July 30 Bulletin

Claremont United Church of Christ Sunday, July 30, 2023 10:00 am Welcome home! Regardless of your age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, abilities, or faith background, we are glad you’re worshiping with us today. You belong here.

A CELEBRATION OF WORSHIP CLAREMONT UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST PRELUDE A Franciscan Pastorale Franklin D. Ashdown (“All Creatures of Our God and King”) Susan Achuff, organ CALL TO SABBATH INTROIT Octavia’s Parable CHANGE CALL TO WORSHIP One: God, we gather in expectation, hungry for an encounter with You. All: Open our hearts to the work and presence of your Holy Spirit. One: We gather in anticipation, eager to hear your Word. All: May your seeds of truth and love fall on open hearts and fertile soil. One: We gather in worship and devotion, looking for your direction. All: May your ways take root in our lives and produce an abundant harvest of service and love. OPENING HYMN Christ Taught Us Of a Farmer AURELIA Carolyn Winfrey Gillette Christ taught us of a farmer who went out sowing seeds. A few had trouble growing among the rocks and weeds, Yet others grew till harvest in soil that was so good. O God, you sow the gospel: The seed is your own word. You sowed your word of love here so many years ago. Your message found a welcome; your word began to grow. By grace, this church was built here by saints who followed you. The seed took root and flourished: we hear and follow, too. In times of joy we praise you, in struggling times we search, And always we are learning to be your faithful church. Your Spirit gives us vision — and hearts and lives made new. Your harvest is for sharing: sent out, we work for you. WELCOME CONFESSING OUR SHORTCOMINGS

Merciful and mighty God, you plant your seed in all kinds of soil. You speak, hoping that the whole world will listen and heed what you say. We struggle to follow your word. We fail to live up to your example. We pick and choose who we believe should receive your grace and our kindness, showing love to people who seem most deserving. Forgive us when we judge others to be beyond your reach and are tempted to stop scattering the seeds you give us to sow. Remind us to see not with our eyes but with our hearts. Strengthen us to turn away from our self-centered tendencies and forgive us for these and all our sins. Amen. RECEIVING GOD’S GRACE One: Our God is full of compassion. He forgives all who humbly repent and trust in the restorative work of Jesus. There is no condemnation for all those who are in Christ. All: With open hearts, we receive God’s forgiveness. Thanks be to God! 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 worshiping throng. Water, God’s Word, bread and cup, prayer and song: This is where children belong. SERMON ON THE STEPS OFFERING/MUSIC You Are My Hiding Place Selah Lacey Jo Benter & Anthony Lauro, vocals 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 Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23 13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 If you have ears, hear!” 18 “Hear, then, the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” SERMON “Keep Sowing” Rev. Chineta Goodjoin MUSICAL RESPONSE One of Us Joan Osborne Maritri Garrett, musician-in-residence 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. BENEDICTION CLOSING MUSIC As I Went Down to the River to Pray Traditional folk hymn Lacey Jo Benter, guitar Maritri Garrett, piano Please join Lacey & Maritri for the final choruses and verse! As I went down to the river to pray Studying about that good old way And who shall wear the star and crown Good Lord show me the way O sinners let's go down Lets go down come on down O sinners lets go down Down in the river to pray As I went down to the river to pray Studying about that good old way And who shall wear the robe and crown Good Lord show me the way POSTLUDE When in Our Music God is Glorified Wilbur Held Susan Achuff, organ You are invited to stay in your seats for the Postlude or to exit quietly. Thank you for your support of Claremont UCC! You can donate by texting an amount to (909) 343-5901 or scanning the QR code:

ALTAR FLOWERS Today’s flowers are given by Debbie Popovich and David DeWitt in memory of their beloved 18 ½ year old cat, Olie. GUEST PREACHER Rev. Chineta Goodjoin is the Organizing Pastor of New Hope Presbyterian Church in Anaheim, California. Known for her strong organizational leadership and community development initiatives, Rev. Goodjoin has established a church with strong missional outreach and social justice advocacy for families, youth, and children. The church continues to build its reputation as a community of prayer, praise and faith where all people matter. Rev. Goodjoin has worked in the areas of trauma, cultural care, and public worship while leading a church that celebrates the heritage and history of African American worship. New Hope church has given its focus to music equity in schools and currently offers music lessons to underserved children of color in Orange County. New Hope’s social justice committee sponsors forums on race relations, health equity, homelessness and LGBTQ equity. The church is tackling food insecurity in Anaheim by distributing food every week to families in need. Rev. Goodjoin serves on the board of the Sue and Bill Gross board School of Nursing where there is a strong commitment to bring awareness to health inequities in communities of color. Rev. Chineta Goodjoin and New Hope Presbyterian Church work in collaboration with other churches and organizations to build a stronger community. Rev. Goodjoin is married to Reggie Goodjoin who is the Music Director at New Hope. They have one daughter Nyla who is 14 years old. MUSICIAN-IN-RESIDENCE Maritri Garrett is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from San Bernardino, California. She holds a BA in biology from Fisk University where she was a Jubilee singer, a BS from Howard University in composition, and an MFA in Jazz studies from Howard University. Of late, she has freelanced for several Southern California theaters as a musician and composer. She plays a nightly show, Reunion of Souls, on Facebook Live M-F 5pm. facebook.com/maritri COMPOSER NOTE I wrote Octavia’s Parable as an introit to be performed at Claremont United Church of Christ, to coincide with the new parable-themed sermon series in August 2022. This brief piece sets renowned African-American author Octavia Butler’s words from Parable of the Sower, a 1993 post apocalyptic science fiction novel focusing on climate change and social inequality. Echoing the Earthseed movement’s belief that “God is Change,” the introit is modular, meaning it can be performed by anywhere from 2 to 22 singers. It is also aleatoric, specifying

pitches and words, but asking performers to make individual decisions about pacing and entrances. Therefore, each instantiation of this introit will sound different based on the number of singers, and their choices within each performance. --Alexandra Grabarchuk The practice of Sabbath rest is a balm for the contemporary issues of emotional exhaustion, prolonged stress, and burnout. In Ecclesiastes 4:6, Solomon insists that working without rest is like chasing after the wind. Thomas Merton, in arguing for Sabbath rest, wrote that “There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence... activism and overwork. The frenzy of our activism destroys the fruitfulness of our own work [and] kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.\" Stress is pervasive in America. According to polling, 36% of people say they are stressed out during a normal workday and experience at least one symptom of stress -- such as headaches (34%), feeling overwhelmed (33%), feeling anxious (33%), or feeling depressed (32%) -- each and every day. So, maybe we should take God's encouragement toward Sabbath rest seriously? For a place to start, maybe try one of these this week: (1) Take a quiet walk and use the walking time to thank God for as many things as you can think of. (2) Read or watch something that makes you laugh out loud. (3) Find a way to surprise or delight someone you love. (4) Relive a happy memory, including as much detail as you can remember and thanking God that it happened. This week I intend to: __________________________________________________________________ as a commitment to Summer Sabbath.

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 Executive Pastor, Summer 2023 Directors of Music & Fine Arts Rev. Shannon Barnes Dr. Alexandra Grabarchuk [email protected] [email protected] Dr. David Rentz Senior Pastors [email protected] Rev. Dr. Jacob Buchholz Rev. Dr. Jen Strickland Principal Organist (on sabbatical through August 2023) Dr. Carey Robertson [email protected] Finance & Payroll Administrator Ms. Jocelyn Bocking Building Manager [email protected], x110 Mr. Adam Thomas [email protected], Office Manager x109 Ms. Jasmine Tomita [email protected], Technology Director x101 Mr. Jon Van [email protected], x120 Minister of Children, Youth, & Families ASL Interpreters Rev. Laurel Capesius Ms. Jennifer Stephenson [email protected], x210 Ms. Rebecca McAllister Children, Youth, & Families Moderator (Council President) Assistant Ms. Linda Yao Ms. Elizabeth Zehm [email protected] [email protected] Pastor Emeritus Junior High Youth Director Rev. Dr. Homer “Butch” Henderson Ms. Zoe Estrada [email protected] Director of the ECC Ms. Kristy Knight [email protected], x114