Worship at Home for
January 17, 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 week we are joining our sister church Nassau Presbyterian’s livestream service, where our own Rev. Joanne Rodriguez is preaching. 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, and 1/10.
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.
Seeking the Shalom of the City
ANTIRACIST ADJUSTMENT FOR THE WEEK of 1/17/2021
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8
We will continue this week with spiritual commitments three and four provided by Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes, in “I Bring the Voices of My People”, as signposts for our ongoing racial reconciliation journey. They are: Standing in Solidarity and Keeping Sabbath.
Solidarity is a choice. It requires a conscious decision on the part of white people to move from the center to the margins so that white supremacy can be de-idolized and deconstructed. It calls us to strive for an ethic of caring, receptivity, trust and empathy. Solidarity is evinced by relational justice, equal regard, mutual empowerment, respect for the lived realities of the other, and resistance to colonization. (page 216)
Sabbath is the antidote for hyper vigilance and the state of constant activity, a respite from physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual and social striving. The essence of Sabbath is renewal for the soul with God, who wants us to rest as we work for peace and harmony in the world. We embody this best when we establish rhythms of journeying and rest, activity and reflection, serving and being served, engagement and retreat, and doing and becoming. (page 224)
As you sit with this week’s offering, remember to pay attention to the sensations that arise in your body and to where they are located. Do you notice agitation, constriction, release, pressure, energy, numbness, relaxation, warmth, coolness, softness, tightness? What statements resonate and which ones challenge? No judgment or analysis, just notice and let them go.
Body Settling/Soothing Practice: Grounding (“My Grandmother’s Hands” page 31)
Sit quietly and comfortably for a couple minutes breathing slowly and deeply. Follow your breath as it goes in and out of your body. Then bring your attention to the bottom of your feet. Sense the ground beneath them, supporting you. Stay focused there for a few minutes. Next, feel the chair supporting you, doing what it was designed to do. Allow yourself to rest in that knowing of support.
When you’re done stop and pay attention to how your body feels. What body sensations have changed from before you started grounding? What has stayed the same?
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)
Service Livestream from Nassau Presbyterian
Preacher: Rev. Joanne Rodriguez
Justice Concert Today @ 2PM
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
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