Welcome Message
HELLO! WELCOME TO WPC
Sunday, April 3, 2022
Holy Communion Worship Service will take place in-person in our Westminster parking lot at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2022. For your convenience, we have also provided an online worship below for those who are unable to attend worship in-person.
Shhh, Virtual Worship is Starting
Opening Praise:
“Gracefully Broken”
(Tasha Cobbs Leonard)
Welcome & Opening Prayer:
Holy and redeeming God, as Moses lifted high the serpent in the wilderness, so Jesus was also lifted up for the salvation of the world. We thank you for this season of Lent during which we remember anew your loving and redeeming acts toward us. We thank you for your ongoing creative energy in the world; for bestowing upon us gifts through which we may participate in your life and work; for enabling us through the power of the Holy Spirit to carry on the message and ministry of your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask that in these moments of worship, you will speak to us and impart again the word which we most need to hear, so that we may respond to you with love and faithfulness. Amen.
We recite together the Apostles Creed:
Let us together recite the Apostles Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
Opening Hymn:
“Dear God”
(Smokie Norful)
Old Testament Scripture Reading:
Psalm 126
CHURCH NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Next FELLOWSHIP COFFEE HOUR via Zoom
is to be announced.
Fellowship with your Westminster Family. Let’s join one another for a check in and fellowship following the morning virtual worship service via zoom. Join the Zoom Coffee Hour Meetings – Let’s Chat! – CLICK HERE
Attention Westminster Family
~ ANNOUNCEMENT HIGHLIGHTS ~
- Wednesday Bible online 1:00 pm
- Prayer Meeting via phone 5:30 pm
- Thursday Food Give Away in Parking Lot 11:00 am
- 1st Sunday worship 10:00 am in the Parking Lot
PRAYER MEETING:
Wednesdays at 5:30pm
Please join us for the via conference call.
Phone: (339) 209-4324 – (no code is needed)
BIBLE STUDY
Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.
As of Wednesday, September 9th, we will meet for our Bible Study at 1pm as to not conflict with the food giveaway ministry. Join Pastor Rhoden for our weekly zoom virtual Bible Study. – CLICK HERE
NBPC-SC
BIBLE STUDY & PRAYER:
Wednesdays at 12 Noon
Interaction Based discussions/Scripture Translation will continue until the end of the summer. – GET DETAILS!
*** FOOD GIVE AWAY ***
Thursdays at 11:00 a.m.
We know that times are tough. Thanks to our partnership with Immanuel Presbyterian Church, we’re giving away FREE FOOD to the community. Come and get your free box of food in the parking lot of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles on Thursdays.
LEARN MORE ~ Click Here
Prayers of the People:
We enter into the stillness of prayer and gaze at the days stretching before us, leading us to the glory and hope and promise of new life on Easter Sunday. As the days stretch toward Easter, let us give of our time to those in need of an encouraging visit or to a child in need of engaging play. And then, O God, stretch us to give more as we listen to one whose grief wears heavy. Let us give of our talents during this time of Lent, and volunteer to serve where our talent meets a need in our church or in our community. And then, O God, stretch us to share our talent with a young person who wants to learn. Let us give of our gifts as we walk through Lent, acknowledging our abilities honestly and sharing them with those who need what we have to offer. And then, O God, stretch us to be silent and still and discover new gifts and new ways of sharing. Open our eyes to the needs of those who live near to us and those who live across the seas, and then open our hearts to feel the pain of need and then let us open our wallets to ease the discomfort of poverty of life or poverty of spirit. And then, O God, stretch us to give more. Stretch us until we feel the twinge of pain which allows us to fully feel the joy of giving. Such are the tasks of Lent … stretched out on our own cross so that we might know the joy of new life that Easter promises.
So let us pray the prayer Jesus the Christ taught us to say… Our Father, who is 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.
GIVING
Call for the Offering & Offering Prayer:
Long-suffering God, we hear the words of the familiar parable and, at different times, see ourselves as either son. We have received—or demanded—blessings to which we were not entitled and squandered them in self-indulgent living. We have also looked out from our place of superiority and favor and have been indignant over your lavish dispensing of love and mercy. As we bring our gifts this day, we do so in the humble gratitude and recognition that any and all blessings in our life come as your gift of grace. We pray in the name of your greatest gift, Jesus our redeemer. Amen.
Offertory Song:
“So Good”
(DOE Jones)
Tithes and offerings:
New Testament Scripture Reading:
~ John 12:1-8 ~
Sermon Song:
“Alabaster Box”
(CeCe Winans)
SERMON MESSAGE
Sermon:
(Holy Communion Parking Lot Worship Service)
TBA
HOLY COMMUNION
Invitation to Communion, Words of Institution, and Communion to the People
Call to Confession:
Our God is ever more ready to listen than we are to pray. Let us bring our whole selves to this time of prayer, opening our hearts to God in honest acknowledgement of our shortcomings.
Confession:
In these moments of stillness, let us think back to those wonderful resolutions that it seems we just made as the new year began. It is only March and yet … we confess those resolutions thoughtfully made were quickly broken. So we come to you again, accepting God, to admit we have fallen short and to give our good intentions another try. We confess that we have squandered our time instead of having meaningful interaction with the children in our lives. We regret that we have neglected our lonely neighbor, our elderly church member, our homebound acquaintance. We are sorry for the times we have spoken in anger or impatience when a listening ear or kind word would have helped instead of hindered. In these moments of silent stillness, we offer our private confessions for those things which weigh down on our hearts and minds. (Silence.) Unburdened now, let us choose an intention and pledge before God to make our intention a reality as we travel the Lenten road to the new life of Easter.
Assurance of Pardon:
My friends, know that God hears our prayers which we say together and which we have lifted in the silence of this sanctuary of safety and love. Lent offers us a chance to begin again, knowing that God knows us through and through and loves us still. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Communion Song:
“He Looked Beyond My Faults (Amazing Grace)”
(Stephen Akins)
Communion:
Communion with Westminster Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles
CLOSING PRAYER
Send us forth on our Lenten journey.
Send us forth through the wilderness of our world.
As Moses gave the Hebrew people God’s symbol of forgiveness and hope,
give to us, Lord, your spirit of forgiveness and grace.
Send us out through the desert moments of our lives,
into the light and life of God’s new dawn.
Amen.
Closing Song:
“I Want God”
(Maurette Brown Clarke)
We hope you enjoyed Virtual Sunday Worship.
ADD YOUR COMMENTS BELOW, SHARE THE WORSHIP,
& JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT COFFEE HOUR on ZOOM. Date to be announced.
MEET PASTOR RHODEN
Rev. Carlton A. Rhoden
Westminster Presbyterian Church / Los Angeles
Rev. Carlton A. Rhoden became the Pastor/Head of Staff of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in April, of 2014. Rev. Rhoden comes with a wealth of experience, having formerly served as Senior Minister of the First Baptist of Los Angeles from 2006 until 2013. Rev. Rhoden earned a Masters of Divinity from the American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley California in 2005. Upon graduation Rev. Rhoden was awarded “The J. Alfred Smith Sr. Award for Outstanding Ministry in the Black Church”. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School Summer Leadership Program class of 2005. Rev. Rhoden received a Bachelor of Science in Social Work with a minor in African American Studies from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in 1999. While at Stockton, Rev. Rhoden was a member of the Men’s Basketball team, a member of Student Government, and pledged Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
He is also active in community organization, most recently with Oakland Community Organizations. He is nationally recognized for his expertise in this field and has provided advice and consulting for community organization groups from coast to coast.
Carlton is married to Nikki Thomas-Rhoden. Nikki holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. They have two children, CJ and Maya. Nikki is a Social Worker who has a great concern for children in need. She is a graduate of Richard Stockton College of N.J. (B.A.), and a Master’s of Public Administration from Cal State Hayward. She is currently employed at Penny Lane Centers as a Site Director of Wrap Around. She is devoted to her family and the ministry of Westminster Presbyterian Church Los Angeles. Most importantly she is the best wife and mother a man and his children (Maya and C.J.) can have.
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