Community Church

of the
Monterey Peninsula

Independent & United Church of Christ

Order OF Worship​​ 

January 12,​​ 2020

Nursery care available​​ 

Children’s activities

Welcome to Community Church!

We’re glad you have chosen to worship with us this​​ morning.

No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here!

Prelude

Welcome​​ 

 (An asterisk (*) indicates when the congregation may stand)

 (If you are new to Community Church please​​ share your name​​  and address with us in the red friendship register that you will​​  find at the end of each pew.)

As We Gather…..  (Denise Levertov, Contemporary)

But we have only begun

to love the earth.

We have only begun

to imagine the fullness of life.

How could we tire of hope?

--so much is in the bud.

How can desire fail?

--we have only begun

to imagine justice and mercy,

only begun to envision

how it might be

to live as siblings with beast

 ​​ ​​​​ and flower,

not as oppressors.

Surely our river

cannot already be hastening

into the sea of nonbeing?

Surely it cannot

drag, in the silt,

all that is innocent?

Not yet, not yet –

there is too much broken

that must be mended,

too much hurt we have done

 ​​ ​​​​ to each other

that cannot yet be forgiven.

We have only begun to know

the power that is in us if we

 ​​ ​​​​ would join

our solitudes in the

 ​​ ​​​​ communion of struggle.

So much is unfolding that must

complete its gesture,

so much is in bud.

Congregational Greeting

This is an opportunity to greet those in front and back of you and on either side of you.

Choral Call to Worship ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​ “River Of Birds”  ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​ By Libana

Call to Worship  ​​ (Richard Becher, Contemporary)

Leader:  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

People:  We give thanks​​ 

   for the goodness of creation.

Leader:  Creator God, in the beginning

   you put life into the emptiness,

   light into the darkness,

   and saw that it was good.

   We are created in your image

People:  To see good in the light

Leader:  You created earth and sky, land and​​     sea,

   and saw that creation was good. 

   We are created in your image

People:  To see good in creation

Leader:  You created plants and trees,

   fruit and flowers in all their colors,

   and saw that they were good.

   We are created in your image

People:  To see good all around us

Leader:  You made the stars and the planets,

   the sun and the moon in heaven above,

   and saw that they were good.

   We are created in your image

People:  To see good in heaven above

Leader:  Then you created birds that fly in the​​     sky,

   creatures that swim in the sea,

   and all kinds of animals that live on the​​     land,

   and saw that they were good.

   We are created in your image

People:  To see good in the world.

Leader:  So you created people to live on the​​     earth,

   to love and be loved, to care for this​​     creation

   and be fruitful and increase.

   And you saw it was good, very good.

   We are created in your image

People:  To see good in each other.

Leader:  And when we failed to praise you

   for harvests of plenty,​​ 

   to obey your commands​​ 

   and seek your Kingdom

   and care for the world​​ 

   that you put in our hands,

   you sent us Jesus to show us the way.

   We are created in his image.

People:  To see good in the dark

Leader:  So look at each other:​​ 

   we are made in God’s image,

   to love and be loved,

   and find peace from that love.

People:  Thank you, Creator of All,

   that we can see you are good

   and find peace with each other.

*Opening​​ Hymn​​ 35  ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​ “O Mighty God” ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​  ​​​​ Vs. 1,​​ 2,​​ 4

Morning Prayers

Unison Prayer   ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​ (Pat Kozak & Janet Schaffran,

 ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​ Contemporary)

Weaver God, we come to you,

or more the truth – you find us,

disconnected and out of sorts.

We are disheartened by our failures,

discouraged by our weakness,

 ​​ ​​​​ and little that we do seems worthy of your grace.

Restore our wholeness. ​​ Restore our future.

Weave for us the tapestry

 ​​ ​​​​ on which our lives are woven.

Give us patience with the endless

 ​​ ​​​​ back and forth of shuttle, hand and effort.

We look too closely, seeing only strands and knots

and snarled threads of too-much-trying

or none-at-all.

Grant us eyes to see the whole

 ​​ ​​​​ of which we are a part.

In the end, we ask for gentleness with ourselves,

acceptance of our less than perfect ways.

We pray that what we do and what you weave

form patterns clear to all,

of mercy in the warp of it

and love throughout

Amen.

Shared Silence

Please meditate using the​​ phrase most appropriate for you, or another phrase of your own choosing.

Abba, I belong to you.

Abba, I trust you.

Loving God, I belong to you.

Loving God, I trust you.

Pastoral Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer​​ (Unison)

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, forever. ​​ Amen.

Anthem ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​ “Blessed Are We” ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​  ​​ ​​ ​​​​ Peia

Scripture Text ​​ ​​ ​​​​ Genesis 1:1-2:4

1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,​​ 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.​​ 3Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.​​ 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.​​ 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.​​ 

6 And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’​​ 7So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.​​ 8God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.​​ 

9 And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.​​ 10God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.​​ 11Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so.​​ 12The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good.​​ 13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.​​ 

14 And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,​​ 15and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so.​​ 16God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and​​ the stars.​​ 17God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth,​​ 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.​​ 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.​​ 

20 And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’​​ 21So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good.​​ 22God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’​​ 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.​​ 

24 And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so.​​ 25God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.​​ 

26 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’​​ 27​​ So God created humankind in his image in the image of God he created them;   male and female he created them.​​ 

28God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’​​ 29God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.​​ 30And to every beast of the​​ earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so.​​ 31God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.​​ 

2Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.​​ 2And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.​​ 3So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.​​ 

4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,​​ 

Sermon: GOD’S CREATION AS SEEN

 ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​ BY OUR ANCESTORS IN FAITH

 ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​ Pastor Paul Wrightman

Hymn  “This Is My Father’s World”

This is my Father’s world,
And to my list’ning ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas—
His hand the wonders wrought.​​ 

This is my Father’s world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.

This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad![5]

Invitation to Giving

Freely you have received,

freely give,

remembering the words

the Lord Jesus himself said:

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Offertory   

*Doxology

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise God all creatures here below.

Praise God above all heavenly host.

Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Unison Prayer   ​​​​ (Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875-1926)

Ah, not to be cut off,

not through the slightest partition

shut out from the law of the stars.

The inner – what is it?

if not intensified sky,

hurled through with birds and deep

with the winds of homecoming.

Announcements      ​​​​ Pastor Paul

*Closing​​ Hymn  “Let There Be Peace on Earth”

Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller, 1955

Let there be peace on earth,

and let it begin with me.

Let there be peace on earth,

the peace that was meant to be;

With God our Creator,

we are family.

Let us walk with each other

in perfect harmony.

*Benediction

Closing Hymn (cont.) ​​ ​​​​ ​​ “Let There Be Peace on Earth”

Let peace begin with me,

let this be the moment now.

With every step I take,

let this be my solemn vow:

To take each moment,

and live each moment

in peace eternally.

Let there be peace on earth,

and let it begin with me.

Postlude

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THANK YOU TO OUR READER​​ Peggy Kuck.

ENGAGING THE BIBLE: ​​ We meet Wednesdays 1:15-2:15. ​​ Join us in the Library!

WEDNESDAY EVENING BIBLE CLASS:​​ meets for​​ dinner​​ at 5:30 (optional) with​​ class 6:00 p.m. ​​​​ 

HEALING PRAYER GROUP: ​​ Joanne Anderson welcomes those interested to meet in the Broaddus room after the worship service. ​​ Prayer requests are welcomed.

FLAT ROOF PROJECT:​​ Thank you to those who generously donated to our roof project and to Bill and Millie Daniel who matched the funds collected!!!!

FRIDAY MORNING WOMEN’S SUPPORT & FAITH-SHARING GROUP:​​ The group meetings are 10:30 am Fridays in our church library.​​  ​​​​ (We are on hiatus and will resume January 10.)  ​​​​ We are reading​​ Gone With​​ the Wind​​ by Margaret Mitchell,, who was awarded the National Book Award for most distinguished novel in 1936 and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1937. ​​ Feel free to drop in, read along with us on your own, knit, bring a snack, bring a neighbor, talk, be silent, etc. ​​ All sharing is confidential & voluntary. Rev. Elizabeth Wrightman.

OUR MISSION OUTREACH

(I-HELP) FOR MEN:​​ We collect clothing and toiletries for the men. ​​ Monthly dinners are the 2nd Weds.  ​​​​ (We offer shelter one or more additional times each month.) ​​ Sign up in Woodhull Hall. ​​ Call Dolores Joblon for info.​​ 

I-HELP FOR WOMEN​​ could use help from our congregation!  A week before the dinner (which is held the 3rd​​ Tuesday of the month), Kim Swan-Sosky sends out an email with items needed for the meal. If you would like to be included on the email to help when you can with ​​ dinner, please contact Kim Swan-Sosky 831-402-9014; ​​ [email protected] )

THE TOWEL TEAM MINISTRY:  We provide bath towels for showers at Dorothy’s and Sun Street Center in Salinas.  We need hand towels for the I-HELP programs.  ​​ Clean towels may be left in the office.

SUN STREET CENTER/SALINAS  is a service for education, prevention & recovery of alcohol addiction and drug abuse in men. ​​ We provide bedding and toiletries.

FOOD BANK: ​​​​ St. Mary’s Food Pantry, needs non-perishable foodstuff. Leave in food basket in narthex. ​​ Thank you Peggy and Larry Kuck for transporting the food to the Food Pantry at St. Mary’s Church in PG.

CLOTHING CLOSET AT DOROTHY’S PLACE:​​ Clothing and toiletries for men and women needed.  ​​​​ Items may be left in the church office. ​​ Clothing for the closet is sorted and sized Mondays 10-12 and taken to Dorothy’s on Saturdays between ​​ 9-12. ​​ Thank you to Kathy Curless for her continued support. ​​ Call Carolyn Gray for info.​​ 

ONE STARFISH SAFE PARKING: ​​​​ Parking in our church lot is available to homeless persons registered in the program and are supervised by Starfish staff.  ​​​​ Parking is allowed for those with permits from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

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The Community Church of the Monterey Peninsula encourages individual spiritual exploration. We pray, we seek, we study individually and around the table to learn what it means to be a Christian and follow Christ. We encourage and support each other in our learnings. ​​ Our​​ mission​​ is to welcome independent-minded people of all ages, build a diverse Christian community, and nurture one another to love God, neighbor and self.

OUR TEN CORE VALUES

God loves all people.

We welcome all people, wherever they are on their​​ life​​ journey.

Worship is the life breath of our community.

We are the heart and hands of Christ serving others.

We grow spiritually in Christ.

We provide creative, open, lifelong Christian education.

We are stewards sustaining all of God’s creation.

We promote understanding and cooperation among​​ people of all faiths.

We are a vital democracy and​​ value independent thinking and dialogue.

We joyfully support our mission with time, talent and​​ treasure.

PLEASE COME AGAIN!

Worship Service is 10:00 a.m.

followed by Fellowship in Woodhull Hall.

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Location: ​​ 4590 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel CA 93923

Mailing Address: ​​ P. O. Box 222811, Carmel CA 93922

Phone: ​​ (831) 624-8595

Givingtree Phone: ​​ (831) 624-3060

Website: www.ccmp.org