November 13 Bulletin (Online Version)

Claremont United Church of Christ Sunday, November 13, 2022 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 Stand Up Peter Yates Peter Yates, guitar INTROIT Come All You People UYAI MOSE CALL TO WORSHIP One: We know that life is full of hills and valleys, challenges and joys. All: We worship together to remind one another of God’s constant presence. One: We trust that God meets us where we are. All: We worship to remind one another of our status as beloved children of our Creator. One: We believe that soon and very soon, God’s kin-dom will be fully realized. All: We worship to proclaim that all of creation is being redeemed. OPENING HYMN #25 O God, Our Help in Ages Past ST. ANNE WELCOME (see last page) CONFESSING OUR SINS God Who Hears Our Cries, we confess that it is often easier to run from our problems than to face them. It is easier to give up than to work for reconciliation and justice. It is easier to turn away from You than to sit in the mystery of life’s ups and downs. It is easier to have blind faith or no faith at all than to wrestle with deep questions about You and Your nature. Forgive us for taking the easier path instead of the faithful path. Amen. RECEIVING GOD’S GRACE One: …Having confessed our shortcomings, be assured that we are a forgiven people. All: Thanks be to God! 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 worshiping throng. Water, God’s Word, bread and cup, prayer and song: This is where children belong. SERMON ON THE STEPS Rev. Laurel Capesius OFFERING/MUSIC Abendempfindung W.A. Mozart Alexandra Grabarchuk, mezzo-soprano Peter Yates, guitar 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 Genesis 16:1-16 16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave whose name was Hagar, 2 and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the LORD has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. 4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the

wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her. 7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her, “Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael, for the LORD has given heed to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall live at odds with all his kin.” 13 So she named the LORD who spoke to her, “You are El-roi,” for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. SERMON On the Run: “When All is Lost” Rev. Dr. Jacob Buchholz ANTHEM Bridge Over Troubled Water Paul Simon arr. Mark Hayes 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 together, All: Great Giver, in whom heaven is found, holy is Your name. May Your commonwealth of peace and freedom flourish on earth. Give us this day bread for our journey, and make us hungry to see the whole world

nourished. Forgive us and help us forgive one another. Strengthen us for the challenges that lie ahead. Let us hear Your prophets, and deliver us from our privilege. For Your love is the only power, the only home, the only honor we need, in this world and in the world to come. Amen. GUEST ARTIST Stoop Sitting Peter Yates Alexandra Grabarchuk, voice & toy piano Peter Yates, guitar, voice, percussion BENEDICTION CLOSING RESPONSE Guide My Feet African-American Spiritual arr. Joyce Finch Johnson POSTLUDE Concerto in A Minor: Allegro Antonio Vivaldi Dr. Carey Robertson, organ arr. J.S. Bach ALTAR FLOWERS Today’s flowers are given by Man Dy as a reminder of God’s promise to always walk alongside us. Even in your darkest days, may you feel comforted by God and know that God has a plan for you.

ABOUT THE INTROIT This short gathering song is by the Zimbabwean composer Alexander Gondo. The text was originally written in Shona, a Bantu language spoken by over 10 million people in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and other southern African nations and is now sung all over the world in a host of languages. GUEST ARTIST Peter Yates is a guitarist and composer whose interest in things not done has led to works for prepared guitar, building and playing an arpeggione (a bowed guitar invented in 1823 and rarely seen since), cycles of \"PopArt\" songs, a puppet opera about the Watts Towers, and a DVD ghost-town opera in which historic photographs come to life and sing. Recent performance activity has included recording and performing with the trio ensembleFRET and, with Alexandra Grabarchuk, the duo GuitAria. His work with the Elgart/Yates Duo included sixteen tours of Europe, over one hundred premieres, and a book on prepared guitar. Examples of his work can be found at California Guitar Archives (calguitar.com) and youtube.com/peterfyates. “A particularly lucid fretboard dreamer. An unreconstructed modernist, he is also sensitive to vernacular and popular styles.” – The Los Angeles Times DID YOU KNOW… …That there are 219 students in our children and youth programs? Your contributions help support our ministry to our youngest disciples! You can donate by texting an amount to (909) 343-5901 or scanning the QR code:



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], x104 [email protected] Rev. Dr. Jen Strickland Dr. David Rentz [email protected], x105 [email protected] Finance & Payroll Administrator Principal Organist Ms. Jocelyn Bocking Dr. Carey Robertson [email protected], x102 [email protected] Office Manager Building Manager Ms. Jasmine Tomita Mr. Adam Thomas [email protected], [email protected], x100 x103 Minister of Children, Youth, & Technology Director Families Mr. Jon Van Rev. Laurel Capesius [email protected], x106 [email protected], x107 ASL Interpreter Children, Youth, & Families Ms. Jennifer Stephenson Assistant Ms. Elizabeth Zehm Moderator (Council President) [email protected] Ms. Linda Yao [email protected] Junior High Youth Director Ms. Zoe Estrada Pastor Emeritus [email protected] Rev. Dr. Homer “Butch” Henderson Director of the ECC Ms. Kristy Knight [email protected], x101