23 October 2025 – Chapel – Drew Theo Chapel

Gathering Music

Tenemos Esperanza
Author: Federico Pagura,
Language: Spanish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNTj3Ss2QB0

Verso 1:
Porque El entró en el mundo y en la historia
porque El quebró el silencio y la agonía
porque llenó la tierra de su gloria
porque fue luz en nuestra noche fría.

Porque nació en un pesebre oscuro
porque vivió sembrando amor y vida
porque partió los corazones duros
y levantó las almas abatidas.

Chorus (x2):
Por eso es que hoy tenemos esperanza
por eso es que hoy luchamos con porfía
por eso es que hoy miramos con confianza
el porvenir en esta tierra mía.

Verse 2
Porque atacó a ambiciosos mercaderes
y denunció maldad e hipocresía
porque exaltó a los niños, las mujeres
y rechazó a los que de orgullo ardían.

Porque El cargó la cruz de nuestras penas
y saboreó la hiel de nuestros males;
porque aceptó sufrir nuestra condena,
y así morir por todos los mortales.

(Repeat Chorus)

Verse 3:
Porque una aurora vio su gran victoria
sobre la muerte, el miedo y la mentira
ya nada puede detener su historia,
ni de su Reino eterno la venida

Porque ilumina cada senda en gloria
Y las tinieblas derrotó con lumbre
Porque su luz es siempre nuestra historia
Y ha de llevar a todos a la cumbre

(Repeat Chorus)

Because He entered the world and into history;
because He broke the silence and the agony;
because He filled the earth with His glory;
because He was light in our cold night.

Because He was born in a dark manger;
because He lived sowing love and life;
because He softened hard hearts
and lifted up the downtrodden souls.

That is why today we have hope;
that is why today we fight persistently;
that is why today we look with confidence,
at the future in this land of mine.

Because he launched attacks on blind ambition
and he denounced hypocrisy and evil
He honored women and he blessed the children
But left the proud to rage at their own peril

Because he bore the cross of our transgressions
and drank the bitter cup of sin and sorrow
He bowed beneath the yoke of sin’s oppression
And suffered death that we might face tomorrow

Because a dawn saw His great victory
over death, fear, and lies;
nothing can stop His story now,
nor the coming of His eternal Kingdom.

Because it illuminates each path in glory
And defeated the darkness with light
Because its light is always our story
And it will lead everyone to the summit

Welcome

María Carolina Alderete

Latinx Chapel Welcome

Bienvenidos y bienvenidas to this space of community building and worship. My name is María Carolina Alderete, and with Felipe Dos Anjos, we’re honored to be the co-chairs of this beautiful community, which is the Latinx Caucus.

During this hour, we want to share with you a little bit of our land, culture, and diversity. Together, we’re going to explore what it means to be a Latinx scholar in these troubled times.

You’ll hear beautiful songs in Spanish with the translated subtitles on the screen. Please, feel free to join us and sing in the language that feels comfortable for you.

One Minute of Silence to Honor Pope Francis
First, we would like to make a minute of silence to honor Pope Francis. He was head of the Catholic Church from 13 March 2013 until his death in April 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American from Argentina, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III. He walked the territory, he listened, and more importantly, he made people feel uncomfortable.
Let’s take one minute of silence to honor his spirit and legacy.

Call to Worship

Kenia Vanessa Mendoza

Leader: Bienvenidos y bienvenidas, amada comunidad, a este espacio sagrado.
All: Welcome, beloved community, to this sacred space.
Leader: Hoy nos reunimos para buscar la sabiduría y la verdad de Dios.
All: Today we gather to seek God’s wisdom.
Leader: Abramos nuestros corazones y nuestras mentes al amor divino.
All: Let us open our hearts and minds to divine love and commitment.
Leader: Juntos, celebremos la gracia que nos une.
All: Together, let us celebrate the grace that binds us.
Leader: ¡Adoremos al Creador con alegría!
All: Let us worship the Creator with joy!

Opening Song

Ven al banquete
Author: Bob Hurd, Pia Moriarty, Jaime Cortez
Language: English; Spanish
Copyright: © 1994, 1995, Bob Hurd and Pia Moriarty. Published by OCP Publications.

CHORUS
Ven, ven al banquete.
Ven a la fiesta de Dios.
Here the hungry find plenty,
here the thirsty shall drink.
Ven a la cena de Cristo,
come to the feast.

VERSE 1
Like the child whose fishes and loaves
Fed the multitude
In the Lord, the little we have,
Broken and shared become abundant food
(Repeat chorus)

VERSE 2
Hay que darse a morir para cosechar,
las semillas de libertad y resurrección,
la promesa de vivir.
(Repeat chorus)

Opening Prayer

James Riofrio

Spanish and English
Pope Francis. 2015. Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home

Oración por nuestra tierra
Dios omnipotente,
que estás presente en todo el universo
y en la más pequeña de tus criaturas,
Tú, que rodeas con tu ternura todo lo que existe,
derrama en nosotros la fuerza de tu amor
para que cuidemos la vida y la belleza.
Inúndanos de paz, para que vivamos como hermanos y hermanas
sin dañar a nadie.
Dios de los pobres,
ayúdanos a rescatar
a los abandonados y olvidados de esta tierra
que tanto valen a tus ojos.
Sana nuestras vidas,
para que seamos protectores del mundo
y no depredadores,
para que sembremos hermosura
y no contaminación y destrucción.
Toca los corazones
de los que buscan sólo beneficios
a costa de los pobres y de la tierra.
Enséñanos a descubrir el valor de cada cosa,
a contemplar admirados,
a reconocer que estamos profundamente unidos
con todas las criaturas
en nuestro camino hacia tu luz infinita.
Gracias porque estás con nosotros todos los días.
Aliéntanos, por favor, en nuestra lucha
por la justicia, el amor y la paz

A prayer for our earth
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.

Scripture Reading

Yaheli Vargas-Ramos

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NIV English and Spanish) Habacuc 3:17-19

17
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

18
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

17
Aunque la higuera no florezca
ni haya frutos en las vides;
aunque falle la cosecha del olivo
y los campos no produzcan alimentos;
aunque en el redil no haya ovejas
ni vaca alguna en los establos;

18
aun así, yo me regocijaré en el Señor.
¡Me alegraré en el Dios de mi salvación!
19
El Señor y Dios es mi fuerza;
da a mis pies la ligereza de una gacela
y me hace caminar por las alturas.

Music

Solo le pido a Dios
Author: Mercedes Sosa
Arreglo: León Gieco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfXfSgrix0E

Verso 1:
Solo le pido a Dios
Que el dolor no me sea indiferente
Que la reseca muerte no me encuentre
Vacía y sola, sin haber hecho lo suficiente

Verso 2:
Solo le pido a Dios
Que lo injusto no me sea indiferente
Que no me abofeteen la otra mejilla
Después que una garra me arañó esta suerte

Estribillo:
Sólo le pido a Dios
Que la guerra no me sea indiferente
Es un monstruo grande y pisa fuerte
Toda la pobre inocencia de la gente
Es un monstruo grande y pisa fuerte
Toda la pobre inocencia de la gente

Verso 3:
Sólo le pido a Dios
Que el engaño no me sea indiferente
Si un traidor puede más que unos cuantos
Que esos cuantos no lo olviden fácilmente

Verso 4:
Sólo le pido a Dios
Que el futuro no me sea indiferente
Desahuciado está el que tiene que marchar
A vivir una cultura diferente

(Repeat Chorus)

Verse 1:
I only ask of God
He won’t let me be indifferent to the suffering
That the very dried up death doesn’t find me
Empty and without having given my everything

Verse 2:
I only ask of God
He won’t let me be indifferent to the injustice
That they do not slap my other cheek
After a claw has scratched my whole body

Chorus:
I only ask of God
He won’t let me be indifferent to the wars
It is a big monster which treads hard
On the poor innocence of people
It is a big monster which treads hard
On the poor innocence of people

Verse 3:
I only ask God
That deceit does not leave me indifferent
If a traitor can do more than a few
May those few not forget it easily

Verse 4:
I only ask God
That the future does not leave me indifferent
Hopeless is the one who has to leave
To live a different culture

(Repeat Chorus)

Introduction of Speaker

Fellipe Dos Anjos Pereira

Débora Barbosa Agra Junker serves as an Associate Professor of Critical Pedagogies at Garrett-Evangelical Seminary. Since 2016, she has established and directed the Cátedra Paulo Freire, where she advocates for Freire’s influential contributions to religious studies. Junker’s academic pursuits encompass Freire’s critical pedagogy, Vygotsky’s cultural-historical theory, intercultural and decolonial studies, as well as liberation theologies. Her book, “A Pedagogy for Planetary Convivência,” was published in January 2025.

Sermon

Dr. Debora B.A. Junker

Musical Response

CHORUS
El que come mi cuerpo y bebe mi sangre
Permanece en mí y yo en él
If you eat of my flesh, and drink of my blood
You remain in me and I in you

VERSE 1
Pan de vida, alimento para el alma
Pan de vida, Jesucristo Salvador
Pan del cielo, vía a la vida eterna
Pan del cielo, Cuerpo y Sangre del Señor
(Repeat chorus)

VERSE 2
Bread of life, hope for all the lowly
Bread of life, love and grace amidst despair
Bread from heaven, comfort for the suffering
Bread from heaven, love beyond compare
(Repeat chorus)

VERSE 3
Pan de vida, sacramento inagotable
Pan de vida, el banquete del Señor
Pan del cielo, sacrificio admirable
Pan del cielo, gran misterio de amor
(Repeat chorus)

Sacrament of Holy Communion

Rev. Dr. Francisco Pelaez-Diaz

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Creator God, you revealed to us your Creation on earth.
The waters flowed, and the winds blew.
You set the cosmos into motion and created living beings.
You gave life to the plants and the sea creatures and the land animals.
You put into flight the birds and insects, and you made people to walk on the ground.

You blessed us all and called us good.
But when our love failed and we turned away,
You revealed a love for your people and all of Creation that never ends.
And so we praise you, with all the company of saints and sinners, singing your unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosannah in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosannah in the highest.
You continued to reveal your love for us in your son, Jesus,
who came to live among us and move as a human on this Earth.
When he dined with his friends, just before he was to be executed,
he reminded them of your love revealed in the gifts of bread and juice before them on the table.
He took the bread in his hands, gave thanks to you, broke it, and shared it with his friends, saying the familiar words,
“Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
And when the supper was over, he took the cup, again gave thanks for it, and shared it with all who gathered, reminding them,
“Drink this all of you. This is the cup of my covenant with you, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Together we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Still-creating Spirit,
Be poured out on those gathered here and on these gifts from the field in bread and juice. As we receive them into our bodies, make us your body. Unite us with those who have come before us in your kin-dom and with those who will come after us, now and always. Amen.

Prayer after Receiving

Creative God,
We thank you for revealing your love to us in bread and juice. We recognize your presence in us and all around us, and we ask that you continue to reveal your love for all Creation to the ends of the Earth through our lives. Make us your people and use us to reveal the inbreaking of your kin-dom here and now: a world of justice and peace. Amen.

(Written by Rev. Laura Baumgartner, Seattle, WA (ancestral homelands of the Duwamish and Coast Salish peoples), an elder in the Pacific Northwest Conference, serving Haller Lake UMC. She is involved in the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement.)