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, February 16, 2025. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily.
Service of Worship February 16, 2025
Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany
Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor
Rev. Dr. Diane Weible, Sabbatical Interim 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: Lamb of God Kayleen Yuda
Lighting of the Candles
Ringing of the Bell
Welcome Rev. Dr. Diane Weible
* Call to Worship Peter Braun
Leader: Arise, shine; for your light has come
People: And the glory of our God has risen upon us.
Leader: God has pity on the weak and needy;
People: God redeems their life from oppression and violence.
Leader: Precious in God’s sight are the widows, widowers, and orphans of war;
People: Previous in God’s sight are the addicted and confused.
Leader: Precious in God’s sight are the abused and neglected;
People: Precious in God’s sight are the poor and desperate.
Leader: Precious in God’s sight are all who sit on the margins;
People: Precious in God’s sight are all who long for justice.
Leader: The glory of our God will rise upon them.
People: The glory of our God will rise upon us all.
* Hymn #72 (NCH): Sekai No Tomo (vs. 1 in Japanese, vs. 2-4 in English)
* Invocation Peter Braun
Loving God, gather us in this space to worship you. Gather us in this space to praise you. Gather us in this space that we may be changed and renewed by your word and by the Holy Spirit. May our worship together change us and prepare us for the work ahead. May the light we received today be the light that we then are prepared to carry out into the world. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Please be seated
WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD
Anthem: Sonata 19 Mace Peng
Time with the Children
Scripture: Jeremiah 17:5-10 Peter Braun
Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
The heart is devious above all else;
it is perverse—
who can understand it?
I the Lord test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings.
Luke 6:17-26
He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
‘Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame youon account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
‘But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
Sermon: Blessed are you… Rev. Dr. Diane Weible
WE RESPOND IN WORD AND DEED
Pastoral Prayer Rev. Dr. Diane Weible
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 #170: Your Ways Are Not Our Own (vs. 1-5)
Call to Offering Peter Braun
Blessed are we when we bring forth our gifts for the needs of the poor, the pursuit of justice, the nurturing of community, the honoring of difference, and the goal of the common good. Woe to us when we mistake abundance as scarcity and generosity as a handout. God has given enough gifts for all to be well. By sharing our blessings, we demonstrate faith, trust and love.
Offertory: Adagio on a Lourdes 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 Peter Braun
Loving God, you bless those who are oppressed and treated as the least. You call us to do the same. Bless us God and these gifts that we may share all we are and all we have with those who need it the most. We dedicate these gifts and our lives to you with praise and thanksgiving. Amen.
* Hymn #77: Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing (vs. 1-3)
Announcements Rev. Dr. Diane Weible
Benediction Rev. Dr. Diane Weible
As you go into the world, remember that
Embodied Love has come down to join you.
God’s grace has come down to redeem you.
Spirit has come down to empower and equip you
To also come down with the world
In need of hope and encouragement
In want of witness and public proclamation
That God is good and still down with us
Postlude: Fanfare and March Kayleen Yuda
* Please stand if you are able.
Permissions
Call to Worship reprinted from Jeffrey S. Nelson, Before the Amen, Creative Resources for Worship, Maren C. Tirabassi and Maria I. Tirabassi, editors, 2007, The Pilgrim Press
Call to Offering and Benediction reprinted from Worship Ways, Down with Them: Service Prayers for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany Year C, by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology for the United Church of Christ.
Lamb of God
Twila Paris
Hope Publishing Company
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Sekai no Tomo (Here, O God, Your Servants Gather)
Text by Tokuo Tamaguchi, 1958
Trans. Everett M. Stowe, 1958
Tune TOKYO, Japanese gagaku mode
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Sonata 19
Domenico Scarlatti
Public Domain
Your Ways Are Not Our Own
Lavon Bayler, 1988, rev. 1993
Text: © 1988, Pilgrim Press
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Fanfare and March
Henry Purcell
arr. George Blake
Tune: © 1983 Lorenz Corporation (admin. by Music Services)
All Rights Reserved.
ASCAP Text: © 1983 Lorenz Corporation (admin. by Music Services)
All Rights Reserved. ASCAP
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Adagio on a Lourdes
Alice Jordan
Alfred Publishing Company
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890
Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing
Text attrib. to John Fawcett, 1775
Tune SICILIAN MARINERS 18th cent. Sicilian melody
Public Domain
Dates to Remember
February 1 to April 30, 2025 Pastor Eric’s Sabbatical Leave; The Rev. Dr. Diane Weible will be our Interim Pastor
February 16, 2025 Open and Affirming (ONA) Panel Discussion, 11:30 AM, Building of Faith
February 23, 2025 Annual Congregational Meeting, 11:30 AM, Sanctuary, after Worship Service
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
Sabbatical Interim Pastor Rev. Dr. Diane Weible
Moderator Stefan Tanouye
Lay Reader Peter Braun
Chapel Decorations Hats Kamimura
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
