Music – Page 54 – Lakewood United Church of Christ

Corona Sabbath 18 GRATITUDE

These weeks when we cannot gather in person for Sunday worship, Lakewood United Church of Christ is providing brief weekly sabbath programs for you to listen to on your own or with others in your social isolation group. They will be posted on Friday so that you can schedule your sabbath time to suit your schedule and your spiritual inclinations. We hope these programs are of spiritual support to you in these difficult times.

During these summer weeks, the theme being used in “Grounded.” Some of us feel that shelter-in-place feels like being grounded. Some would normally have travel plans and feel grounded. With the many challenges facing our society, it is important to feel grounded. So these Summer Sundays will focus on key concepts in Christianity that provide grounding. So, welcome to “Grounded.” This post focuses on gratitude.

There is a scripture reading offered by Claire Stiles and a brief meditation by Pastor Kim Wells as well as music offered by Music Director Hilton Kean Jones and guest musician, Ian Blair-Catala.

You are invited to find a quiet space, inside or outside. Light a candle. Take a look around you. Breathe. Life-giving breath. Be present.

You may begin by offering this reading:

I move through my day-to-day life with a sense of appreciation and gratitude that comes from knowing how fortunate I truly am and how unearned all that I am thankful for really is. To have this perspective in my everyday consciousness is in itself a gift, for it leads to feeling “graced,” or blessed, each time.

–Jean Shinoda Bolen

You are invited to sing, “For the Beauty of the Earth,” hymn 28, in the New Century Hymnal, as accompanied by Hilton Kean Jones in the video below, just like at church!

This next video includes a scripture lesson read by Claire Stiles and a reflection by Rev. Kim Wells.

(For written text of the above video click HERE.)
As you listen to the music from Hilton which follows, you are invited to notice the thoughts and feelings and that arise for you.

After viewing the video, you are invited to offer the following closing –

We return thanks to our mother,
the Earth, which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines
for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters,
the beans and squashes, which give us life.
We return thanks to the bushes and trees,
which provide us with fruit.
We return thanks to the wind,
which, moving the air, has banished diseases.
We return thanks to the Moon and the stars,
which have given us their light when the Sun was gone.
We return thanks to our grandfather He-no,
who has protected us from witches and reptiles.
We return thanks to the Sun,
that he has looked upon the Earth with a beneficent eye.
We return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in whom is embodied all goodness,
and who directs all things for the good of all.

After an Iroquois song, 19th century

The following music video is a guest appearance by Lakewood UCC parishioner, Ian Blair-Catala, the famous Beatles song, Hey Jude. Thank you Ian for your contribution.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
2601 54th Avenue South, St Petersburg, FL 33712-4700
(727) 867-7961‎
see the Contact page for
map, personnel, and email addresses

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal, is to:

Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives and in our world;
Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people;
Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

QUICK LINKS TO OUR RECENT POSTS DURING THE CORONA CRISIS:
Online Devotionals: https://lakewooducc.org/category/online-devotional/
Sermon Texts: https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/sermon-texts/
For above links, please note “Older Posts” button near bottom of page.
Music: https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/music-at-lakewood

Corona Sabbath 17 TRANSFORMATION

There is a scripture reading offered by Barbara Donohue and a brief meditation by Pastor Kim Wells as well as music offered by Music Director Hilton Kean Jones.

You are invited to find a quiet space, inside or outside. Light a candle. Take a look around you. Breathe. Life-giving breath. Be present.

You may begin by offering this reading:

Out beyond ideas
of
Wrong-doing and Right-doing
There is a Field
I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that
grass
the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase
each other
doesn’t make any sense.

–Rumi, from The Illustrated Rumi, translator Coleman Barks
This poem was submitted by Emily Bell.

When you are ready, start the video below.

(For written text of the above video click HERE.)

As you listen to the music from Hilton which follows, you are invited to notice the thoughts and feelings and that arise for you.

After viewing the video, you are invited to offer the following closing –

We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes,but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers and sisters.

–Martin Luther King Jr., 20th century, adapted

Breathe. Breathe again. Be filled. With life-giving breath. Extinguish your candle and engage whatever may come with a sense of peace and a desire grow and serve.

detail of the Black Lives Matter mural painted on the street in front of the Carter Woodson Museum in St. Petersburg

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
2601 54th Avenue South, St Petersburg, FL 33712-4700
(727) 867-7961‎
see the Contact page for
map, personnel, and email addresses

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal, is to:

Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives and in our world;
Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people;
Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

Corona Sabbath 16 COMFORT

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. . . I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” –Anne Frank, 1929-1945

There is a scripture reading offered by Jim Andrews and a brief meditation by Pastor Kim Wells as well as music offered by Music Director Hilton Kean Jones. This week there is special music from Bill Parsons.

As an opening for today’s devotional, you are invited to watch the following video and sing along on the medley of familiar hymns it presents.

You are now invited to find a quiet space, inside or outside. Light a candle. Take a look around you. Breathe. Life-giving breath. Be present.

You may begin by offering this reading:

The world will give you that once in awhile, a brief timeout; the boxing bell rings and you go to your corner, where somebody dabs mercy on your beat-up life.

–Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

When you are ready, start the video below.

(For written text of the above video click HERE.)

Today’s guest musical offering is In the Garden, performed by founding church member and retired professor of Russian studies at Eckerd College, William Parsons.

In conclusion, as you listen to the music from Hilton which follows, you are invited to notice the thoughts and feelings and that arise for you.

After viewing the video, you are invited to offer the following closing:

The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another, when we are there in the most attentive and caring way.

–Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart

Breathe. Breathe again. Be filled. With comfort and assurance. Extinguish your candle and engage whatever may come with a sense of peace and a desire to serve.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
2601 54th Avenue South, St Petersburg, FL 33712-4700
(727) 867-7961‎
see the Contact page for
map, personnel, and email addresses

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal, is to:

Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives and in our world;
Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people;
Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

Corona Sabbath 15 COMPASSION

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA These weeks when we cannot gather in person for Sunday worship, Lakewood United Church of Christ is providing brief weekly sabbath programs for you to listen to on your own or with others in your social isolation group. They will be posted on Friday so that you can schedule your sabbath time to suit your schedule and your spiritual inclinations. We hope these programs are of spiritual support to you in these difficult times.

There is a scripture reading and a brief meditation by Pastor Kim Wells as well as music offered by Music Director Hilton Kean Jones.

You are invited to find a quiet space, inside or outside. Light a candle. Take a look around you. Breathe. Life-giving breath. Be present.

You may begin by offering this reading:

Compassion is a thread that binds together the deepest centers of life beyond the borders of race, gender, religion, tribe, or creature.

–Ilia Delio, Compassion

When you are ready, start the video below.

(For written text of the above video click HERE.)

As you listen to the music from Hilton which follows, you are invited to notice the thoughts and feelings and that arise for you.

After listening to the music, you are invited to offer the following closing:

As my heart breaks open, there will be room for the world to heal.

–Joanna Macy, World as Lover, World as Self, adapted

Breathe. Breathe again. Be filled. With compassion. For the world. For yourself. Extinguish your candle and engage whatever may come with a sense of peace and a desire to serve.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
2601 54th Avenue South, St Petersburg, FL 33712-4700
(727) 867-7961‎
see the Contact page for
map, personnel, and email addresses

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal, is to:

Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives and in our world;
Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people;
Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

Corona Sabbath 14 Father’s Day

father's day These weeks when we cannot gather in person for Sunday worship, Lakewood United Church of Christ is providing brief weekly sabbath programs for you to listen to on your own or with others in your social isolation group. They will be posted on Friday so that you can schedule your sabbath time to suit your schedule and your spiritual inclinations. We hope these programs are of spiritual support to you in these difficult times.

There is a scripture reading and a brief meditation by Pastor Kim Wells as well as music offered by Music Director Hilton Kean Jones. This week for Father’s Day, there is a special music video featuring the pictures of father figures contributed by the church family and music by a father and son and daughter-in-law from the congregation.

You are invited to find a quiet space, inside or outside. Light a candle. Take a look around you. Breathe. Life-giving breath. Be present.

You may begin by offering this reading:

Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let this goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee!

–From the hymn, Come, O Fount of Every Blessing, words by Robert Robinson based on Psalm 36:7-9

When you are ready, start the video below.

(For written text of the above video click HERE.)

On this Father’s Day, we give thanks for those who have had a fathering role in our lives. We give thanks for those who are fathers and have been fathers, offering themselves to the care and nurture of others.

You are invited to watch the video which follows featuring pictures of fathers contributed by the church family and accompanied by music from a father, son, and spouse trio.

Let us pray:

We give thanks for those who have shown us fathering love. We are grateful for those who have nurtured and provided for us. Those who have comforted us and helped us to grow. Those who have taken joy and delight in watching the circle of life continue!

We are mindful that so many who want to be fathers and share their fathering love are not able to do so. We think of those who are separated from their children, those who are in prison, and we remember the many fatherless children in our land and in our world.

We pray for those children who have had their father’s taken from them through violence or death.

We give thanks for neighbors, teachers, uncles, pastors, friends, who share their fathering love with children.

May we help to nurture into being a society that values all fathers and father figures and their importance in the lives of the others. May all children and young people know the support and nurture of fathering love. Amen.

As you listen to the music from Hilton which follows, you are invited to notice the thoughts and feelings and that arise for you.

After viewing the video, you are invited to offer the following closing:

Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come.
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

–John Newton, Amazing Grace. Newton was a slave trader who became a Christian and joined the abolitionist movement.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
2601 54th Avenue South, St Petersburg, FL 33712-4700
(727) 867-7961‎
see the Contact page for
map, personnel, and email addresses

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal, is to:

Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives and in our world;
Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people;
Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.