Online Worship - Sunday, August 16, 2020
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person,
but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.
~ Matthew 15:11
Join us this Sunday as we talk how we love one another in the midst of our rules about safety and cleanliness. While our rules about safety are so important, Jesus reminds us that what is most important is how we treat one another, that is the measure of our faith. Our scriptures are Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32, Matthew 15:10-28 and our sermon is entitled "To the Lost Sheep."

We will gather at 11 AM for online worship through Trinity’s Facebook Page and on our website. Don't forget to join us on ZOOM for a special time of fellowship. Click here to join!

Please register your attendance here! You can also list prayer requests as well. To be added to the Prayer Chain click here.

You can download the bulletin here or see below for the order of worship.

Click here for the Children's Worship Bulletin.
Sunday Worship
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 16, 2020 - 11 AM

The Order of Service
Welcome to Trinity online.
As we prepare for a time of worship, we invite you to find an intentional space in your home for worship. We encourage you to light a candle or place something
that reminds you of Trinity or your connection with God nearby.

Preparation for Worship: The Lost Sheep -  Norwegian Folk Song
adapted by Paul Taylor, baritone 
Far away upon the wild heath, on a bitter winter’s day, a sheep went round in circles: it could not find its way. But the herdsman was filled with longing for this sheep he feared was lost; so he set out searching for it in the roaring wind and frost. At last he found the lost sheep, worn out and weak and cold. He laid it on his shoulder and returned it to the fold. His friends and he rejoiced that the sheep had met no harm and that it was back home again, all nestled safe and warm. In heaven there’s rejoicing when one who’s gone astray is rescued and returns from the wild and sinful way. So, Jesus looks for each lost soul, no matter what the cost; for it’s not the Father’s will that one little lamb is lost.

Welcome
As we light our candles in the sanctuary, I invite you to join us in lighting your own candle at home. As we place the cross in the holder, we invite you to place something that reminds you of Trinity or your connection with God in front of you.

Call to Worship: Based on Psalm 133  
How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!
God meets us here.
It is like the precious oil on the head, running down.
God meets us here.
It is like the dew which falls on the mountains of Zion
God meets us here.
For there the Lord ordains his blessing, life forevermore.
God meets us here.

Hymn: O Church of God, United
Prayer of Confession and Pardon:
Merciful God,
     we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have failed to be an obedient church.
We have failed to recognize your image in our neighbor.
We have failed to choose to advocate for your justice.
We have failed to create community which includes all
     and gives to all equal access to your abundant life.
Forgive us we pray.
Heal us we pray.
(Time for Silence and Prayer)
Hear the good news: 
God’s gift of grace in Jesus Christ forgives us
     and sets us free to live full human lives in community.
We may go forth confident of the grace to see with new eyes beyond prejudice;
to imagine with renewed fervor justice and mercy for all,
     and to create with a new will a community
where all are given access to God’s abundant life.
Glory to God. Amen.

Passing of the Peace: We’d love to know you worshiped with us! Please register your attendance here. We also encourage you to comment during the service so we can be in community with you! 

Children’s Time: Hannah Day Donoghue
We invite the children who are worshiping at home to pay extra special attention. Each week Hannah Day Donoghue will send out Worship Bulletin for the children to do at home during this time.

Pastoral Prayer
 
Lord’s Prayer:
Our 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 trespasses
     as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
 
Solo: She Came to Jesus -  Gillette/Vaughan Williams
 adapted by Paul Taylor
She came to Jesus from outside the fold—Canaanite woman! Persistent and bold! Looking to Jesus, she wanted to see one who would help her and set her child free. Claiming a blessing, a touch of God’s grace, she knew God’s love was not bounded by place. Jesus, you listened, debated—then healed—for in her asking, her faith was revealed. God, you still bless those who seek you in prayer. You welcome dreamers who faithfully dare. In Christ, now risen, your mercy extends: those on the outside are welcomed as friends. 

Scripture Lesson: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
   11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2a God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
The Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God.

*Gospel Lesson: Matthew 15:10-28
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.” 21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me. 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon: To the Lost Sheep

Invitation to the Offering: We invite you to consider giving on-line or giving by text! To give on-line, go to Trinity’s website and click on the Giving button in the top right hand corner of the homepage. To give by text, text “GIVE” to 703-783-3034. For further information about online giving see below.

Offertory Prayer
All good gifts come from you, dear Lord,
     and from these riches we bring this offering.
Help us to use it for the furtherance of your purpose in this place,
     and for the benefit of those in need. Amen.
 
Hymn: Jesus, United by Thy Grace
Dismissal with Blessing: Following online worship, we invite you to join us on Zoom for a time of intentional fellowship and conversation.

Postlude: You Shall Go Out With Joy! - Douglas Wagner
Music Notes

Today’s Prelude: “Den Bortkomne Sauen (The Lost Sheep)” is a Norwegian folk song based on Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep. It sets the general mood for a service devoted to “Lost Sheep” and helps prepare for reflections on the “lost”—either those who have strayed or those who are simply the “other” (not the “chosen ones”). The adaptation sung today is based on a recording by Annbjørg Lien for Hardanger fiddle and organ. The folk song text is treated quite freely, both to preserve the rhymed couplets of the original and to condense the original five-verse song into three verses. Some in the congregation may recognize the melody as the opening theme of the movie Fargo.
 
Today’s Solo: “She Came to Jesus” is based on one of today’s readings, Matthew 15:21-28, which tells the story of the Canaanite woman whose great faith persuaded Jesus to heal her daughter, even though he initially told her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”—in other words, that she was outside the fold. The beautiful text, by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, was originally set to the hymn tune “Be Thou My Vision.” In the adaptation sung today, the text is set to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams's song "The Call" from Five Mystical Songs (1911).
 
Sunday Morning at Trinity Church

The flowers on the Altar are given to the glory of God and in celebration of Ronnie Willett’s 30 years of service and dedication to Trinity.

Worship Online this Sunday: While we aren’t meeting in person, we will be worshiping online via livestream on Trinity’s Facebook page and through our website. Each Saturday evening, we will send out an email with links to the worship sites and the bulletin for worship that Sunday. This Sunday, we will invite you to be intentional about finding a space in your home to worship and to be truly present in a time of worship. For additional questions about how to worship online, please contact the Church Office. 
 
Fellowship Time via ZOOM on Sunday after Church: After worship this morning, we invite you to a time of fellowship via Zoom led by our Program Director Hannah Day Donoghue! This will be a time for us to connect after worship, check-in, and to have a time of conversation about worship.Click here to join. For additional questions, contact Program Director Hannah.
Trinity Church’s Weekly News

In August, we will be hosting Outdoor Prayer and Communion Services! Each Wednesday at 8 PM, we will meet in our Courtyard (the grassy area between the Parsonage and the Church) for a Prayer and Communion service. You are invited to bring your lawn chairs to sit comfortably, or feel free to stand! All participants will need to fill out a Health Acknowledgement form, wear a mask, and practice appropriate social distancing. We are limiting registration to 30 participants each Wednesday. At this point, please have each attendee sign up for ONE service. We will add services as the month continues! You can sign up here! For questions contact, Jenessa in the Church Office.

Feedback for Spring/Summer 2020! Hello families who have youth and children 18 and under. Hannah and the Christian Formation team are looking for some feedback about this Spring/Summers Programming. Please fill out the form by clicking here to have your input and voice heard and support the Christian Formation teams planning. Please fill out no later than August 24th.
 
Sign up for Text Alerts from Trinity! We are working on improving our communications! One way we’d like to connect with you is to be able to send you texts alerts with updates about the church. Especially in a season of time sensitive changes, we want to be able to communicate with you quickly and easily. To receive text messages, sign up here!

Join the Trinity Prayer Chain: During times of trial and uncertainty, we pray to grow in our faith and encourage one another. To respond to our growing prayer needs, we will be starting an email prayer chain to share our prayer concerns with one another. We will share joys as well as concerns and needs. If you are interested in being part of this prayer chain, please email prayer@trinityalexandria.org.
 
Drive-through Food Drive for Rising Hope Mission Church:  As more and more people are out of work, the demand on food pantries has increased exponentially.
Rising Hope Mission Church, one of our ministry partners, is looking for non-perishable food items (canned meats, pasta, canned tomato products, cereal, coffee, peanut butter, jelly) as well as personal hygiene items (toothpaste, deodorant). Saturdays from 10 AM-Noon, we are hosting a drive through drop off food drive. Just come by the church parking lot (off Cameron Mills). For the sake of safety for all involved, we ask you to stay in your car, so we can have people drop off food one at a time. For additional questions contact Mary Gillman. For future food drive dates, please see here.
 
Inova Blood Drive: Want to do something to help people during the COVID crisis?
Missing the Trinity Semi-Annual Blood Drive? We are all in this together! Every day over 200 blood donors are needed to give patients a chance to heal.  Help fight area blood shortages by donating at one of Inova’s three donor centers or contact Inova to set up an event with your local neighborhood association. Visit www.inovablood.org or call 1-866-BLOODSAVES (1-866-256- 6372) to schedule an appointment or for more
information. To learn more about COVID-19 precautions Inova is taking click here. For more information contact Carol Bowers at cw_bowers@outlook.com.
 
Centering Prayer meets weekly on Wednesdays from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, via Zoom. Centering Prayer is a 20 minute practice to sit in quiet prayer to make ourselves open to God. A reading is shared by the leader with a short discussion prior to the prayer time. Click here to connect. For more information contact, Alva Smircina.
 
The Lazarus Food Pantry is looking for delivery volunteers. In partnership with Trinity, Fairlington UMC, and ALIVE! the Christ Church Lazarus Ministry has been delivering groceries, Monday through Saturday to Alexandria families in need. Volunteers pick up pre-packed bags of groceries at Trinity and then deliver to around 3 families each time. The date and time of deliveries is flexible. Clients are asked to meet the volunteer outside for a contact-free hand off. For more information, contact Liz Denson.
Tithes and offerings may be sent to Trinity via normal mail (checks only) or via the online donation portal here. You may make online donations directly from your checking account with no check required to be mailed. This will help us immensely as our office will have limited hours to receive and process the checks. However, you may still give by mailing a check - whatever donation you want to provide will be very welcome. We also have the capability to give by text. Just send a text that says “Give”  to:  703-783-3034.
If you want more information on giving by texting works read on:
Step 1. Text the word “Give” - to 703-783-3034. Don’t worry - nothing will be charged to you until you enter your credit card or bank information.
Step 2. You will receive a text back to you saying, “It looks like you are a new giver ; to begin (a link to the text giving site will appear), click on it.
Step 3: A form will appear that will clearly say “Trinity United Methodist Church” at the top left. It will ask you to fill in the following information:
  1. Amount you want to give and the fund you want to give to. If you want to give a general offering, you don’t need to write anything! If you want to give to a specific fund, you can use the following funds: Lent; Flowers; Music; Pastor's Helping Fund
  2. How you want to give - credit card or direct deposit from your bank (called ACH bank transfer)
  3. If you select credit card, it will ask for your name, address, email address and credit card information.  
  4. If you select ACH - it will ask for you name, address, email address and bank routing and bank account information
  5. At the bottom you can select one time gift or a recurring period. Suggest you select one time gift for the first time. 
  6. That is it. Then click on Donate Now!
If you made a mistake or change your mind - no worries just send the word “refund” to the same number the last amount you sent them will be refunded to you! 
Also you can send the word “commands” that will give you a list of options on how to change your account or update your giving amounts. 
If all else fails - please contact Rich McKinney. Thank you again for your giving - no matter how you give!