Watsonville First United Methodist Church

Watsonville, CA

Join us for in-person worship this Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 10:00 am

You are invited to the in-person Worship Service on Oct. 1 at 10 am. The bulletin for this Sunday is available for viewing HERE.

You can worship live on ZOOM by clicking the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9658816441 or Meeting ID: 965 881 6441

You can also watch Sunday services at your convenience by going to our website “watsonville1stumc.org” and click YouTube or Facebook. Each Sunday worship will be uploaded on Sunday afternoon for your viewing.

World Communion Sunday
Sunday, October 1, 2023, 10 am

“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” ~ John 6:48-51


Special Music                               Goin’ up Yonder                   Beverly Olivier-Blount
by Walter Hawkins

Let the Church Say Amen
by Andraé Crouch

Ms. Beverly Olivier-Blount is a person of deep spiritual faith. With her spiritual roots in the African-American church, she’ll be offering two gospel songs. Beverly is a 1st Violinist at the South Valley Symphony Orchestra, along with her husband, Walker Blount, who plays the Clarinet. They are both section leaders at the Symphony.

Message               “The Rise of Christian Nationalism in America”            Rev. John Song

In a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution, more than half of Republicans showed support for Christian nationalism. Long seen as a fringe viewpoint, Christian nationalism now has a foothold in American politics and religion, particularly in the Republican Party. Researchers found that more than half of Republicans believe the country should be a strictly Christian nation.

The definition of Christian nationalism is that it is a theocratic political ideology that claims America was founded to be a Christian nation, suggesting that the only true Americans are the nation’s Christians. It falsely teaches that there is no separation of church and state – and that conservative Christians should seize complete power by any means necessary. 

In the United States, much of the conversation around faith is dominated by conservative voices, voices that often argue for policies that reflect their Christian nationalist view. Consequently, restricting the rights and hurting the marginalized and vulnerable people in our society.

We’ll shed light on this Christian nationalist movement and explore what the right response as Christians should be.

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” ~ Sinclair Lewis, an early 20th century American writer and playwright

Pastoral Letter: September 2023

Regret Free Life
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
~ John 10:10


Betty Friedan in her 1963 best-selling book, The Feminine Mystique, talks about the “forfeited self” of millions of American women’s frustrations with their limited cultural gender roles that women were resigned to adapt. I am a believer that humans are created for love and freedom. It is a spiritual journey of becoming fully ourselves and manifesting it.

Edward Albee, a famous late American playwright, in his last interview said that all his “plays are correctives.” He explained himself as a kind of herald, perhaps a modern Cassandra warning of the “unlived life.”

“All of my plays are about people missing the boat, closing down too young, coming to
the end of their lives with regret at things not done, as opposed to things done. When
we look back in life, it’s not so much what we have done but what we didn’t do when we had the chance because either we were cowards or preferred to play it safe. I find most people spend too much time living as if they’re never going to die.”

In 2018, the Psychologist Tom Gilovich from Cornell University pioneered research on Regrets, and the study was published as “The Ideal Road Not Taken”. It was about the haunting regret of failing to live our ideal selves. To his surprise, he found people are haunted more by regrets about failing to fulfill their hopes, goals and aspirations than by regrets about failing to fulfill their duties, obligations and responsibilities.

There are two types of regrets: regrets due to actions and regrets due to inactions. Our most enduring regrets are the ones that stem from our failure to take actions because I wanted to play safe and settle for a small “self” life. The 13 century German theologian and mystic, Meister Eckhart wrote, “God is delighted to watch your soul enlarge.” The 20th century Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung said, “We all wear shoes size too small.” We are walking around with shoes that are too small for us and they hurt. And God tells us, “Take ‘em off.” The 15th century Spanish mystic, St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote, “The root of human discontent and dis-ease is from being out of an alignment with God’s deepest desire for your life.”

If we look at the long-term view, it’s the regrets due to inactions that haunts us much more than any actions we’ve taken. It’s often the road that I did not take, for whatever reason, I lacked the courage to live the existentially authentic life. Forsaken dreams. Romantic interests not pursued. Securing a job near home rather than an adventurous position overseas. You really don’t want to be in your 60s, 70s, 80s, and realize you missed the boat.

The author Bronnie Ware published her study in 2011, “The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying”. She said, “All of our regrets come from a lack of courage.” Bronnie Ware worked for several years as a caregiver for people in the dying process. Listening deeply to patients’ deathbed reflections, she saw 5 emerging themes. She says, “These top five regrets confront us where we hide, both from ourselves and from other people. Regret-free living takes courage. It is as simple and difficult as that.”

Here are the top five regrets of the dying, according to Bronnie Ware:
I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
I wish that I had let myself be happier

The 20th century French-Cuban American writer, Anaïs Nin, wrote, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Regret-free living is the work of the heart and soul that wants to die in full bloom. As Les Brown advised, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

Everything is Waiting for You by David Whyte
Put down the weight of your aloneness
and ease into the conversation.
The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink,
the cooking pots have left their arrogant aloofness
and seen the good in you at last.
All the birds and creatures of the world
are unutterably themselves.
Everything, everything, is waiting for you.

Yours in Christ,
John

Join us for in-person worship this Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 10:00 am

You are invited to the in-person Worship Service on Sep. 17 at 10 am. The bulletin for this Sunday is available for viewing HERE.

You can worship live on ZOOM by clicking the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9658816441 or Meeting ID: 965 881 6441

You can also watch Sunday services at your convenience by going to our website “watsonville1stumc.org” and click YouTube or Facebook. Each Sunday worship will be uploaded on Sunday afternoon for your viewing.

Back-to-School Sunday
Sunday, September 17, 2023, 10 am

(Pastor John & his mom in Korea)

Children’s Time       “What My Mother Taught Me About Education”              Pastor John

Special Music                         Die Nachtigall (The Nightingale)                   Dr. Emily Sinclair
by Alban Berg

It’s a German opera about a young woman’s journey of becoming more fully herself.

Dr. Emily Sinclair, soprano, has performed in opera and concert across the United States, including at the Caramoor Festival, Central City Opera, and Opera Colorado. In the Bay Area, Emily has performed with the San Francisco Choral Society, West Bay Opera, and most recently as the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Cantare Chorale in Walnut Creek. Emily received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy, and holds additional degrees from Northwestern University, Manhattan School of Music and Yale University. In Santa Cruz, she conducts Fiat Musica and the Temple Beth El choir, and teaches voice and vocal repertoire at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  Upcoming performances include the MAH Common Ground Festival and Santa Cruz Chamber Players.

Message                                   “Stay Connected”                                   Rev. John Song

Back-to-school was always a time of excitement about where the future was headed — new notebooks, fresh supplies, new classes, new friends, and new beginnings. But it feels like students are disappearing into sadness. Let’s face it. It’s becoming more difficult to inhabit a world that is on fire. They are facing the isolation effects from Covid sequestration, a planet devoured by flames and floods, unending school shootings, the assault on LGBTQ, banning books, white washing history, an assault on reproductive rights, the assault on democracy, and most importantly, the assault on truth.

Moreover, our kids are subjected to 24/7 social media with microtargeting algorithms that inflame envy and conflict and divisive politics, promoting a “never enough” achievement and consumer culture, and anxious adults creating a jittery atmosphere. They are digitally connected and yet find themselves emotionally disjointed and spiritually unmoored society. Is it any wonder our kids are reaching for Prozac and looking for shrinks instead of sharpened pencils.

In this Back-to-school message, we will try to find answers from Jesus who becomes our anchor from drifting listlessly in the ocean of chaos. 

John 15: 4-11
I am the vine; you are the branches
“4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit
by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them
bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”

Mark Twain said, “Your two most important days are
the day you were born and the day you find out why.”
I would add the third most important day to the list,
and that is the day you take action on your why.
~ Light Watkins