Worship at Home for
February 7, 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 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, 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, 1/10, 1/17, 1/24, and 1/31.
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.
Opening Songs
Centering Song
Call to Worship
Leader: Because he came to bring good news to the poor;
People: Let us be bearers of the Good News.
Leader: Because he came to proclaim release to the captives;
People: Let us break the chains of injustice.
Leader: Because he came to give vision to those who could not see;
People: Let us see the world through the lens of compassion and mercy.
Leader: Because he came to let the oppressed go free;
People: Let us overcome systems of intolerance and inequality.
Leader: Because he came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor;
All: Let us sing the praises of Christ our Lord!
Hymns of Adoration
Seeking the Shalom of the City
ANTIRACIST ADJUSTMENT FOR THE WEEK of 2/7/2021
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8
Whose stories are missing from your experience? Whose experiences were lost in our telling of American history?
America was built on lands stolen from indigenous peoples. Our white ancestors went to great lengths to eradicate these peoples from the landscape. Many were slaughtered through federal campaigns against American Indian tribes. Others were forced onto reservations situated on land of no value to white settlers. Indian children were taken from their families and placed in boarding schools which systematically eliminated their culture and language in favor of white norms. Many Christian denominations supported these efforts by funding and staffing various initiatives such as the Pine Ridge Mission School, within the Choctaw Nation, opened by the Presbyterian Church in 1838. Similar mission efforts were undertaken by the Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, Southern Baptists, Mennonites, Unitarians and Quakers.
As part of its Dismantling Structural Racism Initiative, the PCUSA has prepared a 21-Day Racial Justice Challenge. Day 10 highlights the PBS documentary, contained in the following link, which provides another lens through which to view our history with indigenous peoples.
Utah History | Unspoken: America's Native American Boarding Schools | PBS
While these scenarios may seem difficult to imagine and justify, how different are they from our present-day treatment of young children at our southern border, ripped from their family, locked in cages, and misplaced in our federal system. Our historical white actions have had a traumatic impact on indigenous peoples which unfortunately lingers in our country’s communal body to this day. We can however choose a different path, one that honors our shared humanity and nurtures the many images of the Divine captured in our neighbors.
As you settle your body after this week’s offering, remember to pay attention to the sensations that arise in your body and to where they are located. Do you feel agitation, constriction, release, pressure, energy, numbness, relaxation, warmth, coolness, softness, tightness? Accept any discomfort and notice when it changes. Stay present with your experiences of ambiguity and uncertainty. No judgment or analysis, just observe and then move your body to release any remaining energy if needed. (“My Grandmother’s Hands “ page 168)
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)
Call to Confession and Reconciliation
For the hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class—God, forgive.
For the envious desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own—God, forgive.
For the greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth—God, forgive.
For our envy of the happiness of others—God forgive.
For our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless and the refugee—God, forgive.
For the lust which dishonors the bodies of women, men, and children—God forgive.
For the pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in you—God, forgive.
Forgive us our part in the pain of the world. Heal us, heal all, and make us whole.
Assurance of Pardon
Friends, hear the good news: Jesus calls us follow him, and he will not lead us astray. His path is one of forgiveness and renewal. Know that you are forgiven, and so you are ready to go out and serve. Alleluia! Amen.
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Reading by
Lexi Aligarbes
Sermon by Bisi Shofu
Hymn of Response
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
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