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UKIAH UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
270 N. Pine St. (Mailing: P.O. Box 323), Ukiah, CA 95482
www.ukiahumc.org
Wi-Fi: UUMC FriendsPassword: lovewins
Rev. Dr. Michele Robbins, Pastor
707.462.3360 x12
pastor@ukiahumc.org
Soul Purpose Band Director
soulpurposeband@ukiahumc.org
Church Office
707.462.3360
office@ukiahumc.org
Love God • Live Compassion
AUGUST 16, 2026 ~ We Live, We Love

The words in **black bold** are spoken or sung by the congregation. Please, no food or beverages are allowed in the Sanctuary. * Indicates when to rise in body or spirit.

UMH--United Methodist (Blue), TFWS--The Faith We Sing (Black), W&S--Worship & Song (Green)

Prelude

Mighty to Save

#3038

Welcome

Threshold Moment

P:Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth.’” — Genesis 7:1

Those who find refuge in our churches and spiritual communities are sent to us. The animals showed up on their own to the ark. Church is meant to be a refuge (among other things) and you don’t get to choose who is there with you. That is the beauty (and the challenge) of it — we are all in the boat together. And we are all here to sustain life and love.

“We Live, We Love” · Greg Davis

We live, we love, we forgive and we never give up,
‘cause the days we are given are gifts from above,
and today we remember to live and to love!

Opening Prayer

All:Loving Creator, as Noah entered into the unknown trusting your word, we gather before you with our own uncertainties. Teach us to listen for your call, to care for the creatures and people entrusted to us, and to remember that your purposes reach beyond ourselves. Amen

Passing the Peace

P:The Peace of Christ be with you.

All:And also with you.

P:You are invited to pass the peace among you, remembering to pass it to those joining us remotely.

Praising

Shelter

Hillsong

Young & Young at Heart Time

Contemporary Reading (Liturgist)

Like Noah’s raven, and the dove

by Andrea Skevington

Can I let hope fly, send out birds to brood and hover over the chaos, like Noah, with the raven, and the dove?


For too long, there has been nothing on the horizon, no fixed point on the Earth’s

endless circle. How would you ever know if the water was falling, or rising?


So can I now find courage to cup birds in unsteady hands – raven-black, dove-white –

and throw them upwards one by one?


To let fly a dark hope even though there is nowhere for it to rest, even though it returns

like a gift that comes back unopened.


Can I try again and again, in case something living and growing has pierced this water,

until finally a gentle bird does not return. Until, at last, there is somewhere other than this poor boat for it to land.


May I have such birds to release. May I let them fly, like Noah, with the raven, and the dove.

COMMUNITY PRAYER ~ THE LORD’S PRAYER

Sung in Echo

Our Mother, Father, Our Mother, Father

Who art in heaven, Who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name, Hallowed be thy name

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done, Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven, On earth as it is in heaven

Give us this day, Give us this day

Our daily bread, Our daily bread

And forgive us all our sins, And forgive us all our sins

And lead us not, And lead us not

Into temptation, Into temptation

But deliver us from evil, But deliver us from evil

For yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory

Forever, Forever

And ever, And ever

Our Mother, Father, Our Mother, Father

Who art in heaven, Who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name, Hallowed be thy name

Ancient Readings

Genesis 7:1-17 (NRSVUE)

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth. For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth. And Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Of clean animals and of animals that are not clean and of birds and of everything that creeps on the ground, two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. And after seven days the waters of the flood came on the earth.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark, they and every wild animal of every kind and all domestic animals of every kind and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth and every bird of every kind. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in.

The flood continued forty days on the earth, and the waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.

We Sing

Be Still My Soul

#534 UMH

Message

Finding Refuge

Rev. Dr. Michele Robbins

Offertory

You Say · Lauren Daigle

Offerings can be placed in the basket on the table, online at ukiahumc.org, or mailed to PO Box 323, Ukiah

*DOXOLOGY

Praise God, From Whom Blessings Flow

#94 UMH

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures here below;

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Praise God, the source of all our gifts!

Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts!

Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

*MEMBERSHIP STATEMENT

Members of the Ukiah United Methodist Church accept the freedom God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. We welcome opportunities to bring God’s love to the world in as many ways as we can. We promise to uphold our beloved church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness.

Getting Strong

Freedom Is Coming

#2192 TFWS

Opportunities for Ministry

  • Methodism 101: Meets August 23rd.
  • Be Well Engraved Tile Campaign: Find information on our website, ukiahumc.org.
  • Gentle Yoga: Every Wednesday and Saturday with hand weights at 8:15 am and yoga at 8:30 am in the Social Hall, led by Pastor Michele.
  • Recycling: Annie is collecting CRV bottles & cans, to benefit Ukiah UMC. Text Annie at 707-513-9634 for pickups and more information. Items can be taken to Jone’s house and left behind her recycling totes on the corner of Jones and McPeak.
  • The Building Bridges Homeless Resource Center: If you would like to donate to Building Bridges Homeless Resource Center, below is a list of needed items. All donations can be dropped at HRC M-F, 9-5 or to Trudy’s front porch at any time. Thank you to everyone who donates! Trudy
    Items needed are: underwear, socks, shower towels, blankets, sleeping bags, backpacks, men’s pants, bath soap, razors, dog food

Go For It!

South:Do all the good you can,

North:By all the means you can,

South:In all the ways you can,

North:In all the places you can,

South:At all the times you can,

North:To all the people you can,

All:As long as ever you can. Amen.

John Wesley

Blessing

*STEPPING OUT

Stand by Me

Ben E. King

WE ARE A WELCOMING & AFFIRMING CONGREGATION:

We welcome all persons into full participation in the life of the congregation regardless of age, gender identity, racial or ethnic background, sexual orientation, marriage status, or physical or mental condition.

UMH--United Methodist Hymnal
TFWS--The Faith We Sing Hymnal
W&S--Worship & Song Hymnal
CEB--Common English Bible
NRSV--New Revised Standard Bible
NRSVUE--New Revised Standard Bible Updated Edition
MSG--The Message Bible