PRELUDE
“Organ Concerto in B Flat Major” and “Un Momento di Contento” G. F. Handel
GREETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS The Rev. Gregg Neel
This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
AN ACT OF PRAISE
*WESTMINSTER CHIMES
*INVITATION TO WORSHIP Junha Kim
We gather as God’s beloved children –
However glad we are, however out of sorts we are.
We come together as a people whom Jesus calls into community –
So this becomes a place where all belong.
We have come to give thanks, to pray and sing, to be with each other –
Let us worship God.
*HYMN #482
“Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty” LOBE DEN HERREN
Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise ye the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
*INVITATION TO CONFESSION Junha Kim
God is gracious and merciful and knows our needs even before they reach our lips. Still, we engage in confession, admitting to God all that rests uneasily in our hearts. Confident of God’s love, let us make our confession, first in silent prayer.
*SILENT PRAYER
*UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Holy and gracious God,
At times we feel so frail and fragile, getting blown about by the latest crisis,
by bad news, by our own short tempers and failings.
You call us to hold fast to what is good,
but so often we flounder,
unable to find that solid thing that will center us again.
Help us, we pray.
Help us to see you as our center,
and to cling to the good that you create in the world.
Help us to set aside all our jealousies and prejudices,
all of our betrayals and lies,
all that adds to the world’s hurt.
Help us to grow even more into Christ’s likeness,
that we will bear his love and truth to the world.
We pray in his name. Amen.
*ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS
Hear the Good News: we are forgiven! We are set free to go out into the world and be the loving, gracious, hopeful people of God!
Alleluia! Amen.
*THE PASSING OF THE PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
AN ACT OF PROCLAMATION
THE SCRIPTURE READING The Rev. Beth Neel
Philippians 1:3-11
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
MOMENTS WITH CHILDREN The Rev. Gregg Neel
SERMON The Rev. Beth Neel
“The Gratitude Muscles”
A MOMENT FOR SILENT REFLECTION
AN ACT OF RESPONSE
*HYMN #552 vv. 1, 3, AND 4
“Give Thanks, O Christian People” ES FLOG EIN KLEINS WALDVÖGELEIN
Lord, when I came into this life
You called me by my name;
Today I come, commit myself,
Responding to Your claim.
In all the tensions of my life,
Between my faith and doubt,
Let Your great Spirit give me hope,
Sustain me, lead me out.
So, help me in my unbelief
And let my life be true:
Feet firmly planted on the earth,
My sights set high on You.
SHARING JOYS & CONCERNS The Rev. Gregg Neel
(At the conclusion of spoken joys, let us pray together, “Thanks be to you, O God.”
For concerns, let us make them our own by praying, “Lord, hear our prayer.”)
PASTORAL PRAYER
OFFERING OURSELVES AND OUR GIFTS
(Text 73256 the word WESTPRESPDX to give using your mobile device. This number will never send unsolicited texts to you. To cancel further messages, text STOP. If you need assistance with text giving, text HELP. Standard text message and data rates may apply. If you’re new to Westminster, please let us know by filling out a pink visitor card and dropping it in the offering plate. Thank you.)
OFFERTORY ANTHEM Calvin Allmon, soloist
“To God Be the Glory” Andrae Crouch
*DOXOLOGY – Hymn #592
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
-OR-
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host;
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
THE INVITATION TO THE TABLE The Rev. Beth Neel
GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING The Rev. Eileen Parfrey
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is truly right and joy to give you thanks and praise, O God, for at creation you filled the Void with light and life, with planets and stars, with seas and mountains, with beasts of field and air and water, with human beings. You called those people to heed your voice, and at times they did and at times they did not. So in the fullness of time you came to us in the man Jesus, who called all of us to follow him.
We follow him this day and lift our voices in praise for all your generous and magnificent deeds. And so with all the saints, we sing a song of praise, joining our voices with the residents of Heaven, who have welcomed our friend Carolyn Zelle, saying:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed are you, O Creator, and blessed is our Redeemer Jesus Christ, who led us on paths of truth and grace, compassion and justice, hope and peace. Blessed is your Holy Spirit, who hovers among us now, and who comes into this bread and this cup, changing these ordinary things into sacred and holy things, the bread of life and cup of salvation. For all these things, we give you thanks. And now hear us as we are bold to say together the prayer that Jesus taught….
THE 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 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.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
On the night before the Lord Jesus died, he took bread, and after giving thanks, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant sealed with my life, given for you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.
RECEIVING THE BREAD AND THE CUP
(Today, the congregation is invited to come forward to receive communion. Someone will hand you a piece of bread, which you will eat. You may then move to the next person, who will hand you a cup of juice, which you will drink. As you return to your pew, you may put your cup in the basket. For those unable to come forward, a pastor will bring you the elements.)
COMMUNION MUSIC
“I Go to the Rock” Dottie Rambo
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION (UNISON) The Rev. Eileen Parfrey
We thank you once again for this meal, this day, this grace. Send us out into your world to be the presence of love and hope to all who despair and fear, that all may have life, and life abundant. Alleluia, alleluia, amen.
*HYMN #507 vv. 1, 4, AND 5
“I Come with Joy” DOVE OF PEACE
I come with joy to meet my Lord,
Forgiven loved and free,
In awe and wonder to recall
His life laid down for me,
His life laid down for me.
And thus with joy we meet our Lord.
His presence, always near,
Is in such friendship better known:
We see and praise Him here,
We see and praise Him here.
Together met, together bound,
We’ll go our different ways,
And as His people in the world,
We’ll live and speak His praise,
We’ll live and speak His praise.
*BENEDICTION The Rev. Beth Neel
*POSTLUDE
“And Again I Say Rejoice” Brenda Portman