October 31, 2017
Happy All Hallows Eve and Happy Reformation Day. It was 500 years ago today (October 31, 1517) that Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and a professor of Scripture at the University of Wittenberg in eastern Germany, nailed his Ninety-five Theses to his community bulletin board, the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The posting of this document which, among other things, criticized the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church, is regarded as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation is a vast movement which emphasized the individual’s relationship with God, salvation through faith alone and making the Bible available in the languages of the people. The rise of the Baptist church is one expression of the Reformation.
An often unnoted fact is that Luther regarded the Ethiopian Church as a model of the pure church he longed to see in Europe. This link is to a recent Religious News Service article about this connection: http://religionnews.com/2017/10/28/martin-luthers-dream-church-it-wasnt-in-europe/
The central text in our worship this Sunday will be Psalm 43. The final verse of this Psalm reads, Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. Following worship we will gather on Mandana Green to share our faith as we Stand and Sing for Justice.
Prayers of the Congregation
- All who are grieving
- All trying to rebuild after fire, hurricane, earthquake and flood
- Tess Benin
- Joel Reyes
- Peggy Rogers-Tamayo
- Whitley Joachim
- Edie Parrott (Bancroft Convalescent Hospital)
- Leslyn Henry and Anthony Marshall for Christopher Rodriguez and his mom, Jennifer
- Thanksgiving with Sheila Sims that her mom is home from the hospital
- Thanksgiving for the ministry of City Team Oakland and all who work to end homelessness, hunger and addiction
- Gail Carter for the health of friends Diane and Janet
- Gloria and Phil Meads for Jeffery and Elizabeth
- Larry Hutchings for Dennis and family
- Mary Karne for Maryla
- Zondra Martin for Marty
- Kay Baxter for Stacey and Jamie
- Wisdom for all our elected leaders
- Katrina Lau
- Cecil White for his brother, Kenneth, who is hospitalized in Tampa, FL
- All our homebound members
- All work to support religious liberty
- Our representatives in Cuba (Jessie Guiton, Jesse Lucas, Marie Johnson, Mary Sue Meads) and the members of Northminster Church, Monroe, LA, they are traveling with
- Peace with justice in the Middle East
- For a world without walls
- Debra Avery as she concludes her pastorate at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland
- All who are traveling