Fauntleroy Church, United Church of Christ

Sunday Worship - January 18, 2026

Welcome to worship at Fauntleroy Church, United Church of Christ! We are so glad to have you with us today. Here are a few helpful notes and asks as you prepare to worship:

If you have a name tag in the wooden rack by the entrance, please wear it so others might know you by name. If not, let us know if you’d like one!
Mask-only designated pews are available at the back of the sanctuary, on the entrance side. We ask that all who sit there do wear a mask to honor the needs and comfort of others in that section.
Please remember to silence your cell phone during worship.
Our Sanctuary features a hearing loop system designed to enhance audio clarity for individuals utilizing hearing aids or cochlear implants. To connect, please adjust your device to the T-coil (telecoil) setting. Wireless receivers are also available at the rear of the Sanctuary.
Please be aware that we livestream our worship on our Fauntleroy Church YouTube channel. For the care and safety of children, our camera focus will be blurred during the Time with Children that recurs weekly. Parents should know that children still might momentarily be shown on our recordings if they come forward for music, communion or a role in leading worship.
If desired, Sunday school is available for ages four through eighth grade after the Time with Children (parent pick-up is on the fourth floor after worship).
If desired, childcare is available for babies through three-year-olds from the start of worship. Ask an usher to direct you to the childcare room.

*Asterisks invite those who are comfortable to please stand.

PRELUDE - Clem Zipp, guest accompanist

WELCOME - Rev. Leah Atkinson Bilinski

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT - Paul Koppe

*PASSING THE PEACE OF CHRIST

You will be invited to turn to your neighbors and greet them with the peace of Christ. The traditional greeting, should you engage it, is “The peace of Christ be with you” with a response of “And also with you.”

*OPENING HYMN No. 593 “Lift Every Voice and Sing”

Words: James Weldon Johnson. Public Domain. Music: J. Rosamond Johnson. Public Domain.

*CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) - Charlie Torres

From enfleshed.com. Permission given for use.

Leader: Those who have known the strains of human life, the heavy burdens of injustice, or the perils of uncertainty,

RESPONSE: COME, AND TELL AGAIN THE STORY OF GOD.

Leader: Let your hearts be made alive with memories of restoration. Let your mouths be filled with testimonies of hope.

RESPONSE: OUR SPIRITS ARE RENEWED THROUGH SACRED WITNESS.

Leader: We remember the prophets – their truth offers freedom.

RESPONSE: WE REMEMBER THE LIFE OF JESUS – HIS LOVE TRANSFORMS.

Leader: We remember the saints who persisted – their courage compels.

RESPONSE: WITH THE JOY OF THIS ANCIENT STORY THAT DELIVERS AND UPLIFTS, WE WELCOME THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN OUR MIDST!

FAUNTLEROY CHURCH CHOIR “I Dream a World” - Zachary Fitzgerald directing

“I dream a world where one, no other one will scorn,

Where love will bless the earth and peace its paths adorn.

I dream a world where all will know sweet freedom's way,

Where greed no longer saps the soul nor avarice blights our day.

A world I dream where black or white, whatever race you be,

Will share the bounties of the earth and everyone is free,

Where wretchedness will hang its head and joy, like a pearl,

Attends the needs of all mankind- Of such I dream, my world!”

CHILDREN’S MOMENT - Rev. Karyn Frazier

SINGING THE CHILDREN OUT (children may leave for Sunday School if they’d like)

Go now in peace, go now in peace.

May the love of God surround you,

Everywhere, everywhere, you may go.

SCRIPTURE READING Isaiah 49:1-7 - Charlie Torres

Listen to me, O coastlands,
   pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
   while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
   in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
   in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, ‘You are my servant,
   Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’
But I said, ‘I have labored in vain,
   I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
   and my reward with my God.’

And now the Lord says,
   who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
   and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
   and my God has become my strength—
he says,
‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
   to raise up the tribes of Jacob
   and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
   that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’

Thus says the Lord,
   the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
   the slave of rulers,
‘Kings shall see and stand up,
   princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
   the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’

SERMON “Refusing to Settle” - Pastor Leah

SPECIAL MUSIC “How I Long for Peace" - Atit Marmer and Nancy Roberts-Brown

By Peggy Seeger. Used with permission of Christian Copyright Solutions WORSHIPCast License No. 12825.

SHARING OUR PRAYERS OF JOY AND CONCERN - Pastor Leah

PASTORAL PRAYER

THE LORD’S PRAYER (unison)

Our Father/Mother/Creator, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

INVITATION TO GENEROSITY - Charlie Torres

This week and next, we wrap up four months of passing 100% of our cash plate offering to Alimentando al Pueblo, a community-building non-profit and food bank in Burien serving the Latine community in our area. If you do not have cash but would like to contribute, you can write a check (make sure to write “food insecurity” on the memo line) or donate online at www.fauntleroyucc.org, looking for the food-insecurity button with Alimentando’s logo.

OFFERTORY - Clem Zipp

*SUNG RESPONSE No. 164, v.3-4 “Arise, Your Light is Come”

Words: Ruth Duck, 1973. Copyright G.I.A. Publications, 1992. Used with permission of OneLicense.net Annual License with podcasting, No. A-727720. Music: William Walter, 1872. Public Domain.

Arise, your light is come! All you in sorrow born,
Bind up the broken-hearted ones and comfort those who mourn.

Arise, your light is come! The mountains burst in song!
Rise up like eagles on the wing; God’s power will make us strong.

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION (unison) - Charlie Torres

From enfleshed.com; permission given for use

Prophet and scholar, James Baldwin, said “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” God of Revelations, may this offering be used to fill in the gaps of what we cannot yet imagine. May we become conscious of possibility in our communities. May we envision expansive ways of being together infused with freedom and pleasure. Amen.

*CLOSING HYMN No. 581 “Lead Us From Death to Life”

*BENEDICTION - Pastor Leah

*BENEDICTION RESPONSE “Degaje” - Conrad Wesselhoeft

By Alan Claassen. Permission given for use by Fauntleroy Church.

When invited, the congregation can sing this:

Degaje, Degaje. Somehow we will find a way, where there's no way, Degaje.

POSTLUDE - Clem Zipp

OFFERING: If you did not bring an offering with you today, we invite you to give at www.fauntleroyucc.org

Thank you for considering how you can support the work of this congregation.

As an open and affirming congregation, the members and staff of Fauntleroy Church are committed to fostering community among people of all races, cultures, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

Leah Atkinson Bilinski, Senior Pastor

Karyn Frazier, Associate Pastor

Zachary Fitzgerald, Music Director

Sarah Ackers, Volunteer & Engagement Coordinator

Allen Lambert, Caretaker

Aimee Pinckney, Financial Assistant

Pat Gedney, Financial Assistant

Carol Gilderoy, Lead Sunday School Teacher

Carol Smith, Nursery Supervisor

Sebastian Dwyer, Nursery Assistant

Kyle Lorenzen, Office Assistant & Worship Technician

Thanks to the following volunteers, who make Sunday mornings happen:

Building Opener: Al Bernahl

Usher Team: Steve Garrett- captain, Terry Burgess, Josh Miller, Wendy Morgan

Greeter: Nancy Olson and Joan Wieringa

Sound Tech: Ben Ackers

Liturgist: Charlie Torres

Nursery: Sebastian Dwyer

Sunday School: Carol Gilderoy, Claudio Georgete Neto, Paul Levin

Coffee Hour: Marilynn Bernahl and Carolyn Tucker

Opportunities for Engagement: Paul Koppe, Shirley Asmussen, and Carolyn Tucker