Black Holes, Don Quixote, and the Pearl

WESTPORT RISING WORSHIP SERVICE
SEASON OF PENTECOST
August 25, 2024

(Video will be posted LIVE on the church’s FB page at 11am and then cross-posted here afterwards.  If the video doesn’t load properly here, you should be able to click on the Watch on Facebook link and watch as a guest, even if you don’t have Facebook) 

PRELUDE:   Partita on “Fairest Lord Jesus”                                                                     Max Drischner
CALL TO WORSHIP:

One:          Creating God, ground and source of all this motley material goodness, thank you for summer mornings, for bodies charged with aliveness, for flowers and trees and bugs and birds and all else that flutters forth from you, our inexhaustible fountain of life.
     All:           Loving Mystery has gathered us here. Let us worship the God who joins heaven and earth.

OPENING HYMN:  Fairest Lord Jesus   GTG#630
UNISON CONFESSION OF OUR NEED FOR GOD: 

All:           O Lord, our bodies may be tired or unsettled today. Our minds may be skittish or distracted. Sometimes we find it hard to even name the feelings and forces swimming in and between us. Thank you for Jesus, and for all the other risk-taking prophets who warn us that we are near the end of something, but simultaneously close to a gracious threshold into what’s next. Forgive us when we flinch. Turn our faces forward into the warm glow of this dawning goodness.

SILENT CONFESSION
ASSURANCE OF GOD’S GRACE: 

One:          The Spirit of Life – once enfleshed in Jesus from Nazareth, now glimmering in your own flesh – is at work in you to forgive you and free you for the future. This Spirit of Christ flickers, flaming you into flamboyant faithfulness as God’s beloved people.
All:           Thanks be to God. 

SUNG RESPONSE:   Halle, Halle, Hallelujah! (refrain, sing twice)   GTG#591
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST: 

One:          The peace of Christ be with you.
     All:           And also with you.
     One:          Let us share the peace of Christ with one another.

SCRIPTURE READINGS:      1 Kings 8: 22-30, 41-43     Ephesians 6: 10-20
CHORAL ANTHEM:   Joy in the Morning                                                                        Natalie Sleeth
UNISON PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION: 

All:   Come, Holy Spirit, and help us as we listen for your good news. Bless our bodies into new ways of being. Soften our hearts and minds for new ways of seeing the world, and ourselves. Amen.

SERMON:   Black Holes, Don Quixote, and the Pearl                                           Rev. Jared Witt
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN:    A Grateful Heart   GTG#652
WELCOME: News In, Around, and Beyond the Community
SUNG PREPARATION FOR PRAYER:  Come, Bring Your Burdens to God (sing twice)   GTG#851
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER:
THE OFFERING OF OURSELVES/INVITATION TO GIVE
                 Offering link
OFFERTORY SOLO:   I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light    Kathleen Thomerson,  arr. Tom Trenney;         Emma Witbolsfeugen,
UNISON PRAYER OF DEDICATION: 

All:   O Lord, receive these gifts we bring as an expression of our desire to live as new creation people, shaped not by bitterness and complaint, but by sharing and generosity.    Amen.

CLOSING HYMN:  We’ve Come This Far by Faith   GTG#656
BLESSING
POSTLUDE:   Don Quixote: (Coda, Act 3, Gran Galop)                                        Minkus, arr. Taylor

A WESTPORT WARM WELCOMING!

• The FLOWERS on the communion table today were donated in honor of Rev. Scott Myers.
• WELCOME! MEMBERS! NEWCOMERS! FRIENDS!  We are so glad you could join us for worship today!
• VISITORS, please take a moment to let us know you were here by picking up an attendance card (in the pews) and filling out whatever information you would like to share with us.
• WELCOME FAMILIES! Children’s Sunday School meets in the 2nd floor Children’s Space, Sunday mornings during the 1st half of worship, beginning at 11:00 am. NURSERY care is also available upstairs. Parents are asked to fill out a brief registration form before church begins. (This form only needs to be filled out once).
• HEARING ASSISTANCE DEVICES available upon request. Talk to Deanna up in the front of the sanctuary at the livestream table if you would like to use one.
• Deacon’s would like to update our church’s PRAYER CHAIN LIST. If you would like to be included on the prayer chain (to receive a call when there is a prayer concern among those in the congregation, and pass it on to the next person) please let Nancy Gay know that you are interested.

MISSION & OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES:

• Bread, Buns, Fruit, Water, Meat, Peanut Butter, Cheese are always needed for our INTERRUPT HUNGER work.
• WESTPORT SHOWERS happens on Sunday mornings & Thursday nights. Items Needed for our CLOTHING CLOSET include: Sneakers, T-shirts, Underwear (Men’s Boxer Briefs), Socks, Women’s pants/shorts size 0-8, Men’s pants/shorts size 28-40, Bandaids, Sweatpants, Leggings, Belts, Backpacks, Body wash, Sports bras, & Washcloths.
• FALL WEATHER CLOTHING DRIVE: To prepare for the colder months ahead Westport Showers is collecting coats, hats, gloves, warm socks, and boots. Look through your closets and see if you have any extra items you can donate.
• WESTPORT SHOWERS is looking for additional volunteers to help with Sunday mornings. With the increase in guests, we would like to have teams of 2 volunteers upstairs working together at the door and 2 downstairs working in the shower/laundry room each Sunday. You would be working with experienced volunteers who can train you in what is needed. If you would like to help, and are willing to volunteer 1 Sunday morning a month, reach out to Drew Irwin or Allison Rozga for more information.
• WEEKDAY LUNCH VOLUNTEERS. We could use a few more people to help with making and handing out weekday lunches. Please contact the church office for more information.

INREACH & OUTREACH IN THE COMING WEEK: (All Events are at the Church, 201 Westport Rd – unless noted) 

• Monday, Aug. 26               11:00 a.m.       Sack Lunches Distributed (Front Door)
  • • • • 4:30 p.m.         FREDitation – a centering prayer experience – 20 min (Chapel)
        • 6:30 p.m.         Men’s AA Meeting (Storefront)
        • 7:30 p.m.         Boy Scout Troop 60 (Westport Rising Room)
• Tuesday, Aug. 27               11:00 a.m.       Sack Lunches Distributed (Front Door)
  • • • • 6:00 p.m.         Irish Dance (Westport Rising Room)
• Wednesday, Aug. 28         10:00 a.m.       Resource Center Open (Storefront)
  • • • • 11:00 a.m.       Sack Lunches Distributed (Storefront)
        • 6:00 p.m.         Stewardship Meeting (Library)
        • 7:00 p.m.         Zoom Bible Study – contact church office for link (Online)  *meets every other week*
• Thursday, Aug. 29             10:00 a.m.       Resource Center Open (Storefront)
  • • • • 11:00 a.m.       Sack Lunches Distributed (Storefront)
        • 5:30 p.m.         Westport Showers – For Women, Trans, & Gender Non-conforming people (Basement)
• Friday, Aug. 30                  11:00 a.m.       Sack Lunches Distributed (Front Door)
  • • • • 7:00 p.m.         Westport Center for the Arts “The Dancing Word: Home is Where the Heart Is. Where is Home?” (Center for Spiritual Living, 1014 W. 39^th St.)
• Saturday, Aug. 31              8:30 a.m.         Living Integrated (Men’s Support Group) (Storefront)
  • • • • 2:00 p.m.         Westport Center for the Arts “The Dancing Word: Home is Where the Heart Is. Where is Home?” (Center for Spiritual Living, 1014 W. 39^th St.)
• Sunday, Sept. 1                  8-9:30 a.m.      Westport Showers (Fellowship Room & Basement)
  • • • • 11:00 a.m.       Service of the Lord’s Day (Sanctuary)
        •                        Children’s Sunday School (Upstairs Children’s Room)

LOOKING AHEAD:

•      Monday, Sept. 2                                         LABOR DAY HOLIDAY (Church Office Closed)
•      Friday, Sept. 6                 6:00 p.m.         A Time of Remembering and Sharing Stories about Rev. Scott Myers