July 2 Bulletin

Claremont United Church of Christ Sunday, July 2, 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 Adagio for Strings Samuel Barber Susan Achuff, organ arr. William Strickland CALL TO SABBATH CALL TO WORSHIP One: Our God is great! All: God is worthy of our praise! One: Our God is good! All: We come to receive from God's abundance. One: Our God welcomes us, so come, let us worship and bow down. All: Let us kneel before God, our Maker. For he is our Shepherd; and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. OPENING HYMN #307 Glorious Things of You Are Spoken AUSTRIAN HYMN (verses 1-3) WELCOME CONFESSING OUR SHORTCOMINGS Forgive us, O God. Though you should guide us, we inform ourselves. Though you should direct us, we control ourselves. Though you should fulfill us, we console ourselves. For we think your truth too high, your will too hard, your power too remote, or your love too free. Heal our confused mind with your word, heal our divided will with your law, heal our troubled conscience with your love, heal our anxious hearts with your presence. We pray in the name of Jesus, who loved us and gave himself for us. Amen. RECEIVING GOD’S GRACE One: Scripture declares that God's mercies are new every morning, always ready to forgive us, to wipe the slate clean, to offer us a new start. All: We thank God for such amazing grace. We receive it, and offer it to those who need it. 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/VBS PERFORMANCE OFFERING/MUSIC Throw It Away Abbey Lincoln Maritri Garrett, musician-in-residence 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 Numbers 20:1-11 20 The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there. 2 Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had died when our kindred died before the LORD! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 5 Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting; they fell on their faces, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water. Thus you shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”

9 So Moses took the staff from before the LORD, as he had commanded him. 10 Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. Mark 16:1-4 16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. SERMON Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins Old Testament Stories: Lessons for Living Today “Big Rocks” GUEST MUSICIAN No Hiding Place Spiritual, arr. Dorothy Love Coates Jyvonne Haskin 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 HYMN Thy Word Is a Lamp Unto My Feet THY WORD (see next page) POSTLUDE Fantasia on \"National Hymn\" Rex Koury Susan Achuff, organ You are invited to stay in your seats for the Postlude or to exit quietly.

THY WORD IS A LAMP UNTO MY FEET Thank you for your support of Claremont UCC! You can donate by texting an amount to (909) 343-5901 or scanning the QR code:

HYMN COMMENTARY \"Glorious Things of You are Spoken\" John Newton (1725-1807) based this text on Psalm 87:3 as well as other passages from the Hebrew Scriptures. It has been judged by many to be Newton's finest hymn. At an early age Newton went to sea with his father. He disliked the discipline of the navy and ended up selling slaves. Converted to Christianity he became a priest in the Church of England. Franz Haydn (1732-1801) composed this hymn. It was first sung on the emperor's birthday. It may contain portions of a Croatian folk song. After struggling early in his life, his genius was finally recognized and he became a court composer. GUEST MUSICIAN Jyvonne Haskin (she/her) is a live performer, session singer, and artist advocate who serves as Choir Section Leader for the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica and as Executive Director for Pasadena-based community gospel choir, Selah Gospel Choir. Over the course of her career, Jyvonne has performed with the likes of Lady Gaga, U2, Michael Bolton, Janelle Monáe and Roger Daltrey, to name a few. She can often be found making music with the DC6 Singers Collective, a professional A Cappella Gospel/Motown Experience for which she is also a founding member, and is currently melding many of her passions and career goals as a Founding Partner of GreyLoc Entertainment, LLC. When not making music, Jyvonne can be found attending live performances within LA’s broad vocal performance community and encouraging musicians of all levels to strive for their dreams! 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

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Three-Minute Sabbath Ideas: • Set a timer for 2 minutes 30 seconds and write down every single worry that you have. Sometimes the simple act of writing down worries can help us to release them. • Listen to the Prelude of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1. • Go outside and breathe in the fresh air. If it’s warm enough, let your feet feel the grass, dirt, or sand. 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