Dear Friends,
We love you, we miss you and we're praying for you in this disconcerting time. We will miss being with you for in-person worship tomorrow, but we are providing the below virtual service for you to experience at home. You can see it's similar to the service we hold on a typical Sunday. Feel free to adapt it to you or your family's needs. There are YouTube links throughout for music (prelude, three hymns and a postlude), a five-minute reflection and greeting (from Pastor Jeff from the Sanctuary) and a pastoral prayer (from Pastor Erin from Gillson Park).
Your staff will be working hard this week to keep us connected and to develop a way to livestream worship by next Sunday, March 22. Let us know if you are having technological challenges. Also, let us know what you need - a prayer, a phone call, groceries, a ride, a book or Netflix recommendation. You are not alone!
Also, please know we will be rescheduling the Tower Benefit to later this spring or early summer.
The youth ministry and annual work trip (heading to Hazard, KY, this year) are a vital part of fpcw. We look forward to rescheduling the benefit for sometime in late May or early June - and putting it on with gusto!
But for now let us worship together.
With gratitude and hope in Christ,
Jeff
James Janknegt, "A Little Leaven"
Virtual Worship
First Presbyterian Church of Wilmette
Third Sunday in Lent - March 15, 2020
Call to Worship
When tears are our food, God comes with a feast.
When fear is our path, God brings us courage.
When sorrow is our friend, God comforts and loves us.
When all hope seems lost, God is our rock and our redeemer.
So bring your longing, bring your hope. God is with us here.
Lay down your fears, lay aside your doubts, faith has called us here.
Pour out your soul with prayer and worship.
Wherever we are this morning, we gather together to worship God!
God of great and God of small, God of one and God of all,
God of weak and God of strong, God to whom all things, belong,
Alleluia, alleluia, praise be to your name.
God of land and sky and sea, God of life and destiny,
God of never-ending power, yet beside me every hour,
Alleluia, alleluia, praise be to your name.
God of silence, God of sound, God by whom the lost are found,
God of day and darkest night, God whose love turns wrong to right,
Alleluia, alleluia, praise be to your name.
God of heaven and God of earth, God of death and God of birth,
God of now and days before, God who reigns forevermore,
Alleluia, alleluia, praise be to your name.
Call to Confession
With hope for God's mercy, and trust in God's love, let us admit the truth of our lives and the life of the world, first in silent prayer.
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, what a chaotic and stressful and unsettling week. Our hearts are heavy with many situations and people right now - the spread of COVID-19, the disruption to our lives, the uncertainty about what's next. We ask for your peace. We ask for your hope. We ask for your courage. We ask for your forgiveness. Help us to be gentle with ourselves. Help us to love our neighbors. Help us to discern what is best, to be good stewards, to look out for the vulnerable and pray for all impacted by this virus, especially those caring for the sick and leading prevention efforts. Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness
Friends, our God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The first and last word with God is grace-grace to heal and make new, grace to propel us forward. This is the good news of the gospel-we are loved, forgiven and set free to transform the world.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
Passing of the Peace
The peace of Christ be with you! And also with you.
Psalter Reading
Psalm 121:1-8
New Testament Reading
Romans 8:38-39
Affirmation of Faith
(The Apostles' Creed)
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen.
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 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.
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
(
sing along
with the Episcopal Diocese of Newark as they give us a good reminder)
God of our life, through all the circling years, we trust in thee.
In all the past, through all our hopes and fears, thy hand we see.
With each new day, when morning lifts the veil,
We own thy mercies, Lord, which never fail.
God of the past, our times are in thy hand. With us abide.
Lead us by faith to hope's true promised land. Be thou our guide.
With thee to bless, the darkness shines as light,
And faith's fair vision changes into sight.
God of the coming years, through paths unknown, we follow thee.
When we are strong, Lord, leave us not alone. Our refuge be.
Be thou for us in life our daily bread,
Our heart's true home when all our years have sped.
Unison Charge and Benediction
May we who are merely inconvenienced, remember those whose lives are at stake. May we who have no risk factors, remember those most vulnerable. May we who have the luxury of working from home, remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent. May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when schools close, remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips, remember those that have no safe place to go. May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market, remember those who have no margin at all. May we who settle in for social distancing at home, remember those who have no home. As fear grips our country, let us choose love. During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, let us find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors. And now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you, now and always. Amen.[i]
[i] "Prayer for a Pandemic," by Cameron Wiggins Bellm
