Worship at Home for April 5, 2020
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 a liturgy, complete with embedded songs and a sermon by Pastor Karen and her husband Rev. Dr. Michael Granzen 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, and 3/29.
Also, this Sunday, we are connecting as a church body using Zoom video chat. Here’s the schedule and instructions for joining in!
9:30-10:30 - Connect and informal checking in
10:30-11:00 - Prayers of the People & The Lord’s Prayer: Joys and Concerns
[**If you’re newer to Zoom or know that technology can be challenging, try signing on closer to 10am so that we can have plenty of time to help you figure it out before Prayers of the People starts. Paula, who helped organize this, will help you!]
To join in the Zoom event on your computer,
THE EASIEST WAY
1. Go to www.zoom.com
2. Click on "Join a Meeting"
3. Enter meeting ID#: 411 710 606 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
NOT AS EASY, UNLESS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE
1. Click on http://princeton.zoom.us/j/411710606
2. Follow prompts, these can be a bit tricky if you've never used Zoom before.
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#: 411 710 606 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
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#: 411 710 606
NOTE: You do not need to create a Zoom account to sign into a meeting.
Remembering Holy Week 2019
Before beginning our service today, let’s take a moment remember the amazing Holy Week services from 2019 and celebrate all that God has done and continues to do in and through Westminster!
Opening Songs
Opening Prayer
Loving God,
We lean on you in these times of uncertainty.
We trust you
Centering Song
Call to Worship
Dear friends in Christ, during Lent we have been preparing for the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Today we come together to begin this solemn celebration in union with the church throughout the world.
Christ entered Jerusalem this day in triumph,
A triumph that led through suffering and death to resurrection and new life.
In faith and in love
May we follow this messiah, the humble ruler, who comes riding on a donkey.
Hymns of Adoration
Seeking the Shalom of the City
First, we want to share pictures of some members of our congregation who are serving this city by making sure kids have food each day.
Also during this time, we encourage you to pray for friends and family, neighbors, our city, our country, and the world. Particularly keep in mind those who are most vulnerable during this time: the elderly and immuno-compromised who are particularly vulnerable to infection, the poor who are particularly vulnerable economically as daycares and businesses close, and those without healthcare coverage.
Pray also for all our healthcare workers who face a daunting task ahead and who place themselves in harm’s way in love and service to their community.
Pray for Westminster member Rachel Woodall Thomas, starting tomorrow she will be caring for COVID 19 patients at the Robertwood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick. While caring for these patients she will live at a motel to keep her own family safe. Prayers needed for Mary Woodall as she helps take on the responsibility of caring for her grandchildren.
May God continue to bless the efforts of the Westminster/Capital Area YMCA partnership as we distribute breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday to over 100 youth 18 years and younger, Please pray for more food to be distributed in Trenton on the weekends.
Finally, take a moment to listen for the voice of God. How is God inviting you to seek the shalom of the city in light of the spreading corona virus? Perhaps there is someone who God is calling you to check in on, perhaps a text or call with encouragement for someone who is suffering, perhaps a donation to an organization on the front lines. Listen for God’s invitation and make plans to respond in love and obedience.
Call to Confession and Reconciliation
O God, you know us well.
We are quick to speak of faith, but slow to live it fully. We shout "hosanna" as Jesus approaches, as did the people of Jerusalem many years ago; but we do not want him to come too close -- not close enough to really see.
O God, you know us well.
We are quick to claim faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior; but, like the throng who greeted his entry into Jerusalem, we are fickle, slow to live fully and everywhere as faithful disciples. We know where we fail.
O God, you know us well.
We are quick to want the blessings of faithfulness; but, like the Twelve who spent the last week with him, we are slow to accept the pain and suffering of authentic Christ-like living. Forgive our weakness and fear.
Take a few moments to confess your sins to God and to entrust to God those things that are causing you anxiety.
Assurance of Pardon
The Lord is God. The Lord brings light to those in darkness, forgiveness to those who truly confess, and pardon to all who seek to follow Jesus. Rejoice that the steadfast love of God endures forever and ever. In the name of Jesus the Christ, receive the love that never dies and never fails. Amen.
Hosanna! Thanks be to God!!!
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture and Sermon
by
Pastor Karen
Hymn of Response
The Passion Story
Prayers of the People
In the form below, you can share your joys and concerns. We’ll compile them and share the list by email so that we can all be praying with each other as a church family. If you have pastoral or practical needs that you’d like to share privately, you can email Pastor Karen at karisuhg@aol.com.
Prayers of the People
This prayer is from the website of the Pacific School of Religion. It is adapted from “A Prayer for Persons Suffering from Ebola”, chausa.org.
A Prayer in the Days of the Coronavirus
As you pray this prayer aloud, imagine that many people are reading it along with you or hearing these words as you read.
Merciful God, hear our fervent prayer for all who suffer the effects of the coronavirus—its infection of sickness, fear, and anxiety.
God, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
May those who are infected receive the proper treatment and the comfort of your healing presence. God, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
May their caregivers, families and neighbors be shielded from the onslaught of the virus and give solace to those who grieve the loss of loved ones. God, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
Calm the anxiety and fear of those who fear its advent and protect those who are most vulnerable to its spread—the marginalized,
the un- and under-insured, the immune-compromised, the elderly. God, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
Guide those who strive to develop tests, vaccines, and cure—that their work may limit and conquer the virus and restore communities to wholeness and health. God, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
Holy One known by many names, help us rise above fear:
Assure us of your presence when we are fearful.
Calm anxieties with your holy Spirit.
Bring healing to all in need of it.
We ask all this through the intercession of your child, Jesus,
through the Holy Spirit, and in the name of all that is holy, just, and compassionate.
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be your name
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
And Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever
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, you emptied yourself for us.
You did not consider divinity something to be greedily held onto,
But you sacrificed everything for us.
Take these small sacrifices of ours and join them with your ultimate sacrifice.
May they be a participation in your life, death, and resurrection.
May they be a participation in your self-giving love.
Amen.
Closing Song
For our final song, please listen and be blessed by “Sananos” by Marcos Witt, a cry for healing and salvation. Translation provided below.
Sánanos by Marcos Witt
Somos tu pueblo, y hoy venimos humillados ante Ti
We are your people, and today we come humbled before you
somos tu pueblo, necesitados de Ti
We are your people, in need of you
hemos pecado, hemos dejado tu camino tu verdad
We are sinners, we have left your way and your true
nos humillamos, nuestra Tierra sana hoy
We humble ourselves, heal our world today
*Chorus*
Sananos! sananos!
Heal us! Heal us!
es el clamor de este pueblo, humillado ante Ti
It’s the cry of this people, humbled before you
salvanos! salvanos!
Save us! Save us!
es la oracion de tus hijos, postrados ante Ti
It’s the prayer of your children, bowing before you
sananos, sananos
Heal us! Heal us!
sananos, sananos
Heal us! Heal us!
Somos tus hijos, reconocemos nuestro orgullo nuestro error
We are your children, we recognize our pride and error
somos tus hijos, te pedimos hoy perdon
We are your children, we ask your forgiveness today
*Chorus*
Invocamos hoy tu nombre, y buscamos tu favor
We call on your name today, and we ask for your favor
que tu luz nos alumbre, para honrarte a Ti Senor
that your light would illuminate us, that we might honor you, Lord
Sananos, sananos
Heal us, heal us
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