We Gather In God s Presence...

Transcription

1 February 24, 2019

2 Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany The liturgical color today is green representing the growth and mission of the Church.. 2 We Gather In God s Presence... Prelude Music (Please take time to prepare for worship and silence electronic devices) Greeting and Ministry Updates Introit Over My Head Spiritual Call to Worship (from Psalms 133 and 118) Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth! Amen! O God of all creation, God of community. How good is it when brothers and sisters live together in unity! Knit us together as your people gathered in this place. As we come together in worship, may the words we say bear witness to your good news for all people. Enliven our worship with abundance of your Spirit, for... This is the day which the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! Prayer *Hymn O God of Every Nation LLANGLOFFAN See insert. Call to Confession Unison Prayer of Confession Loving God, you call us out of darkness and into your marvelous light. But we crouch in the shadows, ashamed of the wrong we have done, and of the good we have neglected to do. We allow divisions and discord to reign in our hearts. Yet we know that discord is not your way. Reconciling God, call us back into relationship with you. Equip us for relationships of integrity in our families, in our communities and in the world you love. We pray in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit...

3 Response # 579 Standing in the Need of Prayer v 1 & 4 Spiritual Words of Assurance and Hope Children s Choir Anthem I Thank You, Jesus Spiritual Children s Message STRC Family History Doris Comissiong *Hymn God, How Can We Forgive LEONI 3

4 ..To Hear God s Word... Scripture Genesis 45: 1-15 Page 41 Message Making Peace With Your Past...And Respond with Gratitude Offering Offertory Come Along Home to Jesus McCartha/Mock *Doxology Pastoral Prayer and The Lord s Prayer *Hymn I Then Shall Live FINLANDIA See insert. *Benediction *Postlude.Depart in peace 4

5 GIVING THANKS: Leading Worship Today: Ministers: All the people of the church Preaching: Pastor Jeff Neevel Liturgist: Rev. Scott D. Brown Music: Chanelle Schaffer, Children s Choir, the Adult Choir - with special guests! Greeters: Mike and Chris Jordan Ushers: Dr. Adam Flowers, Joel Comissiong Audio: James Cobb, Henry Ong, Tyler Yannone A warm welcome to our visitors. You are invited to complete the visitor registration forms at the end of the pew or on the back table. We welcome members of Christ Community Reformed Church from Clifton Park, NY, including their pastor, Johan Bosman, who have been here all week helping with hurricane recovery. Also participating in worship this morning, we welcome Rev. Scott D. Brown, Senior pastor of Colts Neck Reformed Church (NJ) and Pastor Jeff s brother in law. Black History Month: The economic conditions of World War I led to a massive movement of African Americans from the South to the North, known as the Great Migration, one of the largest and most rapid mass internal movements in history - perhaps the greatest not caused by the immediate threat of execution or starvation. In keeping with the 2019 theme Black Migrations we are highlighting some of our own STRC family history in the Virgin Islands. (Today s family highlight - Doris Comissiong). XYG Mission (High School Youth) WALL OF GIVIING begins TODAY Your generous donation of any amount will directly support the Mission Trip 2019 Be One to the Dominican Republic. See Keely for more information. Thank you for your support of our youth! Pray for our 2019 XYG Mission Trip participants: Josh Bearden, Marissa Bornn, Chantal Carty, Gregory Christian, Devonte Duncan, Anika Hahnfeld, Hobie James, Haley Jennings, Eliana Lima, Aviela Maynard, Grant Newton, Diego Villegas, Isabel Villegas, Matthew Wojtylak, Nia Woods and Tyler Yannone. Leaders: Cathy Clements, Seth Rogati, Bob & Camille Stolz and Pastor Jeff. 5

6 The Season of Lent begins Wednesday, March 6 with Ash Wednesday service at 7 p.m. including special music and the imposition of the ashes. Next Sunday, March 3, we will welcome Dara Nykamp, Associate Pastor candidate. She will be on island to meet with the Search Committee, consistory and various groups within the church. Please pray for discernment in this call process. In the near future, the Deacons will be meeting to determine distribution of benevolence funds. If there is a charity or cause you would like to recommend, please contact Tina Comissiong, Randy Shaw, Ryan Wisehart, David Haddow or Mary Howe. Thank you! STRC Endowment: By making a Planned Gift to our St. Thomas Reformed Church Endowment, you ll be providing for our church s perpetual financial support. It s a wonderful way to demonstrate your stewardship and pass on our commitment to Christian mission to future generations. Contact Pastor Jeff to learn more. Our faith and tradition of Christian mission are the most valuable treasures we can pass on! Sunday School classes meet each week at 9:15! Students will meet in the Pavilion between 9 and 9:15 and will be taken to their respective classrooms. At the end of the session they will be walked to the Sanctuary prior to the start of the Worship Service so they can sit with their families. The nursery located in the Bakery Square annex is open to children 3 years and under. Volunteers take turns staying with the little ones. Also needed are parents to run Activity Time during the service for children 4 to 7. Bathrooms are in the Undercroft and inside the gate going to Bakery Square. 6 YouthSong Meets Today! STRC YouthSong meets on Sundays from 12 to 12:30 in the Music Room. Each session, we ll cover vocal technique and performance skills as we work on songs to sing in worship and beyond. Come if you re interested in developing a strong, healthy voice! As we build our repertoire, we ll also work on soloing and audition technique. This group is open to all teens (Jr. High/High School). For more info, contact Chanelle or just come check it out!

7 Free Concert TODAY! All are invited to attend Lift Every Voice: A Musical Celebration of Black History TODAY, Sunday, Feb. 24 at 4:30 p.m. at the Memorial Moravian Church. The concert is being presented by Gylchris Sprauve, and will feature performances by multiple singers, instrumentalists and ensembles. RC 2 VOLUNTEER UPDATE Today 17 volunteers from Christ Community Reformed Church, located in Clifton Park, New York, are worshiping with us. They have been staying at the Retreat Center since last Sunday. The team has worked at various sites throughout the community including here at STRC, the Humane Society, LPCC after school program and the Plastic Recycling Project at Plaza Extra. We will be saying goodbye after today s service. We pray for their safe return home and thank them for all their hard work and love! CALENDAR TODAY 9:00-9:45 a.m. 9:15-9:55 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 10:20 a.m :30 p.m. Fellowship Time (at MBW) Sunday School Sunday Worship Senior High Session (Conference Room) YouthSong (Music Room) Tue. Feb :30-1:00 p.m. Salvation Army Lunch Thur. Feb. 28 6:00-7:30 p.m. Adult Choir Rehearsal Sat. Mar. 2 11:00-2:30 p.m. Bethlehem House Lunch Sun. Mar. 3 9:00-9:45 a.m. 9:15-9:45 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 11:30 - noon 12-12:30 p.m. Fellowship Time Sunday School Sunday Worship Children s Choir Rehearsal YouthSong (Music Room) Lectionary Scripture Readings for this week: Exodus 34: 29-35; Psalm 99; Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9: 28-36, (37-43a) 7

8 PRAYER REQUESTS THIS WEEK*: Congratulations to Rev. Rebecca McDonnell and Forrest Broom who were engaged on Valentine s Day! Associate Pastor search process and search committee Committee members: Malcolm Schweizer (Chair), Nalani Figueroa, Bridget Gallagher, Amber Knight, Steve Marsella, Rebecca McDonnell and Bill Thompson For healing and hope: Robert dejongh, Dr. Mark Livingston Hannah Upp, Georgia Ann Murphy and all missing persons in the VI STRC Prison ministry If you would like to volunteer to prepare meals in the coming weeks for the Livingston family, please text Beth Benta ( ) STRC Staff Pastor: Rev. Jeffrey Neevel Minister of Music & Arts: Chanelle Schaffer Church Administrator: Dawn Wheatley Comissiong Operations Administrator: Vicky Gomez Christian Maintenance Supervisor: Charles Edwards LPCC Directors: Noel Regalado and Lucy Sutton Website Manager: Phyllis Carrozza Contact Information Office Phone Street Address 2105 Crystal Gade # 5 St. Thomas, VI Mailing Address PO Box St. Thomas, VI Website: mail@stthomasreformedchurch.org STRC APP free from itunes and Google Play Like us on Facebook: 8

9 I Then Shall Live

10 O God of Every Nation