptive Living Christ, bless us with Your presence!

Light The Christ Candle (pastor)

Welcoming Those Not Physically Present (pastor)

Passing the Peace (all) Joyful gestures and words of peace to one another.

We Rest in God’s Grace

Song: “The Gift of Love” Written by Hal B. Hopson, 1972. (Chalice Hymnal #526)

Prayer and Silence (pastor)

Let us shift into silence in God’s presence with 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.

Assurance of Grace (pastor)

With God there is no scarcity of goodness. In fact, God has an overflowing supply of wonders to deliver if we would but accept delivery. God has a very special blessing for each of us today. May we gentle our old excuses and false postures of humility to be genuinely grateful and happily receive what God most dearly wishes to bestow. Amen.

We Listen

Scripture: Luke 4:21-30 (NRSV) (pastor) Today’s reading overlaps last Sunday’s Gospel reading – we are still in Nazareth in the synagogue with Jesus and his hometown community as his ministry begins.

And Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then Jesus began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

All spoke well of Jesus and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

Jesus said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’”

And Jesus said, “Truly I tell you; no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

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

Sermon “It Takes Two” (pastor) Jesus explains that God’s activity is dependent upon our faith, a message that doesn’t go over well in his hometown.

Special Music: “Bird’s Teardrops” Written by Estas Tonne with Peia.

We Pray

Prayer Requests (all)

Pastoral Prayer (pastor)

O Generous God, in Jesus Christ we experience Your prophetic care within humanity, yet we struggle to believe this is possible. We want You to be the mighty magician who fixes us, fixes our world, without our effort. Grant us the wisdom to perceive Your call to a mutual ministry working with You and our neighbors. And, grant us, O Lord, the courage to embrace Your unbelievable, prophetic dream liberating all beings from suffering. Amen.

Prayers of the People, Private Prayer, The Lord’s Prayer (pastor)

We Give

Offering of Praise “Doxology” (all; acapella) Please mail your donations to the church or directly to Treasurer Diane Huie.

Song: “Take My Life and Let It Be” Written by Frances R Havergal, 1874. (Chalice Hymnal #608)

Benediction (pastor)

Dear Ones, we are tethered to one another by God’s design. There is enough of everything for everyone, if we trust in God. Let us go forth in peace and hope following Jesus Christ with prophetic courage! Amen.

The service is concluded.

Worship Resources:

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

Residency Acknowledgement: This content was written in Huichin Village, unceeded territory of the Lisjan- Ohlone people, where I dwell and serve as a local church pastor. Please support indigenous rematriation efforts, the #LandBack movement, and give to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust Soghttps://sogoreate-landtrust.org/ and other non-profits that reform, balance, and heal relationships with our indigenous hosts. Thank you!

Copyright Note: Copyright laws changed in December 2020 when Congress passed the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (CASE Act). Please check with your legal counsel as to the appropriate use of licensed materials, especially print and recorded music when sharing content online. Please observe ethical use of resources and follow the publishing requirements of any broadcasting or publishing platforms you use. Protect the rights of content creators. Thank you!

Online Publishing Date: January 25, 2022.

Permission: Permission is not granted to share or distribute this resource beyond your community without additional permission from the author. Please attribute source and observe ethical use of all resources. Follow your platforms’ publishing requirements for all created content especially if publishing online or broadcasting. Thank you!

Donation: 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!

For Online Content: Please see Facebook pages: “Berkeley Chinese Community Church” and “Living Liturgies”; as well as my website: www.inthebiglove.com and YouTube channel: “Kathryn Schreiber”

3rd Sunday after The Epiphany “An Acceptable Year” Luke 4:14-21

January 19, 2022January 19, 2022inthebiglove Leave a comment

BCCC Worship Schedule

Due to COVID spread, all worship services will 2pm Sundays on ZOOM

We Gather

“Stand hard for justice, reach far for beauty, walk long for peace” — Rev. Ted Loder

Welcome and Acknowledgements (pastor)

Call to Worship (pastor)

The Living Christ brings good news to the poor!

The Living Christ proclaims release to the captives!

The Living Christ speaks recovery of sight to the blind!

The Living Christ preaches the oppressed go free!

The Living Christ proclaims the Year of the Lord’s Favor.

Let us welcome God’s Acceptable Year!

Light The Christ Candle (pastor)

Welcoming Those Not Physically Present (pastor)

Passing the Peace (all) Joyful gestures and words of peace to one another.

We Rest in God’s Grace

Special Music “Elegy for the Victims of the Japanese Tsunami 2011″ written by Nobuyuki Tsujii. Offered as a tribute to the victims of the January 14, 2022 eruption on Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai, an uninhabited volcanic island of the Tongan archipelago.

Prayer and Silence (pastor)

Let us shift into silence in God’s presence with 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.

Assurance of Grace (pastor)

Sometimes, God answers our prayers in ways we never imagined. Sometimes, we can’t perceive God’s amazing faithfulness. When the Messiah appeared in the Nazarene synagogue Jesus’s hometown couldn’t believe one of their own was Christ, The Anointed One. Through the person of Jesus Christ, God’s grace was proclaimed and promise fulfilled. Let us pause, Dear Ones, to take a deep, safe breath. God really does answer our prayers. May we have the patience, wisdom, and curiosity to receive what we have already been given. Amen.

We Listen

Scripture: Luke 4:14-21 (NRSV) (pastor) Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

When Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

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

Sermon “God’s Acceptable Year” (pastor) What might God desire this coming year?

Special Music: “Here I Am, Lord” written by Dan Schutte, 1981.

We Pray

Prayer Requests (all)

Pastoral Prayer (pastor)

Beloved God, in our times of need You not only hear us, You act by inspiring us, liberating us, healing us. Your deepest desire is the wellbeing of all beings – for You love us, all of us. Most Precious One, we lift up our thanksgiving for Messiah Jesus Christ who proclaimed Your values to us in word and action. May we, also, offer ourselves to be servants of Your holy dream for us. Amen.

Prayers of the People, Private Prayer, The Lord’s Prayer (pastor)

We Give

Offering of Praise “Doxology” (all; acapella) Please mail your donations to the church or directly to Treasurer Diane Huie.

Announcements (pastor)

Song: “What Does the Lord Require of You? written by Jim Strathdee, 1986.

Benediction (pastor)

Receive the Good News – THIS is the acceptable year of the Lord! 2022/Year of the Water Tiger will be a good year for the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. Jesus Christ goes before us opening hearts and minds for the well-being of all beings. Hallelujah! Amen!

The service is concluded.

Worship Resources:

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

Residency Acknowledgement: This content was written in Huichin Village, unceded territory of the Lisjan- Ohlone people, where I dwell and serve as a local church pastor. Please support indigenous rematriation efforts, the #LandBack movement, and give to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust Soghttps://sogoreate-landtrust.org/ and other non-profits that reform, balance, and heal relationships with our indigenous hosts. Thank you!

Online Publishing Date: January 19, 2022.

Lent-Easter 2022: Transitioning With God

January 18, 2022February 22, 2022inthebiglove Leave a comment

Hello Dear Ones! We are looking forward to Lent/Easter 2022 – my first planned approach to Easter since the pandemic began. I’ve been extremely Holy Spirit-led (spontaneous) these past two years.

Our Lenten journey this year features examples of God’s evolving companionship with the Hebrew people during significant transitions. These stories speak to our own Turning Time as we, too, look back, take a breath, and ponder a better future with God’s help. I hope my offerings will be a blessing to you and the communities you serve.

Content (below) aligns with Year C, though creative adaptation may come into play. I will post worship content early in the week of each service as I’m a full-time parish minister sharing these liturgies as they are created for our community. I will try to post Holy Week content further out. (Fingers crossed.)

As has been true throughout the pandemic, there is no charge for the content I post, however, we do appreciate your donations. At this time, we only accept paper checks (I know… we’re on our own technology journey). Send to: Treasurer, Berkeley Chinese Community Church, UCC 2117 Acton Street, Berkeley, CA 94702. Make check out to BCCC, indicate for “Living Liturgies” or “LL.” Thank you very much!

TRANSITIONING WITH GOD Lent/Easter series

Ash Wednesday: “Tender Return” Joel 2. God’s MERCY (w/imposition of ashes)

Lent 1: “Good Things” Deuteronomy 26. God’s FAITHFULNESS

Lent 2: “Counting Stars” Genesis 15. God’s PROMISES

Lent 3: “Better Plans” Isaiah 55. God’s GUIDANCE

Lent 4: “Manna to Harvest” Joshua 5. God’s PROVISION

Lent 5: “A New Thing” Isaiah 43. God’s INNOVATION

Lent 6/Palm Sunday: “Everlasting Love” Psalm 118. God’s LOVE

Maundy Thursday: “Protected” Exodus 12. God’s PROTECTION (w/Passover-Last Supper)

Good Friday: “A New Law” Hebrews 10. God’s FLEXIBILITY

Easter: “Not Done Yet” John 20. God’s PRESENCE

About the image for this series: The drawing was made in the late 1970s while I was studying art in college. One morning, recently, vibrant colors from a prism in another room hit this black and white image with a bold tattoo of rainbow color. Hope leapt in my soul! May that happen to all of us this Lent/Easter season as we remember God’s faithfulness and expect the Good Things that ARE COMING!

Beloved Community Sunday (2 Epiphany) “Prisoners of Hope” Zechariah 9:12 & John 12:27-32

January 12, 2022January 12, 2022inthebiglove Leave a comment

BCCC Worship Schedule

Due to COVID spread, all worship services will 2pm Sundays on ZOOM

We Gather

“In a real sense, all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Welcome and Acknowledgements (pastor)

Welcome to our 2022 celebration of The Beloved Community, the Sunday before Martin Luther King Day. This year, our service lifts up Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican Bishop who passed into glory last month. Archbishop Tutu was central to the anti-apartheid struggle for justice and healing between indigenous peoples and European settlers. Today, we acknowledge our racial struggles here, paying tribute to the Lisjan-Ohlone people upon whose unceded land we live and practice ministry.

Call to Hope (pastor)

On this 2^nd Sunday of The Epiphany, the day before Martin Luther King Day, let us proclaim our hope in God revealed in Jesus Christ:

One: The Hebrew prophet Zechariah, speaking God’s Word to a scattered and reassembling people whose sacred Temple had been destroyed, said: “Return to your stronghold, O Prisoners of Hope. Today I, God, declare to you that I will restore to you double.”

All: We are Prisoners of Hope!

One: About Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Danté Steward recently wrote: “To be a Prisoner of Hope is not the same thing as being optimistic. Life has been too realistic for that. Optimism is rooted in sentimentalism and believes in the inevitability of progress. Hope is rooted in a redemptive realism and the promise of the victory of God in Jesus. King was not naive about the realities he faced nor did he expect that good was just around the corner.” (ds)

All: We are Prisoners of Hope!

One: Theologian Jurgen Moltmann wrote that “hope finds in Christ not only a consolation in suffering, but also the protest of the divine promise against suffering.” Those who hope in Christ “can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it, to contradict it.” (ds)

All: We are Prisoners of Hope!

One: South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said, “I am always hopeful. A Christian is a Prisoner of Hope. What could have looked more hopeless than Good Friday?… There is no situation from which God cannot extract good. Evil, death, oppression, injustice—these can never again have the last word, despite all appearances to the contrary. (tg/tj)

All: We are Prisoners of Hope!

Dear Prisoners of Hope, we light The Christ Candle on this Beloved Community Sunday invoking God’s presence for the naming, addressing, and healing of racism. Amen.

Light The Christ Candle (pastor)

Welcoming Those Not Physically Present (pastor)

Passing the Peace (all) Joyful gestures and words of peace to one another.

We Rest in God’s Grace

Song: “Siyahamba” (We Are Marching in the Light of God) Zulu Traditional Folksong (Chalice #442)

Prayer and Silence (pastor)

Let us shift into silence in God’s presence with 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.

Assurance of Grace (pastor)

Receive these words of assurance from Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “Dear Child of God, in our world it is often hard to remember that God loves you just as you are. God loves you not because you are good. No, God loves you, period. God loves us not because we are loveable. No, we are loveable precisely because God loves us. It is marvelous when you come to understand that you are accepted for who you are, apart from any achievement. It is so liberating.” Amen. (dt, 2004)

We Listen

Scripture: Zechariah 9:11-12 & John 12:27-32 (NRSV) (pastor)

Zechariah 9:11-12 – God is speaking to the nation of Israel through the Prophet Zechariah

As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope.

John 12:27-32 – Jesus is speaking to his disciples preparing them for his death

“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—’Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

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

Sermon “A Prisoner of Hope: Archbishop Desmond Tutu” (pastor) An overview of Tutu’s prophetic ministry and radiant faith in God.

Special Music: “Prisoner of Hope” written by Sterling Whipple and Gerald Metcalf.

We Pray

Prayer Requests (all)

Pastoral Prayer (pastor)

Most Amazing God, we lift up our gratitude for Your servant Desmond and the profound impact of his life among us. His prophetic, faithful response to any human effort to harm fellow humans deeply resonates in our souls. May You grant unto us, O God, the grace of his spiritual presence, from time to time, when we wander away from Your Dream for us. Amen.

Prayers of the People, Private Prayer, The Lord’s Prayer (pastor)

We Give

Offering of Praise “Doxology” (all; acapella) Please mail your donations to the church or directly to Treasurer Diane Huie.

Announcements (pastor)

Monday: MLK Day – a day of service. Church office closed. Next Sunday: 2pm ZOOM.

Song: “We Shall Overcome” African-American spiritual, MARTIN (#630 Chalice)

Benediction (pastor)

Beloved Prisoners of Hope – we who know that racism is real and harmful, also know that God is real and mighty! Through Jesus Christ and his many disciples, including our Brother Martin and our Brother Desmond, we can go forward in faith, hope, peace, and love. Be well, Beloved Community! Amen!

The service is concluded.

Honoring Tutu

The archbishop’s legacy in action and proclamation is much too large for one service, one sermon! Living Liturgies anticipates future services highlight specific elements of his embodied Christian faith. Truly, Archbishop Desmond Tutu is one of the saints of Christ’s Church.

Worship Resources:

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

(ds) Danté Stewart, “Martin Luther King Jr.: Exemplar of Hope” The Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy embodies the revolutionary ethic Jesus Christ. Christianity Today. January 21, 2019. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/january-web-only/martin-luther-king-day-exemplar-hope-tribute.html

(dt, 1998) Desmond Tutu, “Forward” The Green Bible NRSV.

(dt, 2004) Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time.

(hp) Howard Pousner, “From 1986: Desmond Tutu honored in Atlanta on first national MLK Jr. holiday” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jan 21, 1986. https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/from-1986-desmond-tutu-honored-in-atlanta-on-first-national-mlk-jr-holiday/IAJCMSJDPNEQLGCPU5SR6G4U2U/

(tg/tj) Thomas Giles and Timothy Jones, “A Prisoner of Hope: An Interview with Desmond Tutu” Why the South African archbishop believes that evil, death, and injustice will never have the last word. Christianity Today. October 5. 1992. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1992/october-5/prisoner-of-hope.html

Online Publishing Date: January 12, 2022.

in the big love

inclusive, beautiful, honest and life-affirming resources & services for the spiritual journey

Month: January 2022

4th Sunday after The Epiphany “It Takes Two” Luke 4:14-21

3rd Sunday after The Epiphany “An Acceptable Year” Luke 4:14-21

Lent-Easter 2022: Transitioning With God

Beloved Community Sunday (2 Epiphany) “Prisoners of Hope” Zechariah 9:12 & John 12:27-32