Thank you for joining us for this live stream (or recording, as the case may be) of Sunday worship. May it bless you! You may need to click “Play” to launch the stream, which will be live around 9:50 AM.
Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Sunday, January 26, 2025. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily.
Service of Worship January 26, 2025
Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor
WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD
Please note that audio and video of this service are being live streamed on the Internet and will be recorded. The right rear section of the sanctuary will not be captured by any cameras. Please be aware that in other sections you may be visible at times.
Prelude: They’ll Know We Are Christian By Our Love Kayleen Yuda
Lighting of the Candles
Ringing of the Bell
Introit: Dona Nobis Pacem Bell Choir
Welcome Rev. Eric S. Anderson
* Call to Worship: (based on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31) Bob Smith
Leader: Human bodies are one. They have many parts, but they are one body.
People: Christ also has a single body, and we have been baptized into it, one and all.
Leader: We can deny our place in Christ’s body, but that does not make it true.
People: We can deny another’s place in Christ’s body, but that does not make it so.
Leader: You are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
People: We bring different skills, different callings, and different hearts, but one and all we are part of the body of Christ.
All: Let us worship God!
* Hymn #273: Praise with Joy the World’s Creator (v. 1-4)
* Invocation (based on Psalm 19) Bob Smith
Your law, O God, is perfect, but our understanding of it is not. Your commandments are clear, but our humanity obscures their meaning. We do not always detect our own errors. Teach us of our hidden faults. May your presence and guidance lead us to righteousness, enlightenment, and rejoicing, O God, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Please be seated
WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD
Anthem: Simple Gifts Kayleen Yuda
Time with the Children Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Scripture: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 Bob Smith
All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen’, lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
Luke 4:14-21
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’
Sermon: Fulfilled Rev. Eric S. Anderson
WE RESPOND IN WORD AND DEED
Pastoral Prayer Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen
* Hymn #395: In Christ There Is No East or West (v. 1-4)
Call to Offering Bob Smith
God’s gifts to us are beyond counting. The gift of Jesus stands with the gifts of life, of wisdom, of love. We can never repay God’s gifts, but we can share, and we do share. Whether you share your gift here in the church today, through a gift online, or via an envelope in the mail, let the offering now be received.
Please be seated
Offertory: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus Kayleen Yuda
* Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost – Amen
* Offertory Prayer Bob Smith
Holy One, accept the gifts of your grateful people. Receive with them our love, our faith, and our joy in you. Amen.
Please be seated
Litany of Sabbatical Release but Not Good-Bye
Rev. Jonathan: Our Church family is constantly changing. People come and people go. People step into new roles as God calls and people step out of roles as God’s still speaking voice calls them away. Babies are born. Children grow up. People commit themselves to one another. Loved ones come to the end of their earthly lives and leave this existence. Life changes. Time never stands still. It is important and pono that we recognize these times of passage, of endings and of beginnings, of seasons, of changes. And today, it is time to share a time of sabbatical release as Rev. Eric’s ministry enters a new phase as he starts his 3-month sabbatical.
Moderator: On January 3, 2016, this Church of the Holy Cross called Rev. Eric Anderson to serve as your pastor and teacher. In our agreement with Rev. Eric, we pledged to grant him 3 months of sabbatical after three years of ministry. Now after eight years including the difficulties of ministry during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Rev. Eric is ready to start his sabbatical on February 1, 2025.
Rev. Eric: I mahalo Church of the Holy Cross, its members and friends, for the love, kindness, and support shown me these years. As I leave my role as your pastor for the next three months, I carry with me all that I have learned. I have been blessed to be your pastor and teacher and look forward to being recharged and energized when I return.
People: We receive your thankfulness and accept that you are now called to temporarily leave your role as pastor and teacher. You have blessed us with your God’s called leadership.
Moderator: Do you, members and friends of Church of the Holy Cross temporarily release Rev. Eric from the duties and vows he accepted when he became our pastor and teacher?
People: We do, with the help of God.
Moderator: Do you offer your encouragement for his ministry as it unfolds and develops after his sabbatical?
People: We do, with the help of God.
Moderator: Do you, Rev. Eric, release this local church from turning to you and depending on you for the next three months?
Rev. Eric: I do, with the help of God.
Moderator: Do you offer encouragement for the continued ministry here and with Rev. Diane as she serves here for the next three months?
Rev. Eric: I do, with the help of God.
All: Praise God, in the highest!
Rev. Jonathan: May God walk before us in this time of change. May God walk upon our left; may God walk upon our right. May God follow behind us to catch when we fall. May God be in our tears and in our laughter. May God be in our hopes and in our dreams. May God be with Rev. Eric on his sabbatical as he writes and as he watches birds. And may God be with Church of the Holy Cross and may we be church with Rev. Diane for the next three months. God is with us, let us go in peace! Amen, amen, and amen.
* Hymn #584: I Am the Light of the World (v. 1-4)
Please be seated
Announcements Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Benediction Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Postlude: To God Be the Glory Kayleen Yuda
* Please stand if you are able.
Dates to Remember
February 1 to April 30, 2025 Pastor Eric’s Sabbatical Leave; The Rev. Dr. Diane Weible will be our Interim Pastor
Please Send Pledge Cards
A reminder from the Every Member Canvass Committee, please send in your 2025 pledge cards if you have not done so. This will help us in planning for our year’s program. To date we have received 28 pledges for 68% of our goal. Thank you to all who have already sent in pledges.
Other Faith Groups that meet at Church of the Holy Cross
Other Faith Groups that meet at Church of the Holy Cross
The United Church of Christ, Pohnpei – Sanctuary, 12 noon
Rev. Bensis Henry
Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa – Sanctuary, 2:00 p.m.
Rev. Sitau Ofoia, Jr.
The Bedesta Church – Sanctuary, 4 p.m.
Rev. Edmes Edwin
Pastor Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator Stefan Tanouye
Lay Reader Bob Smith
Chapel Decorations Carolyn Lum-Bellum
Organist Kayleen Yuda
Hand Bell Director Anna Kennedy
Projected Imagery Sue Smith
Web Master Ruth Niino-DuPonte
Videographers Eric Tanouye, Eli Yamaki,
Mace Peng, Bob Smith
Music Permissions
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
Peter Scholtes
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Praise with Joy the World’s Creator
Text by the Iona Community, 1985
© 1987 WGRG c/o Iona Community,
GIA Publications, Inc., agent
Tune LAUDIMA ANIMA by John Goss, 1869
Public Domain
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Simple Gifts
Mark Hayes
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
In Christ There Is No East or West
Text by John Oxenham, 1908
Public Domain
Tune ST. PETER by Alexander R. Reinagle, 1836
Public Domain
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Helen H. Lemmel
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
I Am the Light of the World
Text by Jim Strathdee, 1969
© 1969 Desert Flower Music
Tune LIGHT OF THE WORLD by Jim Strathdee, 1969
© 1969 Desert Flower Music
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
To God Be the Glory
William H Doane
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
