West Tokyo Union Church Weekly -Â Sunday, May 1, 2016 worship
Pastor: Rev. Teresa Thompson Sherrill   wtucrev@gmail.com
11:00 AM – Worship Service – Rev. Christian Zebley will bring the sermon “Walking In the New” from Ephesians 4. Kazuko Sacon will lead us on the organ. Communion will be served. WTUC Hymn-Singers will sing. Please enjoy Fujiko Nielson`s Easter Season art installation. Our delightful robust fellowship time will be after the service.
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God of life
God of hope
God of all
Help us to
to be renewed in the spirit of your minds
and to clothe yourselves with the new self
created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Sustain us
Guide us
Heal us
Then send us
forth into
the world
That we
may love
as you love.
Amen.
~ written (adapted) by Terri, http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.ca/
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WTUC Hymn-Singers will practice and lead the congregation in the hymn “More Love to Thee†on Sunday morning. If you like to sing hymns, by all means come to the organside around 10:40 Sunday morning to run through this hymn. It is fun to sing in parts as much as possible, but if you prefer singing melody (lower voices included) that is very much welcome. Â
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about the preacher: The Zebley family lives nearby in Nishi Tokyo. Christian is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and preparing to plant a new church in the Roppongi/Ebisu area of Tokyo in 2016. He is working in partnership with Grace City Church in downtown Tokyo and the City to City Asia network of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC. In 2011, he founded and leads Global Leadership Dynamics. GLD ministers to leaders of diverse backgrounds, creates unity in the Body of Christ and forges partnerships between organizations for Kingdom advancement. <www.globalleading.org.> Christian recently served as the leader of the Co-Labor Follow-Up department for the BGEA Celebration of Hope at the Budokan. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College BA, Princeton Theological Seminary MDiv, and currently working on a DMin in Leadership at Denver Seminary. Kay is a graduate of Wellesley College with a degree in International Relations. She has also studied spiritual direction at San Francisco Theological Seminary. She leads the Zebley family home school.
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a new study opportunity is coming
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING ~ How to Have an Intentional Healing Ministry in Your ChurchÂ
By James K. Wagner
9:30-10:30, non-Multi-Generational Sunday mornings – upcoming dates – (5/29, 6/5 and 6/19) @ Sack house. This Sunday School will continue on in the fall.
We will start a study about the Sacramental Model of Healing Ministry, using this book by Methodist pastor James Wagner. Dr. Wagner helps us to see healing prayers as a natural outcome of the church, inspired by the compassion of our Lord who wills goodness to each person in both general and specific ways. Any genuine ministry is concerned with encouraging and helping others, not on building up oneself or one’s group. It is centered in the Word of God.Â
Let us explore together such questions as: “What is the sacramental healing ministry of the Church?†“What about when healing doesn’t seem to happen?†“What is the significance of forgiveness?†and many other questions.Â
We will continue this study over a few months, reading the text out loud together and discussing as we go along. Feel free to join whether or not you have had any prior connections with the healing ministry.Â
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Upcoming Preaching Ministry and Community Events
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. Mother`s Day celebration.
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: Please stay in worship enjoying books and colouring materials.
Confirmation Class: Please be praying with the confirmands as they prepare to read their “creeds†and sing the “Books of the Bible†on 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!!Â
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 – 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 – Ephesians 4:17-24
17 Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. 19 They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 That is not the way you learned Christ! 21 For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
