Worship at Home for September 27, 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 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, and 9/20.
This Sunday, once again we are connecting as a church body using Zoom video chat. Here’s the schedule and instructions for joining in!
10-10:30 - Connect and informal checking in
10:30-11:00 - Prayers of the People, and Joys and Concerns
[**If you’re newer to Zoom or know that technology can be challenging, try signing on closer to 10:15 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#: 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
NOT AS EASY, UNLESS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE
1. Click on http://princeton.zoom.us/j/6294864957
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#: 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
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
Leader: We are God's work of art—each one of us a precious gem, a marvelous melody, a potter's delight.
People: We are God's handiwork--woven together in love, shaped with infinite compassion, painted with incredible beauty.
Leader: We are the church of Jesus Christ--diverse in human qualities, but united in our call to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.
People: We are the Body of Christ—living in his truth, sharing his peace, carrying his hope, embodying his love, in the world he loved so much.
Leader: We are here to be reminded once more who we are and what our lives are about.
People: We are here to be lifted, renewed, and empowered to live out the miracle of who we are, by the power of God working among us.
Leader: Together let us worship the living God.
All: Let us open ourselves to God, who makes all things new!
Hymns of Adoration
Seeking the Shalom of the City
Check out this article about our annual backpack and school supply giveaway!
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
Holy God, you know us better than we know ourselves, and you see us more clearly. How impossible it seems that we could ever hide anything from you, or even try to hide something; but we do. Sometimes we pretend to be better than we are. We do things we know will hurt others and act as though we are blameless. But we aren’t. We are complicit, and we are guilty, and we are broken. So we ask for your forgiveness, because you love us more than we can imagine, and you can make us whole beyond our wildest dreams. This we ask in the name of Jesus, who came to show us the way. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
New every morning is God’s love for us, and so we are bold to proclaim the Good News: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
All: Thanks be to God!
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Reading by
Princeton Theological Seminary Intern Lexi Aligarbes
Sermon by Pastor Karen
Hymn of Response
Prayers of the People
Prayers of the People happens each week on Zoom at 10:30am! Use the info at the top of the page to join us. If you missed it, stay tuned for next week’s Zoom info or reach out to Pastor Karen for info on how to join.
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