You are invited to the in-person Sunday Service on April 28 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 Easter
Sunday, April 28, 2024, 10 am
Children’s Time “Jonah and the Whale” Pastor John
Invocation How Great Thou Art David Rios, Trumpet Solo
Special Music Amazing Grace David Rios, Trumpet Solo
[David Rios is a local musician who was written about in the Santa Cruz Sentinel for playing inspirational music on the trumpet at the Seacliff State Beach. I serendipitously met David Rios when he was playing the trumpet in the setting sun at the Seacliff State Beach in Aptos. I was mesmerized and drawn to the beauty and power of his trumpet. Well, we’ll get to hear his music this Sunday. David sees himself serving God through his trumpet.]
Message Darkness and Light: Rev. John Song
Part 3) “What Cicadas Teach Us About Transformation”
Up to a trillion cicadas are emerging in the United States after being burrowed in the ground for 17 years at the end of April. To put into perspective just how many of these bugs could emerge, one trillion cicadas, each just over an inch long, would cover 15,782,828 miles if they were placed end to end. That cicada train would reach the moon and back 33 times.
In keeping with the theme of the post Easter sermon series “Darkness and Light,” we will take this opportunity to examine what cicadas teach us about darkness and light, process of transformation and risen life.
“Destruction before creation,” reminding us that the first thing that happens when we take a bold stand for a bright future is a loss of your former life. Understand why the cycles of creation and destruction, death and rebirth, are necessary for the growth of the human soul. ~ Joseph Campbell, the 20th century American scholar on comparative mythology and comparative religion
“What happened in the life of Christ will happen in us.
In our transformed lives, God lives in us without us losing our own being.”
~ Raimon Panikkar, Christophany: The Fullness of Man, 2004
Prayer in Times of Suffering
by Don Bisson
O God, remind us that suffering is not a failure but a part of human condition. When we feel this ACHE in our hearts, we will create a space for you to abide in us so that we may experience a new life and a new way of belonging that is waiting for us. Let us remember that “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over it became a butterfly.” Amen.
