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Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!
Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive. We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors. Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously. This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith. Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world. We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups. Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!
Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!
August 8
Wrestling with Our Hunger
Matthew 14:13-21
Our hunger for God is not only met when we gather for worship but also when we are at work, when we are in fellowship, when we engage in conversations and build relationships, when we serve and love as we are sent to do.
August 13
What are You Seeking?
Matthew 14:22-33
Now, we ask not just what does God look like or how do we recognize God’s presence in the world, but what would the world look like when it is aware of that presence? What would we look like, what would our community look like if we really believed what we say about Jesus and about grace and salvation?
August 20
Is it Fair?
Matthew 15:21-28
When we are truly seeking the face of God, we go beyond fair and move into grace manifested in love in all our relationships.
August 27
Who do You Say?
Matthew 16:13-20
Out of nowhere, it seemed, as they traveled along, Jesus asked his disciples a question of identity. “Who do you say that I am?” It’s a question we must answer again and again as we seek to become disciples of Jesus Christ.
Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive. We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors. Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously. This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith. Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world. We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups. Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!
Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!
July 2 – Communion
Quenching a Thirst
Matthew 10:40-42
Jesus sees hospitality as central to our discipleship. We may continue to learn and grow in welcoming one another as Jesus accepted us.
July 9
Taking the Yoke
Matthew 11:25-30
On the path of a disciple, we are learning to grow in our relationships with Christ and with the community. It begins when we take the yoke.
July 16
Seeds in the Dirt
Matthew13:1-9, 18-23
We are asked to imagine fruitfulness and then to work for that in the whole ministry of the church.
July 23
Shine like the Sun
Genesis 28:10-18
We never know who we might see shining like the sun. We are learning to imagine a new reality where even flawed humans, like ourselves, can be disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
July 30
Hidden and Mixed In
We prefer the obvious. We like to be sure. But faith is something else indeed. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that faith “is the conviction of things not seen.” Not seen? Like a treasure hidden in a field, or like yeast mixed in the flour, hidden and mixed in. That’s how grace works.
Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive. We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors. Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously. This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.
Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.
We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups. Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!
Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!
June 4 – Trinity Sunday & Peace with Justice – Pride Sunday – Communion
Genesis 1:24-25, 27a
For this week only, service starts at 9:45 am.
We gather to celebrate Hybrid Communion Worship together, and then join in the Pride Parade in downtown Santa Cruz at 11 am. Genesis 1:24-25, 27a and 31a will inform our time together the Goodness of God! God confirms that all of creation is birthed in goodness and grace! May we fulfill that goodness in all we say and do! (Zoom folks, please remember your ‘holy snack’!)
June 11 – Matthew 9:9-13 and Genesis 12:1-3
Matthew 9:9-13 and Genesis 12:1-3 will inform this Sunday of ministry together. After 10 years, God has called us to serve with mercy and grace in a new way. Our world is still in desperate need of healing grace and mercy! As the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz prepares to welcome new pastoral leadership with Kangse Lee and Maria, God’s grace and mercy will continue to thrive! We have much to offer! May all be well!
June 18 – Isaish 43:19 and Exodus 14:5-15
Haley Feuerbacher will provide leadership during these next two weeks as we continue to prepare for this pastoral change on July 1. Isaiah 43:19 and Exodus 14:5-15 will guide our journey as we hear about transitions … our fears of entering into the wilderness of the in-between; loss and change and the fire of the Holy Spirit allow God to plant and grow … as we become co-laborers to create “something new”! Join in this transition; be openly blessed!
June 25 – Isaiah 43:19 and Acts 2:1-4
Isaiah 43:19 and Acts 2:1-4 remind us that there are two types of fire… the kind that destroys, and the kind that releases life – impassions us – lights our way into a new future. How will we be joining God to do a new thing in this new appointment year beginning July 1? May we give gratitude to all that came before us, releasing what no longer serves us, and rising into the courage to embrace holy change! May we move forward into ‘that which we do not know’ … and trust God in the process!
May you find the welcoming place of God as you invite others to share this journey!
Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive. We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors. Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously. This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith. Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world. We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups. Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!
Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!
May 7 – Communion – John 14:1-14
As the Season of Easter continues, Jesus is in the process of departing the followers with the anticipation of a Comforter … the Holy Spirit. Jesus asks us to live faithful lives…’divine’ lives … living lives of sacred service to one another and the world. Might we be able to ‘change the world’ by living lives where “the Jesus in me meets the Jesus in you”?! May the world experience such Godly Living! Let us be this example! (Zoom participants, please remember your ‘holy snack’!)
May 14 – John 14:15-21
John 14:15-21 reminds us to be faithful and loving by living the life lessons Jesus teaches us. We are the Easter People, called to live lives of faithful service. And Jesus reminds us that as we live such lives, the Spirit of Love will infuse us with spiritual power. May we listen to God, live the life Jesus teaches us, and be empowered to share acts of faith with our brothers and sisters in the world. So much love to share with our needy world … what are we waiting for?!
May 21 – Luke 24:44-53
Luke 24:44-53 reminds us that if we are mindful, we can pray and listen for the message of Jesus in our hearts and minds and spirits. As we “wait” for the infusion of God’s Spirit with our spirits, we can keep faithful, open, and eagerly wait for the work that is calling us forward! May we be “on the look-out” for ways to serve God and our neighbors, so that health and goodness may be grown in our world!
Join us for a ‘Farewell Potluck’ for Pastor Jay and Joseph.
May 28 – Pentecost – Acts 2:1-21
… the gift of the Spirit empowers us this day! Catch the Fire … Be Renewed … Allow your Spirit to be ‘Aflame’ with Goodness and Mercy. Show such faith through your daily living … to God and one another! Consider reading the Pentecost Story of Acts 2 in your native language in Worship! Let this be an awesome and spirited day filled with warm fiery colors!
May you find the welcoming place of God by inviting others to share in this journey of the Spirit!
Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive. We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors. Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously. This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.
Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.
We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid and Zoom Small Groups.
Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!
Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!
Journey with us during Holy Week, April 2-9.
April 2 – Palm Sunday – Communion – Matthew 21:1-11
Journey with us as we remember the “Triumphal Entry” of Jesus into our lives!
Palms … Music … The Adventure of New Life begins! Communion will be served; Zoom participants, remember your ‘holy snack’!
Photo Image, Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe, Chates de Carbet Rain Forest, courtesy of Linda Wilde
April 6, 7:30 pm – Holy Thursday
We gather in the Fellowship Hall for this In-Person Taizé Service to remember “The Last Supper”.
Unfortunately, Zoom services will not be available; however, ample space is provided for safe distancing. Mask for your comfort. Music, the story of the Passover, and Communion will be included in this musical service of prayer.
April 7, noon to 3:00 pm – Good Friday
Our Sanctuary will be available from noon to 3 pm for a time of prayer, meditation, and self-guided reflection; stay as long as you wish. Unfortunately, Zoom services will not be available; however, ample space is provided for safe distancing. We remember this day as we grieve the destructive nature of the world in which we live. We pray to change our hearts and our world. We recognize the grace of God…so deep.
April 9, 10:45 am – Easter – John 20:1-18
Our hearts are strangely warmed (as John Wesley would say) by the Grace of God that extends from Good Friday to Easter! Make this day of Easter your new spiritual experience! Be touched by the reality of God’s love; embrace the moment of Mary as she recognizes the Risen Christ! Easter is just the beginning of your new life story!
April 16, 10:45 am – John 20:10-31
Easter is not just an event … Easter is a way of life! Continue to join us as we celebrate the ways in which we can extend new life to others! Kristen Muro will share how we come to transform our lives…moving beyond disbelief and mistrust into the embrace of radical belief! Allow this time to be the opportunity to embrace life-changing, soul-changing and world-shifting ways that can resurrect and transform…ourselves and our world!
April 23, 10:45 am – Native American Ministries Sunday – Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Easter is not just an event … Easter is a way of life! Continue to join us as we celebrate the ways in which we can extend new life to others! Kristen Muro will share how we come to transform our lives…moving beyond disbelief and mistrust into the embrace of radical belief! Allow this time to be the opportunity to embrace life-changing, soul-changing and world-shifting ways that can resurrect and transform…ourselves and our world!
April 30, 10:45 am – Acts 2:42 – 47
How do we live out the rest of our days? With the events in our world that hurt our hearts and destroy the lives of others … might we put our sights on living a sense of “Awe!” as we seek to live the changes we long to see in our world! May our spirits embrace the sense of beauty God creates. Let our hearts live as a people of faith…may we truly be “the Easter People”!
Photo Image, courtesy of Joseph Jacobs.
May we find the welcoming place of God as we invite others to share in this journey of the Spirit!
Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive. We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors. Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously. This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith. Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world. We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups. Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!
Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!
March 5 – Communion – John 3:1-17
Zoom participants, remember your ‘holy snack’! As the Season of Lent continues, Nicodemus comes to Jesus by nightfall to protect his identity from his faith community. Nicodemus is asking Jesus the deep spiritual questions that are on his heart. What are those deep spiritual questions that call to us in the night? Are they questions about prayer, the ‘end times’, how do we live faithfully in a world filled with violence, struggle, and a lack of spiritual insight? We might ask, why is God allowing me a ‘Do-Over’?!
March 12 – John 4:5-42
John 4:5-42 shares the story of an unnamed woman who has a conversation, midday, in the heat of the desert! She is ostracized by her community; Jesus welcomes her … and invites her to believe that God is available to everyone! God’s grace is sufficient! What do we struggle with in our lives that others condemn in us? Maybe we also condemn those same aspects about ourselves! And yet, Jesus reminds us that God welcomes us; we are free to live a sacred, faithful life! We might ask, why is God speaking through me?!
March 19 – John 9:1-41
In John 9:1-41, Jesus is faced with multiple issues of people not willing to take responsibility. There is a man born blind, and no one … not the learned authorities, the family, or the community … is willing to affirm anything about this blind man … not how he became blind or how he was blessed with sight once again! Like the Samaritan woman last week, we can easily ask, ‘why is God working through me’?! Am I needing ‘new eyes to see’?! What am I not seeing that needs to be responded to?! Am I fully and faithfully responding to Jesus?!
March 26 – John 11:1-45
John 11:1-45 invites us to ponder the death of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, intimates of Jesus. The ‘resurrection of Lazarus is a reminder that in the midst of life, we are in death. In this last service before Palm Sunday, we can be asking ourselves, ‘what are we living for, God?!’ Why give us life, only to die in the end; what is the point? Ponder this season, ‘what is the point of your life?!’ Are you living the kind of life that empowers you to make a difference?
(Our visuals this month come from our Stained Glass Windows.)
May we find the welcoming place of God as we invite others to share in this journey of the Spirit!
Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive. We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors. Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously. This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith. Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world. We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups. Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!
Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!
February 5 – Communion – Matthew 5:13-20
Zoom participants, remember your ‘holy snack’! Matthew 5:13-20. Are you making a difference in this world ‘being like salt’, or have you lost your ‘saltiness for life’?! Are you ‘light’; are you shining and engaging in the world’? How are you living spiritually in the Beloved Community?
Be encouraged as a receiver and distributer of God’s Grace!
May you be a full participant in the “Community of God”.
February 12 – 1 Corinthians 13
In the midst of the struggles of living faithfully in the world, Paul reminds us (1st Corinthians 13), to live the way of Love! Love is not simple … or maybe Love IS simple … How are you living the breadth and depth of God?! Where is love growing in your life? How are you planting, nurturing, and sustaining the experience of God’s love … are you sharing that love in the world around you? Love … such a gigantic task … and So Worth It!!!
February 19 – Matthew 14:13-31
We welcome Haley Feuerbacher, Ph.D., who will lead us in an amazing interpretation of Matthew 14:13-31. Moving from the popular mantra, “I am enough” and being very aware that we simply are not … we can pass on our mission responsibilities to others or run ourselves ragged to respond – expecting others to do the same. Today we will discover from scripture and earth lessons, ways to flip our way of doing church and ministry. We will explore the radical ways scripture and life gives us permission to be human with all our needs/limitations, discovering the pathway to answer our call as the Church!
February 26 – First Sunday of Lent – Genesis 2:15, Matthew 4:1-11
We begin a new season in our spiritual development. Lent …a time of purging our behaviors that are contrary, so we can focus ourselves on the richness of responding to God’s opportunities. We begin this Sunday in repentance. Ashes remind us of dying to the self and rising in God’s Grace. Genesis 2:15 and Matthew 4:1-11 can offer us ways to respond to God’s call to deepen our spiritual awareness … to ‘move into’ into our spiritual home.
Our visual this day comes from Pat Verheul.
May we find the welcoming place of God as we invite others to share in the journey of the Spirit!