Worship at Calvary

Famine, Foreign Lands, and Family

SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2026 AT 10AM

We begin a four-week series on the book of Ruth. In this first chapter we hear about how famine causes Naomi and her family to migrate to the land of Moab. There, they meet Ruth, who will forever change their lives as well as the very lineage of Christ. This story of personal loss and loyalty shows us how to welcome the stranger and care for the marginalized. Ruth is one of two books in the Bible named after a woman, and as the quote goes: well-behaved women seldom make history!

Our next Worship Service on Sunday, May 31:
"Famine, Foreign Lands, and Family"

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Please enjoy this week's service.
Next week's service (6.7.26) will be uploaded Sunday before 10am.

Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 10am

Ruth 1:1- 1:22


In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the Lord has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

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Join us for Bible Study

The Women of Calvary Bible Study

3rd Thursdays of the month • zoom • 6 - 7:15pm

The Women of Calvary Bible Study meets via Zoom on the third Thursday of the month from 6 pm - 7:15 pm starting on September 18, 2025.
This year's study is Finding Resilience, Joy, and Our Identity in Jesus Christ by Rhashell D. Hunter. In this Bible study, we will explore resilience. This is modeled for us by several biblical characters, gospel and epistle writers, as well as Jesus. The Bible study is also about joy. How do we find joy in a chaotic world? Christian joy may be different from how a lot of people define joy. We will also seek to rediscover our identity.
Please join us for this study whether you're new to Bible Study or have participated in this study for years. Books are $10, scholarships available!
Please contact Rev. Joann for Zoom info: joannlee@calpres.org. Click to Email Joann

Music

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Calvary enjoys a long and treasured legacy as a center for great music in San Francisco. Through weekly liturgies, regular concerts featuring our choir and orchestra and guest musicians, and as an essential venue for the many arts organizations who perform in our historic sanctuary, that rich tradition is vibrantly alive today. Our weekly worship services feature our 40-voice Chancel Choir, our 6,155 pipe organ and Bösendorfer Imperial grand piano, professional soloists and other fine guest musicians, children and youth, handbells, and a range of exceptional music you likely won’t encounter in many other places of worship.

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A group of choir members singing with the music in the pews of the Chapel

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