Is Anxiety a Moral Failure or a ‘Sacred Signal’?

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:05:49] Good morning, friends. Welcome to worship at Hamlin Church on this snowy morning, the first Sunday, first day of February. We made it through January. Amen.
[00:06:03] I'm Mariah Tolgaard, and I am delighted to welcome you to Hamlin Church this morning. I'm so glad to be worshiping together in this space, and a special welcome to those of you who are joining us online. We are so glad that you are here.
[00:06:17] We have a wonderful worship in store for you today as we begin our new worship series, Holy Calm for an Anxious World.
[00:06:26] We are all feeling the anxiety of this moment, and so we gather in this space for reinforcement, for strengthening, for peace, for calm, for renewal, for what is to face what is around us and what is ahead for us.
[00:06:41] And we have some wonderful music throughout this series and here today, and also some special activities of prayer that we'll be incorporating into our worship, and so we are so glad to have you as part of it. Later in the service today, we'll also be celebrating Holy
[00:06:57] Communion together, and we invite you at home to have bread or juice and crackers on hand so you can participate in that moment with us. And as it is the first Sunday of the month, kids are invited
[00:07:10] to stay in worship and take communion with their families.
[00:07:15] And of course, we have the frolic room available for anybody who needs a little wiggling around time.
[00:07:21] So hopefully you picked up an order of worship when you came in today.
[00:07:25] There you can find everything you need to know and more.
[00:07:28] It's also posted online.
[00:07:30] We ask you to take just a minute to scan the QR code on the cover to fill out the connection card and to let us know that you're here.
[00:07:38] and that's also a place to share any prayer requests that you may have or to sign up for more information about Hamlin Church.
[00:07:45] So thank you for taking time to do that.
[00:07:48] And a very special welcome to anyone who is worshiping with us for the first time or feeling new to Hamlin Church.
[00:07:55] We are so glad that you are here and hope that you will find our time in worship today to be meaningful and uplifting for you for the week ahead.
[00:08:05] So, friends, we are going to begin today in song and learning a song that we are going to be singing over the next couple of weeks.
[00:08:14] And so the band will teach it to us, and then I will invite you to join in.
[00:08:19] Let us center our hearts for worship.

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:08:43] Let us be still together.

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:09:41] Peace starts in our bodies.
[00:09:42] So I invite you to sit back, feel your sitting bones relax onto the pew.
[00:09:51] put both feet on the floor and I invite you to either put your hand on your chest or put your hand on your belly to help you breathe a little deeper. See if you can feel your heart rate
[00:10:28] without taking your pulse. God of breath and heartbeat, you formed our bodies in love and you know every racing thought and fluttering chest. Help us notice what we feel without shame and to sense your steady presence in our very bones. Calm what is stirred up. Hold what feelings
[00:11:12] feel fragile. And teach us to trust that our bodies are telling the truth and that you are with us in all of it. Amen. Rise in body or in spirit as we sing our next song together.

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:11:36] Amen. Thank you so much for singing with us this morning. Let us share a sign of peace with those

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]
[00:14:44] gathered around us. The peace of Christ be with you. I was just sitting here with this and I

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[00:15:21] thought it was so funny. All right, everyone, feel free to head on up. Head on up as you finish up your greetings feel free to join me up here we've got some exciting stuff to share
[00:15:35] come on up come on come on up all right thank you everyone come on up all right come and join us there's plenty of room oh we'll talk about that in just a sec don't worry that's it that's a good
[00:15:50] question though thank you for thank you for your curiosity all right good morning i'm tova the director of student ministries. I'm going to get us started as everyone makes their way up here.
[00:16:01] Take your time. It's all good. So happy to be here with all of you today. Just to remind everyone, there are worship materials in the corner over here, and there's a sensory safe space in the
[00:16:12] chapel. Also today, we're going to have child care for five and under in the frolic room, which is just down the hall over here, and there are worship materials in the corner. Yeah. A reminder that we
[00:16:23] do not actually have sacred studio today. After the children's message, kids will head back to their seats and we'll share communion together as a family of God. So let's get into why I am holding
[00:16:35] a container of water with glitter in it. Have you ever felt so worried or upset that you couldn't rest or sit still? Raise of hands. Has everyone ever felt that? Yeah, totally. That happens.
[00:16:49] that happens a lot sometimes maybe everything inside feels all stirred up and you don't know how to calm yourself so i'm gonna show you something what do you guys think will happen when i shake up this jar of glitter it'll go everywhere okay okay what else what else
[00:17:07] do we think it'll maybe like swirl around a lot yeah okay well let's let's test that theory i love that though all right oh my gosh look at that oh so they're all they're all spinning around so see
[00:17:21] how all the glitter is like stirred up? This is our insides when we're nervous or scared.
[00:17:27] So I'm going to put this down now. When we're still, and remember that God is holding us, our insides can slowly settle like this glitter. Kind of like what happened when we did that exercise earlier with the prayer. So if everyone looks, the glitter is settled to the bottom
[00:17:44] because we let it be still. One of them is still sinking and that's okay.
[00:17:49] so i know it might take a little while for it to settle but that is all right that's also a learning thing um but when we're still remember that god is holding us our insides can
[00:18:02] slowly settle like this glitter now in light of that let's take a few slow breaths together this is something you can do if you ever feel stirred up or shaken around inside so everyone if you can join me just kind of sit down find a little quiet space in you
[00:18:19] So breathe in. We're going to think to ourselves some things, okay? So breathe in and think to yourself, God loves me. And breathe out and think to yourself, God is with me. So let's do that two
[00:18:33] more times. Breathe in, God loves me. Breathe out, God is with me. Breathe in, God loves me.
[00:18:44] breathe out God is with me thank you everyone for joining me and settling into God's love it feels pretty nice to know that God loves us and is with us right it might take a while for
[00:18:58] them to sink that's okay that's all right well we can they need to they need to move well we'll give them a little time to do that but for now we'll just give it a second so let's turn it over
[00:19:15] to pastor Heather who actually has something really exciting to share with us after all of that

[00:19:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:19:19] So, friends, today we met with our four-year-olds early this morning to talk about prayer.
[00:19:27] And one of the ways, like what we were just doing, that breathing together, that's prayer.
[00:19:32] That remembering that God is all around us, that's prayer.
[00:19:36] And so, I wonder if my four-year-olds who were there would like to raise their hand and get a… And even if you are four and you didn't come this morning, just let me know and we
[00:19:45] can get you a milestone too.
[00:19:46] So we talked about, and this milestone you can see in your bulletin, it's just a way that we mark the ways that our kids go through faith.
[00:19:53] So each year, everybody on here will have a chance to get one of these through different ways.
[00:19:58] Prayer is one, Lord's Prayer.
[00:20:00] We do a service milestone and communion.
[00:20:02] But Freddie came this morning and got a milestone.
[00:20:05] He learned about prayer.
[00:20:06] Here, you can come get it.
[00:20:07] There you go.
[00:20:08] So there's your milestone.
[00:20:10] And Rhodes came this morning, learned a little bit about prayer.
[00:20:14] And then I see Ruben around here somewhere, peekaboo, there's Ruben, we learned about.
[00:20:23] And so I wanted us to close this out with this prayer that we did called a wiggle prayer.
[00:20:29] Because yes, sometimes there's a way that we calm our bodies through prayer, but there's also a way that we remember that God made our bodies and they're all holy.
[00:20:38] So will you guys, I'm going to say words and you guys can do the emotions after me.
[00:20:42] And if you need some help, follow Bretty or Rhodes, because they're going to do the motions with us.
[00:20:47] So, oh God who made our fingers, oh God who made our toes, we'll wiggle our toes, oh God who made my eyebrows, can you guys move your eyebrows up and down, nice, and God who made
[00:21:04] my nose, can you wiggle your nose?
[00:21:06] Some people can do it without their finger, but I have to do it with my finger.
[00:21:11] you made my heart for laughter. Can you put your hands on your heart? God, you made my voice for song. Can you pretend you're singing really big? You made my soul to dance. Can you dance a little
[00:21:27] bit? And praise you all day long. So look up at the sky and praise God. Amen. Friends, thank you so much. Praying, settling our bodies, breathing, they're all ways that we connect with God and with
[00:21:42] community. And so another way is worship with our families. So we're going to go sit with our friends or family because we have communion today. All right. Thank you for joining us.

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:21:52] Good morning. Today's scripture readings are from Psalm 131 and from the Gospel of Matthew,

[00:25:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:25:46] chapter 6, verses 25 through 34. Here are these words. First, the psalm, which is a song of ascent or pilgrim song traditionally sung for going up to worship.
[00:26:00] O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too highly.
[00:26:08] I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me, but I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
[00:26:24] O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.
[00:26:33] And now the reading from Matthew, which is one of Jesus' teachings from the Sermon on the Mount.
[00:26:40] Listen for how we can better understand God's perspective on worry and where we can look for guidance.
[00:26:46] Therefore, I tell you, don't worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothes?
[00:27:02] Look at the birds in the sky. They don't sow seed or reap grain or gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth much more than they are?
[00:27:20] Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?
[00:27:26] And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow?
[00:27:32] They don't wear themselves out with work, and they don't spin cloth.
[00:27:37] Yet I tell you that not even Solomon, in all his splendor, was dressed like one of these.
[00:27:45] If that is how God dresses the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, won't God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? Therefore don't worry and
[00:28:01] say, What shall I eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? Gentles long for all these things. Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek first and foremost God's kingdom and God's righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore,
[00:28:25] stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.

[00:28:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:28:38] Thank you choir and thank you Kathy for centering us in the word. You have felt it, right? That quickened heartbeat, the restless worry that won't turn off at night, the tension that lives in your shoulders. Some of us carry anxiety like
[00:29:09] a low hum and others feel it spike and fall with every new headline every siren every text from a loved one are you feeling it these days for a while now it has felt like the whole city is on edge horns honking whistles blowing the
[00:29:31] presence of ice vehicles in our neighborhoods the heaviness of knowing that so many of our immigrant and BIPOC siblings are living in fear, the ongoing, relentless grief of the loss of thousands of Minnesota neighbors and the deaths of Alex Preddy and
[00:29:50] Renee Good.
[00:29:52] It's not just out there, it's right here, affecting our bodies, our breath, our capacity to sleep, our sense of safety, our hope.
[00:30:09] Part of what's so hard is that we don't know when it will end, right?
[00:30:16] This isn't a storm we can wait out over a weekend.
[00:30:20] It's becoming a season.
[00:30:24] And in a season like this, we need more than adrenaline.
[00:30:30] We need endurance.
[00:30:32] We need resilient bodies and resilient faith.
[00:30:37] We need practices that help us keep showing up.
[00:30:44] So today, as we begin this new sermon series, Holy Calm in an Anxious World, we start at a point that may surprise you—affirmation that your body is telling the truth.
[00:31:01] In our society today, we often talk about anxiety as though it's a personal flaw, something to be fixed or overcome or prayed away.
[00:31:13] But what if anxiety isn't a moral failure at all?
[00:31:19] What if it's your body's honest way of saying something isn't right?
[00:31:28] What if your body is keeping score not of your mistakes, but of your longing for safety, belonging and peace?
[00:31:43] Sarah Billups, in her book Nervous Systems, describes how anxiety lives not only in individuals but in families, communities, churches, and politics—how our bodies react to cultural chaos and public crises we didn't choose and that we can't control.
[00:32:06] And she invites Christians to see anxiety as an embodied experience that needs gentleness and spiritual practice, not shame.
[00:32:19] Our nervous systems are often doing what they were genetically designed to do.
[00:32:27] To protect, to signal, to help us survive in a world that keeps sounding the alarm.
[00:32:36] I want to say clearly here anxiety is a part of our mental health and needs to be cared for as such for some it's a passing feeling for others it's all consuming daily companion that can make simple tasks feel impossible many of us
[00:32:57] need a medical and psychological care alongside spiritual support and there must be no shame or stigma in getting the help that we need because here's the the thing. We were never meant to live with this much fear humming in our bones. And yet,
[00:33:22] here we are, carrying the weight of uncertainty, injustice, climate anxiety, political division, and the constant influx of bad news. Anxiety, then, is not a sign of a lack of faith.
[00:33:39] It is often a sacred signal that we are living through something intense, that our bodies are trying to hold more than we were meant to, and that we need God's peace not as a reward for calming down,
[00:33:59] but as healing medicine for our weary hearts.
[00:34:06] In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says, Do not worry about your life.
[00:34:11] Look at the birds of the air.
[00:34:13] consider the lilies of the field. And we think, Jesus, are you talking to us right now? Do you know what it's like in Minnesota in 2026? Many of us have heard this passage before and interpreted
[00:34:27] it as scolding. Get it together. Stop worrying. Have more faith. But what if that's not the tone at all? What if Jesus's words are more like a friend taking your hand and saying softly, breathe. Just breathe. You are not alone. Jesus is not commanding perfection. He's inviting trust.
[00:34:59] He's not denying the hardship of the moment. He's pointing to a deeper reality. The whole of your life matters more than what's happening on the surface. And you are held even now.
[00:35:15] psalm 131 offers a similar picture surely I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother the psalmist doesn't claim a life free from pain they described a learned embodied dependence resting against God
[00:35:38] the way a child rests against a loving parent or an adult that leaning in Jesus and the psalmist aren't shaming us for our anxiety they are showing us a way to return home to ourselves to breathe again to remember that the center of peace isn't something we manufacture
[00:36:07] it is something that we lean back into like the steady trunk of a rooted tree Right now, we are living through profound collective stress here in Minnesota, and you are doing the hard work.
[00:36:27] Showing up at protests, volunteering with mutual aid, providing watch at schools and daycares, standing vigil outside the detention center, serving as constitutional observers and caring for your neighbors.
[00:36:43] given your time your money your prayers your compassion all while watching injustice unfold in real time well the constant vigilance of our current reality the checking the news the watching the texts and messaging apps
[00:37:00] the scrolling through updates keeps activating our nervous systems again and again and again do you feel it our bodies don't know when we are safe and for those who are targeted black and brown Minnesotans immigrants and
[00:37:20] refugees their bodies are not overreacting they are responding to real threat when your door could be knocked on at any moment or your loved one could be taken just relax is not helpful it's untrue because when you feel anxious
[00:37:42] it's not failure it's physiology and it's also testimony to real danger and grief so what if part of the spiritual life is learning to listen to notice what anxiety feels like in your body to breathe into it to speak kindly to
[00:38:07] to yourself instead of demanding control. Because sometimes faithfulness looks like stillness.
[00:38:18] In contemplative practice, this is called noticing and naming.
[00:38:23] God, I notice this ache in my chest. I notice the sadness under the surface.
[00:38:30] I notice my fear about what tomorrow might bring. Meet me here.
[00:38:39] Naming what is true loosens the grip of shame.
[00:38:44] We remember that God doesn't require a calm facade to draw near.
[00:38:50] God moves toward us precisely in our trembling.
[00:38:57] And from that place of honesty, we can ask, so how do we live in this season?
[00:39:05] I want to suggest two movements that will make room for God to draw near and we need a bit of both and you might want to write these down because they're big concepts and I'm sure one day they're gonna be I don't know the title of my
[00:39:24] bestseller do nothing and do something right first do nothing and by that I don't mean indifference or apathy. I mean Sabbath. Rest. Specifically, unhooking yourself from the relentless flow of stimulation, opinion, and outrage that floods your phone or screen every
[00:39:54] hour of the day, especially social media. The news will keep coming. Turns out they summarize these things, right? But you don't have to keep scrolling. Jesus' words about worry are not a call to ignorance. They are a call away from being consumed by tomorrow's fears and back into the
[00:40:18] present care of God. Truth be told, the most restful time that I've had in the past several weeks was actually when I was arrested at the airport with all the other clergy, right? For about seven hours I didn't have my phone there was no social media no texting no
[00:40:43] signal alerts and while I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as a self-care plan there was prayer there was singing there was good company and when the adrenaline finally subsided there was a steep sense of quiet holy
[00:41:04] quiet. We are not meant biologically, physiologically, theologically to be constantly absorbing the world's pain through a screen. Stepping back, a walk in the snow, a nap, a day without news, an evening by candlelight is not
[00:41:28] abandonment but honoring our body's need for recovery. Psalm 131 reminds us that that quieting the soul is a learned practice of setting down what is too heavy and resting in God. So this week, take a moment, maybe several, and do nothing for a while. Honor
[00:41:56] Sabbath. Step away, turn off notifications, light a candle, breathe, and let your nervous system loosen its grip. God will hold you there. And yet, paradoxically, healing also comes through doing something. When we move from despair into participation, when we take concrete steps
[00:42:25] to love our neighbors, we reclaim our agency. We remember that we are not powerless observers, but we are co-creators with God.
[00:42:40] Many of you just this week have told me that doing something has made you feel better.
[00:42:47] That when you've delivered food or stood outside the mosque in solidarity during Friday prayers, or when you've contacted your representatives or supported local immigrant businesses or simply shown up with presence and prayer for a neighbor.
[00:43:01] in this moment, your body is no longer alone with its fear. It is connected to other bodies in a shared field of courage and care. When we do something, even something small, we embody hope. We align our anxious energy with love's movement. All over Minnesota right now,
[00:43:37] I love to see the ways that people are listening to what their bodies and spirits need and creating embodied and communal practices.
[00:43:47] There are solidarity bike rides in the snow and crowds gathering to sing resistance, candlelight vigils on sidewalks and street corners, and even frozen lakes, all saying with their presence, You are not alone.
[00:44:04] Our bodies know that we need each other, and we need a ritual and movement light and song in this past week I have been increasingly grateful that it seems that we have the attention of the rest of the
[00:44:22] country of the rest of the world and outside media is watching Minnesota right and they are trying to understand what's going on here they're trying to understand this decentralized leaderless yet well-led movement of care and
[00:44:41] compassion. They see the cruelty of ice but they are also struck by the compassion of ordinary Minnesotans. And I love some of the news reports that describe what's happening here as if they've discovered a new civilization.
[00:44:58] look look here they say it appears that they are neighboring like they've stumbled upon a secret practice that is actually the core of who we are as people of faith and as Minnesotans right loving your neighbor as yourself is not
[00:45:29] a side project. It is the very shape of the kingdom that Jesus tells us to seek first. So friends, this week I invite you to holy calm, to do nothing and to do something, knowing that holy calm is more than the absence of tension. It is rooted,
[00:45:58] grounded courage, the calm of people who rest in God and then rise to stand with their neighbors. Holy calm also resists passivity and comfort. As Mitchell Clark wrote, the comfortable have never liberated the oppressed. It is a deep
[00:46:18] steadiness that lets us keep standing without hardening our hearts, a spacious breath that holds grief and hope together, the capacity to face what is wrong and still believe that love is stronger.
[00:46:38] When Jesus points to the birds and the lilies, He is not sending us to the spa but anchoring us in a creation already cared for.
[00:46:48] Like the lilies, we can trust more than our own striving.
[00:46:55] And when the psalm pictures a child resting on their mother's chest, it shows us what true security feels like—not because the world is safe, but because love is real.
[00:47:12] In this unprecedented struggle, we must define victory for ourselves.
[00:47:21] We must name and celebrate when the ice cracks even just a little and when the light breaks through, as it does when we show up to do our neighboring, as it does when the rising
[00:47:35] tide of resistance has a new song written by the boss himself, as it does when little Liam is ordered to return home and is on a flight right now, and as it does when you
[00:47:56] exchange a smile, a handshake, a hug with a neighbor.
[00:48:03] The work ahead is long.
[00:48:06] Our nervous systems know that, but we do not walk alone.
[00:48:13] Holy calm.
[00:48:15] The Spirit is already here, breathing through anxious lungs, steadying trembling hands, reminding us that our worth does not depend on how calm we feel, but on how fully loved we are.
[00:48:31] So listen to your body this week.
[00:48:34] Let it tell you the truth not just about your pain but also about your longing for peace, connection and rest.
[00:48:45] Let that truth lead you back to the One who says, do not worry, not as a reprimand but as a promise.
[00:48:55] You are not forgotten.
[00:48:57] You are not alone.
[00:48:59] And even now, the kingdom of God is near.
[00:49:04] Lean back and be held in my love.
[00:49:09] May the holy calm that is God's own presence find you in your breathing, your resting, your resisting, your protecting, and your steadfast neighboring.
[00:49:23] Thanks be to God.
[00:49:25] Amen.
[00:49:27] In response, we hear from one of our young people today.
[00:49:31] Save your clapping for her.
[00:49:33] and our band who help us to process this day.

[00:49:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:49:59] Hello, everybody.
[00:50:01] If you don't know me, my name is Piper Lulek, and this is my dad.
[00:50:07] We're singing a song called Fable, which is by Gigi Perez, and it's an acoustic-based song that explores themes of grief, loss, and questioning faith, a feeling I and many of you know, questioning God about why do good things happen to bad people? And as much as I could sit here

[00:50:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:50:28] and go over that on and on, I will let the music do the talking. Thank you so much, Piper and band.

[00:55:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:55:03] That was beautiful. I didn't know the song, but it's, until she sang it, but apparently it's a really popular song. So it's really, I like the way Piper sings it best of all. Friends, we come
[00:55:16] Come to the table.
[00:55:18] In these stressful and uncertain times when cruelty and fear-mongering seem to dominate our political landscape, we are reminded of the radical way that Jesus lived.
[00:55:31] He loved by different rules.
[00:55:34] He offered mercy when others offered judgment.
[00:55:37] He invited people to share meals when other people turned them away.
[00:55:42] He told stories of love that healed hearts and inspired hope.
[00:55:49] He chose to see the best in others when the world saw only flaws.
[00:55:55] And today, as we gather at Christ's table, we are invited to follow in His footsteps—not just as an act of faith, but as an act of resistance and of love.
[00:56:09] Coming to this table is a declaration that mercy matters, compassion has power, and that love can transform lives.
[00:56:20] Here at Jesus' table, we are reminded that small acts of righteousness and justice ripple outward, shaping the world for better.
[00:56:32] Here we are refilled and refueled.
[00:56:36] Our spirits renewed by grace and our hearts strengthened for the journey ahead.
[00:56:42] So come to this table.
[00:56:44] No matter who you are or where you've been, come with your burdens, with your weariness, with your hopes, and with your dreams.
[00:56:54] Come to receive mercy, to be nourished by love, and to find strength for the days ahead.

[00:57:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:57:02] May God be with you.
[00:57:04] And also with you.
[00:57:06] up your hearts. We lift them up to God. Let us give thanks to God, to the God we love.
[00:57:15] It is right to give our thanks and praise. It is right and good and a joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, holy God, our creator, our redeemer, our sustainer. Your name
[00:57:33] is praised among people therefore we praise you joining our voices with your people on earth and for all of the company of heaven who forever sing this

[00:57:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:57:45] praise to your glory friends when we gather at this sacred table we remember

[00:59:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:59:20] together that Jesus gave himself up for us as he ate and he broke bread with his friends he said take eat this is my body which is broken for you remember me each time you do this

[00:59:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:59:38] and after they had eaten he took the cup and said remember me as you drink from this for this is my life poured out for you the beginning of a new relationship with God. Gracious God,
[00:59:59] in remembrance of these mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving as holy and living sacrifice in union with Christ's offering for us as we

[01:00:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:00:21] proclaim the mystery of our faith pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here

[01:00:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[01:00:57] and on these gifts that in breaking this bread and the drinking of this cup we may know the presence of the Living Christ and be renewed and restored as the body of Christ for the world to show Christ's love to all the world as those

[01:01:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:01:44] called and empowered by God let us join with Christ in prayer our God who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is

[01:02:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[01:02:01] in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and is not into temptation but deliver us from evil the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever this is god's table and

[01:02:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:02:27] everyone without exception may have communion if you're joining us at home please take the bread or cracker and the juice and say the bread of life and the cup of everlasting love in the sanctuary
[01:02:47] will be taking communion by extinction meaning you're going to receive a piece of bread you're going to dip it into the grape juice and then consume it there'll be five stations today two in the front one in the back there'll be one in the transept and one here for the choir
[01:03:08] there is a gluten-free station here at the front so if you'd like gluten-free please come to the front and indicate to the servers after you have taken communion please feel free to say up the
[01:03:22] front here at the communion rail and say a prayer then when you return return back through the side aisles additionally during this time you're also invited to give your weekly offering and there are offering boxes one in the back and one here at the side beloved siblings of christ the table

[01:03:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:03:48] is set everyone everyone has a place come and enjoy this feast the blessing to be at table

[01:10:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:10:32] together and thank you for the beautiful music to accompany us friends just a couple of announcement actually there's two hours worth of announcements so i'm gonna have to trust you to like read about it and take it in there but there is so much going on in this church and so many ways
[01:10:48] to do something to be a part of community and ways that are also resting in community and being together one of which is uh next friday evening come to our tazay worship service here at seven o'clock and rest in the spirit also uh coming up this week on tuesday are our precinct
[01:11:06] caucuses happening in your neighborhood for the party of your choice an important way to connect and be involved and have a say in our democracy and who our leadership will be and what issues will be talked about.
[01:11:19] And so we have many of our Isaiah folks you can talk to if you need more information about what caucuses are or how to do it.
[01:11:26] You can find where to go on the Secretary of State's website.
[01:11:29] Isaiah folks, raise your hand if you have a little information.
[01:11:32] And these folks can also help and direct you.
[01:11:35] And so hopefully you can participate in that with your neighbors this week on Tuesday night.
[01:11:41] Also, we are so excited right after worship today, gather with us down in the community room for coffee, for treats, and also for a presentation from our Mexico mission trip team who were on the U.S.-Mexico border
[01:11:55] at the beginning of January and are going to report back about their experience at Manos Juntos, and we get to hear all about the work that they did and plans for future trips as well.
[01:12:06] So please join us downstairs in the community room for that.
[01:12:09] And there are many other things happening this week as well, including the return of our Wednesday night dinners and art making in advance of our community art show coming up in February and kids music is starting up.
[01:12:25] Like I said, just read, there's so much, just read.
[01:12:28] And I also have to turn it over to our musicians because they have some important announcements as well.

[01:12:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]
[01:12:34] David.
[01:12:35] Sure, first again, I just wanna reiterate how fortunate we are to be able to hear the music from these talented youth performers today, Piper and Ariella, thank you so much for sharing your gifts and your hard work.
[01:12:45] It's really a blessing to us.
[01:12:53] This upcoming Saturday at 7 p.m., our music and art series is sponsoring a recital by classically trained operatic baritone Mark Billy, and Mark Billy is also an indigenous singer who's kind of taken the helm of being a classical singer
[01:13:10] introducing a lot of new music in native languages. He's of Choctaw descent himself and his partner and also collaborator cellist Keegan Ryan is a composer and they're going to be premiering several of Keegan's works in
[01:13:24] this performance including a piece for cedar flute. Mark is also a trained clarinetist but he plays the native flute and cedar flute. It's going to be a wonderful program. Mark also won the 2025 McKnight Fellowship which is a
[01:13:38] very prestigious award and we're really fortunate to be able to feature him in a performance here.
[01:13:43] He'll be playing at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra or performing there, I think, the week after that.
[01:13:47] So come see it here first, folks, next Saturday at 7 p.m. And then I had one more quick announcement.
[01:13:53] Our handbell choir, as you have seen, has flourished and grown and we're looking for some new people to train and encourage and grow. And so for the month of February, on Wednesday nights from 5 15 to 6 o'clock we're offering a beginning handbell ringing seminar so if you've ever been
[01:14:12] curious about handbells and you have a little experience reading music we would welcome you to come and learn more about this fabulous art form i've invited a kudo up to just talk a little bit about her time as a handbell ringer she's a very seasoned ringer with uh kind of a semi
[01:14:29] professional handbell ensemble in minnesota called bells of the lakes and she has been playing with with us for several years and teaching us all, and we've grown a lot under her guidance.
[01:14:39] And she's gonna be helping to lead this seminar for the next four weeks on Wednesday nights at 5.15.
[01:14:45] And I just wanted to give her a quick minute to say a few words about it.
[01:14:49] Oh, we need to give you a microphone.
[01:14:52] There you go.

[01:14:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:14:53] Thank you.
[01:14:54] All right, good morning, church.
[01:14:56] My name is Akudo.
[01:14:57] Come play bells with us.
[01:14:58] I wrote a lot of stuff down and I'm not gonna read it, but I am gonna read a little bit.
[01:15:05] um sorry come play bells i've been playing bells um i started playing back at hennepin in the 90s for kids back there that's i'm 30 now not i had a student tell me i was like 140. not cool um
[01:15:20] 30 years ago but really enjoy playing bells it's a great way to unify and to play with other people i would say the reason i keep coming back to hamlin is because of the people it's we share
[01:15:34] joys together. We share in our loss as well, and it's just a really good community. I try to look up Bible verses because we're in a church that talk about bells. There are not a lot, so then I
[01:15:49] said, how about unity? Psalm 133 says, behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters dwell in unity. I would say, and just reword it a little bit, and say, behold how good and pleasant
[01:16:01] it is when brothers and sisters like Jim, Roxy, Carol, Karen, Anita, Gail, Linda, Joelle, and Stephanie, Teresa, David, you, and all people who have played with us dwell in unity. I would like

[01:16:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]
[01:16:25] to invite you now to stand as you're able and join us in our final hymn, and I'm going to let

[01:16:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:16:28] Akuto kick it off. Friends, what a blessing it has been to be in worship together. I want to take

[01:19:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:19:04] one moment just to say a word of thanks and blessing to Tom and Torchy Beach, who we know they are Christians by their love and their love of this church. Tom and Torchy are moving up to
[01:19:17] Crookston to be with family and to support Torchy through a time of illness. And we want you to know, Tom, what a difference you and Torchy have made in the life of this church. So many of us have
[01:19:31] been impacted by your love and your welcome, your kindness. Tom's pretty much the biggest supporter and encourager that we have ever had, and biggest advocate of Hamlin Church all around. And Torti has been a part of women's ministry and all the things. You guys have done all the things for so
[01:19:46] long. And this is not goodbye, but we want you to know that you go with our blessing and with our love, and that we are forever your church, your church home, and we are here. I know this is a
[01:19:58] dangerous moment, but I think I do have to let you. I think I do. Nobody knows more than all the

[01:20:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:20:06] pastors here that sometimes I say things. Dave Anderson said one time, you know, I can figure out if you're serious or not, but I'll be serious for a minute. 60 years we've been in the church,
[01:20:19] and it has been a beautiful, beautiful experience. And that I want to say that, And, you know, you all are very important to me.
[01:20:29] I love you all.
[01:20:31] That God's love starts and ends with loving each other.
[01:20:38] And I think my mother always wanted me to be a preacher, but I ended up being a custodian.
[01:20:45] But they're all about the same.

[01:20:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:20:47] Same thing, same.

[01:20:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:20:49] But God love all our staff.
[01:20:52] I always say the church is at the highest level that I have seen in 60 years.
[01:21:00] Thank you, Tom.

[01:21:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:21:02] I think Tom gave the best benediction that there is.
[01:21:13] So, Torchy, we know you are watching.
[01:21:15] We love you.
[01:21:16] Friends, go in peace.
[01:21:19] Rest in holy calm.
[01:21:21] Do nothing and do something.
[01:21:23] And know that God goes with you.
[01:21:26] Go to love and serve the Lord.
[01:21:27] Thanks be to God.
[01:21:29] Amen.