WELCOME

Thank you for coming! We're so glad you've chosen to worship with us this Holy Saturday.

It gives me great joy to tell you that
First United Church of Christ and Conference Center is 
a church with full real life standing in the Eastern Association;
Southern California Nevada Conference of the
United Church of Christ (UCC). 
And anyone you see with a "Minister" tag is an ordained UCC minister in real life. 
As we like to say, it's good to be real in Second Life! 

And as a UCC church, we'd like you to know that
"No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, 
you are welcome here."

Our service will be in voice and text.  
Music will be on the media viewer, so be sure that you have voice and media turned on. 
If you don't know how to do that, let someone know and we'll try to help.
There will be a link in Nearby so you can watch it in your browser if the viewer isn't working for you.
Please try not to touch the viewer, I have learned (the hard way) that it is cranky and doesn't like to be poked.
Whenever possible, lyrics will be on the media viewer, or in Nearby Chat, or a link will be provided so you can follow along if you wish.

If you would like a bulletin for today's service you can find it in the red binder in the back.

And there is a donation bowl near the door of the Sanctuary.
One of the blessings and responsibilities that come with
our being a real church with real standing in our
denomination is that we, like all UCC churches, support
the work of the wider denomination not only with prayer
but financially. 
So we greatly appreciate any offering you can make to support this ministry.
If you prefer, you can also donate via our website, fuccsl.org, and since we are a real church, donations are tax deductible. 

If there are any announcements about the life of the church, please type them in Nearby Chat during our Gathering Music Remember that our complete schedule is always available on our website, and updated regularly..

So now, it is Saturday.
The time between.
The mouth of the tomb is closed.
The candles are all out.
Darkness surrounds.
We wait, for morning.
And remember.
Amen.


GATHERING MUSIC
De Noche
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4K9BPJOq3I
Chorus:
De noche iremos, de noche para encontrar la fuente
Solo la sed nos alumbra,
Solo la sed nos alumbra.
English:
By night, we hasten in darkness, to search for living water
Only our thirst leads us onward
Only our thirst leads us onward

MOMENT OF SILENCE


PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

In the silence of our hearts or in words typed in Nearby Chat
let us give thanks for the gift of this day
and pray for the life of the world ...

If you have a prayer of joy or concern that you wish to lift to God, 
and have supported by the energy of those gathered here, type it in Nearby Chat at this time..
As people share their prayers in text
please read them prayerfully
and hold this space as sacred and safe
to open our hearts to God.
As the Spirit moves, 
you may wish to respond in text with 
"Lord, hear our prayer" or something similar.
We will close our time of prayer
with a musical prayer response.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.


Lord hear our prayers.
Those voiced here today
Those spoken only in the depths of our hearts
those for which we have no words
We lift them all to you
Trusting in your boundless love and grace.
Amen.

PRAYER RESPONSE;
O Lord, Hear My Prayer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-2WZFf_uAc

HOLY WEEK READINGS

One of the traditional things to do on Holy Saturday, 
this day in between the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday and Easter Sunday,
is to recount the events of Holy Week.
Today, we will do that, using readings adapted from meditations by the Iona Community.,
interspersed with music.

READING ONE

It was on Monday
That religion got in the way.

An outsider would have thought
That it was a pet shop’s “going out of business” sale.
And the outsider, in some ways
Wouldn’t have been far wrong.

Only it wasn’t household pets.
It was pigeons that were being purchased.
And it wasn’t a “going out of business” sale;
It was a rip-off stall in a holy temple
Bartering birds for sacrifice.
And the price was something only the rich could afford.
No discounts to students or those on social security.

Then he,
The holiest man on earth,
Went through the bizarre bazaar
Like a bull in a china chop.
So the doves got liberated
And the pigeon sellers got angry.
And the police went crazy
And the poor people clapped like mad,
Because he was showing them
That God was for everybody,
Not just for those who could afford it.
He turned the tables on Monday . . . 
The day that religion got in the way.

VIDEO:  Let All Who Are Thirsty Come 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaxRwEZH5kg
Lyrics:
Let all who are thirsty come, 
let all who wish to receive the water of life freely. 
Amen, come Lord Jesus, amen come Lord Jesus. 
?
READING TWO

It was on Tuesday
That he let them have it.

If you have been there
You would have thought
That a union official was being taken to task
By a group of mobsters.
Or that the chairman of a multinational corporation
Was being interrogated by left-wing activitists
Posing as shareholders.

They wanted to know why
And they wanted to know how.

They were the respectable men,
The influential men,
The establishment.

The questions they asked
Ranged from silly schoolgirl speculations
About whether you would be a bigamist in heaven
If you had married twice on earth,
To what was the central rule of civilized behavior.

They knew the answers already . . . 
Or so they thought,
Otherwise they would never have asked the questions.

And like most of us
They were looking for an argument
With no intention of a change of heart.

So he flailed them with his tongue . . . 
Those who tried to look interested
But never wanted to be committed.

And that was on the Tuesday . . . 
The day when he let them . . . 
Let us . . . 
Have it.

VIDEO:  The Kingdom of God
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL1_IhVTJmk
Chorus:
The kingdom of God is justice and peace 
and joy in the Holy Spirit. 
Come, Lord, and open in us the gates of your kingdom.
?
READING THREE

It was on the Wednesday
That they called him wasteful.

The place smelled like the perfume department
Of a big department store.

It was as if somebody had bumped an elbow 
Against a bottle
And sent it crashing to the floor,
Setting of the most expensive stink bomb on earth.

But it happened in a house,
Not a shop.

And the woman who broke the bottle 
Was no casual afternoon shopper.
She was the poorest of the poor,
Giving away the only precious thing she had.

And he sat still
While she poured the liquid all over his head  . . . 
As unnecessary as aftershave
On a full crop of hair and a bearded chin.

And those who smelled it,
And those who saw it,
And those who remembered
That he was against extravagance,
Called him wasteful.
They forgot
That he also was the poorest of the poor.

And they who had much
And who had given him nothing,
Objected to a pauper giving him everything.

Jealousy was in the air
When a poor woman’s generosity
Became an embarrassment to their tight-fistedness.

That was on the Wednesday,
When they called him a wasteful person.

VIDEO:  Adoramus te, O Christe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6Zr3EqIhE
Chorus:
Oooh, adoramus te, O Christe
(we adore you, O Christ)

READING FOUR

It was on the Thursday
That he became valuable.

He hadn’t anything to sell . . . 
Not since leaving his hammer and saw there years earlier.
Needless to say,
He could build a table,
Or hang a could of shelves at the drop of a hat,
No bother at all.

But he wasn’t into making things.
Not now.

He was into . . . 
Well . . . talking, I supposed.
And listening
And healing
And forgiving
And encouraging . . .
All the things for which there’s no pay
And the job center has no advertisements.

So his work wasn’t worth much.
Nor, indeed, was he.
For, not being well dressed
Or well heeled or well connected,
He wouldn’t have attracted many ticket holders
Had he been put up for raffle.
But he had a novelty value . . .
Like the elephant man or the fat lady
Or the midget at the circus.
Put him on a stage and he might be interesting to look at.
Sell him to the circus
With the promise of some tricks
And there could be some money in it.

It was on the Thursday
That he became valuable.

VIDEO:  Stay With Me 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmAOcHqvS0Q
Chorus:
Stay with me, remain here with me
Watch and pray, watch pray?
READING FIVE

It was on the Friday
That they ended it all.

Of course,
They didn’t do it one by one.
They weren’t brave enough.
All the stones at the one time
Or no stones thrown at all.

They did it in crowds . . .
In crowds where you can feel safe
And lose yourself
And shout things
You would never shout on your own,
And do things
You would never do
If you felt the camera was watching you.

It was a crowd in the church that did it,
And a crowd in the civil service that did it,
And a crowd in the street that did it,
And a crowd on the hill that did it.

And he said nothing.

He took the insults,
The bruises,
The spit on the face,
The whip on the back,
The curses in the ears.
He took the sight of his friends turning away,
Running away.

And he said nothing.

He let them do their worst
Until their worst was done,
As on Friday they ended it all . . . 
And would have finished themselves
Had he not cried,
“Father, forgive them . . . “

And began the revolution.

VIDEO:  Jesus Remember Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6tVReXsioM
Lyrics:
Jesus remember me
When you come into your kingdom

MOMENT OF SILENCE

SCRIPTURE READING

MARK 15:42-47

When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 
Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time.
When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 
Then Joseph* bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. 
He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jeses saw where the body was laid.


MOMENT OF SILENCE

READING SIX

It was on the Saturday
That he was not there.

Those who mourn
Can’t stay away from graveyards
Unless there’s some prohibition to stop them
Revisiting the dead end
Of their hopes and dreams.

It’s as if they think
That should the voice speak again,
It will speak there
Or a sunbeam will dance
Or a flower will shout
And give a sign of misinterpreted life.

But close the cemetery,
Or confine, through custom or constraint,
The waiting ones to the house
And it looms larger . . . 
The loss,
The lostness,
The loser.

Men shiver in an upstairs room,
Warm though the day is.
Women weep in an uncharmed circle.
Memory is forced on memory.
The mind’s eye tries to trace
The profile and the face,
The smile,
The gentle twitching of the nose . . .
And fails.
And panic sets in
Because it seems he can’t be remembered.
Was he ever known?

It was on the Saturday
That he was not there.

MOMENT OF SILENCE?


CLOSING PRAYER

So there it is,
The ugly shape of beautiful wood,
Rough hewn by human hands.

Lord, where are you now?

And there it is,
A tight-shut tomb,
A borrowed grave,
Sealed with stone and silence.

Lord, where are you now?

And there it is,
Your broken body,
Shrouded in linen,
Clothed in darkness.

Lord, where are you now?

And somewhere stand your people,
Crying though tired of crying,
Their eyes sore and bloodshot.
They will not sleep tonight.

Lord, where are you now?

And out in the streets,
The children have stopped their playing,
The sound of music has gone sour,
Even the unlikely people
Fidget and wonder.

Lord where are you now?

And here are we,
Saying,
“If only,”
murmuring,
“Surely now,”
counting the cost for once
of our carelessness
and our lovelessness
and our sin.

Trying to vainly to gain all,
We’ve bartered you away in the transaction.
We have lost the one who found us.

With the Peters and Mary’s of all time,
We wait,
For only you can tell
Whether we are worth rising for.
Amen.

VIDEO:  Wait for the Lord 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCKq_CdoYE0

[one candle is lit]