Sunday, April 5, 2020

Matthew 21:1-11

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the annual celebration of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It is also the day that marks the beginning of Holy Week. Even as he rides towards Jerusalem, Jesus knows it’s going to get worse before it gets better. He knows that his arrival will be like stirring up a hornets’ nest and then standing firmly in the middle of it.  Yet without fear he rides on. Join us this Sunday as Pastor Curt preaches on what it means to have clarity of call and purpose and standing firm, in spite of difficulty, challenge, and opposition. 

All the tools you’ll need to join us this Sunday!

In this time when we are not able to gather together in person, we are happy to provide our Sunday Worship service to you from the comfort of your home. Below you will find everything to join us. You will need access to Adobe Acrobat to view the bulletin. You can download that for free here.

Service begins promptly at 10:15 am on Sunday, and though we can’t all be together in person, we strongly encourage singing along and participating in any way you’d like! The service is accessible through your phone as well as your personal computer just by clicking on one of the link below.

Bulletin: Click here to view the Sunday bulletin*

Sheet Music: Click here for sheet music to follow along during worship*

YouTube Live Stream Service: Click here to join our 10:15 am live stream.

Fellowship Following Service:  Cozy up and click here to join us for Fellowship!

Giving Online: We are now happy to offer the opportunity to give online with Tithe.ly! Please click HERE to learn more or text GIVE to (844) 909-1782.

To sign up for automatic withdrawal, please fill out this form, attach a voided check, and mail it to the church at 100 Carr St. Lakewood CO, 80226. Thank you.

*Updated Bulletin and music will be posted the Friday before worship

Week Six:

Reflection: I wandered lonely as a cloud by William Wordsworth verses 1 & 4…   
   I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
   A host of golden Daffodils;
Beside the Lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
For oft when on my couch I lie
   In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
   Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils.

Action: This week challenge yourself to ask yourself “Where’s the wonder?” In the hustle and bustle of life, endless emails and unwanted pop-up ads and solicitations, one asks “Where’s the ‘wandering lonely as a cloud’? Whether a morning walk or an evening starlit stroll, open the senses to the sights, sounds and touch. Read William Wadsworth, Robert Frost, Emily Dickenson, Rachel Carson, Wendell Berry and others.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Ezekiel 37:1-12

This Sunday our scripture comes from the Prophet Ezekiel. He has been led by God out to a valley full of dry bones. God ask’s Ezekiel a question: “Mortal, can these bones live?” And Ezekiel’s response is somewhat surprising. He doesn’t say, “No way!” and he doesn’t say, “Absolutely!” Instead Ezekiel responds, “O Lord God, you know.” Ezekiel knows what he doesn’t know and he knows enough to put his trust and faith in God. Join us this Sunday as Pastor Curt preaches on admitting what we don’t know and how it prepares us for the new thing that God is doing. 

All the tools you’ll need to join us this Sunday!

In this time when we are not able to gather together in person, we are happy to provide our Sunday Worship service to you from the comfort of your home. Below you will find our Sunday bulletin to follow along with us at home, as well an option for live streaming the actual service. You will need access to Adobe Acrobat to view the bulletin. You can download that for free here.
The service is accessible through your phone as well as your personal computer just by clicking on one of the link below.
Live-streamed service is provided through YouTube Live..
Service begins promptly at 10:15 am on Sunday, and though we can’t all be together in person, we strongly encourage singing along and participating in any way you’d like!

Click here to view the Sunday bulletin*

Click here for sheet music to follow along during worship*

YouTube Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdFKREstj6vRA1iJ2e8-7Bw

Please join us after worship for Fellowship! LUCC will be hosting a virtual fellowship hour after the virtual service on Sunday the 29th.  The link to the Zoom call is listed below. You can download Zoom for free at https://zoom.us/ You can run Zoom from your PC, Mac, or smart phone. Come hangout and share some stories and strategies for thriving while sheltering in place.  Bring a cup of coffee/tea and something to eat. The code for this meeting is 800-900-120.

We do not know what the days to come will bring, yet we know Lakewood UCC is a supportive community ready to meet the challenges of our days. Our faith calls us, again and again, to operate from a place of hope, not fear. So in hope, wash your hands, take good care of yourself and one another, check-in with friends and neighbors. 
We’re here if you need us, as is your church community.

Faithfully,
Your Pastors, Staff, and Leadership of Lakewood UCC

We are now happy to offer the opportunity to give online with Tithe.ly! Please click HERE to learn more.

To sign up for automatic withdrawal, please fill out this form, attach a voided check, and mail it to the church at 100 Carr St. Lakewood CO, 80226. Thank you.

*Updated Bulletin and music will be posted the Friday before worship

Want to see your church friends? Need a place to share the difficulty of your days or a Spirit Sighting? Join Pastor Curt or Rev. Mollie and one another as we gather as virtual community on Zoom to check in with one another, connect, and share. We are in this together.  Join us Mondays from 3:00 pm-4:00 pm and/or Thursdays from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm as Lakewood UCC Connects! This time on Zoom has a unique 10-digit ID of which you can find below. Click “Join” and then you’re in! If you have any challenges or questions, please call the church office. The meeting ID for this is as follows:
443-750-2570

How can we connect in an intergenerational way in this time? By sending cards! In the spirit of intergenerational connection, we invite each child to write or draw a card for an older person in the church. 

• Contact Mollie if interested, she’ll pair you up with a person in our congregation who may enjoy getting a letter or card to brighten their day. You’ll be given their address. 
• Have you child or teen write a letter or card. What to write? Your child can:
  • Depending on age – draw a picture!
  • Ask questions of the adult they are writing to. “What was the world like when they were my age?” “What can you tell me about you?” – maybe this will turn into a pen pal!
  • Tell them about themselves, what they like, what they don’t like. Write about a typical day, family, animals, what they like about school, what questions they have about the world right now.
• Expectations – perhaps this will turn into a pen pal, but, let’s start with just sending a note to connect and brighten someone’s day
• Please include your return address on the envelope. 

Our beloved place of sanctuary La Foret Conference & Retreat Center needs a little extra love and help in this time. Please consider giving!
Dear La Foret Friends:
These are very serious times. We are asking all of our La Foret friends and donors to make an urgent financial gift to La Foret today. Coronavirus has affected all of us. The effects of the public response to coronavirus on La Foret have been swift and economically severe. In two days last week, we lost all of our booked business through the end of April. We anticipate these losses will continue through May, and possibly into summer. As you are all aware, almost all of our income comes from these bookings.
Here’s what La Foret is doing. We have taken steps to reduce expenses while caring for our staff who have served you and LF so well over many years. We have cut pay by 25% to 50% for all staff with the hope of retaining all of them, and we have eliminated all discretionary spending. Even with this, our monthly expenses are about $60,000 per month for utilities, communications, insurance, and reduced salaries. We can’t last long at this rate. We are still planning for summer camps and programs to continue, yet we don’t have control.
Your gift today, will help LF handle an uncertain financial future and minimize what we will have to borrow to remain solvent and viable and able to serve you.
We thank you for your gift and support,
Larry McCulloch, Executive Director
Brad Carroll, Asst Executive Director
Terri Schulz, Chair of the Board
Donate Here 

We are happy to announce you can now donate to Lakewood UCC online! With Tithe.ly, you are able to set any reoccurring one one-time donation to support. Click the link HERE to check it out or donate! Please reach out to Pastor Curt or Rev. Mollie if you have any questions.

Week Five:

Reflection: Second Peter 1: 5-7
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.

Action: This week challenge yourself and simplify, simplify, simplify! Stuff breeds stuff, which multiplies into more stuff, which buries us in material things and weighs our spirit down. Keep track of “things” you didn’t buy but were tempted to and at end of Lenten period, donate the $$$ to your favorite charity (or church!). Donate a minimum of 40 household items/clothing that you no longer need/use. Bonus: try a buy-nothing challenge.

All the tools you’ll need to join us this Sunday!

In this time when we are not able to gather together in person, we are happy to provide our Sunday Worship service to you from the comfort of your home. Below you will find our Sunday bulletin to follow along with us at home, as well as two options for live streaming the actual service. You will need access to Adobe Acrobat to view the bulletin. You can download that for free here.
The service is accessible through your phone as well as your personal computer just by clicking on one of the two links.
Live-streamed service is provided through YouTube Live as well as Facebook Live.
Service begins promptly at 10:15 am on Sunday, and though we can’t all be together in person, we strongly encourage singing along and participating in any way you’d like!

Click here to view the Sunday bulletin

Click here for sheet music to follow along during worship.

Facebook Live Stream: https://www.facebook.com/ucclakewood/

YouTube Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdFKREstj6vRA1iJ2e8-7Bw

We do not know what the days to come will bring, yet we know Lakewood UCC is a supportive community ready to meet the challenges of our days. Our faith calls us, again and again, to operate from a place of hope, not fear. So in hope, wash your hands, take good care of yourself and one another, check-in with friends and neighbors. 
We’re here if you need us, as is your church community.

Faithfully,
Your Pastors, Staff, and Leadership of Lakewood UCC


To sign up for automatic withdrawal, please fill out this form, attach a voided check, and mail it to the church at 100 Carr St. Lakewood CO, 80226. Thank you.

Mark 2:1-12

This week we continue our Lenten Journey “Toward Wholeness” from the perspective of Wholeness in Community. It is a timely theme as we experience the realities of social distancing and quarantines. How do we maintain meaningful connections in a time of distance and isolation? How does our faith provide comfort and assurance when the world seems to be in chaos? Join us this week as Pastor Curt preaches on how friendship, family, and community are at the center of our faith and discipleship, especially in times such as these.