Worship at Home for
February 28, 2021
Due to the spread of Covid-19, we are taking a sabbatical from our normal Sunday morning gathering, but unity and community are more important than ever before in this season of uncertainty. To help facilitate this, we are providing an online service so that, one in heart, we can worship together even as we maintain distance out of love for our neighbors. This is designed to be used on your own or together as a family or community. We hope this resource is a blessing to you. Remember to check in on friends and neighbors with calls or text, especially the elderly among us and others who are particularly vulnerable. You can also check out the services from 3/15, 3/22, 3/29, 4/5, 4/12, 4/19, 4/26, 5/3, 5/10, 5/17, 5/24, 5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 7/5, 7/12, 7/19, 7/26, 8/2, 8/9. 8/16, 8/23, 8/31, 9/6, 9/13, 9/20, 9/27, 10/4, 10/11, 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15, 11/22, 11/29, 12/6, 12/13, 12/20, 12/27, 1/3, 1/10, 1/17, 1/24, 1/31, 2/7, 2/14, and 2/21.
Prayers of the People on Zoom at 10:30am!
To join in the Zoom event by online computer,
THE EASIEST WAY
1. Go to www.zoom.com
2. Click on "Join a Meeting"
3. Enter meeting ID#: 629 486 4957 and Click "Join"
4. Follow prompts, including entering your name.
5. Here is a video tutorial that will take you through the steps, if you want to view this first: https://youtu.be/L5zzE-HGQko
or
NOT AS EASY, UNLESS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE and A ZOOM ACCOUNT
1. Click on https://princeton.zoom.us/j/6294864957
2. Follow prompts, these can be a bit tricky if you've never used Zoom before.
or
To join in the Zoom event using your Smartphone/Iphone:
1. Download the Zoom Cloud Meeting app
2. Open the app.
2. Enter meeting ID#: 629 486 4957 and Click "Join"
3. Follow prompts, including entering your name
4. Here is a video tutorial that will take you through the steps, if you want to view this first: https://youtu.be/lO206_NezaY
or
To dial in by phone:
+1 (646) 558 8656 (New York--please note this may be a long-distance call if you are using a landline)
Then at the prompt, enter meeting ID#: 629 486 4957
NOTE: You do not need to create a Zoom account to sign into a meeting.
Opening Songs
Centering Song
Call to Worship
Lent calls us to journey, this and every day,
following Jesus wherever he leads us.
Lent calls us to journey:
to the place where God covenants with us,
to receive the new names we are given.
Lent calls us to worship together,
to tell future generations the good news.
Lent calls us to practice justice,
to bring God's hope to all people.
Lent calls us to faithful living,
to trust the One who gives us life.
Lent calls each of us to take up our cross,
to trust the One who bears it with us.
Lent calls us to journey with God.
Let us worship God, who walks with us,
this and every day.
Hymns of Adoration
Seeking the Shalom of the City
ANTIRACIST ADJUSTMENT FOR THE WEEK of 2/28/2021
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8
Let’s revisit “I Bring the Voices of My People” by Dr. Walker-Barnes for a deeper dive into solidarity. When white people choose to move from the center to the margins, they must also commit to doing the work both internally and externally. The goal is the destruction of white supremacy, the healing and repair of the historical wounds of racism, and the establishment of a racially just society. These efforts require equal power, mutual respect and safety from harm for all parties. Committed individuals are enriched by otherness, open to those who have been excluded, and are dedicated to justice-making in various arenas. This type of accompaniment requires us to walk together with those who are estranged. In seeking to see the world through another’s lens, we must be self-aware and knowledgeable of the ways in which our intersectional identities shape our experiences of and complicity in privilege and oppression. We need to critically evaluate and own the cultural milieu in which we have been formed and rooted. (pages 215-220)
As we deeply listen to the following videos, we catch a glimpse of the white lens that has influenced the images we have adopted of our neighbors both here and internationally. We are invited to expand those pictures by paying attention to the fuller and deeper story of those we hope to walk beside into a more inclusive future.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UVIgjuovt8
As you settle your body after this week’s offering, remember to pay attention to the sensations that arise in your body and to where they are located. Do you feel agitation, constriction, release, pressure, energy, numbness, relaxation, warmth, coolness, softness, tightness? Accept any discomfort and notice when it changes. Stay present with your experiences of ambiguity and uncertainty. No judgment or analysis, just observe and then move your body to release any remaining energy if needed. (“My Grandmother’s Hands “ page 168)
Please feel free to forward any thoughts to me at the email listed below or by requesting to join the private Facebook group Antiracist Adjustments with the following link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1819196591561542/?ref=share .
Blessings as you continue your antiracism spiritual practice.(submitted by Pat Deeney, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Trenton NJ, pjdeeney@hotmail.com)
Call to Confession and Reconciliation
Given a test on our faith, would we have a passing grade? Looking at our lives of discipleship, would we be considered good models for others? When we fail to trust God, we discover that we do indeed lead barren lives. Let us be honest as we stand before our God, and bring our confessions for forgiveness and hope.
God of Sarah and Abraham, in this holy place, we know how weak is our discipleship. We can spend hours at the computer, but only give you fleeting moments of our time. We can talk endlessly on our cell phones, but fall silent when it comes to sharing our fears, our worries, our hopes with you. We seek quick fixes for our problems, rather than seeking your vision and future for our lives.
God of Peter, Paul, Phoebe, and the psalmist, forgive us:
for our lack of trust;
for our faithless living;
for our closing our ears to the call of Jesus.
Forgive us, so we may lay aside all that keeps us from you, so we may take up the life you offer to us, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Assurance of Pardon
This is the good news: God does not go back on the promises made so long ago. God does not reject us, God redeems us. God does not withhold love, God pours it into our barren lives.
Forgiven of our sins, filled with hope, living in relationship with God and one another - we are a new people. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Liturgy from Rev. Thom M. Shuman
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 & Sermon: Restored to Life
Preacher: Christopher Renshaw
Hymn of Response
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven
Hallowed be Your name
Your kingdom come
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever
Amen.
Offering
Even as we are unable to gather for our Sunday morning worship services, many of the church’s expenses remain the same, and now more than ever we want to have the resources to bless the community around us. Your gracious donation will ensure that Westminster continues to Seek the Shalom of the Capital City of Trenton and beyond.
Westminster can receive donations via a simple text:
Text to 609-438-8828 the word “Give”
Westminster’s online giving number will respond asking how much you’d like to give, and steps to follow
Westminster can receive donations online:
Westminster can receive donations by check:
Westminster Presbyterian Church
PO Box 3719
Trenton, NJ 08629
Prayer of Dedication
Jesus, we hear your voice calling us
To love
To serve
To give
These gifts are our response to your call
Keep our hearts and ears open to continue to listen
Today and every day
Amen
Closing Song
Benediction
The Lord be with you
And also with you
La paz de Dios sea con-ti-go
Y tam-bien con-ti-go
Sa-wa-bona
Si-ko-na
Pyeong-hwa
Pyeong-hwa