While we are closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and have ceased in person worship for the time being, we are still gathering our hearts and minds for worship as a church. Each week our staff produces and emails an at-home worship packet with words, art, and music. You can find previous weeks’ worship packets here. You can email office@lajollaucc.org to request to be added to the weekly email list to receive these in your inbox.
If you have pastoral requests or concerns please email pastor@lajollaucc.org
With grace
CCLJ Staff
Hello CCLJ Family (and Friends far and wide):
We are still very much a functioning, living, breathing church. This is evidence of that. We are doing something that has never been done in the history of our church.
Below you will find a Weekly worship kit. During these weeks of at home worship we will be reflecting on what this means. Can we be significant staying at home? What does it mean to contend with illness? With an infirm world? Can we change the world from our own homes? Let’s explore these questions together by looking to the past and looking to our sacred scriptures.
Please open the at home worship guide below by clicking on it. It should open with ease. Start on page one and read through the guide. There are four audio files that you will see below as well. Don’t listen to the audio files until the guide instructs you to. They are listed clearly as “Audio File 1,” “Audio File 2,” “Audio File 3,” and “Audio File 4.” This is to make this as simple as possible. Keep the guide open as you work through the worship guide so that you can easily access the audio files when necessary. When instructed by the guide to listen to an audio file, simply click on the audio file that the guide instructs you to.
Also, please read all the way through the worship guide. Your staff put in an incredible amount of time in getting this together for you. There is a fun homework assignment too. We ask that you to send us a photo. This can be a selfie of you at home today, or a photo of the place you choose to worship, or a photo of something that is currently inspiring you. When we come back together we will use these photos in a special way.
With grace,
Rev. Tim Seery, Minister
Dr. Nina Gilbert, Music Director
Bronwyn Allen-Kaeser, Office Manager, Soloist
Week 58 April 18th, 2021 Worship
Dear Church,
Here is this week’s at home worship. This week we make a nod to our old style of worship with a PDF that includes examples of some of the visuals I will be talking about. I also include links to some online resources for you that explain in further detail some of this week’s topic. The sermon is a YouTube video while the scripture reading and vocal solo are included in attachments attached to this email.
I felt that since I have continued to teach about the way our faith connects with different art forms that it was only right that we keep on top of current trends. This past month crypto art was brought to the auction marketplace with astounding success. With our world’s continued interest in cryptocurrency and other digital assets this is an important frontier in our understanding of humans, human nature, artistic expression, and the ever-expanding world we live in.
Nina’s musical selections are posted to YouTube as separate links. The links are both in the PDF worship guide and can be found here for your convenience. I will also include here the link to this week’s YouTube video containing my message:
Tim’s Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1yz4CKQmoc
Alexandre Guilmant, Prelude in E-flat, Op. 41, No. 1 From The Practical Organist, Book 2
Organ virtuoso Guilmant (1837-1911) published hundreds of useful pieces for church organists.
BUNESSAN (“Morning Has Broken”)
Harmonizations by Dean McIntyre, Gregory Hamilton, and David Evans, plus an improvised variation.
This week’s dive into the new concept of “cryptoart” is something that I am still just learning about — but I am very interested in the ways that ancient aspects of our faith are replicated and reinforced by the newest and most abstract of technologies. I hope you will enjoy this opportunity to learn about something that is very new as we continue to listen for God’s still speaking voice in our chaotic world.
With grace,
Rev. Tim
AT HOME WORSHIP – THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER