WESTPORT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE
11th Sunday after Pentecost
August 9, 2026
PRELUDE: His Eye Is On the Sparrow Phillip Keveren
CALL TO WORSHIP: (adapted from “Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou)
One: You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
All: Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
One: Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
All: Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
One: Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
All: You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
One: Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
All: Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
One: Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
All: Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
*OPENING HYMN: #2190 Sing the Faith Bring Forth the Kingdom
UNISON CONFESSION OF OUR NEED OF GOD:
All: God of kindness, for too long we have harbored hate in our hearts.
We have our reasons. Sometimes really good ones.
And yet the weight of our hate suffocates and strangles us.
It closes down our options and disconnects us from others.
Free us from bitterness and from revenge fantasies.
Liberate our lives from poisonous patterns of grudge holding.
Help us to notice when our storytelling bends into hostility.
Give us the courage to respond in healthy ways when we’re hurt.
Create in our wayward, messy hearts the desire to soften, open, and reconnect.
Amen.
ASSURANCE OF GOD’S GRACE:
One: Our God sees all, knows all, forgives all, restores all.
No one who trusts in Jesus the Christ will be put to shame,
for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
All: Thanks be to God.
SUNG RESPONSE: #437 Glory to God You Are the Lord, Giver of Mercy! (Sing 1x)
[Time with Young Disciples]
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST:
One: The peace of Christ be with you.
All: And also with you.
One: Let’s share the peace of Christ with one another.
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION:
One: Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us.
All: Open us to your life-giving Word.
One: Quiet the voices within us that call us away from goodness.
All: Focus our minds on the message that can transform our lives
into beloved community. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 (pages 32-33)
Romans 10:5-15 (pages 149-150)
One: May God bless the reading of Holy Scripture.
All: Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE: How Hate Works (And How to Deal With It)
MOMENT FOR SILENT REFLECTION
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN: #372 Glory to God O for a World
WELCOME: News In, Around, and Beyond the Community
SUNG PREPARATION FOR PRAYER: #469 Glory to God Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying (Sing 1x)
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER:
All: Our Mother and Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy 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 thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
THE OFFERING OF OURSELVES/INVITATION TO GIVE:
One: God’s abundance cannot be matched. Still, we are inspired to be generous by a generous God. In gratitude to God, let us present our tithes and offerings.
OFFERTORY: “Sunset” by Florence Price Emma WitbolsFeugen, soprano
PRAYER OF DEDICATION:
One: Gracious God, the gifts we offer reflect only a portion of all that you have given us. Take these offerings and multiply them for your use. May our offerings be a blessing to those most in need, to those most vulnerable. May our offerings, given in a spirit of generosity, spread the desire to share.
All: Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: #373 Glory to God O Day of Peace
CHARGE AND BLESSING
POSTLUDE: There Is a Balm in Gilead Mark Patterson
A WESTPORT WARM WELCOMING!
- 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! NURSERY care is available in the upstairs children’s space. Parents are asked to fill out a brief registration form before church begins. (This form only needs to be filled out once). Children’s Sunday School is on break for the summer.
- 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.
MISSION & OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES:
- 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.
- 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.
- We are giving out lunches on Thursdays in the RESOURCE CENTER and Sundays as part of WESTPORT SHOWERS. Food donations of fruit cups, meat, cheese, peanut butter, squeeze jelly are always needed.
FREE WCA EVENTS:
INREACH & OUTREACH IN THE COMING WEEK: (All Events are at the Church, 201 Westport Rd – unless noted)
Today, Aug. 9 After Church Potluck – Emily’s Last Sunday for the Summer (Fellowship Room)
Monday, Aug. 10 6:30 p.m. Men’s AA Meeting (Fellowship Room)
7:30 p.m. Boy Scout Troop 60 (Westport Rising Room)
Tuesday, Aug. 11 4:30 p.m. Centering Prayer and Silence – 20 min (Chapel)
Thursday, Aug. 13 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Resource Center Open & Sack Lunches Distributed (Fellowship Room)
5:30 p.m. Westport Showers – For Women, Trans, & Gender Non- conforming people (Basement)
Friday, Aug. 14 11:30 a.m. Children’s Mercy TIES (Fellowship Room)
Saturday, Aug. 15 8:30 a.m. Private Rental – Meeting (Living Room/Library)
Sunday, Aug. 16 6:30-9:00 a.m. Westport Showers (Fellowship Room & Basement)
10:00 a.m. Book Discussion Group
11:00 a.m. Service of the Lord’s Day (Sanctuary)
Nursery Care (Upstairs Children’s Room)
3:00 p.m. WCA Disability Pride Event: Artist Talk & Fiber Art Workshop (Chapel & Fellowship Room)
6:00 p.m. WCA Jazz Concert Series: Brad Gregory Sextet (Fellowship Room)
LOOKING AHEAD:
Wednesday, Aug. 19 4:00 p.m. Church Staff Planning Meeting (Fellowship Room)
8:00 p.m. Mission & Outreach Committee Meeting (Zoom)
Saturday, Aug. 22 10:00 a.m. Finucane Project – Rockhurst Students Service Project Landscape Maintenance (Outside Church)
10:00 a.m. WCA Board Meeting (Fellowship Room)
1:00 p.m. Private Rental – Birthday Party (Fellowship Room)
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