Worship at Home for June 28, 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, and 6/21.
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 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
Opening Prayer
Loving God,
We know and trust that you are alive in us
When we feel it and when we don’t.
We long for your life to flow in us and through us to a world in need.
May your praise be the result of every word we say and every thing we do.
As we worship today, renew our hearts and mind
Embolden our spirits
Enliven our hearts
Refresh our emotions
Reinvigorate our faith
We pray in the name of Jesus and through the power of the Spirit
Amen.
Centering Song
Call to Worship (Psalm 89:1-4)
I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:
‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’ “
Hymns of Adoration
Seeking the Shalom of the City
Our city and many cities across the country have seen protests seeking justice and reform in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Let us pray and work together for change in our city. Many Westminster members participated in various protests and prayer gatherings as our way of seeking the shalom of our city, nation, and world.
Also, we pray that God continue to bless the efforts of the Westminster/Capital Area YMCA partnership as we help distribute 480 breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday to now over 200 youth 18 years and younger. This week muchisimas gracias go out to Lolly O’Brien and Nassau’s Craft Committee for creating and distributing 300 crafts for Trenton children and youth.
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, Chiquera, and Chuck 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
No longer enslaved to sin, but set free through grace to be instruments of righteousness, we come before God to confess the ways we fail to follow Christ and neglect to care for one another.
Merciful God, our loyalties have been divided and we have taken your grace for granted. You seek us out, but we attempt to go our own way. You provide, but we hoard. You free us from enslavement to sin, but we neglect to be instruments of righteousness. You welcome us as we are, but we refuse to receive others in your name. Forgive what we have been, amend what we will be, awaken us to the new thing you are doing within and around us. Send your Spirit to shape us in ways that better reflect the one we claim to follow, Jesus Christ.
(Silent prayer)
Amen.
Assurance of Pardon (Romans 6:22-23)
But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Friends, believe the good news and be at peace: through Jesus Christ we are forgiven!
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture and Sermon
by
Minister Archange Antoine
Hymn of Response
Prayers of the People
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.
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, may these gifts we give
Of our money
Of our time
Of our affection
Of our service
Be small ways that we participate in your resurrection life
Which is breaking into the world.
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