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Scripture Reading – Exodus 1:8-2:10
Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, "Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live."
But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them." So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, God gave them families.
Reflection:
We are grateful to be past the Tropical Storm Hilary and pray that everyone is safe. We had a wonderful Zoom-only worship last Sunday to keep staff and attendees safely at home. Thanks to almost 30 of you who showed up on-line and checked in with one another and worshipped. This Sunday we resume our regular on-site and Zoom worship. In this story of the two midwives Shiphrah and Puah, we hear of the ways that two regular women can alter the course of history. One wonders if they ever imagined that their profession as midwives would put them in direct conflict with an edict of their time. And with midwives, nurses and doctors on the frontline of the current reproductive rights restrictions, it is shockingly relevant to our lives today. The defiance of Shiphrah and Puah is honored by God and can guide us in our own lives about decisions that we are called to make. We will explore this text on Sunday and ponder the ways that our relationship with God asks us to respond to the everyday events in our lives.
Come join us online or in the Chapel at 11:30AM on Sunday.
Rev. Marlene W. Pomeroy
Music from Connie
In this week's service, Maria Z returns returns with a vocal solo with Steve Lindeman on piano. Also, Jenna offers a vocal solo with Connie on piano. We hope you can join us.
Connie Washburn, Music Director
Liturgist, Christy Furukawa,
Zoom computer staff, Michael Hutcinson, and ushers, Judi & Jeff Tyler.
If you are a Zoom worshipper, you will be able to access the bulletin through a link when you log onto Zoom on Sunday. (See link at bottom of Touchstone)
Also on Sunday
We will continue our summer schedule on Sundays – all children and youth will be in worship for the first 25-30 minutes and then leave with two staff to relax, play games together, and have snacks. They are welcome to join adults in the 1st floor Lounge (just beyond the kitchen) for snacks and to hear Saeko’s visual presentation of her time here in Pasadena.
Saeko Hayashi arrived in Pasadena on July 1, 2019 after @ 20 years in Hawaii, with 2 years in Tokyo between Hawaii and landing here. She joined our church and has been a faithful, positive and poetic member of our community since then. She is a scientist working with an international team and it is now time for her to report back to the HQ of my employer, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. In a visual presentation entitled, "Why are you in Pasadena?” Saeko will explore this: “The title question is for all of us - how the creation of this universe led to our presence here. The research taking place in town (spanning from JPL to the north and Caltech to the south) will definitely help our understandings of how the Earth came to be and if there are similar planets out there. My work with engineers here and colleagues in other countries has been to make the next generation’s extremely large telescope on the ground. The work continues … I will miss the blue sky here.”
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