WESTPORT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE
WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY
October 5, 2025
PRELUDE: O Word of God Incarnate Mendelssohn, arr. Melissa Blanton
CALL TO WORSHIP: (from Psalm 24 & 116)
One: The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
All: the world and those who live in it.
One: What shall we return to the Lord for all the good things God has done for us?
All: We will call on the name of the Lord.
One: Let us worship God with grateful hearts.
OPENING HYMN: Now Thank We All Our God GTG#643
UNISON CONFESSION OF OUR NEED OF GOD:
All: Welcoming God, as we come today to your great table, we realize how small we have made our own tables. Our vision of your grace is too narrow. Our awareness of your mercy is too limited. Our understanding of your kingdom falls short. We live beneath the possibilities you extend to us. Forgive us; raise our eyes; lift our hearts; and inspire our spirits, so that we may live joyfully and abundantly in the way of Jesus. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF GOD’S GRACE:
One: Relentlessly God seeks us out. With abundant grace and boundless mercy, across time and space and through the generations, God seeks us out. This is good news!
All: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God!
SUNG RESPONSE: Halle, Halle, Hallelujah! (refrain, sing twice) GTG#591
[Kids’ Time Front of Sanctuary]
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: Gracious God, illumine these words by your Spirit that we might hear what you would have us hear and be who you would us be, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
All: Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 121 Matthew 14:22–33
CHORAL ANTHEM: Abide arr. Chris Owenby
MESSAGE: Rescue Me! Rev. Melissa Bowers
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN: Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness (verses 1-2) GTG#291
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER:
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.
CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION:
THE OFFERING OF OURSELVES/INVITATION TO GIVE:
One: God’s Spirit continues to fill our lives with generosity. With thanks for God’s ever-present love for us, let us give back a portion of what God has given to us.
OFFERTORY SOLO: O Rest In The Lord, from ELIJAH Mendelssohn Joshua Stark, baritone
PRAYER OF DEDICATION:
One: We give because we have been given so much. Lord, take these gifts and use them to bless our neighborhood and wider world.
All: Amen.
INVITATION TO THE TABLE
GREAT THANKSGIVING
BREAKING OF THE BREAD
COMMUNION
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION:
One: Nourishing God, thank you for inviting us to your table where all are welcome, and for feeding us with the bread of life and the cup of blessing. As you have filled our lives with love and hope, may we be a source of your love and hope for those who hunger for your good news.
All: Amen.
WELCOME: News In, Around, and Beyond the Community
CLOSING HYMN: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less GTG#353
CHARGE AND BLESSING
POSTLUDE: He Watching Over Israel Mendelssohn, arr. W. Scholtes
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 usually meets during the second half of worship in the in the 2nd floor Children’s Space, but is on break for the summer.
- TODAY we welcome Rev. Melissa Bowers who is leading our worship service while pastor Jared is on vacation. Melissa is a chaplain, pastor, and spiritual director. When she is not helping patients, families, and spiritual seekers she enjoys motorbiking and gardening. She and her husband Tim have three grown children and two grandchildren. They live in Kansas City with their cute poodle, Sparky!
- 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.
- JOB OPENING: The church is looking to hire another PART TIME CUSTODIAN. This is a great opportunity for someone looking for some extra income with a flexible schedule. Tasks include things like taking out trash, cleaning and stocking restrooms, etc. If you know of anyone who might be interested, have them reach to Pastor Jared or Bobbie Testa.
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 bread, fruit, meat, cheese, peanut butter are always needed.
- BOARD MEMBERS NEEDED: Westport Center for the Arts is seeking board members who are interested in helping us keep community arts alive in Westport. We are a volunteer board who meets monthly (usually on the 4th Saturday of the month at 10 am) to work on planning programming, fundraising, community partnerships, and marketing. With the recent loss of our board president, we need people who are willing to fill some leadership roles within the organization. Our programming includes Monthly Brown Bag Concerts, Independent Professional Theater, The Dancing Word (poetry & dance) and Visual Art Exhibits. If you have an interest in the arts or know anyone who may be interested in serving on the board, please contact us at [email protected]. Support from our community is needed to keep our organization thriving.
INREACH & OUTREACH IN THE COMING WEEK: (All Events are at the Church, 201 Westport Rd – unless noted)
- Monday, Oct. 6 6:30 p.m. Men’s AA Meeting (Storefront)
7:30 p.m. Boy Scout Troop 60 (Westport Rising Room) - Tuesday, Oct. 7 4:30 p.m. Centering Prayer and Silence – 20 min (Chapel)
- Thursday, Oct. 9 5:30 p.m. Westport Showers – For Women, Trans, & Gender Non-conforming people (Basement)
- Friday, Oct. 10 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Resource Center Open & Sack Lunches Distributed (Storefront)
11:30 a.m. Children’s Mercy TIES (Fellowship Room)
1:00 p.m. Missouri Workers Center Setup Basement - Saturday, Oct. 11 8:30 a.m. Living Integrated (Men’s Support Group) (Storefront)
10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. Missouri Workers Center/Stand Up KC Weekend Training Event (Westport Rising Room) - Sunday, Oct. 12 8-9:30 a.m. Westport Showers (Fellowship Room & Basement)
Connection Hour Small Groups:
9:40 a.m. “Overcoming Dumpster Fire Overwhelm”
10:00 a.m. Book Discussion Group
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:
Tuesday, Oct. 14 5:30 p.m. Happy Hour Gathering (Location To Be Announced)
7:00 p.m. Session Meeting (Fellowship Room)
Friday, Oct. 17 12:00 p.m. Westport Center for the Arts – Brown Bag Concert Series: Thomas Vozzella, organ (Sanctuary)
Sunday, Oct. 19 After Church Baklava with the Dialogue Institute (Fellowship Room)
MISSOURI LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: from Riva and the League of Women Voters
Some resources for legislative information in Missouri
Missouri Action Alliance: http://www.MOActionAlliance.com
Missouri Voter Protection Coalition (MOVPC); https://www.movpc.org/
If you are concerned with the recent legislative action to redistrict Missouri here are some organizations to contact: PEOPLE NOT POLITICIANS MO –Website: https://peoplenotpoliticiansmo.org/
They have filed a citizen’s referendum to gather signatures to put this new map before voters on an upcoming ballot.
Get Trained and Collect Signatures Sat Sept 27 & Sat Oct 4 10am – 2pm
Central Presbyterian Church, 3501 Campbell, Kansas City, MO 64109
Sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/pnpmo/event/846749/
If you are concerned about the recent legislation that restricts the Citizens’ Initiative Petition (the ability of the Missourians to make a change to the Missouri Constitution)
RESPECT MISSOURI VOTERS (Statewide) Website: https://respectmovoters.org/
Signature gathering is underway!! Respect Missouri Voters is a grassroots, volunteer-led campaign working to protect the citizen initiative process and make our government work for everyday Missourians. Their goal is straightforward but vital- pass a state constitutional amendment to protect majority rule in Missouri. We need 2,500 volunteers in order to gather signatures. Join our campaign to pass a ballot initiative for a state constitutional amendment that will BAN politicians from:
Overturning initiatives that voters have already passed Attacking citizens’ ability to use the initiative process Deceiving voters with confusing ballot language
IMMIGRATION KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TRAINING / VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Advocates for Immigrants Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR) provides “Know Your Rights” training for community members who are directly impacted by immigration policies. During this training, we will review people’s constitutional rights. AIRR’s goal is to educate, train and empower as many community members as possible to feel confident with their knowledge of their due process rights in order to exercise them to keep themselves and their families safe. This training also offers a plan of action when a person is detained.
*Find more information about AIRR Know Your Rights training here: https://airrkc.org/know-your-rights
*To sign up to volunteer with AIRR go to: https://airrkc.org/volunteer
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