~ Psalm 139:14

This week we are talking about the importance of “Knowing Ourselves.” Knowing ourselves is so important especially as we face times of uncertainty and fear, and most importantly, knowing ourselves is especially important if we want to know God and grow in our faith. The good news is that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image. We will also be receiving a new member on Sunday and we look forward to a wonderful service.

A reminder to make your 2021 Annual Giving Commitment here! We are asking every active person to fill out these commitments before Sunday, November 22^nd!

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.

Click here for the Children’s Worship Bulletin and Coloring Page.

Prelude: I Will Sing New Songs - Antonín Leopold Dvořák 

Welcome and Announcements

We’ve come to worship God, who loved us before we were yet born.

God knows us even better than we know ourselves.

God’s presence never leaves us, and whose love for us never ceases.

This is our God. Let us worship together.

Hymn: When Morning Gilds the Skies - Hymnal no. 185

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! Click here to sign up for all our eCommunications.

Children’s Time: Jill Robinson and Liz Williams

We invite the children who are worshiping at home to pay extra special attention. Each week Hannah Day Donoghue will send out Worship Bulletin and Coloring Page for the children to do at home during this time.

Pastoral Prayer

Solo: The Gospel of Grace - arr. Mark Hayes

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see. 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed. I found free grace and dying love, I’m new born again; been a long time talking about my trials here below. My Savior died for you and me, I know my Lord has set me free. When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we've first begun. I’m new born again.

Scripture Lesson:  Psalm 139:13-18 - Jenn, Gray, and Ellie Ayers

¹³ For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. ¹⁷ How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you.

The Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God.

^*Gospel Lesson: Luke 18:9-14

⁹ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon: Knowing Ourselves

We invite you to consider giving on-line or giving by text! To give on-line, click here and click on the Giving tab. To give by text, text “GIVE” to 703-783-3034. Further instructions will follow. For further information about online giving, please see the Tithes & Offering announcement below.

     and from these riches we bring this offering.

     and for the benefit of those in need. Amen.

Hymn: O Love That Will Not Let Me Go - Hymnal no. 480

Postlude: Voluntary on “God of Grace” - Paul Manz

Antonín Leopold Dvořák (1841-1904) composed his collection of ten Biblical Songs Opus 99 based on Psalm texts chosen by the composer. Today's solo is the fifth, with texts from Psalm 144 and 145. Biblical Songs was written in the space of three weeks in March 1894, while the composer was in New York. Work is in the public domain.

Mark Hayes (b.1953) is an award-winning concert pianist, composer and arranger. He has over 500 published works and is the recipient of the Gospel Music Association's prestigious Dove Award. Today's solo is an arrangement of two traditional spirituals: Amazing Grace and I'm New Born Again. Music ©1998 by Alfred Publishing Co, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-713613. All rights reserved.

The flowers on the altar are given to the glory of God.

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 questions, contact our Program Director, Hannah Day Donoghue.

It is with sadness with you that Audrey Nolan’s mother, Stella Riley, died on Friday, November 6^th, in Ireland. Donations in lieu of flowers are for the benefit of Cancer Focus N.I. c/o Milne Funeral Services 59 Seagoe Road Portadown BT63 5HS. Please send an email extending our sympathies to Audrey and Dan Nolan and their children, Michael and Victoria, and the family of Stella Riley. If anyone wants to send a note to the family, the address is 819 E. Timber Branch Parkway, Alexandria, VA 22302.

Youth Group is in Person from 5:30-7 PM at Trinity. This is our final In-Person Youth Group! We will be completely virtual after this Sunday for the rest of the winter. For more information contact Hannah Day Donoghue.

This I Know... Sermon Series: There is much we don’t know these days. In fact, it feels like our lives are filled with unknowns, uncertainties, and insecurities. We don’t know when a vaccine will be available, we don’t know when it will be widely distributed, we don’t know what 2021 will look like, and many of us are overwhelmed with this unknowing. And yet, as people of God, in the midst of uncertainty, there are also certainties we know to be true. We know God created us in God’s image, we know God called us into covenant, and we know that God never forgets or forsakes us. Through this sermon series, we will look at what we do know. We will remember the commitments that follow this knowledge. This 4 week sermon series will be focused on putting our knowledge into action and will end with Commitment Sunday on Sunday, November 22^nd.

Make your 2021 Annual Giving Commitment Today! During this Stewardship season, we ask you to prayerfully consider making a financial commitment to supporting the ministries at Trinity Church in 2021. Your generosity makes possible the ministry of changing lives, transforming communities, and renewing the church and we thank you for the ways you are giving. This year, we encourage you to make your commitment online! For additional questions or concerns, please contact the Church Office.

Your Stewardship Co-Chairs are seeking your help!! Your Stewardship Co-Chairs are seeking your help!! We would like to ask you to send us a recent photo of you (or your entire family) that we plan to use in an upcoming stewardship moment. It will not be used for any publication other than church use. Should we decide to do anything else with it, we would require your consent.  In addition to photos, as we look forward to Trinity’s 250^th Anniversary we would love it if you would send us “stories of Trinity.” This may be your own story (or perhaps a parent that left it for you to retell). Perhaps this will be part of “A Watermelon for God - the Sequel!”  Please send your photo (and story if you care to do so), to the Stewardship Team. Thank you in advance for your assistance and cooperation! We really appreciate it. Blessings and peace, Jill and Liz, Co-Chairs, Stewardship.

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 or have a prayer request, please email us here.

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.

Rising Hope Angle Tree: It's time to start leaning into advent and with it Christmas! With that comes our Angel Tree. This year, instead of having a tree, we will use this sign up: Trinity's Rising Hope Angel Gift Sign Up Genius to sign up for our angels. Once purchased, the gifts should be wrapped and given a tag with the Child's Name and Angel ID (number and letter of the Angel) visible. Drop off dates for gifts will be alongside the Rising Hope Food and Supply drive on: November 21^st from 10 - noon, November 28^th from 10 - noon, December 5^th from 10 - noon. If you cannot make these dates work for drop off, please contact Mary Gillman to make alternate arrangements. Just a reminder, do not purchase additional things for your child and each item should be no more than $25. If you have any questions please email Mary Gillman.

Virtual Advent Party December 5^th at 5 PM with Christmas Carols and Advent Wreath Making! Come Join Linda, Pastor Grace and Hannah for a night jam packed with Christmas Carols, games, advent wreath making and community as we enter into this Advent season. Learn more and RSVP here.

This week, if you have an email address on file with the Church Office, you will receive an email from the church inviting you to create a member account through our church management system Breeze. Once set up, you will be able to review the information the church has on file about you. You can view and change your phone, address, email and even add a picture! Plus, you will be able to check on your giving status for the year. 

You will receive an email from this address: office@trinityalexandria.org. And the email will look like this:

Trinity United Methodist Church has invited you to create your own member account. You may click the button below to create your username and password to log into the system.  

As you know, we have switched financial management systems for Trinity. If you still give through VANCO, you can access your Legacy VANCO account here. We encourage you to consider switching to Breeze, our new online management system. If you do switch, 

Thank you for however you give, it is all very much appreciated! For additional questions or concerns, contact the Church Office.

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.

Have you wanted to set up electronic giving for Trinity? Great! Here are the simple steps for you to follow:

Step 1. Click here.

If all else fails - please contact Rich McKinney. Thank you again for your giving - no matter how you give!

Sunday, November 15^th

Tuesday, November 17^th

Wednesday, November 18^th

Thursday, November 19^th

        6:30 PM               Trinity Ringers Rehearsal - Sanctuary

Saturday, November 21^st

Sunday, November 22^nd

        5:30 PM               Youth Group via Zoom