Worship at Home for May 3, 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, 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, and 4/26.
We are celebrating the Lord’s Supper today May 3rd during 11:00-12:00 service. You can simply choose elements you feel comfortable using that represent bread and juice for you or you can refer back to instructions for taking communion at home.
This Sunday, once again 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
10:30-11:45 - 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 9:30 am 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#: 975 4462 6794 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/97544626794
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#: 975 4462 6794 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#: 975 4462 6794
NOTE: You do not need to create a Zoom account to sign into a meeting.
Opening Songs
Opening Prayer
Loving God,
We want to know you,
To hear your voice
Calling us out of death
Calling us into life
Want to know you,
To hear your voice
Calling us out of complacency
Calling us into purpose
We want to know you,
To hear your voice
Calling us out of selfishness
Calling us into service
We want to know you,
To hear your voice
Calling us out of our own self-righteousness
Calling us to receive your righteousness
We want to know,
To hear your voice
Calling us out of our shame
Inviting us to your table.
Amen.
Centering Song
Call to Worship
In the laughter of children, we hear the voice of the Gate of the Way, and find our way home.
In the lap of a parent, God's compassion cradles us in the still waters of love.
The Shepherd of our lives leads us through that door into life with him forever.
We are baptized with living waters which refresh us, restoring us to follow Jesus all our days.
The Holy Spirit, Keeper of truth, is the Light which guides us through every shadowed moment.
The Breath of life stills our worries and fears, as we are lead to that peaceful place of God's heart.
Hymns of Adoration
Seeking the Shalom of the City
First, we pray that God continue to bless the efforts of the Westminster/Capital Area YMCA partnership as we help distribute breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday to now over 300 youth 18 years and younger. This week they also distributed 100’s of masks. In partnership with Arm in Arm 75 bags filled with food and toiletries were distributed too!
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.
Prayers for Westminster nurses Rachel and Chiquera, and corrections officer Latipha; all three are caring for people with COVID 19.
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
Day by day, God would lead us to the places of hope and healing, while moment by moment, we continue to follow sin down all the wrong paths. Let us confess our lives, as we draw near to the One who would restore us to wholeness. Join me as we pray together, saying,
Gate of our lives, you know how easy it is to follow the wrong paths. We can make the foolish choice to listen to foolish rhetoric, and not to the wisest among us. We continue to make the mistake that we no longer need to be cautious, thus making life chancy for all around us, we would rather stir the waters of trouble then to stay at home, safe and content. And while we have no trouble locking the doors of our hearts, we increasingly grow weary of all this social distancing stuff.
Forgive us, our Goodness and Mercy. May our hearts overflow with hope for others, so others might be anointed with healing oil of grace. May we share from our abundance of caution with all who hunger for hope. May we follow Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, to the places of service and life with you forever, even if only from the interiors of our homes.
Assurance of Pardon
Our Comforter leads us to that place where God's Table is spread with forgiveness and overflowing with grace. Here, we are called to life and love.
We will live as God's people: forgiven to serve, blessed to share, loved so we might care. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture and Sermon
by
Pastor Karen
Hymn of Response
Communion
Prayers of the People
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, 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