WESTPORT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
March 8, 2026
PRELUDE: Prelude on St. Columba (The King of Love My Shepherd Is)
CALL TO WORSHIP: (from Psalm 95)
One: O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
All: Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to God with songs of praise!
One: For the Lord is a great God, and a great ruler above all gods.
In God’s hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are God’s also.
All: The sea is the Lord’s, for God made it,
and the dry land, which God’s hands have formed.
One: O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
All: For the Lord is our God, and we are the people of God’s pasture,
and the sheep of God’s hand.
*OPENING HYMN (You may rise in Body or Spirit):
#665 Glory to God As Morning Dawns (verses 1-3)
UNISON CONFESSION OF OUR NEED OF GOD:
All: God of endless renewal,
God who rescues the lost and saves the afflicted,
there are times when our way grows confused.
Help us find the good path, the path of kindness, compassion, and healing.
You have poured your love into our hearts.
You are always more ready to forgive than we are to confess our wrongdoing.
Help us to better organize our lives around the love we have received. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF GOD’S GRACE:
One: Hear and receive the good news: In Jesus Christ, God refuses to abandon us.
God stays with us as a forgiving presence, inviting us to begin again.
All: Amen.
SUNG RESPONSE:
#468 Glory to God In My Life (verses 1-2)
[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.
TAIZÉ HYMN:
#814 Glory to God In God Alone (Sing 4x)
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION: liturgist
One: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts,
be acceptable, even pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our strength and redeemer.
All: Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING: Exodus 17:1-7 liturgist
Romans 5:1-11
One: May God bless the reading of Holy Scripture.
All: Thanks be to God.
THE OFFERING OF OURSELVES/INVITATION TO GIVE: liturgist
One: From the dust of the earth, God made our mortal bodies,
and with God’s breath, life was instilled in us.
There is nothing that we have that is not a gift from God.
Remembering all of God’s manifold blessings,
let us worship God with our tithes and our offerings.
OFFERTORY SOLO: The King of Love My Shepherd Is / Bach Prelude #1 in C arr. Schweizer
Joshua Stark, baritone
PRAYER OF DEDICATION: liturgist
One: Fount of all blessings, as we return to you what is already your own,
we ask that you would bless these gifts and multiply them.
May we, in turn, be blessed, as we see your realm unfolding before us,
through Christ our Lord,
All: Amen.
SUNG PREPARATION FOR PRAYER:
#472 Glory to God Kum ba Yah (verses 1, 4)
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE, BLESSINGS, AND THE LORD’S PRAYER: liturgist
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.
CHORAL ANTHEM: O Love Hagenburg
MESSAGE: Releasing Our Anger Rev. Dr. Jared Witt
*CONGREGATIONAL HYMN (You may rise in Body or Spirit):
#775 Glory to God I Want Jesus to Walk with Me (verses 1-2)
WELCOME: News In, Around, and Beyond the Community
*CLOSING HYMN (You may rise in Body or Spirit):
#774 Glory to God There Is Now a New Creation (verses 1-2)
*CHARGE AND BLESSING
*POSTLUDE: The Solid Rock arr. G. McCoy
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 will meet during the second half of worship in the in the 2nd floor Children’s Space. Children are invited to remain in the service until the “Time for Young Disciples” and then go upstairs for the remainder of the service.
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.
2026 PER CAPITA is $45.91 per church member. This money helps support our denomination on the regional and national levels. The breakdown is: $11.26 to General Assembly, $3.15 to Synod of Mid-America, and $31.50 to Heartland Presbytery. If you would like to help out the church by paying your own Per Capita, make your check out to Westport Presbyterian Church or place money in a pew envelope and include “per Capita” on the memo line. Thank You!
CHILDREN’S CHOIR PRACTICE: Kids that want to sing with the choir are invited to join Renee in the front of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings from 10:00-10:25 a.m.
We are looking to hire another PART TIME CUSTODIAN to help with cleaning around the church. Work will include cleaning the bathrooms, mopping and sanitizing the floors, and other tasks as needed. Schedule is flexible. Estimated 6-8 hours a week. Pay is $16/hour. Talk to Pastor Jared or contact the church office if interested.
CONNECTION HOUR SMALL GROUP:
Sunday Mornings
10:00 a.m. Book Discussion Group readings related to various topics including faith, art, culture, politics, earth care. Currently reading Search: A Novel, by Michelle Huneven.
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 Fridays 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.
WINTER WEATHER CLOTHING DRIVE: Through the cold weather months Westport Showers will be collecting coats, hats, gloves, warm socks, shoes and boots. Look through your closets and see if you have any extra items you can donate.
BOARD MEMBERS NEEDED & PAID PART-TIME POSTITIONS AVAILABLE: Westport Center for the Arts, an non-profit organization founded by our church that has dedicated itself to bringing free art exhibits, concerts, dance performances, etc. to the neighborhood, has several positions that need filling. They need a board president to set a meeting agenda and keep track of who is doing what, and they are looking to fill several paid positions: Photographer, Grant Writer, Visual Arts Program Director. If interested, email [email protected] or speak with Josh Stark or Deanna Capps.
INREACH & OUTREACH IN THE COMING WEEK:
(All Events are at the Church, 201 Westport Rd – unless noted)
Monday, Mar. 9 6:30 p.m. Men’s AA Meeting (Storefront)
6:30 p.m. MO Workers Center: Food Service Workers’ Town Hall (Sanctuary)
7:30 p.m. Boy Scout Troop 60 (Westport Rising Room)
Tuesday, Mar. 10 4:30 p.m. Centering Prayer and Silence – 20 min (Chapel)
5:15 p.m. Session Meeting (Fellowship Room)
Thursday, Mar. 12 5:30 p.m. Westport Showers – For Women, Trans, & Gender Non-conforming people (Basement)
Friday, Mar. 13 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Resource Center Open & Sack Lunches Distributed (Storefront)
11:30 a.m. Children’s Mercy TIES Group (Fellowship Room)
Saturday, Mar. 14 8:30 a.m. Private Rental – Meeting (Storefront)
Sunday, Mar. 15 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
8-9:30 a.m. Westport Showers (Fellowship Room & Basement)
Connection Hour Small Groups:
10:00 a.m. Book Discussion Group
10:00 a.m. Children’s Choir Rehearsal (Sanctuary)
11:00 a.m. Service of the Lord’s Day (Sanctuary)
Nursery Care (Upstairs Children’s Room)
12:15 p.m. Choir Rehearsal (Sanctuary)
LOOKING AHEAD:
Monday, Mar. 16 6:30 p.m. MO Workers Center Meeting (Fellowship Room)
Tuesday, Mar. 17 11:30 a.m. St. Patrick’s Day Parade (in Westport)
Friday, Mar. 20 12:00 p.m. Westport Center for the Arts – Brown Bag Concert Series: The Wires, alternative strings (Sanctuary)
Sunday, Mar. 22 5:00 p.m. Chili/Soup Dinner (Fellowship Room)
6:00 p.m. Taizé Service (Sanctuary)
MISSOURI LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:
from Riva and the League of Women Voters
Bills being moving through the Legislative Process
Elections
SB 985: requires Secretary of State to publish a voter registration list on their website containing unique voter identification numbers, voters’ names, year of birth, addresses, townships or wards, and precincts
HCR 23: resolution that would encourage Missouri’s congressional delegation to reject federal control of elections.
HB 1802: allow watchers and challengers during no-excuse absentee voting period, in addition to Election Day.
Firearms
HB 2504: adds other school personnel that a school district can designate as a school protection officer; gives them authority to carry a weapon on school grounds (must have concealed carry license and professional training); includes teachers, administrators and other staff.
https://everytownresearch.org/report/unpacking-arming-teachers-laws/
SB 1078: allows concealed carry license holders to carry guns on public transportation. https://mopublictransit.org/2025/01/15/guns-on-buses-bills-emerge-as-mo-legislative-session-gets-underway-weigh-in-today/
SB 1055: cannot remove guns from a person without a fully contested adjudication (anti-red-flag law); bans Missouri agencies/local law enforcement from enforcing a red flag law (including Federal orders); $50,000 civil penalty per violation against agencies and officers that help enforce a red flag law. Includes “all retail sales of firearms and ammunition” to Missouri’s August “back to school” sales tax exemption holiday(guns and ammo tax free); automatically assumes the self-defense belief of a defendant that the need for force was reasonable. https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2026-01-29/missouri-house-path-to-pass-anti-red-flag-gun-law-loosen-other
HB 3105: Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) gives firearms and gun owners unique legal treatment that no other constitutional right enjoys; prioritizing gun rights above other public safety responsibilities; police chiefs, prosecutors, warn that SAPA style laws are murky for officers in how they can help federal partners; can chill routine cooperation on gun trafficking and violent crime cases
Utilities
HB 2122: allows electrical corporations to charge for services based on the costs of certain construction work in progress; utilities can raise rates before power plants are built; shifts financial risk from corporations onto Missouri families; Missouri voters already voted against Construction Work in Progress https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/10/missourians-shouldnt-pay-utilities-before-the-lights-turn-on/
To reach out to your legislators, go to senate.mo.gov (the MO senate home page), scroll down right side of page until Legislator Lookup. Click on this, fill out your address and it will show you your elected officials for your area.
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