Sunday, September 6th, 2015

West Tokyo Union Church Weekly - Sunday, September 6, 2015    

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

11:00 AM – WORSHIP

FELLOWSHIP TIME: after the service

Sunday, September 6th During the 11 AM worship, Pastor Teresa will bring the sermon “Justice begins with Praise.” from Psalm 146. We will have Singing Communion with Gene Witt cantoring and Kazuko Sacon on the organ. Following our worship will be a Fellowship time. This is the first Sunday of our 2015-16 church year.

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Psalm 146: God at Work (A morning prayer, for the day’s work)

I praise you, my God, I praise you, Lord Jesus

I praise you, great Spirit today and every day

in this moment and with every breath I give this day to you

May it resound with you

May your praise whisper through every word and act

I will not trust in my own competence

I will not trust in the praise or criticism of others

I will not play the games of power and control

Our petty human obsessions fall away to nothing in the face of you –

You who made all things, spirit and matter 

earth and sea and sky and all that lives –

You who keeps faith with us forever - You who is at work in the world –

    justice for the abused,  food for the hungry

    sight for the blind, welcome for the stranger

   care for the widow and orphan, judgement for evil

These great refrains of our faith – may they be true for me today

as I live in you and you in me.

Be Lord of this day and every day. Yes! Be praised!

meditations on the Psalms by Sylvia Purdie

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Julie Rogers, as part of the “Youth and friends worship team” invites anyone who would like to join in for a mini choir during worship on the 20th – the practices will be from 10:40am on Sunday the 13th and then the 20th – looking forward to this part of our worship! See Julie or Teresa for details.

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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CORNER (we value your prayers & involvement in this vital ministry)  Any questions, please contact Pastor Teresa at wtucrev@gmail.com

Little Kids: All are welcome to stay in the service and enjoy books and coloring materials.

MULTIGENERATIONAL and ADULT Sunday School begins – 9:30 am Sunday, September 13th.

We are in discussion about a confirmation class for this year that will meet once a month on a school night. If your family is interested, please talk with Pastor Teresa.

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We are looking for someone desiring to serve WTUC next year (2015-6) posting to the website and sending out the emailing – if you are interested, please talk with    Pastor Teresa, or wtucrev@gmail.com

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Upcoming Preaching Ministry and Community Events

September 13th   Pastor Teresa preaching, Adult and Multigenerational Sunday School begins (from 9:30am), Blessing of backpacks and briefs

September 20th   Rev. Dr. Maki Fushii-McIntosh preaching, Communion will be served

September 27th  Weng Kong Loh preaching, Adult and Multigenerational Sunday School

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MULTIGENERATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL!! ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL!! We have Multigenerational Sunday School from 9:30 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 9:30 am 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, on the 2nd floor above the Sanctuary.) All are welcome. Need more information, contact wtucrev@gmail.com any time = ) 2015 Sunday School schedule:  9/13, 9/27, 10 /11, 10/25, 11/8, 11/22, 12/13

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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, 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 Ozawa.

  *Sign up for snacks for fellowship time with Ann or Jill. We appreciate your contributions to our community life!

*Interested in baptism, membership or confirmation classes, please contact Pastor Teresa.

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Sermon text - Psalm 146

1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long. 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. 4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. 5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!