Hello everybody and God be with you welcome to Clackamus United Church of Christ as We Gather here today uh on this Sunday or wherever you’re whenever you’re listening to this or watching this uh God be with you we are so grateful to be together and uh we just have a few quick announcements
Today uh our first announcement is that we have two special guest preachers with us today they are Gabe pink and Maria Kaiser and uh hey you get a different voice today and that’s awesome can we get an amen in the chat section for different voices today all right I’ll be
Asking for more amens uh later uh after our Prelude music on that one because uh we’ve just got seven people now and we need some amens going on in here so uh so uh that is exciting they are going to be talking about an important awesome group and Ministry that they are
Involved with uh it’s called ier and uh it’s a group that helps out um with Justice issues in the Philippines so uh there are a lot of injustices going on in the world and we can start forgetting about many of them and we can start feeling overwhelmed by all of them uh
But what is happening in the Philippines is something that needs to be on our on on the front of our minds as well and so uh so we’re going to hear about their wonderful work also one of the things that gives me hope is that there are
People in the world doing great things and working for justice in the world which helps me realize that this is not just on you it’s just not it’s not just on me uh it’s on all of us and to pay attention to uh those who are doing
Excellent work for justice is always a way way of giving hope so Kate good to see you and Karen star April Risa Leanne good to see you uh give Rich a hug for me Jessica princess M Michael good to see you all welcome welcome so uh
Friends we will be having a time of prayer later on today so if you have a prayer request that you would like lift it up invite you to put that in the chat section begin it with the hashtag prayer and we will lift one another up in
Prayer we will also have zoom coffee hour uh on Zoom after the worship service today so if you want to join for that uh we will be having that after worship I’ll put a link to that in the chat section so Linda good morning good
To see you and Karen good to see you too so friends let us begin our worship uh service today with our Prelude music from Jean Herrera uh so I invite you to take a deep breath with me as Jean opens us up with music into our worship service Today [Applause] Thank you g as always as always some great music to start us off today so Lita Justin Tammy and when tamy welcome uh friends when Tami sells shea butter and it is the amazing shea butter I I got some and I am feeling so much better uh with my
Skin so I’m gonna put a link to that if you’re interested uh give wmi a shout out for uh the shea butter that she makes so wheni thanks for that um friends uh many of you are just coming in and you haven’t heard the good news today that we have two guest preachers
Today so you get a different voice than mine and everybody in the chat section said amen come on give me an amen this is fantastic uh so I am excited to hear uh Gabe and Maria talk to us today about their amazing and great work with an amazing and great organization called
Ierp uh and they are going to be talking to us about the great Ministries and Justice work that ier is doing in the Philippines so uh we are excited about that uh but before we get to our sermon today we’ve got some uh some some work
To do so I’m gonna invite in our uh worship assistants today uh they are cliff and Michael hey welcome friends it’s it’s good to see you it’s good to see you yeah Michael you need to show us your shirt because I have not seen this shirt before and I
Think I’m digging it yeah so um this shirt let me see if I can pull this down sorry going the wrong way uh this is a shirt I made uh I am a member of a fraternity five Beta Sigma it’s part of a pan atantic Council of African-American uh fraternities and
Sororities and because I live in Florida shout out to Todd in Orlando what’s up um I made this shirt wol mob um one of our slogans for my organization is we we say go mob go mob means go make another brother and so we’re the woke mob in
Florida and it has my fraternity F Beta Sigma it also has a QR code which will take you to our website and a lot of the things that we’re doing and it says a large well-formed group group of people with basic empathy who are compassionate committed to Brotherhood de developing
Leaders quality education integrity and culture for service and service for all Humanity so I love it I love it I heard that Florida is the place where wokeness goes to die but you you oh no some politician in Florida said that uh who shall be nameless keep them nameless keep them
Nameless but if if anything if anything teaches us is that the more people that meet the nameless one the more people that don’t like them okay that’s good that’s good well uh we are here to uh worship with one another so we will begin well uh we will continue with the
Lighting of the peace candle uh Cliff whenever you are ready invite you to start us off all right we invite you to join us in the lighting of the peace candle as it is found in the description of your video we pray for peace in our hearts in
Our homes in our Nations and in our worlds amen amen amen friends our first reading today comes from First Corinthians chapter 7 uh verses 29 through 31 and uh this is a uh passage from Paul and uh Paul is writing at a time where he sees that the way that the world
Works is no longer working uh and we may see that today as well right uh but Paul is saying that the way that the world works is fading away and something new is being formed um and uh that’s the essential message and we’re going to hear more about that
During our sermon today with Maria and Gabe but uh until then uh Michael uh feel free to read 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verses 29 through 31 for us I mean brothers and sisters the appointed time has grown short from now on let ever those who have wives be as though they had none
And those who mourn as though they were not mourning and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing and those who buy as though they have no possessions and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it for the presence form of this world is passing
Away here ends our first reading thank you Michael friends our second reading comes from the gospel of Mark 1: 14- 20 this is Mark’s version of Jesus inviting his disciples to come and follow him now one of the most important things about this passage that’s easy to
Gloss over is that Jesus does not go to the religious Elite he does not go to the great uh students of religion or the politicians he goes to fishermen people who were on the underclass of society during that time and Jesus comes to them and says you have an important role to
Play in God’s Kingdom so let us he Cliff as he reads to us Mark chapter 1 verses 14-20 after John was arrested Jesus came to Galilee PR proclaiming the good news news of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near repent and believe in the good
News as Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen and Jesus said to them follow me and I will make you fish for people and immediately they left their Nets and followed him and as he went a
Little further he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John who were in their boat mending the Nets immediately he called to them and they left their father zebede in the boat with the hired men and followed him here are our readings this morning
May God bless us as we reflect upon them amen thank amen thank you uh Terry welcome and uh my old childhood friend Jared is here sounds like today’s society that’s right Jared Jared and I played a lot of uh Zelda uh when we were growing up together so Jared it’s always
Good to see you Michael whenever you are ready you can lead us in the call to worship please join us in the call to worship come and see come and see we come to see for ourselves who this Jesus person is come and see come and see we come with Open Hearts to
Experience the Spirit come and see come and see we come to see how we can work together for a better world come and see come and see we come to Proclaim God’s love for all creation amen amen amen passing of the peace friends we come to the the point where we pass the
Peace I invite you to type the word peace in the chat section beloved of God May the peace of Christ be with you and also and also with you friends as we write uh peace to one another in the chat section I will bring up our song today from the choir it’s an
Uh old familiar tune uh to many of us it is called Blessed assurance and so uh let us uh watch and listen to this song it’s got the words in it if you want to sing along with it and uh we will see you on the other side blessing Jesus is oh what
A of Glory Sal of born of the spirited in Christ love this is my story this is my song praising myor all the day this is my story this is my song praising My Savior all day long perfect submiss perfect visions of on my side Angels desend Above echo of Mercy Whispers of
Love this is my story this is my S praising myor all the day this is my St is my praising myor the day Perfect all See happy and blessed watching and looking with God’s goodness Lost In Christ love this is my story this is my song myor all the day long this is my story this is my S prising myor all amen friends uh we now enter into a time of uh sharing our offerings with the
Church our invitation to the offering we give thanks for uh the many ways in which we bless one another uh week after week Sunday after Sunday and um it is a blessing to me to be with the 46 of you right now who are watching on Facebook
And on YouTube to read your comments uh in the chat section um it is a blessing to me so Ellen I hope that you are able to get the sound uh going um but friends if you have uh the means and ability to help us financially uh strengthen our
Missions here at Clackamus United Church of Christ uh we would be so grateful uh and there are a number of ways that you can do that I put a link to our website uh ccc.org where you can give an offering there uh you can also give through Facebook and through YouTube at the
Donate button and um yeah you can also help us out by sharing this video with anybody you think is would be interested or benefit from it you can like and uh and share it as well so friends let us pray over over our offerings today gracious and loving God we give
Thanks for these gifts and for the opportunity to share them we ask that you bless them that they may be used to your glory to spread your peace and love and Justice throughout our communities and throughout the world with them we offer all that we have and all we are in
Praise and thanksgiving to you we pray together amen friends I will bring cliff and Michael back in for our prayer time uh welcome back Michael and Cliff friends if you have if you have a prayer request that you would like lift it up I invite you to put that in the chat
Section uh you can be begin with the hashtag prayer that’ll help us uh sift through the prayers and find your prayers so um Michael uh I forget is it easier for you to start at the top or the bottom or does it matter um let’s
Start let me see where I am I think the first one that I saw was from Patty okay so I’m not sure if you see anything before that okay Michael Michael why don’t you start at the top Cliff can you start at the bottom uh Mark’s got a
Prayer down there at the bottom if you could okay start that go ahead I was just going to mention there before for Patty there’s a couple more the the very first one it should start with Dallas princess Dallas his prayer of gratitude for that the Grim the uh internet
Gremlins are not with us today oh good got it well then I’ll start at the bottom I’ll do the bottom sounds good that sounds good yeah Cliff why don’t you start at the top uh we will we pray giving thanks of gratitude that the internet Gremlins are not here today God
In Your Love pray Ouray um I do have one for Patty which is at the bottom uh prayers for her son and her husband’s extreme pain um I pray that they are relieved of that pressure and they they can find peace and God In Your Love hear our prayers here our
Prayers uh Jessica Gonzalez please pray for me I’m concerned I may be at the start of a depressive episode but if that could just not happen it would be great if I can just get everything done that I have to get done even if I am depressed that would be okay too Jessica
We lift you up in your time of depression God and your love God our love here our our prayers have casy Fox uh prayers for Co is still going around so prayers for protection for JC and all of us around so we lift that up and just allow individuals to be clear-headed and
Wise and smart about their actions so God In Your Love hear our prayer Michael can you go up from Casey and I’ll get the prayers that come below case all right sounds good Risa offers prayers for children around the world that they may be safe God In Your Love here our
Prayers Luke zinker pray I win my battles with HR as Union steward zuluk will you lift you up in your task God and Your Love here our prayers here our prayers Angela has a prayer to free Palestine and for the families in both Palestine and Israel who are enduring the atrocities occurring around
Them and that their loved ones around the world um who are worried um that they who are worried and advocating for them so um definitely a challenging uh prayer um because because of so many people that are impacted and so that we do just pray for peace pray for clarity
Understanding and and and pray for wiser men to come together uh to find a solution so we lift this up God In Your Love here our prayers Caroline we pray that your sciatica heals Caroline we pray lifting you up to God for healing God and your love here our prayer
Prayers M Ray to all prayer to all the Stray and homeless animals and to the community of Believers that have lifted me up unknowingly over my lifetime and didn’t give up on me even though I wasn’t always receptive without them I would surely be lost Emy we love you and appreciate you
And we lift you up in prayer God In Your Love here our prayers I have a prayer from Luke uh prayer for the end to pervasive racism sexism ableism and transphobia in the lgbtqia A+ community so I’m always preaching to love our brothers and sisters and I know how divided and
Complicated it can be um especially when you throw politics in there so I lift up all of my brothers and sisters I lift lift up the lgbtqi A+ community and we give it to the Lord God In Your Love here Samy offers prayers for sami’s Dad
That he find courage to call the doctors back so we can come up with a plan for his tumor Sammy we lift up your dad we pray for courage for your dad and we pray for you and the rest of your family during this time God and your love
Luke zinker pray for an end to evil people and management positions Luke we lift you up in prayer today and we remember that we are to love and pray for those who persecute us and our enemies God In Your Love here our prayers our prayers I have a prayer of
Gratitude from Patty and Patty prays for gratitude for this rain wet but lovely morning with a group that I truly feel a kinship with Jesus is Love and Patty I hope you were talking about us but we love you as well and we lift up your prayer God In Your Love
Hear our prayers hear our prayers tamami uh says I’m coming out of a depressive episode thank God it’s easing I lost my sense of smell years ago and found out it is permanent I didn’t realize how much it affects me and it blindsided me Tammy we pray for you we thank God
That your depressive episode is easing and we think of all of those of us who suffer from depression during these difficult winter months which is tends to be the height of depression for many of us so we pray for you uh giving thanks that it is easing and we pray for
You as you deal with the loss of the sense of smell and how much it has affected you uh we pray for a miracle wherever Miracles can happen and if Miracles don’t happen we pray for you as you deal uh with your loss of a sense of smell God In Your
Love here our prayers our prayers Patty senson prayers for the Earth as we feel at the mercy of her frustration inches of rain heat that was the highest ever recorded earthquakes tornadoes Etc thank you Patty God In Your Love here our prayers have a prayer for Luke uh prayer
As he is dealing with a few challenges uh lately so prayer U Luke we lift you up and although we may not know what those challenges are our heavenly father does and we just ask that he guides you um through these times so we lift it up God In Your Love
Here our prayers railen offers prayers for rayen’s roommate James who begins a new round of Cho for stage four bile duct cancer with some expected side effects he’s not experienced before uh railene we live up we lift up your room James we pray for his healing and for
His doctors God and your love here our prayers prayers Angela Banning prayer for my maternal grandmother Gloria who is in hospice and we are being told is getting closer to trans transitioning to the life beyond for my paternal grandmother Evelyn as she continues her key truda treatment for cancer and healing after a
Fall out of bed that left her kneading stitches on her head and her arm being reset she continues to be in pain and her and my grandfather have started being resistant to our help or suggestions Angela we lift you up in prayer at this time that God gives your family strength
And endurance and healing for your relatives God In Your Love here our prayers and we’ve met in the middle okay I’ve got some more prayers down here uh Angela also prays uh continuing prayers for the people of Ukraine uh since 2022 and Myanmar since May 2021 who have been
At War now for one and two years respectively we continue to add new countries and people to our prayers for these wars and meanwhile the original names are still fighting and being forgotten not talked about as we move to the newest sad in the news uh we pray Angela along with you uh
For the people of Ukraine and Myanmar and all of the Nations who are experiencing war and oppression as we pray for an end to all war and all oppression God and your love here our pray here our pray Jeff offers prayers of gratitude that our heat and electricity are restored also that
Lita’s upcoming lymphoma treatment postponed due to the weather last week goes well prayers for all affected by the winter storms last week God In Your Love here our prayer Tammy says my BFF Cafe has covid and it’s bad prayers that steroid treatment will kick in God In Your Love here our prayers
Here our prayers Peggy prayers for her friend Judy and Bernie who have experienced recent loss and so we just ask that we that you’re with them um that they are able to carry uh the burden of the loss but know that they are on their way home and so God we lift
It up in your name God In Your Love hear our prayers our pray Mark offers prayers for my brother James as he is out getting groceries in the dalls in this weather uh we pray for James and everybody in the Dallas who is dealing with this weather God in your
Love our pray Mark also prays we are not having Church in person as the weather is not great we are having Church on Zoom with Pastor Lee uh we give thanks for that and we continue to pray for all people dealing with adverse weather God In Your Love
Here Jeff offers prayers that my plugged right ear can be unplugged and not result in permanent hearing loss we pray for your ear Jeff God in your love he our prayers prayers uh Mark I’m not sure if I got your prayer request in it’s easy often to miss prayer requests I’ve
Seen you’ve had a couple in uh I I hope that we got all of your prayer requests uh Todd says my prayer are gratit itude look around always something positive we are blessed every day I pray for this community that is so very positive and needed thank
You thank you Todd God In Your Love here we gotta get lunch one of these days you hit me up you hit me up I love it I love it I love it all right um friends I think that those are all of our prayers today Casey says thank God
For online church can I get an amen in the chat section for Casey amen so awesome well friends I think those are all of our prayers today cliff and Michael will uh lead us in our community prayer uh so invite you to take a deep breath as we continue our prayer time
With one another here we go we invite you to join us in the spirit of prayer we will end each petition with God in your love and we invite you to respond with the words hear our prayers we will conclude with the prayer Jesus our brother taught us you may say
It in whichever version you are most comfortable let us Pray bless blessed are you our God creator of the universe you form us in your image and call us to be blessings you baptize us in your love and strength strengthen us with your Holy Spirit We Gather this day to pray for your world and your people we remember all those
Who are suffering and in need and of healing in mind body or Soul comfort those who are anxious and in pain strengthen those who are weak and lead us to be Healers of one another God In Your Love here our prayers we pray for all of those who are in
Mourning the loss of loved ones we pray for our presence your presence in times of grief and for the reassurance that our loved ones live eternally in your glory god in your love here our prayers we pray for your creation that you have entrusted to our care for the
Wisdom and will to lead and deal with climate change we pray for all all those who are living in the midst of war and violence and we pray for an end to all war and violence God In Your Love here our prayer we pray for the leaders of this
Nation and All Nations that they might enact policies that will spread your Justice freedom and peace among all peoples we pray for those serving in our country and those serving other countries and we pray for the w will and courage to serve one another we pray as
Jesus teaches for those we call our enemies as we anticipate the day when we have no enemies God In Your Love here our prayers we pray for all those who are hungry thirsty without shelter or safety this day guide us to share of what we have so that all people may dwell in
Your abundance God In Your Love here our prayer we celebrate and give thanks this day for the ability to be together we remember those who are traveling and pray for their safe return we remember all of those who rejoice as we Rejoice with them God in your love he our
Prayers gracious God there there is so much noise and so many distractions in our world and so we come before you now in a moment of silence as we welcome you and all of those participating in this worship service in our hearts loving God in all of these things that we have
Prayed out loud and in all of the prayers that remain in our hearts we lift them up to you in the name of the living one who taught us to say together Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name your kingdom come
Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but Deliver Us from Evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever
Amen amen thank you Cliff thank you Michael for leading us in prayer uh we will take you down for the sermon and bring you back up to lead us in our benediction raising the roof let’s go oh well friends today we have two special guest preachers and I’m going to
Bring um I’m going to bring Gabe up now hi Gabe Gabe can you hear me hey yes let’s see okay good good good now we’re there uh looks like we don’t have Maria Maria may have she was having some internet ISS said she’s on so I don’t know is
That she not on the um there she is now now we have her back so hopefully she’ll be able there we go all right so here comes Maria hi Maria hi good morning good morning good morning and Gabe is here hi Gabe good morning to you
Uh Gabe and Maria will be preaching uh today uh thank you both for being here and for preaching they will also be preaching at our oncampus service at 10:30 uh Pacific so they’re pulling double duty this morning so thank you for doing that uh they are going to be
Talking about uh an important organization uh that they work with called The International Coalition for human rights in the Philippines and I am so grateful they are here because what’s happening in the Philippines themes uh is on almost nobody’s radar it’s not in the media it’s not in our politics and
This is a human rights issue that we need to be much much more aware of and so Gabe and Maria thank you for being here thank you for the work that you are doing and uh I don’t need to say any more you are here to preach so I will
Take myself off screen Gabe is gonna start us off uh so I will take Maria and myself offscreen as Gabe uh preaches and then uh we’ll bring Maria up after gab’s part is done so Gabe feel free to take it away wonderful thank you everyone and good morning uh thanks for letting me
Share today uh I’ve been attending UCC Clackamus now for most of the past last year and like many of you all I’m sure I was attracted to this community because of its activism and its willingness to stand up for what is right so I want to start this sermon by
Reflecting on our role as Christians as activists in creating the kingdom of God how does our faith guide us in uprooting the systems of Oppression which caused so much suffering in our world it is easy to feel hopeless in these times and to want to turn away from the Injustice everywhere whether
The daily violence experienced by the poor and un housed on our streets or the genocide being perpetrated on the Palestinian people in Gaza but despite the scale of the Injustice we fight against hope is all around us Maria and I as Adam mentioned are both part of a global Grassroots
Alliance called The International Coalition for human rights in the Philippines or ier for short we are also part of a portland-based environmental justice organization called called kalikasan solidarity organization which is one of the dozens of member organizations of ier worldwide and as members of ier we are committed to standing in solidarity with
The Filipino people in their struggle for a just and Lasting peace we work alongside Filipino organizations and activists to expose the corrupt and repressive ruling system in which the few enrich the eles at the expense and suffering of the many in recent years ier has led delegations to the Philippines to investigate human
Rights violations and war crimes perpetrated by the former duterte and current Marcos Jun Junior regime both of these regimes unfortunately have been fully backed by our own government in the US which is why one of our campaigns and one that um me members of uh clackmas UCC have also
Participated in is to end US military aid to the Philippines through passing the Philippine Human Rights Act last September the UCC Central Pacific Conference unanimously passed a resolution to support the ph and to conduct education and its various congregations on the human rights situation in the Philippines and the need for
Action uh the UCC White Church Ministries uh is also a member organization of ier through these various chapters around the world ier Works to end support for the current Marcos regime and to uplift the demands of ordinary philipinos fighting for their rights including the right to defend their lands from corporate plunder and
Militarization we do this work because we are convinced of the power of solidar it and because we understand our interests are linked whether we are working for lgbtq rights housing Justice anti-racism or environmental justice we have reason to extend support to the Filipino people fighting for their
Democratic rights and an end to foreign domination as khasan solidarity org and as ier more broadly we take up campaigns like our stop the plunder campaign to demand Oregon treasury divest from corporations that profit off the plunder and exploitation of the land and people divesting from corporations like Tesla
Which depends on the nickel mind in open pit mines and Boeing which sells its weapons to the Philippine military to use against its own people we are also supporting local Filipino organizations here in uh Portland standing up for the right of Migrant Filipinos facing exploitation and discrimination here in
Oregon and a large percentage of Philipino migrants work as caregivers in nursing homes where they often make less than minimum wage performing physically and emotionally taxing work we are uh proud to support the care for caregivers Campaign which seeks to support Filipino caregivers in their struggle to achieve
Economic stability and it in their workplaces and we’d be glad to talk more about these campaigns um after after the sermon as well if anyone’s interested in learning more but we wanted to all share uh particularly uh today because 10 of us from Portland attended iir’s gener general assembly in Bangkok Thailand
Last last November where we were honored to learn directly from Filipino activists and organizers about the conditions they are facing in their Homeland and how they are fting back many of the attendees and presenters were also people of faith and church leaders including uh a former nun who
Has served as a peace consultant for the national Democratic front during peace negotiations with the Philippine government and the national Democratic front of the Philippines or ndfp is an organization made up of revolutionary organizations fighting to transform the root causes social and economic crisis in the Philippines and she shared uh about the
Desperate poverty and the feudal conditions in the countryside and what it will take to resolve the root causes of what is now a decades long Civil War in which many have chosen to take up arms to fight back against a ruling system which inflects widespread suffering on the majority of the
People but during this assembly we met people from around the world who in some way or another saw a common interest in fighting for a just and Lasting peace in the Philippines we shared songs together built deeper ties of solidarity and commitment we were moved by the beautiful and agitating music of heig
Grante a band composed of Migrant Filipinos living and working in Thailand and I got the chance to speak with one of the musicians and asked how it was that he came to live in Thailand he told me he was an activist back home in the Philippines but so many of his
Friends had been killed or imprisoned by the government it was no longer safe for him to stay he was forced like so many others to leave his family and Homeland because the political repression remains so severe and although the situation in the Philippines is dire we left feeling
Empowered by the courage and the sacrifice of those around us and our are resolve to continue building solidarity only deepened we wanted uh to share our experiences at the I General Assembly as long as as well as some of our personal Reflections from solidarity missions um to the Philippines because it is clear
That the values of this congregation are also present in our work Pastor Adam and all the members of Clackamus UCC in person and online are not afraid to take their faith in into the world to build a community rooted in Justice and love for others many of the Filipino activists
And organizers we met including Faith leaders have been tear tagged or labeled as a terrorist by their government and live in constant fear of unjust arrest detention or even murder this simply for standing up to demand their rights yet despite the risks they are not afraid to tell the
Truth about the corrupt ruling system and raise legitimate demands of the people although the Philippines oh no I think we may have lost Gabe um so we will we’ll see uh but I will bring uh Maria in I’m not sure what happened there yeah Maria we just
Seem to have lost Gabe uh there so um if Gabe is able to come back we’ll bring him back in to finish off but invite you to uh deliver your part of the sermon now thank you Maria all right thank you so much um thank you Pastor Adam thank you
Gabe there we go um now I’m unmuted um thank you so much to Gabe and to Pastor Adam and to Clackamus UCC for having us here today um so like J Gabe mentioned in November we went to the ier general assembly in Thailand um and right after
This uh GA I had the opportunity to go to the Philippines with a group of other activists from the US on a solidarity Mission we went to integrate with a fish Community um learn more about their lives and the human rights situation in their area um and to document their
Stories to share with people in the US um as I was reading the passage that we read earlier in Mark uh my mind immediately uh went to the Fisher folk I met and the way that this passage parallels their own lives um one of the reasons we went to
This community in particular is because they are facing displacement the Philippine government is constructing a new roadway throughout the country um to connect different factories and the plan is for it to be built alongside the lake that these Fisher Folk fish out of and depend on for their livelihood and so this roadway
Means um that everyone in the community I was in will be displaced um instead of devel V oping these natural resources for its people the Philippine government is developing these infrastructures for their own profit um there’s already immense economic struggle in the area and this
Roadway would mean an end to the to the people’s ability to provide for their families so we would go out during the day with the local activists and talk to community members about this roadway project and what it would mean for them we met with an older man whose family
Has lived in that Community for 60 years uh he cried and wept as he spoke about the reality that he and his kids and his grandkids are up against we talked to the activists we were with um about this project um and they they talked about their hopes to unite the
Community to fight against this roadway project and this passage in Mark where Jesus goes out to proclaim the kingdom and invite people to join in reminded me of the task of the activists to share that the kingdom is coming Liberation is coming and the people’s movements are
What’s bringing it in the kingdom of God there’s no exploitation no imperialism colonization oppression just as the disciples were tasked to leave behind their individual lives and go out into the world because their brothers and sisters were in need the communities in the Philippines like the
Ones I was in are tasked to look beyond their own livelihoods um providing for their own families and to connect with other people who are also seeking to provide for their families in order to secure freedom from this severe oppression they’re called to move into a collective life to develop unions and organizations
With the power to fight against the government and corporations and foreign governments and big landlords that exploit them to take up this way of life is costly just as the way of Christ was costly for the disciples in the Philippines activists are facing horrific human rights violations as a result of their work
Instead of respecting and upholding the people’s rights to safety and dignity the Philippine government has created task forces and dedicated millions of dollars to try to destroy resistance movements they bomb communities kill entire families in their sleep rip infants from their mother’s arms kidnap activists imprison people on false and
Trumped up charges is often times planting false evidence to justify this this is all to try to destroy the opposition to a government that is oppressive the person who led our trip um was a young fun full-time activist um we had so much fun together doing karaoke till late in the night
Watching Tik Tock learning dance dances um just enjoying being together but in the midst of that the realities of the human rights violations were constantly before us um he would get a text or a phone call and he would find out that an activist in another Province had gone
Missing um one day he was showing off his tattoos and I asked what one of him one of them meant and it was a tribute to his good friend and who’s a political prisoner um a few days after I got home I learned that another of his friends had been murdered by state
Forces um we also recently learned of the horrific bombings that took place on Christmas day which the Philippine military dropped massive 250 pound bombs on a small camp of the new People’s Army which is a Guerilla army fighting to defend the rights of peasants in the countryside
This is the reality of what the Filipino people are facing every day conditions are worsening under the current president and our tasks are Urgent to support the people and condemn the role of the US in funding these atrocities we denounce these human rights violations and we honor the fact
That the repression is strong because the people’s movements are strong and successful it can seem like we’re up against impossible odds but these movements are powerful they are truly a threat to the existing order the cost is great but the victory is greater the community and love and the hope are
Greater the people I met in the Philippines persevere through all the struggles with the confidence that they will win and if the people on the front lines facing this are so unwavering in Hope how can we not carry that same hope and determination in the work that we
Do the passage that we read in First Corinthians also resonated with me a lot as I thought about um the work that we do in solidarity with the Philippines because we know that this work is urgent the time is short the conditions are worsening the world in its present form
Is passing away the conditions are ripening for the people to usher in a new world this passage also reminded me of the genocide in Palestine and the understanding that many of us are feeling that there can be no business as usual with the unimaginable suffering there it’s natural for us to be grieving
Over this we might feel that things we once cared about don’t seem as important anymore this isn’t an excuse to despair but the this is an invitation to cast aside the things we thought we wanted the Ambitions we thought we needed to achieve and to dedicate our time and
Energy and attention in whatever capacity we can to ease the suffering of people and end the plunder of the land yes continue boying Starbucks um what does the kingdom of God look like in the Philippines it looks like the people fighting for an end to feudalism colonialism Domination by Foreign
Corporations it looks like ownership of the land by the people who work the land it looks like the people being able to provide for their families and not being forced to migrate to other countries to work and send money back to their families what does the kingdom of God
Look like here in our city it looks like those workers who were forced to migrate not being taken advantage of by their employers as Gabe mentioned we’re part of a campaign called care for caregivers where we’re working alongside caregivers primarily Filipino migrant care caregivers who are being exploited by their
Bosses um and we’re campaigning with them to say that this is not okay we won’t stand for it and sit by while people are treated this way the kingdom of God here looks like practicing International solidarity by pressuring the US government and corporations to get out of the
Philippines and stop plundering the land when I was doing interviews in the Philippines um everyone I talked to I would ask if you could ask people in the states to do one thing to show solidarity with you what would it be and most people said one of two things they
Either said go back and share our stories let people know what we’re up against how much we need and appreciate international support and two use your position in the states to get foreign corporations out of our country and in our stop the plunder campaign our goal is to do just
That through demanding that the Oregon State Treasury devest from corporations that are plundering the Philippines as people of faith we know that God’s will happens through us through being the hands and feet of Jes Jesus as people Seeking Justice we see the dire conditions and the urgen of
This work we know that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love so let’s not despair let’s have confidence in Victory let’s leave behind anything that holds us back go out into the world practice International solidarity and be a part of seeing the kingdom of God made
Manifest on the Earth thank you amen thank you Maria and uh Gabe Gabe we lost you there for a moment Gabe we lost you there for a moment so you thanks for picking up yeah yeah yeah so a lot of great comments uh Jen says the gospel preaches hope no matter what and
Solace until that hope is realized and uh I put in some quotes that I really appreciate uh Jen Jen says powerful testimony thanks so much God has given God has not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power and love Maria let’s go love it I can’t take credit for
That one I gotta I gotta amen credit St Paul for that one well you and you and St Paul are on it so uh good good stuff Linda says we are the hands and feet of Jesus so thank you for that too uh that’s also Teresa of Avala um some good
Stuff there so I love it I love it so thank you and I’ve put a link to ierp in the chat section uh so thank you both for being here and for preaching I don’t know Gabe if you missed anything that you wanted to uh
Say I I don’t think so I don’t know exactly where I cut off but awesome good good good well thank you so much and uh you will be here for the oncampus uh worship service too so I I look forward to seeing you both here uh
In the near future so thank you so much thank you all right I’ll take you off screen for the moment and uh we will have our benediction and welcome cliff and Michael back in oh oh we oh we got you on mute there we go Michael you were saying something I
Repeat I said we’re on the other side we are on the other side you’re on the other side that’s right that’s uh Luke there is a coffee hour link I will put the coffee hour link back in uh Zoom right now as Michael and Cliff lead us in our
Benediction and now France let us join in the UN and benediction may God bless you and keep you may God’s face shine upon you and be gracious unto you may God look upon you with kindness and give you peace this day and forever more amen amen amen amen friends I put
In the link to the zoom coffee hour in the chat section and we are also having an online Community Fellowship opportunity today at 3:00 Pacific uh 6 o’clock Eastern rayen leads that and uh railen often has just a bunch of good fun questions uh to go over so that we
Can uh get to know folks from all over the states and the world uh as you get together for that so uh Patty peace to you as well Casey have a blessed week friends that is our worship service for today if you want to join us on Zoom for
C hour that would be fantastic uh and we will do this all again next week until then may you know that you are loved may you share that love with others and if you know it with me say it with me and whenever it is necessary may you go out
There and cause some good trouble let’s go let’s go all right friends uh see you next week hope you have a great week and uh God be with you uh be with you
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