May 29 Bulletin

Claremont United Church of Christ Sunday, May 29, 2022 10:00 am We are an Open and Affirming congregation, welcoming into our full life and ministry persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, races, socioeconomic status, faith experiences, countries of origin, and abilities. Jesus welcomes everyone and so do we!

A CELEBRATION OF WORSHIP CLAREMONT UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST PRELUDE Epitaphe Louis Vierne INTROIT Listen to Your Savior Call ORIENTIS PARTIBUS CALL TO WORSHIP One: Lord, we are numb. All: Give us hope. One: Lord, we are numb. All: Give us peace. One: Lord, we are numb. All: Give us courage. One: Lord, we are numb. All: Give us your Spirit. One: Lord, we are numb. All: Give us the strength to continue. OPENING HYMN God, Our Nation Feels the Loss PILOT Text: Carolyn Winfrey Gillette God, our nation feels the loss as our children pay the cost for the violence we accept, for the silence we have kept. Rachel weeps for children gone; God of love, this can’t go on! Jesus, Lord, we hear you say, “Don’t turn little ones away!” May we build a kinder land where our children understand: Every child here matters more than the guns we clamor for. Holy Spirit, wind and flame, send us out in Jesus’ name. May we shout and say, “Enough!” May we build a world of love — till the sounds of weapons cease, till our young can grow in peace. WELCOME PRAYER OF CONFESSION God, we come to you this morning in pain. We do not have the words to speak or the strength to act. Once again, we feel as if nothing changes in this world. We repent as a nation that we have made idols of our guns. We repent that we chant “Never Again!” and do nothing to change. We repent

that we have created systems of power and greed that put profits ahead of people. We know that enough is enough but we have no idea what to do next. Please come to us in our grief and confusion and help transform our pain into action. WORDS OF ASSURANCE One: …God sees the ways that we err as a nation and calls us into the light. All: Let us follow God in faith. Amen. CLAREMONT UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST COVENANT In response to God’s creating, redeeming, and sustaining love, we unite for the worship of God and the service of all. We seek to know the will of God and to walk in God’s ways made known in Jesus Christ; to love one another; to proclaim the Gospel to all the world; to work and pray for peace and justice; and to live in harmony with all creation. We trust the presence of the Holy Spirit in trial and rejoicing and the promise of eternal life both now and for evermore. Amen. PASSING OF THE PEACE One: May the peace of Christ be with you. All: And also with you. LITURGICAL SONG Where Children Belong James Ritchie This, this is where children belong, welcomed as part of the worshipping throng. Water, God’s Word, bread and cup, prayer and song: This is where children belong. SERMON ON THE STEPS Rev. Laurel Capesius OFFERING/ANTHEM Immortal Love Elizabeth Alexander DOXOLOGY LASST UNS ERFREUEN Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Christ the word in flesh born low, Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise Holy Spirit evermore, One God, Triune, whom we adore, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

DEDICATION SCRIPTURE Daniel 2:25-47 25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the interpretation.” 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed were these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to be. 30 But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living being, but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind. 31 “You were looking, O king, and there appeared a great statue. That statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its midsection and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “That was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, 38 into whose hand he has given human beings wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything, it shall crush and shatter all these. 41 As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. 42 As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another

in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain and its interpretation trustworthy.” 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that a grain offering and incense be offered to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery!” SERMON Imagine! Tales of Dreamers in the Bible Rev. Dr. Jacob Buchholz “The Fall of Empires” STEWARDSHIP HYMN Come, Let Us Dream GIFT OF LOVE Come, let us dream God’s dream again. Come, one and all, let us ascend the mountain top where those of old saw God’s new day on earth unfold. The lost be found, the blinkered see, the doors swing wide, all prisoners free, the lowly raised, the proud brought low. This is God’s dream: let justice flow. When hatred ends and war shall cease, so all may dwell in deepest peace, then be assured the time is near when perfect love casts out all fear. Come, let us dream God’s dream as one, as all together, leaving none we walk towards justice, peace, and love, sharing our gifts for God above. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE & THE LORD’S PRAYER To honor the power of both the traditional and new versions of the Lord’s Prayer, we will alternate which version we pray each week.

One: …We pray these things using the words you teach us, saying together, All: Our Father/Mother/Creator who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom/kin-dom 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. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom/kin-dom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. GUEST ARTIST Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep Howard Goodall (from Eternal Light: A Requiem) Abi Levis, soprano BENEDICTION CLOSING RESPONSE Come, Christians, Join to Sing MADRID POSTLUDE Contemplative Canzone Flor Peeters Special thanks to our Media Ministry Volunteer: David Moore

ALTAR FLOWERS Today’s flowers are sponsored by CUCC’s Women’s Fellowship, in memory of the lives lost this week at Uvalde Elementary School. HYMN COMMENTARY “God, Our Nation Feels the Loss” Author’s Note: See the reference to the Slaughter of the Innocents: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more” (Matthew 2:18). This hymn was written in remembrance of the beloved children of God who died in the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Many of us, as individuals, do not accept violence, keep silence, or clamor for guns. Yet, as a nation, we do these things, and as a nation, we need to repent; we need to turn around and live a different way. All of us are called to do more than sing and pray; please work for gun safety laws in your community and state. GUEST ARTIST Abi Levis is an internationally celebrated performer. Originally from Portland, Maine, she was trained at the Eastman School of Music, University of Houston, and Bard College. She has performed extensively in the US, Canada, and in Europe and is known for her \"luminous\" singing and \"fearless\" stage presence. She has happily lived in Claremont, CA with her husband since 2015, while also traveling the world and performing frequently with acclaimed recital group, the Mirror Visions Ensemble. In her spare time she enjoys wandering aimlessly, cooking (and eating), and knitting.

PLEASE BE IN TOUCH Claremont United Church of Christ 233 W. Harrison Ave., Claremont, CA 91711 (909) 626-1201 | claremontucc.org @uccclaremont Claremont United Church of Christ Senior Pastors Directors of Music & Fine Arts Rev. Dr. Jacob Buchholz Dr. Alexandra Grabarchuk [email protected], x230 [email protected], x242 Rev. Dr. Jen Strickland Dr. David Rentz [email protected], x228 [email protected], x242 Finance & Payroll Administrator Principal Organist Ms. Jocelyn Bocking Dr. Carey Robertson [email protected], x225 [email protected] Office Manager Building Manager Ms. Jasmine Tomita Mr. Adam Thomas [email protected], [email protected], x222 x240 Minister of Children, Youth, & Technology Director Families Mr. Jon Van Rev. Laurel Capesius [email protected] [email protected] Technology Assistant Children, Youth, & Families Mr. Josh Ngo Assistant [email protected] Ms. Elizabeth Zehm [email protected] ASL Interpreter Ms. Jennifer Stephenson Junior High Youth Director Ms. Zoe Estrada Moderator (Council President) [email protected] Ms. Rita Dixon [email protected] Director of the ECC Ms. Kristy Knight Pastor Emeritus [email protected], x226 Rev. Dr. Homer “Butch” Henderson