PAUSE FOR REFLECTION
What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”
― Maya Angelou
CALL TO WORSHIP Margaret Wheatley, Turning To One Another
“We can’t be creative if we refuse to be confused.
Change always starts with confusion; cherished interpretations must dissolve to
make way for the new.
Of course it’s scary to give up what we know, but the abyss is where newness lives.
Great ideas and inventions miraculously appear in the space of not knowing.
If we can move through the fear and enter the abyss, we are rewarded greatly.
We can then rediscover our creativity to change the world.”
OPENING HYMN In the Midst of New Dimensions, Glory to God #315
MINUTE FOR MISSION “Oregon’s Racist Legacy” Learning Community, Karen Butler
Recognition and Blessing of Southminster Participants:
Mary Gehr, Claire Schrader, Alice Check, and Calvin Taylor.
CHRISTIAN READING Matthew 25: 31-46. “The Sheep and the Goats”
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
THEME VIDEO Matthew 25 Pledge
SERMON
“When Did We See You?”
Rene Myers, PCUSA Mission Advocate
If you are please, please join us at 10 AM on Zoom.
Click here to read the sermon text.
SHARING THE PEACE Whole Group Talk Back Discussion
- How do you recognize and acknowledge white supremacy in yourself? …at Southminster?
- How are we critiquing our own structures at Southminster with an eye towards inclusion and equity? Our leadership structures?; Our worship style and format?; Our work in the community?
- How are we using our collective voice to affect change in the social and economic systems of our city? … of our state? … of our nation?
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH “We Choose Welcome”, PCUSA Awareness Campaign
In the midst of fear of terrorism and radicalism, we choose to welcome
those who flee from terror and tyranny.
In the midst of hate speeches and hate crimes, we choose to welcome those who are rejected
because of their skin color or their foreign dress.
In the midst of anxiety about our own economic prosperity, we choose to welcome those who come from distant lands to labor in our fields and our warehouses.
In the midst of political debates which seek to divide us between those who are born here and those who are not, we choose welcome, a welcome for all children of God, proclaiming one household.
RESPONSIVE HYMN “We Shall Overcome” (Glory to God #379) Morehouse College Glee Club
Minute for Mission, Offering and Announcements:
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 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).
DOXOLOGY
Through all our living, we our fruits must give.
Good works of service are for offering.
When we are giving, or when receiving,
We belong to God.
We belong to God.
We belong to God.
We belong to God.
