Worship at Home Draft
Sunday, January 23, 2022
Final Worship Service Posted Sunday, by 11:00am
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.
Opening Song for Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday
Call to Worship
Come, believers,
God-beloved,
Christ-redeemed,
Spirit-infused!
What is our call?
We are called to stand against injustice, inequality, and oppression,
as our Lord and Savior did,
for injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are called to examine the actions of our nation:
its military might, economic relations, political institutions, and cultural patterns,
for whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.
We are called to be weavers of the kingdom, makers of peace,
for we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,
tied in a single garment of destiny.
Come, believers, come to worship God—
The God of heaven and earth is with us.
The God of peace is our refuge.
Adapted from “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963, and Psalm 46
Hymns of Adoration
Seeking the Shalom of the City
El Dia de los Reyes / Three Kings Day Gifts Giving 2022 for
Children and Youth of
Westminster, Former Get SET, Apostalic Church,
Sprout University of the Arts School, and IRise Afghan Refugees
12th Commemorative Breakfast
SEED MLK 2022
Stephani Register, Drum Major for Service Awardee!
ANTIRACIST ADJUSTMENT
FOR THE WEEK OF 1/10/2022
“ANTIRACIST ADJUSTMENT FOR THE WEEK OF 1/10/2022
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8
This week we’ll focus on the first third of “Fierce Love” which looks at behaviors that relate to you and the way you think about and treat yourself. As Dr. Lewis notes, “Just as the story of our nation shapes us, all the stories in our lives make us who we are. To foster more love for ourselves, we need to look deeply at our stories and search them for meaning, for lessons.” The way you love yourself is the first and crucial step in her nine practices for the discipline of fierce love. If we don’t love ourselves then it’s impossible to authentically see, know and love our neighbors. The Divine Love incarnated at the core of our being ripples through us out into the world. Love doesn’t jump over us. Loves radiates through us. Dr. Lewis defines self-love as a “healthy delight in your true, imperfect, uniquely wonderful, particular self.” What chapters of your story mirrored your creativity, giftedness and capability? When did you feel special and loved? What stories hurt you? (Chapter 1)
For Dr. Lewis, honesty is an essential building block for self love and a spiritual practice to cultivate. “Being honest with ourselves about ourselves is to love ourselves unconditionally, to love ourselves fiercely.” Being truthful isn’t just about what we say however; it’s about how we move in the world. Telling the truth is an act of love, resistance and courage which leads to liberation, freedom and potential reconciliation. (Chapter 2)
The project of loving yourself is about healing and getting lighter. Those stories that wounded you are heavy burdens to be recognized, explored for their lessons and then let go. Your unforgiven hurts, bitter resentments and hard feelings have wisdom to offer. “In the hurt and sorrow is right where the insight is, where the answer is, where the wisdom is.” These weighty stories will become lighter to carry once you have examined them and squeezed lessons from them. (Chapter 3)
Through the numerous personal stories shared by Dr. Lewis in “Fierce Love”, we can begin to appreciate her insight that: “We all belong to a mutually beneficial web of connection, well-being, and love. At the root of this connection is empathy; the result is kindness, compassion, respect, and understanding.” Fierce love has the power to transform you as you love yourself unconditionally, speak truthfully and travel lightly.
For our spiritual practices this week, we will begin each day with a conscious intention and simple breath prayer.
Intention: Today I will strive to lovingly speak the truth to myself and others.
Our breath prayer this week is an affirmation exchange between Divine Love and your wounded self.
Breath Prayer:
Inhale: You are enough. Exhale: I am enough.
(submitted by Pat Deeney, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Trenton NJ, pjdeeney@hotmail.com)
Litany of Confession
As a church and as a body of believers,
let us now confess our sins before a merciful and loving God:
[Worshipers may respond to each confession by saying: Lord, have mercy.]
We confess that we have allowed racism, white supremacy, and white privilege
to often dictate how we exist.
We confess that we have robbed the Native people of Turtle Island
of their land, resources, and provision.
We confess that we have ignored the hundreds of trans women
that go missing and murdered every year and forget to say their names.
We confess that we have not treated the people of Puerto Rico
with the dignity and equality they deserve.
We confess that we were complicit in slavery
and often the vehicle used to perpetuate it.
We confess that we have not dealt justly
with the scars of why we split and the wounds of reunification.
We confess that we have made people of color the object of mission
and not partners in the work of ministry for God.
We confess that we have made women wait for equality
and LGBTQIA siblings fight for rights and privileges that others have long enjoyed.
We confess that we have not always welcomed
the stranger, the immigrant, the foreigner,
the woman, the queer, nor the ones in need of love.
We confess that we have helped to perpetuate division among people of color
and keep them in unnecessary feelings of competition and bias toward one another.
We confess that even some of us in this room
have closed our eyes and turned our backs
on the pain and suffering of our other marginalized siblings.
We confess that we have far too often fallen short
of being the beloved, healing, reconciling,
welcoming, inclusive and life-giving community
that Christ has called us to,
that God ordained,
and that the Holy Spirit has sanctioned.
Written by Rev. Shanea D. Leonard, 2021
Assurance of Pardon
You have mercy on us, loving God.
You forgive our sin, open our hearts, and change our lives.
By your Spirit, you make us holy and whole—
one people, united in faith, hope, and love;
through Jesus Christ, our reconciler and redeemer.
We proclaim your miraculous grace:
In Jesus Christ, we are redeemed.
Thanks be to God!
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-3 & John 2:13-17
Sermon: I’m Angry, What Shall I do?
Linwood Bagby,
Elder of Second Presbyterian Church
The Lord’s Prayer
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
We offer our gifts in recognition that we are baptized people, transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, we will hold nothing back but will share our lives, our hearts, our energies, as well as our efforts, in ministry to the world around us. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Closing Song
Benediction
May we become at all times, both now and forever
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those who have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter
And servants to all in need.
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
Now, go forth from this place with renewed inspiration to do the work of God.
Seek good, not evil, love goodness, and establish justice.
This is the greatest offering we can make;
letting justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.
Go in peace, with love for our neighbors.
Amen!!
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