You are invited to the Sunday Service on February 15, 2026 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      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.

Valentine’s Sunday
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 10 am

Children’s Time    “What Are Ways We Can Show Love to Others?”   Pastor John

Special Music                  Smoke Gets in Your Eyes                   John Song
by Jerome Kern (music) and Otto Harbach (lyrics)
Sung by The Platters, 1958

Message             “What Is ‘Falling in Love’ About?”             Rev. John Song

People say “love is blind.” For those of us who had the fortune or misfortune of “falling in love” knows it’s magical and intoxicating. What is “Romantic Infatuation” and why are we so addicted to it? What is happening? Does the bible reveal something about this? What do mystics and saints teach us about this? We will explore the mystery of falling in love.     

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord,
and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”
~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, the 4th century theologians from Confessions of St. Augustine    

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467

[A story of two teens frolicking in the forest, eating wild berries, cream milk from the farm, like Romeo & Juliet, parts way when sun goes down.]

We were two young hearts wandering
where the path forgot our names —
running through green woods,
laughing at nothing,
staining our fingers with wild berries.

We drank the day like sweet cream milk from a farm cup,
and time, for once, did not hurry us.

Like Romeo and Juliet,
we believed the sun would never set.

But evening always comes.

So when the light softened and the sky learned to let go,
we parted —
not because love ended,
but because it had already become something eternal.

You are invited to the Sunday Service on February 8, 2026 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      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.

Sixth Sunday of Epiphany
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 10 am

Souper Bowl of Caring this Sunday, Feb. 8th ~ This Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 8, 2026 our church will be collecting money and/or food donations for the Souper Bowl of Caring. All proceeds will go to our local Second Harvest Food Bank. (Please bring non-perishable food). Thank you!

Children’s Time            “What Is Confirmation?”                 Pastor John

Special Music: Clair de Lune by C. Debussy
Marina Thomas, Piano

Message:
“Friends of Wadi Foquin: A Ministry Partnership Building Beloved Community”
By Rev. Michael Yoshii

Rev. Michael Yoshii will share about an interfaith UMC ministry partnership – Friends of Wadi Foquin – which has been in relationship with the Palestinian Muslim village of Wadi Foquin since 2009. The village is located in the Bethlehem District of the West Bank. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 13, Rev. Yoshii will share stories about the partnership that embody faith, hope, and love and the vision of building “Beloved Community” globally and locally.

Rev. Michael Yoshii and Pastor John went to the same seminary, Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley in the 80s, and got ordained at the same time. Rev. Michael Yoshii is retired elder in the Cal-Nevada Annual Conference, Pastor Emeritus at Buena Vista United Methodist Church in Alameda, and Co-Chair of Friends of Wadi Foquin. He resides in Alameda, CA.

You are invited to the Fifth Sunday of Epiphany with Holy Communion on February 1, 2026 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      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.

Fifth Sunday of Epiphany
with Holy Communion

Sunday, February 1, 2026, 10 am

Communion Presider: Rev. Steve Lundin, Retired Pastor of Salinas UMC

Choir Anthem
Come, Christians Join To Sing
Words: Christian Henry Bateman
Music: Traditional Melody, Incorporating “When Morning Gilds The Sky”

Message
“People of Word, Table, and Justice”
Aton Abril, the Lay Leader of the El Camino Real District

The Message will be a Methodist response to God’s call for Justice highlighting the words of The Great Thanksgiving (UM Hymnal p 9):

preach good news to the poor
proclaim release to the captives
recovering of sight to the blind
set at liberty those who are oppressed
healed the sick
feed the hungry
eat with sinners

Aton Larry Paul Gutierrez was born in rural East Texas, Aton Abril (who will discuss his name change during his message) grew up in a challenging environment. Raised by his deeply spiritual grandmother in the African American United Methodist Church, Aton became actively involved in his church from a young age. By 15, he was leading young adult groups, serving as an usher, singing in the choir, and participating in the nominations committee and church council.

Aton excelled academically and attended Stanford University, where he majored in Management Science and Engineering with a concentration in Technology, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship. After college, he pursued a career in technology support and is currently a Manager at Accenture, specializing in implementing Workday Human Resource software for global companies.

Aton is a dedicated member of Wesley United Methodist Church in San Jose. He has served on various committees and founded the Com(e)Passion ministry, which aims to improve the lives of those in the surrounding community while fostering spiritual growth beyond the church walls. It was at Wesley that Aton met his wife, Clarissa Johnston-Abril, whose mother, Lori, is a United Methodist pastor. Clarissa, a second-year principal in the Alum Rock School District, and Aton recently celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary.


In October 2023, Aton was appointed as the District Lay Leader for El Camino Real. In this role, he emphasizes the “Empowerment of the Laity” and established El Camino’s Board of Laity to unite and strengthen the laity’s involvement.

You are invited to the Sunday Service on January 25, 2026 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      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.

Fourth Sunday of Epiphany
Sunday, January 25, 2026, 10 am

Choir Anthem: A Song and a Prayer
Words & Music by Otis M. Carrington

Message             “Generous Giving with a Heart”              Marieta Flores

“Why is generous giving such an integral part of being a Christian? And how can we, as followers of Christ, cultivate a lifestyle of cheerful giving not just in terms of money, but in every aspect of our life.? Generous giving is not merely an action. It is giving with open hands and open heart, not compelled by obligation, but motivated by love and faith. When we choose to be generous we are reminded that everything we have is a gift from God and that the joy of giving is found in reflecting God’s love for us.

“For it is in giving that we receive.”
~ Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (c. 13th century)

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
As long as ever you can.
~ John Wesley, from Letters of John Wesley

“Everything we have is borrowed from God, including my body
that holds the soul for a while to manifest itself in the world.”
~ John Song

You are invited to the Sunday Service on January 18, 2026 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      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.

Third Sunday of Epiphany
Sunday, January 18, 2026, 10 am

Special Music                    Prayer for a Friend            Brandon & Trisha Kett
Composed by Brandon Kett

I composed this in 2022 with a focus on prayer for people who are traveling through difficult times. We felt it appropriate to play because of Pastor Robin’s recent memorial service.

Message                   “Water: God’s Foundation”                 Bob Culbertson

Bob will be speaking of all things water, and how water is affecting our lives in our time.

Genesis 1: 1-3, 6-10

“When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”

“Water is life.”
~ Mni Wiconi, Lakota Indian

“Where water flows, life follows.”
~ Indigenous wisdom

“Water is the driving force of all nature.”
~ Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), an Italian Renaissance polymath

“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.”
~ W. H. Auden, the 20th century major Anglo-American poet, playwright, and essayist

“We do not own the water; the water owns us.”
~ Indigenous proverb