Sunday, April 24, 2016

West Tokyo Union Church Weekly - Sunday, April 24, 2016 worship

Pastor:  Rev. Teresa Thompson Sherrill     wtucrev@gmail.com

April 10th – 9:30 AM – Multigenerational (in the cafeteria with Christian and Kay Zebley) and Adult (in the Sack`s living room) Sunday School.

11:00 AM – Worship Service – Hiro Morikawa will bring the sermon “Saved for What?” from 2 Corinthians 5. Carolyn Morikawa will interpret. If you have been wanting to bring a Japanese speaking friend to WTUC – this is a great Sunday to invite them = ) Kazuko Sacon will lead us on the organ. Ruth Ingulsrud will being us the children`s message. Rev. Claudia will bring the Mission Moment. Please enjoy Fujiko Nielson`s Easter Season art installation. Our delightful robust fellowship time will be after the service.

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Prayer (inspired by 2 Corinthians 5: 17)

God of all new things, God of Spring, and fragrant flowers, and

unexpected snow. God of hope and new life, Bless us, we pray, this day.

Creator God from whom all life springs forth, we give You thanks.

Come, one and all, celebrate and rejoice!

Celebrate and rejoice – The old has passed away

Everything has become new!

God of all things passing away, God of old and yesterday, the One who is with us in our despair and fear. God who sighs and weeps, with us,

God who wipes away our tears.

Loving God, we offer up these prayers of concern this day – for those struggling to rebuild lives from natural disasters, and for those recovering from human disasters and those struggling with illness.

Hear us when we pray. Incline your ear to our words,

silent

shouting

cries,

mournful

whispers

stunned

wordless.

Be gentle with our suffering with our sorrows and losses, and especially when our hard hearts close us off to you. Be gentle. Be gentle. O God, be God!

Anoint us with your touch so that the softness of your love can break into our hardness and open us anew.

Anoint us, Holy One and fill us with you loving touch. Fill us that we can touch in your love and fill others. Fill us gently. Fill us.

In all our relationships – With, through, and by Your love becomes

Reconciled.

Celebrate and rejoice – the old has passed away. In you, in your resurrection,

In your life and love, Everything becomes new! Amen.

~ written by the Rev. Terri C. Pilarski http://expansivelanguage.blogspot.ca/

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Upcoming Preaching Ministry and Community Events

April 24 – Multigenerational and Adult Sunday Schools, Hiro Morikawa preaching, Organ: Kazuko Sacon.

May 1 – Rev. Christian Zebley preaching, Communion will be served. Organ: Kazuko Sacon.

May 8th – Multigenerational and Adult Sunday Schools, Rev. Dr. Mike Sherrill preaching, Organ: Kazuko Sacon.

May 15th – Confirmation and Pentecost worship with Pastor Teresa giving a homily, Communion will be served, Organ: Kazuko Sacon.

May 22th – Multigenerational and Adult Sunday Schools, Pastor Teresa preaching, Youth and friends will lead worship.

May 29th – Rev. Dr. Jim Sack preaching, Organ: Kazuko Sacon.

June 5th – Carol Sack preaching, Communion will be served, Organ: Kazuko Sacon.

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Little Kidz: All are welcome to go with Sammie who will share about the Sermon on the Mount.

ES/MS Youth: Sunday, April 24th – 5:30-7pm. @ ASIJ for Pool fun, Devotion activity and Pizza! Please meet at the FRONT GATE OF ASIJ AT 5:20PM. Sunday, April 24th to be signed in by one of the ASIJ parents (Loveman, Norris, Bennetts). 

Confirmation Class: Monday, April 25thWorking on their “creeds” and their “Books of the Bible” that they will share at Pentecost, May 15th. 

HS Youth: Still working on quilting projects. Next Youth & friends worship on 5/22 – looking for folks to lend their gifts to the service.

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MULTIGENERATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL!! ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL!! 

We have Multigenerational Sunday School from 9:30AM in the cafeteria the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Who is welcome? All ages. We will be creating, discussing, playing games, acting out bible stories and more. At the same time, the Sacks host the Adult Sunday School, also at 9:30AM in their living room. The method used is the,  “Swedish Bible study method,” interacting with the texts for the service through our own life experiences. Their home is right across the Lutheran Campus from our sanctuary. Best coffee in town = ) Come and enjoy! (At times Adult Sunday School is held in the Upper Room, hosted by Dr. Toshi Sasao, on the 2nd floor above the Sanctuary.) All are welcome. Need more information, contact wtucrev@gmail.com any time = ) Next Sunday Schools – April 24th, May 8th and 22nd! All friends invited!

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WTUC  Announcements:  *Questions or concerns?  Feel free to email wtucrev@gmail.com anytime *Please enjoy and refer our website https://wtuc.net/ and FB page (West Tokyo Union Church) to others. Please make any suggestions for additions to the Pastor Teresa and/or Steering Committee. If you’d like to be added to the WTUC church email list, are interested in baptism or membership, please contact Pastor Teresa *If interested in joining the WTUC Prayer Chain, let Pastor Teresa or Prayer Chain Coordinator, Kayo Ozawa, know of your interest. Please submit prayers to wtucrev@gmail.com or Kayo. *Sign up for snacks for fellowship time with Ann or Jill. We appreciate your contributions to our community life!

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Text for the sermon – 2 Corinthians 5:15-19

15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.