WESTPORT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE
SEASON OF PENTECOST
June 14, 2026
PRELUDE: Deep River setting by Nicholas Palmer
CALL TO WORSHIP: (from Psalm 116)
One: The Lord hears us when we cry out.
All: Praise the Lord!
One: The Lord showers us with blessings.
All: Praise the Lord!
One: Let us lift up the name of Lord for all to hear!
All: Praise the Lord!
One: Let us sing of God’s endless grace and compassion!
All: Let us worship God!
OPENING HYMN: #12 Glory to God Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
UNISON CONFESSION OF OUR NEED OF GOD:
All: Loving God, we have not lived as you have called us to live. We give up too easily. We lose hope. We allow our imaginations to be restricted by the voices of the powerful. We ignore our neighbor’s cries for help and are silent in the face of injustice. We fail to see your blessings among us and overlook glimpses of goodness all around us. Strengthen us with your grace that we might be enlivened for service and for love. Lord, hear our prayer. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF GOD’S GRACE:
One: Friends, God loves you. God wants to be in relationship with you. God allows nothing to come between you and God. Believe this and know that you are forgiven and freed to love and serve.
All: Alleluia! Amen.
SUNG RESPONSE: #591 Glory to God Halle, Halle, Hallelujah! (Refrain, Sing 2x)
[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: God of joy and wonder, breathe your Spirit upon us. Open our hearts and ears to hear these ancient words and be surprised. Continue to transform our lives towards goodness, flexibility, and love.
All: Amen.
SCRIPTURE READINGS:
One: 1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his;[a] we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him; bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations. -Psalm 100
1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. -Romans 5:1-8
One: May God bless the reading of Holy Scripture.
All: Thanks be to God.
VIDEO MESSAGE: The (Literary) Prayers of George Saunders: Rev. Dr. Jared Witt Transformation as “matterlightbloom”
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN: #385 Glory to God All People That on Earth Do Dwell (verses 1 &4)
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, BLESSINGS, 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: All we have, we have from God, the one who made each of us with unique gifts that together make the body of Christ whole. In gratitude for all we have received, we reach up in thanksgiving, and we reach out in service, sharing our time, talents, and treasures, so that God’s realm may come here and now. Let us consider our gifts given in grateful praise.
OFFERTORY SOLO: If text: Emily Dickinson Emma Witbolsfeugen, soprano music: Mark Patterson
PRAYER OF DEDICATION:
One: Generous God, we give back but a tiny portion in hopes that it may bless the world as you have blessed us. In the name of Jesus,
All: Amen.
CLOSING HYMN (You may rise in Body or Spirit): #720 Glory to God Jesus Calls Us
CHARGE AND BLESSING:
One: Friends, we cannot stay here. There is work to be done out there. Go, be the church in the world. Love boldly. Speak bravely. Laugh joyfully. And trust in what the Lord can do. May the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and forever. Amen.
POSTLUDE: Our Paschal Lamb, that Sets Us Free Sara Glick
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.
- On June 21 there will be a CONGREGATIONAL MEETING following worship relating to the PNC.
SUMMER SCHEDULES:
- Pastor Jared will be on vacation through Tuesday, June 16. 😊
- Deanna will be on vacation from Wednesday June 24 – Tuesday, July 7. Church office hours will be limited during this time. Contact Pastor Jared if you need assistance.
- SAVE THE DATE – SUMMER WORK DAY & CHURCH CLEANOUT:
Saturday, July 11 the church will be having a work day to help with some much needed cleaning and organizing. We will be renting a large dumpster to clear out unwanted items. Volunteers are needed to help remove trash from our basement storage areas and other places around the church. We can also use help with rearranging and organizing the closets & pantries.
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.
WCA FREE EVENTS:
Brad Gregory Sextet
Jazz Concert Series
Summer Dates:
June 21
July 19
August 16
INREACH & OUTREACH IN THE COMING WEEK: (All Events are at the Church, 201 Westport Rd – unless noted)
Monday, Jun. 15 6:30 p.m. Men’s AA Meeting (Fellowship Room)
7:30 p.m. Boy Scout Troop 60 (Westport Rising Room)
Tuesday, Jun. 16 4:30 p.m. Centering Prayer and Silence – 20 min (Chapel)
Wednesday, Jun. 17 8:00 p.m. Mission & Outreach Committee Meeting (Zoom)
Thursday, Jun. 18 11:00 a.m. Resource Center Open & Sack Lunches Distributed
-3:00 p.m. (Fellowship Room)
5:30 p.m. Westport Showers – For Women, Trans, & Gender Non- conforming people (Basement)
6:00 p.m. WCA Pride Month Visual Art Exhibit: Opening Reception Freedom Raynez & Oliver Reid (Chapel & Fellowship Room)
Friday, Jun. 19 JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY
Saturday, Jun. 20 8:30 a.m. Private Rental – Meeting (Living Room/Library)
10:00 a.m. Westport Center for the Arts Board Meeting (Fellowship Room)
Sunday, Jun. 21 6:30-9:00 a.m. Westport Showers (Fellowship Room & Basement)
Connection Hour Small Group: 10:00 a.m. Book Discussion Group
11:00 a.m. Service of the Lord’s Day (Sanctuary)
Children’s Sunday School/Nursery Care (Upstairs Children’s Room)
after church Congregational Meeting
6:00 p.m. WCA Jazz Concert Series: Brad Gregory Sextet (Fellowship Room)
LOOKING AHEAD:
Wednesday, June 24 6:30 p.m. Stewardship Committee Meeting (Zoom)
Tuesday, June 30 6:00 p.m. WCA Pride Concert: Nick May, saxophone & Alex Siu Lun Li, piano (Sanctuary)
Saturday, July 11 SAVE THE DATE: Summer Workday/Church Cleanout
Update on Amendment 5 for August 4 Election from Riva Capellari
Judge Chapman of the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals decided the “resolution (Amendment 5) does not sufficiently inform voters of the resolution’s expansion of the General Assembly’s sales and use tax authority and the elimination and suspension of existing constitutional limits on taxation”.
Ballot language
The argument over the ballot language for Amendment 5 was about the first thing that voters would see, i.e., the most important thing the proposal would do.
The court revised the “fair ballot” language prepared by the secretary of state to explain ballot measures to voters. The court linked the elimination of the income tax to the expanded sales tax base and explicitly states that it allows new goods and services to be taxed.
“The resolution’s curtailment of constitutional limits on the taxing authority in Missouri makes it necessary for a sufficient summary statement to inform voters so that they may assess the costs and benefits of the resolution and make a voluntary decision regarding whether to grant new authority to their legislature,” Chapman wrote.
Barring a final change by the Missouri Supreme Court, the ballot will say:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
- Require legislative phase-out of the individual state income tax based on revenue growth, and authorize the expansion of sales and use taxes;
- Curtail constitutional limits on taxing goods and services; and
- Require local tax rate cuts without reducing school funding if local sales tax revenue increases?”
Missouri Independent, June 6 issue.
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