For Reflection
“I can be changed by what happens to me.
But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
– Maya Angelou
Just for Fun Music Prelude:
Four-year-old Rylyn Clark sings
“Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley
Call to Worship
“Shelter in Place” by Kim Stafford,
Oregon’s Poet Laureate, March 20, 2020
Long before the pandemic, the trees
knew how to guard one place with
roots and shade. Most found
how to hug a stone for life.
Every stream works out on how
to move in place, staying home
even as it flows generously
outward, sending bounty far
Now is our time to practice —
singing from balconies, sending
words of comfort by any courier,
kindling our lonesome generosity
to shine in all directions like stars.
Opening Hymn
The King of Love My Shepherd Is, arranged by Gonzalo L. Gonzalez
Passing of the Peace
Pastor Don: May the Peace of Christ be with you.
Congregation at Home: And also with you.
Pastor Don: Consider three ways that you can extend peace to one another this week through a phone call, text or email.
Christian Reading – Mark 5:24-34
So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Theme Music Video (View & Listen)
Change My Heart Oh God, Original Words and Music by Eddie Espinosa
Epistle Reading – Romans 12:1-2a
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
SERMON
“Touch of Transformation!”
Rev. Don Ludwig
If you prefer to read the sermon text, click here.
Responsive Hymn…. (join in the singing)
Now the Green Blade Rises, arranged by Donald McCullough
Take a moment to listen to the music, perhaps close your eyes, breathe deeply, and be in this moment!
Pastoral Prayer
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear” (Psalms 46:1-2).
Spirit of life and of love, give us courage for the journey. Guide us to live fully in the midst of so much change. May we look to all the things that make life abundant and amazing. Through it all, help us to make a space for the stirring of our hearts. Help us to listen and to pay attention. Give us hope. Give us patience. We especially pray for those family and friends and issues that are on our hearts this morning…. (talk a moment to name them now….)
And as people of faith who have been touched by Jesus, may we touch others with grace and compassion in all that we say and do. Amen.
Time for Offering
As we reflect on all of our blessings, individually and as a community, may we consider how we may give of ourselves so that the work of Christ’s love and peace may continue throughout our world. (Please contact staff@southmin.org, or one of our Trustees to discover simple ways you may give electronically or via mail. Thank you for supporting the staff and on-going ministries of Southminster Presbyterian Church).
Offertory Music
“Opening” by Philip Glass, Performed by Matt Thompson-Aue
Final Blessing and Benediction
Friends, We are resilient people. WE GOT THIS! May we continue to imagine a world of health, hope, peace and solidarity. During WW11 Winston Churchill once said:
“Have no fear of the future. Let us go forward into its mysteries, tear away the veils which hide it from our eyes, and move onwards with confidence and courage.”
Peace to you and your family—always. Amen.
