Worship Services

9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

Worship Services

April 18, 2010

3rd Sunday of Easter

Westminster Presbyterian Church extends an enthusiastic welcome, in Christ’s name, to all who would worship here or join us in fellowship. We affirm that there can be no exclusion within the body of Christ. We invite all children of God to join us as disciples of Christ and participate fully in the life of our congregation.

Worship Resources – Large print hymnals and hearing devices may be obtained from any usher. Kids’ Notes and worship bags for children are also available from the ushers. Kids’ Notes emphasize listening and seeing during worship.

1502 West 13th Street ♦ Wilmington, DE 19806 ♦ 302-654-5214 ♦ www.wpc.org

Pastoral Staff: Gregory K. Jones, Head of Staff

Anne R. Ledbetter, Associate Pastor

Church Educator: Susan Moseley

Music Staff: Paul Fleckenstein, Organist/Director of Music

Mary Beth Davis, Director of Music for Children, Youth and Handbells

Section Leaders/Soloists: Diana Milburn, Ruth Bailis, Justin Gonzalez, Brian Carter

This Morning at Westminster

8:45 – Noon Child Care for Cribbery (birth – toddler)

9:00 a.m. Traditional Worship Service with Westminster Choir and organ

After Time With Our Children, if you wish, your children may leave the Sanctuary and go to:

v Godly Care — A unique opportunity for children ages 2 – 4 to get to know God through music, crafts, prayers and stories. Classes are in the Under Six Classrooms A & B.

v Godly Play — Children in kindergarten through second grade gather in the Ruth Christie Room to learn the language of God’s people through sacred space, stories, parables and liturgical actions. You may pick up your children in Under Six Classroom C.

v Godly Kids — Worship education for children in grades 3 and 4. You may pick up your children in Under Six Classroom C.

10:10 a.m. Prime Time Sunday School Classes for All Ages

Ø Under Six Sunday School – Under Six Classrooms

Ø Workshop Rotation for Grades 1 thru 5 – Grace Hall & Classrooms 1-4

Ø Prime Time for Grades 6 thru 8 – Classroom 7

Ø Confirmation Class – Classroom 8

Ø Senior High Gathering – Library

Ø Exploring Membership – Classroom 6

Ø Adult Education Classes – Page 6

11:15 a.m. Worship with old hymns, new songs and creative liturgy. Children are

always welcome in worship, however, childcare is available in Under Six

for ages 2 – Grade 2.

Hospitality and Fellowship

The Holy Toast Café, located in Community Hall, is open from 8:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Coffee, tea and fellowship are free. Breakfast foods are available for one dollar per item.

Deacon Team of the Month: Bill Kaye, Steve Stallone, Carol Mosher, Marcia Carle, Ralph Lewis

Later Today

4:30 p.m. Living with Loss – Grief Support Ruth Christie Room

4:30 p.m. Youth Choir Youth Music Room

5:30 – 7:30 p.m. 180° Dinner and Fellowship Community Hall, Cl. 6 & Kitchen

Community Meetings

6:00 p.m. Clean But Not Straight – NA Club Room

8:00 p.m. AA Club Room

ORDER OF WORSHIP AT 9:00 A.M.

Preparation for Worship

Eternal God, maker of heaven and earth, we praise you for the world you have created to be our home. Show us how to love not only animals, birds and all green and growing things, but also the soil, the air and the water by which we live so that we may not exploit or pollute them for our own profit or convenience. May we demonstrate our gratitude for your good creation by our efforts to conserve and recycle the precious resources of the earth, and by our concern for a fair distribution of the riches of earth. Amen.

Welcome and Announcements and Passing of the Peace

Call to Worship

We gather in awe before the Source of all things.

We come to praise the Maker of heaven and earth.

Powerful Presence above us, below us, within us and around us,

touch us with a sense of wonder and a reverence for your good creation.

Introit A Time to Rejoice Louise Frier

Reverberations Handbell Choir

*Hymn No. 455 “All Creatures of Our God and King” Lasst Uns Erfreuen

Verses 1–4

Call to Confession

Prayer of Confession

Loving God, you proclaimed your love for all the world

and called us to be stewards of your good creation.

We confess that we wander from your ways

when we overpopulate the earth and deplete its natural resources.

We work against your desires when we pollute the environment

and drive species of animals to extinction.

Forgive us for our carelessness and our lack of concern for your creation.

By your resurrection power, renew us to care for your gifts,

lest we lose them forever. Amen.

Assurance of God’s Forgiveness

Time With Our Children Susan Moseley

Anthem Prayer to Jesus George Oldroyd

Westminster Choir

Jhesu, since Thou me made and bought, Jhesu, since Thou must do thy will,

Be thou my love and all my thought, And naething is that Thee may let,

And help that I may to Thee be brought, With Thy grace my heart fulfil,

Withouten Thee I may do nought. My love and my liking in Thee is set.

Jhesu at Thy will That I have done ill

I pray that I might be, Jhesu forgive Thou me,

All my heart fulfil, And suffer me never to spill

with perfect love to Thee. Jhesu for pity.

Text: Richard Rolle (1300-1349)

At the asterisk (*), please stand as you are able.

Prayer for Illumination Dede Johnston, Lay Liturgist

Scripture Lesson Genesis 1:20-27 Old Testament, page 1

Sermon “Save the Planet, Save Your Life” Greg Jones

*Hymn “The Earth Is the Lord’s” st. denio

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.

Creation reminds us, O God, of your love.

By grace we are learning, as year leads to year,

we’re called to be stewards, your caretakers here.

Your rain forests nurture the world that we share.

Your wetlands give animals shelter and care.

Your coral reefs cradle the life of the sea.

You’ve shown us, in love, what your good world can be.

May we be good stewards of all that you give,

protecting creation wherever we live.

May we be a church that renews and restores,

and lovingly cares for this earth that is yours. Words by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, 2001

*Affirmation of Faith

God made human beings together with all the other creatures

and charged us to care for the earth and all that lives on it.

We acknowledge we share in the interdependence

that binds together all God’s creation.

Yet God gives us power to rule and tame,

to order and reshape the world.

We hold the earth in trust for future generations of living things.

The Lord forbids us to plunder, foul, and destroy the earth.

The Lord expects us to produce, to consume, and to reproduce

in ways that make earth’s goodness available to all people

and reflect God’s love for all creatures.

The Lord wants us to use our technical skills

for beauty, justice, health and peace. A Declaration of Faith

Offering

During the offering, please sign your name and pass the red folders down each row.

As folders are returned to the center aisle, note the names of fellow worshippers on your pew.

Offertory Beach Spring Arr. John Matheny

Reverberations Handbell Choir

*Congregational Response (Hymn No. 591)

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Christ, all people here below;

Praise Holy Spirit evermore;

Praise Triune God, whom we adore. Amen

Prayers of the People Canticle of the Creatures by Saint Francis of Assisi

(R): Right Side Congregation Recites (L): Left Side Congregation Recites

(R): Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing,

To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

(L): Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun,

Who is the day and through whom You give us light.

(R): And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.

(L): Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,

in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

(R): Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene,

and every kind of weather, through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.

(L): Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Water,

who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

(R): Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night,

and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

(L): Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,

who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.

(R): Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love,

and bear infirmity and tribulation.

(L): Blessed are those who endure in peace

for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

(R): Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,

From whom no one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin.

(L): Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,

for the second death shall do them no harm.

ALL: Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility. Amen.

*Hymn No. 473 “For the Beauty of the Earth” Dix

Verses 1-4

Benediction

Choral Postlude “Jesu, Meine Freude” J. S. Bach

Westminster Choir

Jesu, meine Freude, Jesus, my joy,

meines Herzens Weide, my heart's pasture,
Jesu, meine Zier! my heart's pasture,
Ach wie lang, ach lange, Ah, how long, ah long

ist dem Herzen bange has my heart suffered

und verlangt nach dir! and longed for you!

Gottes Lamm, mein Bräutigam, God's lamb, my bridegroom,

außer dir soll mir auf Erden besides You on earth

nichts sonst Liebers werden. nothing shall be dearer to me.

Going Forth

If you are visiting with us for the first time, we invite you to meet today’s ambassadors,

Fred and Julie Schmitt, at the back of the sanctuary. They will have a gift for you, and can share

information regarding our many ministries for children, youth and adults.

Adult Education Classes

This Morning, 10:10 – 11:00 a.m.

New Classes:

The Stages of Faith; the Psychology of Human Development – Rodney Chapel – through May 2

Session 2 - The Evolution of Faith from Adolescence towards Mature Spirituality

This week’s session will discuss how one’s faith evolves from adolescence to adulthood and the start of the foundation for a mature and encompassing spirituality. Fowler's model contains three stages for this evolution. Some individuals continue to change while others do not. His ideas on how this happens will be discussed.

Writing Your Spiritual Memoirs – Rowell Conference Room – through May 16

Led by Elizabeth Poole and Cynthia Kuespert, this special six-week workshop will focus on writing and sharing our stories of faith, sometimes called spiritual memoirs.

Concluding Class:

Wrestling with Angels: An Intimate Look at the Tough Questions of Life – Daughtry House Conference Room

Today– Love, with author J. Keith Miller

Ongoing Classes:

Parenting – Ruth Christie Room

Participant led, with Yvonne Nass, Parenting Consultant, leading the first Sunday of each month

Westminster By Heart – Meeting Room

Led by Biblical Storytellers Mary-beth Howard and Shelley Gnade

Thursday Evening Class

Exploring Isaiah I, II, and III – Rowell Conference Room, 6:30 – 7:45 p.m., April 22

Engaging the Old and New Testaments as we explore the depths of ancient prophecy

ORDER OF WORSHIP AT 11:15 A.M.

Preparation for Worship

Introit A Time to Rejoice Louise Frier

Reverberations Handbell Choir

Welcome and Announcements

Prelude Beach Spring Arr. John Matheny

Call to Worship

We gather in awe before the Source of all things.

We come to praise the Maker of heaven and earth.

Powerful Presence above us, below us, within us and around us,

touch us with a sense of wonder and a reverence for your good creation.

*Song & Procession of God’s Light “Creator of Mountains” Acolyte: Magnus Murray

Verses 1-4

Used with permission: Onelicense.net # A-715702

Call to Confession

Too often we are driven by impulses rather than our faith in Christ.

We seek God’s mercy and yearn to be transformed.

Prayer of Confession

Loving God, you proclaimed your love for all the world

and called us to be stewards of your good creation.

We confess that we wander from your ways

when we overpopulate the earth and deplete its natural resources.

We work against your desires when we pollute the environment

and drive species of animals to extinction.

Forgive us for our carelessness and our lack of concern for your creation.

By your resurrection power, renew us to care for your gifts,

lest we lose them forever. Amen.

Assurance of God’s Forgiveness

Response “Nothing Can Trouble”