Westport Presbyterian Church—The Phoenix is Rising!—August 13, 2023
A Service & Message Centered on the Story of Jesus Walking on Water
(Video will be posted LIVE on the church’s FB page at 11am and then cross-posted here. 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: Wade in the Water—setting by Chris Nole
CALL TO RETURN TO OUR SOULS
Pastor: Be alert, my people, for the grace of the Living God!
People: The Light Of The World starting to shine within us. We can see again.
Pastor: The scattered and shattered places within becoming whole.
People: Our worst wounds are being healed.
Pastor: The Mysterious One’s constant, liberating power.
People: The inner light Christ is always kindling!
Pastor: We are a people freed by the Spirit’s power!
People: Hallelujah!
Pastor: We praise God!
People: We praise the One Whose Beauty is everywhere!
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN: I, the Lord of Sea and Sky (Here I Am, Lord) GTG#69
UNISON CALL TO CONFESS OUR LACK OF WILL TO CONFRONT EVIL, THEN COMMIT TO TRANSCEND THIS SELF DEFEATING MINDSET
Confrontation is not bad. Goodness is supposed to confront evil. Our silence is complicity. The best thing we can dois be a servant of God. It does good to stand up and serve others. We will no longer stand back while the future beckons us on! The eyes of the world have been focused on us,and somehow we are led to believe racial segregation will end in this country. We are a fire you cannot put out. Amen.
—Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, founder, Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights—Co-founder with Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, Bayard Rustin (pioneering Black gay rights leader) and Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy—of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference(SCLC)
SUNG RESPONSE CELEBRATING GOD’S GRACE: Be Not Afraid (sing twice) GTG#243
PASSING THE PEACE
Leader: The grace, peace, love and joy of Jesus Christ be with you!
People: And also with you!Leader: Let us share the peace of Christ with one another
BIBLE READINGS: 1 Kings 19: 9-14 Matthew 14:22-33
ANTHEM: Hear the Voice and Prayer—Thomas Tallis
Hear the voice and prayer of thy servants, that they make before thee this day.
That thine eyes may be open to this house night and day, ever toward this place, Of which thou hast said, “my Name shall be there.”, and when thou hear’st have mercy on them.
Pastor: May the words of my mouth
People: And the meditations of our hearts
All: Be acceptable in Your sight, Our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
MESSAGE – Uncertain Journeys
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN: Jesus Calls Us GTG#720
WELCOMING
SUNG PREPARATION FOR PRAYER: Jesus, We Are Here (English and Shona) GTG#392
Pastoral Prayer merged with Matthew 25 Prayer, Lord’s Prayer
OFFERTORY: How Great Thou Art—traditional Swedish folk tune, adapted by Stuart K.; Hine—Sarah Baxter, alto
Offering link
UNISON PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Leader: Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well.
People: Hope is the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
Leader: Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture.
People: It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.
Leader: Hope is the deep orientation of the human soul that is sustained at the darkest times.
People: The kind of hope we seek is above all is a state of mind—not a state of the world.
Leader: Hope is a dimension of the soul and is not dependent upon some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation.
People: Hope isn’t a conviction that things will turn out the way we want them to.
Leader: Hope is a commitment to the idea that our lives and our work have a meaning.
People: Let us re-dedicate ourselves and what we give of ourselves to this kind of hope. ………b Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN: Wade in the Water
BENEDICTION
SUNG BENEDICTION RESPONSE: Lead Me, Guide GTG#740
POSTLUDE
A WESTPORT WARM WELCOMING!!
• Bread, Buns, Fruit, Water, Meat, Peanut Butter, cheese are always needed for our INTERRUPT HUNGER work. WESTPORT SHOWERS happen on Sundays & Thursday nights. Women’s underwear needed. Men’s and Women’s shoes. Backpacks!
• Children’s Sunday School is in the redesigned 2nd floor Children’s Space, teaching & learning emphasize Care for the Earth, Sky and all God’s creation. 11:00 a.m. Teachers are focusing on care for the earth in our Sunday School classes.
• We praise God for Stan Morgan’s art exhibit! Tell your friends, neighbors, family, co-workers to come and see the amazing lifetime works of this great artist and human being!
• Wednesday Bible Study via ZOOM is this Wednesday. 6:30 p.m. 75 minutes. We’re studying the Gospel of Mark & are deep into Holy Week. Ask Rev Scott for ZOOM link.
• DOG DAYS OF SUMMER Sunday Pot Luck Brunch after church today! Join in the feast and the friendship!
• FREDitation—a centering prayer experience—is Monday 4:30 p.m. 20 minutes
Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross Sieger Koder, Germany
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