The Table of Love
“Apocalypse” in the Greek language means “unveiling,” or “revelation”. The church year begins apocalyptically. On the First Sunday of Advent, Mark warns us three times to be awake and to be ready because something new is occurring, events so new that they are beyond human abilities to create.
Although Christ is light and love, his advent—his coming to us in our place and time—can instigate change. And that change can be costly, even painful. Who likes change? Are there any earth-shaking events happening in our lives?
In this season of Advent, literally “coming to” or “arrival,” Jesus says not only that there are some frightening things on the horizon but also that the Son of God is on the horizon. Something new is occurring! As we enter this new season, we are invited to gather around the Table of Love where Jesus showed us the most profound act of love as giving himself away for us to experience newness. Join us.
Join us in person or via Zoom, Facebook or YouTube Live.
Sunday service begins at 10:15AM.
To join Sunday Worship via Facebook, log onto your Facebook account and search for the ‘Lake Merritt United Methodist Church’ page or click here.
To watch the live stream of our service on YouTube, click here.
Please read ALL of the ANNOUNCEMENTS!
Sound Bath
Already caught up in the busyness of the season? Take time out to breathe at our monthly Sound Bath Experience on Friday, Dec. 8th. Relax in a chair or on the floor with your own mat/blanket as you are surrounded by meditative vibrations and melodies. Contact Laurel Williams to sign up, or purchase tickets on Eventbrite. Doors open at 6:30 pm, program begins at 7:00.
View our flier for more information. Share and invite your friends!
Joint Charge Conference for Lake Park UMC & Lake Merritt UMC
We will gather in-person at Lake Merritt UMC on Thursday, December 14 at 7pm. District Superintendent Rev. Sun Hee Kim will preside over the charge conference.
Lake Park UMC Church Council will meet beforehand with D.S. Rev. Sun Hee Kim at 6:30pm in the Conference room.
Trustees, SPRRC, and Membership Secretary, please submit your Charge Conference reports via People’s Portal by December 4th. Contact Pastor Sunae if you have any questions.
Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!
During the Come to the Table Advent worship series, you are invited to send photos of your table and meal gatherings to Pastor Sunae at pastorsunae@gmail.com by Friday evening at 9pm. We will share a picture presentation the following Sunday. It will deepen our spirits as we witness our table gatherings.
Children’s Literacy Event & Christmas Craft Fair
Join us at church for our annual Children’s Literacy Event and Christmas Craft Fair on Saturday, December 9th. Younger children will enjoy a “Teddy Bear Picnic” from noon to 1:00 with story time, free books, and crafts. Children of all ages are then invited to participate in the “Make It & Take It” Craft Fair from 1:00 to 3:00 where a selection of items can be made and wrapped for gift giving at a nominal cost. Please contact Kathleen Bell if you can volunteer to assist.
Christmas Pageant Invitation
Calling CHILDREN, YOUTH & ADULTS! The Christmas Pageant this year will be during Worship on Sunday, December 24th at 10:15 AM. All are welcome to help! Please let Susannah Wood know if you are available:
sweet.theater@gmail.com (510) 384-4905. PARENTS-especially – please let Susannah know ASAP if your child(ren) can participate.
Cookie Jars
Cookie Jars are available after worship or even Delivered if you can’t make it to church! Cost will be $10 check, cash or Venmo accepted. These make lovely Christmas or hostess gifts over the coming holidays. They are lovingly assembled by some of our youth and Children’s Ministry team.
Please Donate to Our Building Campaign
And they shall make me a sanctuary so that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8)
After more than 30 years our beloved Lake Merritt UMC church is ready for a new coat of paint and much, much more! Between now and January 7, 2024 we are seeking to raise $50,000. A grant from the Oakland Methodist Foundation will almost triple this amount so we can make our church shine again!
Please donate by writing a check to the church (put “building campaign” on the memo line) or give online using a credit or debit card, or as a bank transfer. To give online, click HERE. For more information follow this link.
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir Concert
The Oakland Interfaith Gospel, Youth, and Community Choirs will be singing their annual holiday concert back in the Paramount Theatre for the first time since pre-covid! It will be Saturday, December 2nd at 7pm. You’re guaranteed to get in the Holiday mood by this concert, and you may even see some faces you know from LMUMC singing up on stage (Dan Strauss, Bernard Dixon, and Juliet Hannafin).
PARAMOUNT HOLIDAY CONCERT
- OIGC, OIYC, and OICC are performing, and all are welcome! Check THIS LINK to download a flyer to share with friends and family!
- Holiday Concert Press Release – share with any press contacts!
Voci Women’s Vocal Ensemble Concert
For the 21st annual Voices in Peace concert, Voci will be embracing and exploring some of the transitions that define our existence. The program explores the changes from one season to the next, as well as transitions such as birth, marriage, leaving, and returning home.
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Two venus to choose from:
Saturday, December 2, 2023 – 7:30 PM
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
1601 Mary Drive, Pleasant Hill
.
Sunday, December 3, 2023 – 4:00 PM
Montclair Presbyterian Church
5701 Thornhill Drive, Oakland
Buy tickets and learn more about Voci at VociSings.org
Now in its 32nd year, Voci Women’s Vocal Ensemble is recognized as one of the finest choral groups in the Bay Area. Voci is dedicated to musical excellence in the performance of new and innovative music, as well as treasured repertoire within the classical choral tradition. Comprised of 24-28 experienced choral singers, Voci has performed with a wide range of artists and choruses at concerts, festivals, and benefits and has commissioned and premiered over 30 new works.
The Table of Hospitality
Gratitude is absolutely central to faith. The words “gratitude” and “grace” comes from the same root word, “gratia” in Latin. Grace means “unmerited favor.” It is free gifts. Diana Butler Bass shares “I particularly like the image of God tossing gifts around – a sort of indiscriminate giver of sustenance, joy, love, and pleasure.” Yes, Grace is free gifts given to us with no strings attached or expectation of return, as the old hymn says, amazing. Because we can neither earn nor pay back the gift, our hearts fill with gratitude. And the power of that emotion transforms the way we see the world and experience life. In us, there is an outflowing of gratitude, expressed in generosity, which in turn widens our hearts toward greater goodness and love.
This Sunday, Romans 12 takes us to a very difficult text as it reminds us to share that grace and gratitude with all, especially those who has caused you incredible grief, frustration and anger. Very challenging! Let us wrestle with this text and be thankful to God for the riches God has bestowed on us!
This is our first Sunday of “Come to the Table” worship series. This Sunday’s table is the Table of Hospitality. Would you take pictures of your Thanksgiving gathering? Not just food! We would love to see your smiles with your loved ones at the table with radical hospitality.
Send your pictures to pastor Sunday at pastorsunae@gmail.com by Friday evening at 9pm so she has some time to prepare the picture presentation. We will share the picture presentation in the following Sunday. It will deepen our spirit as we witness our Table gatherings.
Join us in person or via Zoom, Facebook or YouTube Live.
Sunday service begins at 10:15AM.
To join Sunday Worship via Facebook, log onto your Facebook account and search for the ‘Lake Merritt United Methodist Church’ page or click here.
To watch the live stream of our service on YouTube, click here.
Please read ALL of the ANNOUNCEMENTS!
Lake Park Community Engagement
Friends, Susannah Wood’s Gentle Yoga class will meet this Saturday, November 25th at 8:45 am at Lake Park UMC. Please contact Susannah Wood for any questions. Kathleen’s Yoga Class will resume next Thursday, November 30th at 12 noon. Join us!
Change of Our Churches’ Annual Charge Conference!
It will be a joint Charge Conference on December 14,Thursday, at 7pm with Lake Park UMC and Lake Merritt UMC in person at LMUMC. DS Kim would like to meet with Lake Park UMC Church Council at 6:30pm that day before the Charge Conference.
Trustees, SPRRC, and Membership Secretary, please submit your Charge Conference reports via People’s Portal by December 4th. Contact Pastor Sunae if you have any questions.
Pictures! Pictures! Pictures of Your Meal Gathering with your family for Thanksgiving!
Email your Thanksgiving family meal table pictures to Pastor Sunae at pastorsunae@gmail.com.
Cookie Jars
Cookie Jars are available after worship or even Delivered if you can’t make it to church! Cost will be $10 check, cash or Venmo accepted. These make lovely Christmas or hostess gifts over the coming holidays. They are lovingly assembled by some of our youth and Children’s Ministry team.
Christmas Pageant Invitation
Calling CHILDREN, YOUTH & ADULTS! The Christmas Pageant this year will be during Worship on Sunday, December 24th at 10:15 AM. All are welcome to help! Please let Susannah Wood know if you are available:
sweet.theater@gmail.com (510) 384-4905. PARENTS-especially – please let Susannah know ASAP if your child(ren) can participate.
Please Donate to Our Building Campaign
And they shall make me a sanctuary so that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8)
After more than 30 years our beloved Lake Merritt UMC church is ready for a new coat of paint and much, much more! Between now and January 7, 2024 we are seeking to raise $50,000. A grant from the Oakland Methodist Foundation will almost triple this amount so we can make our church shine again!
Please donate by writing a check to the church (put “building campaign” on the memo line) or give online using a credit or debit card, or as a bank transfer. To give online, click HERE. For more information follow this link.
Joyeux Noël: A French Christmas with Sonos
A French Christmas with the acclaimed Sonos Handbell Ensemble, featuring guest artist, mezzo-soprano, Ellen St. Thomas. Artistic Director, James Meredith has designed a new holiday program inspired by the Louis B. Comfort Tiffany mosaic triptych, Te Deum Laudamus, that is the centerpiece of the sanctuary at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church.
The concert includes carols from historical regions in and around France. A pre-concert lecture about the Tiffany panels will be given at 1:15 by Lake Merritt UMC historian Barbara Gannich. www.sonos.org
.
Free Admission!
Saturday, Nov. 25th, 2:00 p.m.
Community Church of Sebastopol
1000 Gravestein Highway N., Sebastopol
.
Sunday, Nov. 26th, 2:00 p.m.
Lake Merritt United Methodist Church
pre-concert lecture at 1:15 p.m.
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir Concert
The Oakland Interfaith Gospel, Youth, and Community Choirs will be singing their annual holiday concert back in the Paramount Theatre for the first time since pre-covid! It will be Saturday, December 2nd at 7pm. You’re guaranteed to get in the Holiday mood by this concert, and you may even see some faces you know from LMUMC singing up on stage (Dan Strauss, Bernard Dixon, and Juliet Hannafin).
PARAMOUNT HOLIDAY CONCERT
- OIGC, OIYC, and OICC are performing, and all are welcome! Check THIS LINK to download a flyer to share with friends and family!
- Holiday Concert Press Release – share with any press contacts!
Voci Women’s Vocal Ensemble Concert
For the 21st annual Voices in Peace concert, Voci will be embracing and exploring some of the transitions that define our existence. The program explores the changes from one season to the next, as well as transitions such as birth, marriage, leaving, and returning home.
.
Two venus to choose from:
Saturday, December 2, 2023 – 7:30 PM
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
1601 Mary Drive, Pleasant Hill
.
Sunday, December 3, 2023 – 4:00 PM
Montclair Presbyterian Church
5701 Thornhill Drive, Oakland
Buy tickets and learn more about Voci at VociSings.org
Now in its 32nd year, Voci Women’s Vocal Ensemble is recognized as one of the finest choral groups in the Bay Area. Voci is dedicated to musical excellence in the performance of new and innovative music, as well as treasured repertoire within the classical choral tradition. Comprised of 24-28 experienced choral singers, Voci has performed with a wide range of artists and choruses at concerts, festivals, and benefits and has commissioned and premiered over 30 new works.
Unsung Heroes of the Faith
It is not easy to go against any established order, whether it is political, economic, or social. This Sunday, we will reflect on a story of two women, midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, committing acts of civil disobedience. They defy the Egyptian king’s order to kill all Hebrew newborn baby boys. These two powerless women courageously breathes together to give life rather than death. They are mothering agents bearing witness to the mothering power of God! They gave a powerful picture of who God is. God is the God who has the back of the lowly and powerless and a life giver. O breath of God, fall afresh on us today. Amen.
Come friends, we will hear more about these two unsung heroes of faith in worship!
Join us in person or via Zoom, Facebook or YouTube Live.
Sunday service begins at 10:15AM.
To join Sunday Worship via Facebook, log onto your Facebook account and search for the ‘Lake Merritt United Methodist Church’ page or click here.
To watch the live stream of our service on YouTube, click here.
