Join us for our 170th Anniversary Celebration this Saturday, October 22, 2022 at 11:00 am. Please see the flyer below for more details.
Join us for in-person worship this Sunday, October 23, 2022 at 10:00 am
You are invited to in-person worship this Sunday, October 23 at 10 am. *Masks are optional. 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 / 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.
Season of Ordinary Time
Sunday, October 23, 2022, 10 am
Children’s Time “Feeding of the 5000” Pastor John
Choir Anthem I Want to Bloom Where I’m Planted
(Words & Music: Nancy Woods Harrison)
Message by Rev. John Song
What Animals Teach Us:
Part 2) “Wisdom of the Body”
This is the second part and the conclusion of the sermon series on “What Animals Teach Us”. This Sunday we will conclude with Part 2) “Wisdom of the Body”.
This is an opportunity for us to experience firsthand how much love went into our creation and creating each of us. Richard Rohr wrote, “God loves by becoming them. God comes to you disguised as your life. The theology of Incarnation is God’s radical unity with humanity.”
We will learn what Embodied spirituality is all about. Embodiment shifts the focus from cognitive, linguistic, or language-like phenomena or the thinking mind towards connecting, listening, and embodying the inherent wisdom of the body to inform and direct us. We will learn a few basic skills to turn toward the body that will help and enrich our lives.
“The theology of Incarnation tells us that
God decided to make home in our bodies.”
~ John Song
“No one can listen to your body for you. To grow and heal,
you have to take responsibility for listening to it yourself.”
~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
Join us for in-person worship this Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 10:00 am
You are invited to in-person worship for The Blessing of Animals Sunday, October 16 at 10 am.*Masks are optional. 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 / 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.
The Blessing of Animals Sunday
Sunday, October 16, 2022, 10 am
Come one come all. On Sunday, October 16, 2022 we invite all animals, whether furry, scaled, or feathered to be blessed during the worship service. We invite you to bring your pets so we can bless them in worship!
*Children and children at heart who do not have animals may bring their favorite stuffed animals. For those who cannot bring their pets, bring a picture of the pet.
Children’s Time “Who Let the Dog Out!” Pastor John
Special Music
Marina Thomas will play well known fun animal music to delight our hearts.
Message What Animals Teach Us Rev. John Song
Part 1) “Unutterably Themselves”
This is a 2 Part Sermon Series on “What Animals Teach Us”. We’ll begin this Sunday with Part 1) “Unutterably Themselves”, and the following Sunday, we’ll conclude with Part 2) “Wisdom of the Body”.
The 2nd century Greek Bishop, St. Irenaeus, exclaimed, “Glory of God is human fully alive.” Animals have something to teach us about how to become alive in God’s playground of creation.
Join us for in-person worship this Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 10:00 am
You are invited to in-person worship on this special COPA Sunday, October 9 at 10 am. *Masks are optional. The bulletin for this Sunday is available for viewing HERE.
You can now worship live on ZOOM by clicking the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9658816441 or Meeting ID: 965 881 6441
You can also worship online by going to our website “watsonville1stumc.org” and click YouTube or Facebook. It will be uploaded on Sunday afternoon for your viewing.
Season of Ordinary Time ~ Sunday, October 9, 2022, 10 am
This Sunday is In-Person Lego Sunday!
First, children will be in worship. Following the Special Music,
the teacher, Joan Culbertson, will lead our children to the Nursery Room.
Children’s Time: “All Things Are Possible” by Mayra Bernabe
[Mayra Bernabe is a native of Watsonville, and a longtime participant and volunteer of Watsonville FUMC since 2007. Some of her earlier involvement includes: Vacation Bible School, the Watsonville Music Program, & the handbell choir amongst others. A recipient of the Watsonville Journey to Hope scholarship, she has a BA in Sociology with an emphasis in Community Change, and a minor in Applied Computing for Social and Behavioral Sciences from San Jose State University. Prior to her role now, Mayra directed the Watsonville NETworX Program, one of the church’s outreach programs, serving low-income families.
Since 2019, Mayra has been an organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation, where she trains leaders to develop their capacity to work on issues affecting their families. Her primary organizing work is in the Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties (COPA-Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action), but this year also started working with leaders in the Silicon Valley who are building a new IAF organization. Through her work in COPA, she is able to continue making meaningful lasting positive changes in the Central Coast and beyond.]
Special Music: Litany by Langston Hughes Emily Sinclair, Soprano
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: “The Power of Imagination” by Tim McManus
[Tim McManus has been an organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) since 2009. The IAF is the nation’s oldest and largest community organizing network. Tim has worked with IAF organizations in Dallas (Dallas Area Interfaith), Phoenix (Valley Interfaith Project), and since 2013 here in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties (COPA – Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action). COPA is a broad-based organization of 25 member institutions that work together on issues including safety, education, health care, housing, immigration, and economic development. In addition to Tim’s work with COPA, he is Supervisor for the IAF work in Phoenix, and is working with clergy and leaders in Fresno to build a new IAF organization. Prior to organizing, Tim taught high school for 8 years in Dallas, Dublin (Ireland), and Boston where he’s from. He has a BA in Theology from Boston College, and a Master of Education from Notre Dame.]
Reminder: Pajaro Valley CROP Hunger Walk is on Saturday, October 8, 2022
Our annual Pajaro Valley CROP Hunger Walk is on Saturday, October 8, 2022. This year we will host the event at our Church, 229 Stanford Street. We will meet at the front of the church. Registration begins at 8:00 am and our walk starts at 8:30 am. Help support the global efforts of the Church World Service and our local Second Harvest Food Bank. Rally your family, coworkers, and friends and support the 14th Annual Pajaro Valley CROP Hunger Walk. This is a 2-mile walk. Participants raise funds either by fundraising or donating themselves. Registered participants receive a t-shirt while supplies last. Together we can help end hunger in our community and around the world!
Register or Donate Online HERE!