Westminster Presbyterian Church Galveston Newsletter

SPECIAL DATES

World Day of Prayer, March 5, 2010

Third Sunday in Lent, March 7, 2010

Girl Scout Sunday, March 7, 2010

Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 14, 2010

Daylight-Saving Time begins, March 14, 2010

First Day of Spring, March 20, 2010

Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 21, 2010

Passion/Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010

Holy Week, March 28-April 3, 2010

FELLOWSHIP

We are having a busy month with the dinner on Saturday night March 6 at the Olympia Grill at 6:30 PM address is 2100 Harborside Dr., Galveston, Texas 77550. There will be a sign up sheet on Sunday for those who are interested in going, please sign up so I can get an accurate count of the people going.

On March 27 we are going to Bayou Wildlife Park in the morning , Dennis Bertolino has volunteered to haul anyone who wants a ride in his mobile home.

There will be an Easter Egg Hunt at Dennis and Nancy Bertolino’s April 3 at 10:00 am... we will have coffee and breakfast for adults and children so please come enjoy the fun.

Worship and Education Committee

The worship committee is planning to host a prayer vigil on Saturday, April 3rd from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the Sanctuary in acknowledgment of Holy Week. A sign up sheet will be located in the Fellowship Hall for members of the congregation to sign up for a specific hour to be present during the vigil and the Sanctuary will be open to the community. Anyone is welcome to come to the church during this time to pray and a selection of scripture readings and prayers will be provided in the narthex.

The Lenten Study has been a huge success for all who are attending. The study takes place every Thursday night following a dinner at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall and will end on March 25th. We are discussing the topic of evangelism and what it really takes to bring someone into a closer relationship with God.

The education committee is in the process of planning an Earth Day at the church in April. The intent will be to get the youth and the congregation involved in planting new plants on the church grounds to beautify our church and educate our members about the importance of environmental stewardship.

Pastor's Corner

Praying in a Different Way

Most churches have a portion of the worship service devoted to an extended prayer, usually called the “Prayers of the People” or the “Pastoral Prayer.” Each church does this a bit differently. In larger churches the prayer, often in prose style, is prayed by one of the clergy or lay leaders. It lifts up the particular theme from the scripture readings and general concerns of the church and world. In smaller congregations, it is more common to incorporate prayer requests into the prayer. Some churches have an “open mike” system, where people raise their hands and the minister calls on the person to share their concerns. At Westminster we use prayer request cards to accomplish the same purpose. There are advantages and disadvantages to any approach.

At our last worship committee meeting, a new approach was suggested that I found intriguing – so we will try this during the month of March. The prayer will take a litany form, where there are petitions (for the church, the nation, the world, local concerns, those who suffer, etc.) and congregational responses. We’ve used this type of prayer before. BUT in lieu of prayer request cards, I will offer places during the prayer for people to speak aloud (or in the silence of their hearts) their particular concerns. For example, you are praying for a neighbor who was in a car accident. During the section where we pray for others, after the petition is introduced, you might say aloud, “Please pray for J.C., who is healing after a car accident.” Someone else says, “…for Anne, who lost her job.” Another says, “…for my cousin.” The spoken requests do not need to be long, and they do not need to contain a great deal of detail. We are not sharing gossip; we’re praying!

The appeal of this approach is that it involves the congregation. The word liturgy (order of worship) means the work of the people. So often in the Presbyterian Church the service becomes the minister’s monologue. So during the month of March we will try praying in a different way… and we’ll see how it goes!

Lenten Resource

Here’s a resource to share. I just was given a link to a daily Lenten devotional website. It's www.d365.org It's a joint ministry of Episcopal, PCUSA, and Baptist groups; Episcopresbytists! It's targeted for young adults, but I found it quite appropriate for us older elders as well.