News & Announcements

March 5, 2023 | Second Sunday in Lent

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Events and Announcements

Explore the calendar of events and recent announcements to take another step into our life together this week.

Prelude

A Romp, Arr. Thomas Keesecker

Call to Worship

I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in,
from this time on and forevermore.
Let us worship God.

Hymn #3, “Womb of Life and Source of Being”

1 Womb of life and source of being,
home of every restless heart,
in your arms the worlds awakened;
you have loved us from the start.
We, your children, gather ’round you,
at the table you prepare.
Sharing stories, tears, and laughter,
we are nurtured by your care.

2 Word in flesh, our brother Jesus,
born to bring us second birth,
you have come to stand beside us,
knowing weakness, knowing earth.
Priest who shares our human struggles,
Life of Life and Death of Death,
risen Christ, come stand among us,
send the Spirit by your breath.

3 Brooding Spirit, move among us;
be our partner, be our friend.
When our memory fails, remind us
whose we are, what we intend.
Labor with us; aid the birthing
of the new world yet to be,
free of servant, lord, and master,
free for love and unity.

4 Mother, Brother, holy Partner;
Father, Spirit, Only Son:
we would praise your name forever,
one-in-three and three-in-one.
We would share your life, your passion,
share your word of world made new,
ever singing, ever praising,
one with all, and one with you.

Prayer of Adoration

Call to Confession

Our God does not slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper and your shade at your right hand.
Let us confess to our ever vigilant and ever faithful God.

Prayer of Confession (together)

Gracious God, we are selfish and arrogant.
We have overlooked human dignity;
we ignore the needs of minorities, migrants and immigrants.
We hear the cries of the land, women, children, and young people,
but we have not done enough to respond to the grace that we have received.
These actions have caused some people to suffer and experience oppression.
Have mercy on us and forgive us.

Kyrie

Composed by Dinah Reindorf

Silent Prayer

Assurance of Pardon

O God, you are faithful and righteous. May you forgive us, cleanse away our sins, and help us live in the light. May you provide us with a spirit of wisdom and revelation as we come to know you and be filled with love and faith. May you reveal yourself to us so that we may know the immeasurable greatness of your power. Amen.

Response of Praise: Hymn 582, “Glory to God, Whose Goodness Shines on Me”

1 Glory to God, whose goodness shines on me,
and to the Son, whose grace has pardoned me,
and to the Spirit, whose love has set me free.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.

2 World without end, without end. Amen.
World without end, without end. Amen.
World without end, without end. Amen.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.

Passing of the peace

Life in Community

Thank you for joining us for worship! Explore the calendar of events and recent announcements to take another step into our life together this week. If you’re joining us for the first time or would like to learn more about Catonsville Presbyterian, you’re welcome to share your email with us. We’ll send some information that will help you get connected.

Children’s Message

Prayer for Illumination

O Lord, may the words of your mouth be our daily bread,
and may the leading of your Spirit become our way,
in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-19

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

Message, “Informed Prayer, Prayerful Action”

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer

Today, we are called by Christian women throughout the world on this World Day of Prayer into informed prayer and prayerful action. We pray today “with, rather than for, our sisters of other races and nations [to enrich] our experience and release the power which must be ours if we are to accomplish [what we must do]” for peace and justice in our world.

Today, we are bold enough to pray with this community of women:

… For those we call and treat as enemies. May we look for your face in their lives and their story. Center their humanity once again in our hearts, even while we do not forsake accountability for those actions that may diminish your goodness.

 … For those we call friends and those whose lives we revere. May we never take for granted the gift they are as a gift from you. We pray that we may be such a gift to the friendless and the lonely. May we give from that which we have experienced with such joy and delight for ourselves.

… For our chosen families. Amidst the diverse configurations of family among us, may we appreciate the gift of our family and the gift of others’ families regardless of their structure and gender configuration.

… For ourselves and our bodies, where too seldom we see your image woven in us. May we value these vessels, caring for them at their best and as they ultimately falter and decline over time.

… For our minds, which bring creativity, ingenuity, and collaboration to the human community and to creation itself. We pray with thanks and with a continued calling. May we use our minds for the good you intend and never to harm nations, neighbors, or nature.

 … For your world. May we confirm the rights within every people and nation, having the same divine image and righteous potential as our own. We pray for our ailing planet, that we may care for her as the beautiful and only home she is for all.

… For those who labor, that they may find flourishing and just compensation for their work. May we not look to grant the minimum compensation for those who work for us, but rather to grant that which gives them life, home, and health for themselves and those in their care. We pray for a country where living wages rather than minimum wages are the standard, and where family leave is viewed as an investment in better work and better collegiality in the workplace.

 … For the Church. May the body of Christ be renewed in her strength and purpose. May we, as the body of Christ in this place, look not to fill empty seats so much as empty hearts. May we be reminded that only after your children no longer struggle for food, clothing, and shelter, can they turn toward nurturing a relationship with you and a love for the world. May we do our part to help people find their basic needs through community in all its forms.

Now hear us as we pray by name and circumstance for those closest to us…

Just as you have wrapped your arms around each circumstance spoken aloud, you have also embraced the unspoken and unknown needs among us and in the world. We acknowledge those private prayers known only in individual hearts and those perhaps beyond the reach of our knowledge in this moment. We pray for all these things in the name of our gracious Savior, joining our voices and praying the prayer Christ taught us, saying:

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.

Call to Offering

Offertory, “There Is a Balm in Gilead”

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Doxology #607, “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Christ, all people here below;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore;
Praise Triune God, whom we adore. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

We return these gifts to you and relinquish our control over them, O God,
that you may use them beyond us, beyond this place, and beyond self-interest
that your love may abound in the flourishing of every living thing you have entrusted to us.
Amen.

Hymn #504, “We Come as Guests Invited”

1 We come as guests invited
when Jesus bids us dine,
his friends on earth united
to share the bread and wine;
the bread of life is broken;
the wine is freely poured
for us, in solemn token
of Christ our dying Lord.

2 We eat and drink, receiving
from Christ the grace we need,
and in our hearts believing
on him by faith we feed;
with wonder and thanksgiving
for love that knows no end,
we find in Jesus living
our ever-present friend.

3 One bread is ours for sharing,
one single fruitful vine,
our fellowship declaring
renewed in bread and wine:
renewed, sustained, and given
by token, sign, and word,
the pledge and seal of heaven,
the love of Christ our Lord.

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

Invitation to the Table

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

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.

Gracious and Holy God, you created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them.
We praise you for you are our maker!
We praise you for taking pleasure in your people and lifting up the humble.
In all ages, you have been faithful to us even when we were not faithful to you.
You have sent prophets and witnesses to call us back to you when we ourselves grew weary, stumbled, or fell from your way.

Out of your great love, you sent One who was more than witness:
Jesus Christ, your only Son, our Savior.
Born of Mary, he lived among us sharing our joys and our sorrows,
even suffering the pains of death.

By your power at work in Christ, he was raised from the dead
and is now seated at your right hand in the heavenly places,
above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the age to come.

Gracious God, by the power of your Holy Spirit,
help us to set our hope on Christ and live for the praise of his glory.
Pour out your Spirit upon us, as you have poured out your Spirit on generations past,
so that our love for all the saints might increase,
and also our love for the world you love.

May the bread we break and the cup we bless be for us the communion of the body and blood of Christ, until that day, until that great and promised day, when we will feast in unity with all the saints in your eternal realm.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor are yours, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Communion of God’s People

Water Lily, Matt Riley

Prayer of Gratitude

Gracious God, you have fed us at your table,
a table that unites us in the love and fellowship of Christ.
Send us out now, in hope and faith,
that we may see and share your justice and your peace.
In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Hymn #765, “May the God of Hope Go with Us”

May the God of hope go with us every day,
filling all our lives with love and joy and peace.
May the God of justice speed us on our way,
bringing light and hope to every land and race.
Praying, let us work for peace;
singing, share our joy with all;
working for a world that’s new,
faithful when we hear Christ’s call.

Benediction

Postlude

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Arr. Mark Patterson

Worship materials are adapted from 2023 World Day of Prayer USA. WDP is an ecumenical movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer and action each year on the first Friday in March. Each year a different country serves as the writer of the WDP worship service, interpreting the Bible in their own context, and lifting up issues of mission, justice and peace. WDP 2023 is brought to us by the women of Taiwan.

Participants

• Dorothy Boulton, Associate Pastor
• Keith and Kathy Glennan, Ruling Elders, video production
• Greg Knauf, Director of Music
• Kenneth Kovacs, Pastor
• Vickie Lord, social media support
• Dottie Marshall, Ruling Elder,
  sanctuary set up
• David Hutton, Ruling Elder, liturgist

Sources

• Book of Common Worship (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2018).
• Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013).
• Presbyterian Outlook, 2022, Kyle Walker
• Children’s Message materials adapted from “Walking through Lent Towards Easter,” by Kathryn “Kat” Green, Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church, Lent 2023
• Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-734388; CCLI Copyright License B 20481088 + Streaming License B 481071

Image: Untitled painting by Hui-Wen Hsaio, commissioned by the World Day of Prayer USA Committee and the World Day of Prayer Committee of Taiwan.