2016-3-27 Worship Videos

Chinese Choir

Chinese Sermon

English Sermon

English Ministry News and Notes 2016-3-27

• Great Thanks to the amazing crew who made last week's children's Easter party possible! Special thanks to Michelle, Peggy, and Katty - our planners, our CM choir members who shared a meaningful play, AYSC youth who pitched in, and all our activity station and lunch prep. volunteers! Let us pray for the seeds planted.
• So Proud! Another great thanks for all the generous donations that made it possible for us to put together 4 full Welcome Kits from CCUMC (and 7 all together with the other churches.) The kits will surely make a difference to newly arrived refugees. You're amazing!
• Please Note: Pastor Emily and family will be on vacation starting Mar. 30th - Apr. 16th. For pastoral emergencies and needs, please connect with Pastor Meina. Additionally, Theresa is out of the church office until Apr. 5th.
• What's Next?! Jesus' resurrection and ascension marks a decisive moment in our community's history. What happened next? You are warmly invited to join in the new Sunday School study on the book of Acts with a rotating team of great teachers, including Pastor Moon! The new study begins next Sunday, Apr. 3rd. Please be prompt!
• Shepherding Ministry Sunday - We will celebrate the ministry of care and connection on Sunday, Apr. 17th. Our faithful shepherds - Brenda, Donna, Ed, and Jane - will share in worship. Following worship, please plan to stay for a special fellowship lunch and a time of community building.
• Kumi Benefit Ride is Rolling! Our Primary School in Uganda is in need of additional land and security fencing. To respond to this need, CCUMC is sponsoring its first ever Kumi Benefit Bike Ride. A committed group of 12 cyclists have taken on the challenge of riding 100K on April 30th. Will you sponsor one of them? Any amount, large or small, will go a long way in realizing the vision of our mission partners, Youth and Child Visionary Ministries (YCVM). You may make checks payable to CCUMC (notated 2016 KBR), or donate online at www.ycvm.org. We’ve already raised $6,000+ towards the goal of $30,000! Even better, share this project with your friends, family, and social media contacts by inviting them to visit the website and donate. We also invite you to sign up on the bulletin board to pray and surround the riders and the entire project with your prayers for safety, great weather, and for the welfare of the children in the village of Kumi whom we serve together. If you wish to help on April 30th, see Burt, Ben, or Becky.

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Today, we celebrate the ways in which death does not have the last word.

Today, we celebrate how nothing but nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Today, we celebrate how there is nothing so lost or so mangled as to be unredeemable.

Today, we celebrate that all the tombs of life are gateways to resurrection.

Today, we celebrate that there is life after death.

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

As we begin this new season – Easter or the Great Fifty Days – I invite you to post this affirmation somewhere visible as a daily reminder of all that we have to celebrate!

We believe in an Easter God,

who transforms darkness into light,

hatred into tolerance,

despair into hope.

We believe God

is always working for good,

changing every Good Friday nightmare into an Easter dream of new possibility.

We believe in the risen Christ,

who befriends us on our roads of searching and worry;

who touches us through song and silence, word and gesture;

who calls us by name to enter the dance of life.

We believe in the Spirit,

the hidden presence behind every resurrection,

who beckons us to leave tomblike safety and trust the gracious invitation to live joyfully.

We believe the Spirit

is always renewing the church

and making us a people who practice kindness,

encourage beauty and work for justice and freedom.

We believe we are an Easter people,

a sign that with God all things are possible.

2016-3-20 Worship Videos

Chinese Choir

Chinese Sermon

English Sermon

English Ministry News and Notes 2016-3-20

• Join the Party - we will be throwing an Easter party for children and their families today starting at noon. About 90 people have RSVP'd! Your presence to host (help make/serve lunch, run activities, welcome folks) is so important! Thank you!
• Journeying Through Holy Week - Please gather for worship on Maundy Thursday, Mar. 24th, at 7:30 p.m. to remember Jesus' final meal with his disciples and the commandment he gave then, and on Good Friday, Mar. 25th, at 2:00 p.m. We are hosting our Presbyterian and Episcopalian brothers and sisters - please bring refreshments to share!
• Celebrating Easter All the Way Through - Make this your itinerary: gather to shout "Alleluia!" first thing at 7:30 a.m. in our courtyard, head to Lincoln Park for pancake breakfast afterwards, participate in intergenerational Sunday School in the Annex at 9:30 a.m., and come for full on worship at 11:00 a.m.!
• What's Next?! Jesus' resurrection and ascension marks a decisive moment in our community's history. What happened next? You are warmly invited to join in the new Sunday School study on the book of Acts with a rotating team of great teachers, including Pastor Moon! The new study begins Sunday, Apr. 3rd. Please be prompt!
• Please Note - Pastor Emily will be on vacation for 2 weeks beginning Wednesday, Mar. 30th. She will return to CCUMC on Sunday, Apr. 17th. During that time, please connect with Pastor Meina for any pastoral emergencies.
• Please Pray - We received word from Silver Omakenyi that the well on the school grounds that supplies all drinking water needs has dried up. Additionally, the school van is close to its last leg. KCVS is in the midst of discerning how best to meet the needs. Let's remember our beloved friends and students as they carry on.

Community: God’s Design For Growth (VI)

God never intended for any of us to live the Christian life alone.

A CALL TO COMMUNITY

The practice of Christian community, quite simply, makes the gospel a lived reality. It embodies a specific, personal way of life together in Christ. It strengthens us to live the life to which we are called; it conveys God’s life and power to the world at large. And it is necessary.

When we imagine that we, as Christians and humans, can live in total independence and self-sufficiency, we are deluding ourselves. God, from the beginning, never intended that we should go through the world "alone." We simply cannot experience fully the power and delight of life with God without also being drawn into life together with our sisters and brothers in Christ. Without experiencing such life together, we will not discover how wonderful the news about Jesus really is.

Community is not to be feared, but welcomed. The risks don't go beyond those it takes to follow Jesus. The reward is to enter into life as God intended it to be lived from the beginning. How can we balk at an offer like that?

Howard Macy is a Professor Emeritus at George Fox University. He is the author of Rhythms of the Inner Life.

 

Many Thanks to our 2016 Easter Lily Donors

Elsie Wan

Ed & Arlene Lang

Winnie Pon

Ulander Pang

Kwok Kuen Cheung

Mr. & Mrs. Yong Sen Hu

Feng

Lucy Zhou

Ursella Cheung

Cloud Cheung

Charles & Pauline Ho

Richard & Adrienne Fong

Peggy & Larry Woon

Leo & Helena Lin

Donna Louie

Lin Kam Huey

C K & Mabel Lee

Linda Woo

Theresa Leung

Vikki Chan Siu

Anna Wong

Meina Ko

Donna Chan Chu

2016-3-13 Worship Videos

Chinese Choir

Chinese Sermon

English Sermon

English Ministry News and Notes 2016-3-13

• Welcome Kit Updates - Great thanks to all who have signed up and are pitching in. You are welcome to bring your items to church any time up to Good Friday. If you do so, please leave on the stage with your name posted on the items. We're getting close to filling the 4 kits!
• SOUP Gratitude - Today will mark the final Sunday of SOUP. Many appreciations to all our soup makers: Arlene & Ed, Aeri, Becky, Frances, Donna, Adrienne, Leily & Walter, Diana, Jane & Burt, Brenda & Vince. We also lift up our bread queen: Peggy! May the conversation and prayers continue on throughout the year!
• We're Throwing a Party - Please pitch in to enable a well organized, welcoming, festive Easter party for children and families next Sunday. We need kitchen crew folks (we'll be serving a simple lunch), game-runners, craftleaders, and welcomers. Please sign up today AND invite a friend.
• Want to Sing? You're invited to join the Good Friday joint choir. Rehearsals will be held next Saturday, the 19th at 10:30 a.m. and on Good Friday at 12:30 p.m. Please see Pastor Emily today!
• Be a Host on Good Friday - Please help provide some welcoming hospitality on Good Friday by contributing refreshments. Everything is welcome!
• Looking Ahead to Holy Week/Easter (Invite a friend!)-
• Maundy Thursday Worship, Mar. 24th, 7:30 p.m.
• Good Friday Ecumenical Worship, Mar. 25th, 2:00 p.m. (Welcome Kit Mission Project Work Party to follow.)
• Easter Sunrise Worship, Mar. 27th, 7:30 a.m.
• Easter Worship Celebration, Mar. 27th, 11:00 a.m.

Community: God’s Design For Growth (V)

God never intended for any of us to live the Christian life alone.


FUNCTION OVER FORM - Some Christians feel that they must follow the call to community in rigorous, perhaps even radical, ways. We can thank God for the example of our brothers and sisters in communities such as Koinonia in Americus, Georgia, and Sojourners and the Church of the Savior in Washington, D.C. They help teach us principles that God wants for the whole Christian fellowship.


At the same time, we need to know that the Bible doesn't require—or even give special blessing to—certain forms of community. Structure is not the point; relationships are. We can live together as God wants us to in a great variety of ways—ways that strengthen rather than disrupt our vocations, our families, and the other commitments we have already made under God’s guidance. The good news is that community is a gift God offers to pour love out on us all.


GETTING SMALL - Even though forms may not matter much, size does. For community to be specific and personal enough to reach its potential, we need groups small enough for everyone to be directly involved. The practice of the earliest Christians suggests a small scale. They often met in each other’s homes for meals and teaching, for worship and prayer (Acts 2:44-46, Acts 12:12-17). And it is clear that when Paul advised the Corinthians that "everyone" should be ready with a psalm, some instruction, or a revelation, he expected the meeting to be small enough for everyone to participate (1 Cor. 14:26).


Certainly that doesn't mean that we have to abandon our large congregations end public buildings. It suggests, instead, that we are more likely to find community’s richest benefits in smaller groups—Sunday school classes, Bible study groups, mission groups, worship and prayer groups, and others.


The lived reality of community—in whatever form it takes—holds great promise both for the Christian fellowship itself and for the world at large. For Christians it provides a place where together we can change and grow strong in following Jesus. For the world the life of the Christian community broadcasts the good news and mediates God’s love to those who so desperately seek it.


Howard Macy is a Professor Emeritus at George Fox University. He is the author of Rhythms of the Inner Life.

2016-3-6 Worship Videos

Chinese Choir

Chinese Sermon

English Sermon

English Ministry News and Notes 2016-3-6

• Special Offering for Fiji Today! You are invited to give generously for the recovery work needed in the Pacific Islands, particularly Fiji and Tonga, following Cyclone Winston. Thank you.
• Join the Party - We will be hosting our annual children's Easter Party on Palm Sunday, Mar. 20th. Our day will begin with parallel worship at 9:30 a.m. The party itself will begin at noon with a chapel time followed by lunch, games, and crafts. All hands are needed! Please sign up to pitch in today.
• We're Getting Close - What a show of generosity! Thank you to all who have signed up to provide items for the Welcome Kits Mission. We still have a ways to go! Please sign up today...or go a 2nd (3rd) mile. Items brought before the 25th can be placed on the Annex Stage with your name on them.
• Easter Lily Sign Up - Please see Laura today to contribute $10 for an Easter lily plant.
• Looking Ahead to Holy Week/Easter (Invite a friend!)
• Maundy Thursday Worship, Mar. 24th, 7:30 p.m.
• Good Friday Ecumenical Worship, Mar. 25th, 2:00 p.m. (Welcome Kit Mission Project Work Party to follow.)
• Easter Sunrise Worship, Mar. 27th, 7:30 a.m.
• Easter Worship Celebration, Mar. 27th , 11:00 a.m.

Community: God’s Design For Growth (IV)

God never intended for any of us to live the Christian life alone.

A WITNESS TO THE WORLD - The value of Christian community reaches even further than bringing the Body of Christ to strength and maturity. Such communities, by their character and their action, witness to the power and presence of God in the world. They are models of what God wants for all of humankind. Jesus' disciples are to be the light of the world (Mt. 5:13-16), shining like bright stars (Phil. 2:15), reflecting the brightness [the glory] of God (2 Cor. 3:18). Often the Hebrews' experiences of deliverance were sent, God said, so that they and the nations "will know that I am the Lord." In a similar way, the unity and mutual love that distinguish Jesus' disciples will demonstrate that Jesus was, in fact, sent by the Father (Jn. 17:23).

Too often, unfortunately, this beacon of witness has fallen far short in candlepower, especially where Christians have accommodated darkness rather than penetrating it. But though the Church in general may fail and though we may be embarrassed by the antics of some Christians in the public eye, Christian communities everywhere can radiate the good news of God’s loving intentions for all of creation. In these clusters of Christians, people should be able to see what they hope for but hardly expect: people serving rather than using each other. People of widely different social statuses and professions honoring each other rather than putting each other down (Gal. 3:28). People who tell each other (and everyone else) the truth, rather than lying out of convenience or cussedness (Eph. 4:25, Col. 3:9). They can see a people who are no longer captive to the spirit of the times. They will see love and acceptance, compassion and kindness, commodities that are in short supply in any age. And where they see this, the stark contrast of these communities compared with the world around them is itself a very compelling witness.

AMBASSADORS OF GOD'S LOVE - But such communities go further still. They not only demonstrate God’s love; they also mediate it. They carry "the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18) to those around them, bringing God’s compassion and healing power into a broken world.

That work goes forward visibly in many ways. One Christian community spends enormous energy trying to meet the plight of the homeless. Another works to rehabilitate homes of the poor and the elderly. Yet another quietly yet actively pursues a ministry of prayer and healing. And still others focus directly on evangelism, on feeding the hungry, on getting justice for the oppressed, and on much more. Each community with its particular mission is a guerrilla unit establishing a beachhead for God’s peaceable Kingdom in a hostile world. And from those outposts God’s love flows freely.

Howard Macy is a Professor Emeritus at George Fox University. He is the author of  Rhythms of the Inner Life.