Photo: Milagro (miracles) Heart photographed by Rev. Kathryn M. Schreiber ©2018. Worship format and original content: Rev. Kathryn M. Schreiber ©2022

BCCC Worship Schedule: Due to COVID spread, all worship services will 2pm Sundays on ZOOM

We Gather

“I work in my community to listen and bring love where love has not yet arrived.” – Father Greg Boyle, found/director Homeboy Industries

Welcome and Acknowledgements (pastor)

Welcome! Everyone is welcome in our community of faith! We are open to God’s loving presence revealed in Jesus Christ. We gather as community – as we can, when we can – to love God, our neighbors, each other, and our own precious souls. We stand with our original hosts, the Lisjan-Ohlone people, in support of healing relations and reparations.

Altar Flowers

Imagine a beautiful bouquet of flowers celebrating God’s Big Love.

Call to Worship (pastor)

Let the words of our mouths proclaim God’s Big Love.

Let the thoughts of our minds track God’s Big Love.

Let the deeds of our faith manifest God’s Big Love.

Let the gifts we give share God’s Big Love.

Let us praise and proclaim God’s Big Love revealed in Jesus Christ. 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: “Community of Christ” Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1985. Music: Hebrew Melody; arr. Meyer Leoni, 1780. (Chalice Hymnal #655)

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)

Beloved Ones, when we are lovingly patient and kind this is evidence of God’s grace. When “something” steers us away from our natural, human tendencies to boast, be arrogant or rude; or when irritation and resentment crumble; God’s grace is at work. When we feel no joy when another fails and find the courage to speak the truth, God’s grace is mercifully transforming us for the wellbeing of everyone. So much grace! Amen.

We Listen

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13 (version: NRSV) (pastor)

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

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

Message: “Listen, Listen; Love, Love” (pastor) The real Saint Valentine and Father Greg Boyle open their hearts to God and community.

Special Music: “Cover the World with Love” Written by Jerry Estes. Signs from Joy of Signing, 2nd ed., by Lottie L. Riekehof.

We Pray

Prayer Requests (all)

Pastoral Prayer (pastor)

Honestly, God, we all hunger for Big Love – Your love that patches our wounded parts, that pulls us up and out, and that slows us down and calls us to really rest. Today, we pray for our own precious selves to more fully know Your Big Love that we might love others better. 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: “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” Words: Charles Wesley, 1743; Music: John Zunchel, 1870. (Chalice #517)

Benediction (pastor) (1 Corinthians 13:7, 12-13 slightly adapted)

“Love hears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Now we see in mirrors dimly, but later on, we’ll see face to face. Now we know in part, but later on, we will know fully, as we are fully known. Now, faith, hope, and love abide – these three – and the greatest of these is love.”

Let us go forth in God’s Big Love. Peace, Dear Ones, Big Love Peace!

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: February 8, 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”