Zoom Invitation and Order of Worship for Sunday

January 23, 2022 
________________________

Dear Friends of Pioneer,

REMINDER:  Worship is offered only on zoom until further notice.

Pastor Ginger Foster is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Pioneer UMC - Sunday Morning Worship
Time: Jan 16, 2022 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)


Join Zoom Meeting online
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85849977401
 
Meeting ID: 858 4997 7401

One tap mobile
+16699009128,,85849977401# US (San Jose)


Dial by phone
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 858 4997 7401
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              **On January 23rd join the service online with this link
                           https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85849977401
       Or join by phone. Dial 1-(669)-900-9128 and enter the Meeting ID#. 
                                      Meeting ID#: 858 4997 7401
                   Questions? Call  Nancy Marchinek @ (530) 885-4196  or
                                               Pastor Ginger @ (559) 676-8719.
                                                               
                                                         Order of Worship

Bells of Celebration
Prelude                                         Qi Qing & David Thorp, Piano & Viola Duet

Words of Welcome                                                          Pastor Ginger Foster

Unison Opening Prayer                                              Margaret Platt, Liturgist
   Eternal God of the Ages,
   We would bow as empty vessels waiting to be filled, but our minds and
   souls are busy with many things which impede our being filled by you.      We become preoccupied with our worries. Help us to divest ourselves
   of the cares and troubles which so daily beset us. Empty us of them
   now that we may be filled.
      May we be filled with a sense of your presence.   
      May we be filled with the touch of your spirit.
      May we be filled with new energy.                                
      May we be filled with trust and faith.
   Empower us as we worship here and then enable us to impact your
   world for Jesus. Change the stagnant water of our lives to wine and
   touch us as you touched those people in Cana. Give us all the vision to
   shape a new world where self-interest is tempered and corrected by
   love and compassion and a hunger for justice. Give to all the world the
   gift of being filled with new wine and new vision.  Amen
  |Prayers of the People: John 2: 1-11| Adapted from Richard Einerson Prayer
   (http://www.richardeinerson.com)| January 11, 2013|re:worship.blogspot.com|

Opening Hymn            “Take Time to Be Holy”                  #395 (red hymnal)
                                                                                                     Vs. 1, 2 & 4

Offering Our Gifts & Lives to God
   Invitation to Give   
   Offertory                                                                      Qi Qing Thorp, Pianist
  Doxology         “Praise God, from Whom                           #95 (red hymnal)
                                                      All Blessings Flow”                Sing once

Offering Our Prayers to God
           Sharing Our Joys and Concerns
                Concerns:   Lord in Your Mercy      “Hear our Prayers”
                       Joys:   In Grateful Praise        “Thanks be to God”
             Time of Personal Prayer                                   Dave Hogge, Guitarist
              Pastoral Prayer / Lord’s Prayer

Scripture Readings                    John 2: 1-11            Margaret Platt, Liturgist

Hymn of Preparation      “Where the Spirit                    #2119 (black hymnal)
                                                           of the Lord Is”                 Sing twice

Message              “All Shall Sit                                        Pastor Ginger Foster
                                     Under Their Own Fig Trees”

Reflection on the Scripture Passages/Questions for private worship at home:
      Consider the scene: a village wedding feast, a really notable occasion, especially in this exceptionally poor, dusty region of Judea, a genuinely joyous event. Your invitation would have come from the groom... The ceremony would be scheduled for a Wednesday evening (that was the rule to allow travelers to avoid the necessity of going any distance on the sabbath).Then the other card in the envelope would say, "Reception to follow over the next seven days and nights. RSVP." They needed to know how many would be showing up so they could make adequate preparation for food and drink. They would certainly not want to run out of anything, because in that part of the country, a lack of hospitality was a terrible social faux pas.
      As to the ceremony itself, it would be preceded by a huge feast with the actual exchanging of the vows late in the evening. Afterward, the couple would be led on a winding trek through the town by the light of flaming torches, a canopy over their heads, allowing the other townspeople the opportunity for congratulations and good wishes ending up at the couple's new home. Then for another week or so, the newlyweds would host an open house…
      As to this specific wedding in Cana of Galilee, about four and a half miles from Nazareth, no doubt much of the town was involved in the festivities. Jesus' mother, Mary, was there, so probably the principals were relatives of hers or, at the very least, good friends. Joseph is not mentioned, and scholars believe that by this time, he had died. Mary was probably close enough to the wedding family to have helped with the arrangements, for, as we shall see, she had authority over the servants to get things accomplished. Jesus was invited, and he showed up with his disciple friends. A good time was being had by all when, horror of horrors, the wine ran out.
      Nobody runs out of wine at a Jewish wedding. It is an insult to the guests, for as we mentioned, hospitality in the East is more than a social grace, it is a sacred duty. It would be a terrible humiliation for the bridal couple, and, in a small town, it would have been talked about for a generation.
      So Mary came to Jesus, the head of her household, the one to whom she probably came for years with problems like this, ever since her husband died. She told him, "They have no more wine" (John 2:3).Jesus responds, "Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come" (John 2:4).There is no indication as to whether Mary had the slightest clue of what he was talking about, but she did have every confidence that he would come up with a solution, so she just told the servants, the ones waiting on the tables, "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5). Come to think of it, that is good advice anytime we encounter Jesus, isn't it?

Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water" (John 2:7). And they filled them up to the brim…We know the rest of the story. The water had been turned to wine. Gallons and gallons and gallons of it! … The wine, of course, was excellent…We know the result: the water was turned to wine and the celebration was saved. How did it happen? The problem was turned over to Jesus. That is all we know, other than the fact that he handled it…the message for John (and remember he places this event right at the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry) is not about Jesus rescuing a party, it is that this Jesus whom we are about to get to know is some heavy-duty fellow, someone to take exceedingly seriously! This Jesus is something. This Jesus is something!
  |”Water Into Wine”| From a sermon by David E. Leininger| sermons.com989|

Closing Hymn           “O Jesus, I Have Promised”             #396 (red hymnal)
                                                                                                      Vs. 1, 3 & 4                   
Unison Benediction                                                    Margaret Platt, Liturgist

      God of Abundance, Jesus revealed the riches of your unexpected
      grace in turning water to wine. Open our hearts always to the richness
      of your love and make us better witnesses in our lives to the
      revelation we have in Jesus Christ. We pray this, as we go forth, in the
      name of Christ, who is God-with-us.  Amen.
                          |Adapted from Epiphany 2 – Prayer of the Day|
            NL Worship Resources: January 14, 2018|freedfromfreedfor.org|
                           News of the Church
               
Fellowship Time

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