Fauntleroy Church, United Church of Christ
Sunday Worship - October 25, 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:
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 and Childcare are available. See the back of this bulletin for details.
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.
Fauntleroy Church gathers on the traditional, sacred lands and waterways of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish People, the first people of Seattle. We honor, with respect and gratitude, these original and ongoing stewards of this beautiful place who have cared for it and called it home for time immemorial. We acknowledge the harms that white settlers and the Church caused our indigenous siblings and their ongoing struggles due to that displacement and dispossession. We recognize God’s longing for us to repent and repair our relationship and commit to join with them to work for justice and the care of this land.
*Asterisks invite those who are comfortable to please stand.
PRELUDE Mayumi Tayake
WELCOME Rev. Leah Atkinson Bilinski
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT Sarah Ackers
*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. 1 “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
Words: Walter C. Smith, 1867; alt. Music: ST. DENIO, adapt. from Welsh ballad in John Roberts’ Caniadaeth y Cysegr, 1839. Public Domain.
*CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) Eric Wetzel
Leader: In mystery and material, God takes shape among us
RESPONSE: IN FLESH THAT HUNGERS, ACHES, AND LONGS…
Leader: In lands and people, tears and rage
RESPONSE: GOD IS NOT A DISTANT CONCEPT, ABSTRACTED FROM OUR LIVES
Leader: God is close, intimate, as present as our breath
RESPONSE: AND YET, THIS HOLY MYSTERY RESISTS OUR RATIONAL CONSTRAINTS
Leader: She is the questions with which we wrestle.
RESPONSE: THEY ARE THE STRANGE AND UNEXPLAINABLE.
Leader: He is an invitation toward the unknown.
RESPONSE: LET DIVINE IMAGINATION COME AND BIRTH NEW PARADIGMS OF LIFE!
*OPENING PRAYER (unison) Eric Wetzel
Loving God, we gather before you in praise and thanksgiving, wonder and awe, doubt and uncertainty, joy and pain. We seek your guidance and direction, assurance and challenge, correction, and encouragement. Make your presence known among us this day. Let your Spirit reign in our worship, in our hearts, and in our lives. Amen.
FAUNTLEROY CHURCH CHOIR “Road Home”
Michael Dennis Browne, adapted by Stephen Paulus. Copyright 2005. Used with permission of Christian Copyright Solutions WORSHIPCast License No. 12825. Tune "Prospect" from Southern Harmony, 1835. Public Domain.
A TIME FOR CHILDREN Pastor Leah
A COSTUME PARADE AS CHILDREN TRANSITION TO SUNDAY SCHOOL
Addam’s Family main theme by Vic Mizzy. Used with permission of Christian Copyright Solutions WORSHIPCast License No. 12825.
Children through twelfth grade are welcome to go to Sunday school as the parade ends or stay with their families in worship (whatever feels best for you).
They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky;
They’re all together ooky
The Fauntl’roy family
[piano, snaps, piano, snaps]
So, put a witch’s shawl on
A broomstick you can crawl on
We’re gonna clap and cheer on
The Fauntl’roy family!
[repeat lyrics until music ends]
SCRIPTURE READING Exodus 40:34-38 Eric Wetzel
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever th cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out on each stage of their journey; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel at each stage of their journey.
SERMON “It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint” Pastor Leah
HYMN No. 442 (please use words here) “Higher Ground”
Words: Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1892; alt. Music: Charles H. Gabriel, 1898. Public Domain.
I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining every day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
Refrain:
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven's table land;
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Tho' some may dwell where these abound,
My pray'r, my aim is higher ground. (Refrain)
I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I'll pray till Heav'n I've found,
Lord, lead me on to higher ground. (Refrain)
WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS
The litany for receiving members can be found on the back cover of our hymnals.
SHARING OUR PRAYERS OF JOY AND CONCERN
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 Eric Wetzel
OFFERTORY Mayumi Tayake
*SUNG RESPONSE No. 448, v.1&3 “Take My Life, God, Let it Be”
Words: Frances R. Havergal, 1874; alt. Music: Justin H. Knecht, 1797. Public Domain.
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION (unison) Eric Wetzel
Holy Love, we dedicate these gifts to you in hope and trust that, through you, our generosity makes a difference in the world. Amen.
*CLOSING HYMN No. 490 “I Want Jesus to Go with Me”
African-American spiritual in the public domain. We sing with reverence and commitment.
*BENEDICTION Pastor Leah
*BENEDICTION RESPONSE No. 490 “I Want Jesus to Go with Me”
Please repeat the first verse:
I want Jesus to go with me; I want Jesus to go with me;
All along my pilgrim journey, O I want Jesus to go with me.
POSTLUDE Mayumi Tayake
Our call to worship was written by M. Kaiser for enfleshed.com with permission given for use. Our opening prayer and prayer of dedication were written by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology for the United Church of Christ. Published in “Worship Ways,” a resource produced for use in local churches.
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.
Leah Atkinson Bilinski, Senior Pastor
Karyn Frazier, Associate Pastor
Zachary Fitzgerald, Music Director (on leave)
Bronwyn Edwards, Acting Music Director
Mayumi Tayake, Accompanist
Sarah Ackers, Congregational Engagement Manager
Allen Lambert, Caretaker
Aimee Pinckney, Financial Assistant
Pat Gedney, Financial Assistant
Carol Gilderoy, Godly Play Teacher (preK-gr.2)
Carol Smith, Nursery Supervisor
Sebastian Dwyer, Nursery Assistant
Kyle Lorenzen, Office Manager & Worship Technician
Jackie Gould, Building Coordinator
Alfred Machacon, Event Coordinator
Tyler Torres, Faith Formation Coordinator
Thanks to the following volunteers, who make Sunday mornings happen:
Building Opener: Mike Goldfine
Usher Team: Pam Goldfine- captain, Bill Carroll, Paul Koppe, Wendy Morgan
Greeters: Jackie Gould and Lisa Faustino
Sound Tech: Mike Goldfine
Liturgist: Eric Wetzel
Nursery: Carol Smith and Sebastian Dwyer
Sunday School: Carol Gilderoy, Claudio Georgete Neto, Sue Smith, Doug Gunwaldsen, Sara Smith
Coffee Hour: Ana Cecilia Del Claro and Allison Wetzel
Opportunities for Engagement: Sarah Ackers
