Eat This Bread, Drink this Cup [congregation sings refrain] Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to me and be hungry. Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in me and you will not thirst. I am the bread of life, the true bread sent from the Father…(Refrain) Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but this is the bread come down from heaven…(Refrain) 3. Eat my flesh and drink my blood, and I will raise you up on the last day…(Refrain) 4. Anyone who eats this bread, will live forever… (Refrain) 5. If you believe and eat this bread, you will have eternal life….(Refrain) 1. 2.
In God Alone My Soul
Welcome to First Church May you be blessed and feel God’s presence at worship this evening. We extend a warm welcome to all and invite you to participate in our many family of faith activities. You will find our web site: www.fpcnorfolk.org to be complete and easy to use, including audio sermons posted each week along with registration for some activities.
ADD TO THE COMMUNITY FEB 26 TO APRIL 8, 2012 Commit to Adding to the Community by accepting the PRA•X•IS Evangelism Challenge. The Add to the Community Sermon Series runs from February 26-April 8. The PRA•X•IS Evangelism Challenge is available for download online at www.fpcnorfolk.org. It includes a two-page instruction letter and a small number of business card-sized reminders. You can also pick up printed copies in the Loft.
Wednesday Night I.D. Being a Contagious Christian
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
With Jim Gates & Valena Hoy Starts Wed. February 29th Wednesday I.D. (Institute of Discipleship) - Dinner is 5:30-6:15pm Cost: 6th Graders to Adults is $7.00
Wait for the Lord Wait for the Lord, whose day is near. Wait for the Lord: be strong, take heart!
BENEDICTION
Creative Kids For Christ Session 4 Begins Feb. 29th [Age 4-Grade 5] Register Online or contact Hunter Johnston at hunter@fpcnorfolk.org. K to 5th-$5.00; Preschool is FREE! Max per family is $20.00. Classes Include: K-5th Grade- Creative Kids for Christ - 4:30 - 7:15 with a break for dinner from 5:30 to 6:00pm. Our students will develop their music skills, worship leadership skills and create multi-media art for the upcoming church wide art exhibit called "Lost.” 6-8th Grade- C.O.R.E.: Creating Our Rewards Eternally — Begins after dinner 6:15pm till 7:15pm. Artwork created during this session will be on display at the church-wide art show called "Lost" on March 25. Registration with more information can be found on-line: www.fpcnorfolk.org.
F EBRUARY 22, 2012 Pastors: Jim Wood, Valena Hoy, Jim Gates Chancel Choir Director: Susanne Sechrist Chancel Choir
Seeking Christ, Sharing His Love 820 Colonial Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23507 (757) 625-1697 † www.fpcnorfolk.org † fpc@fpcnorfolk.org
ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE FEBRUARY 22, 2012
6:15 P.M.
LITANY OF PENITENCE Preparing for Worship Meditative Singing Singing is one of the most essential elements of worship. Short songs, repeated again and again, give it a meditative character. Using just a few words they express a basic reality of faith, quickly grasped by the mind. As the words are sung over many times, this reality gradually penetrates the whole being. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God. It allows everyone to take part in a time of prayer together and to remain together in attentive waiting on God, without having to fix the length of time too exactly. To open the gates of trust in God, nothing can replace the beauty of human voices united in song. This beauty can give us a glimpse of "heaven’s joy on earth," as Eastern Christians put it. And an inner life begins to blossom within us. These songs also sustain personal prayer. Through them, little by little, our being finds an inner unity in God. They can continue in the silence of our hearts when we are at work, speaking with others or resting. In this way prayer and daily life are united. They allow us to keep on praying even when we are unaware of it, in the silence of our hearts."
–from the Taize website.
Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
(HOLY SPRIRIT COME TO US) - TAIZE MUSIC
We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord. We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,
“Open Wide Your Heart”
Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people,
THE SACRAMENT OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST
Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION PRAYER OF CONSECRATION THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord. Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord. Psalm 51: 1-17, Page 520, O.T., NRSV For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,
CELEBRATION OF THE LORD’S TABLE Sharing the Elements [People come forward to receive ashes and the communion elements.]
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (The table of our Lord is at the center of life as a Christian community and stands as an invitation to the fullness of life that God intends for each of us. At the table we celebrate the promises of our baptism, that Christ can be alive in us and we in Him. Our Lord invites all of God’s baptized to His table regardless of age, denominational connection or social status. The choice to commune at this particular table is yours; however, please do not feel obligated.)
Accept our repentance, Lord.
MUSIC DURING COMMUNION For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord. Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great. The Sacrifice you accept, O God, is a humble spirit.
Jim Wood
INVITATION TO THE LENTEN JOURNEY IMPOSITION OF ASHES
We confess to you, Lord.
OLD TESTAMENT READING
MEDITATION
We confess to you, Lord.
Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
OPENING PRAYER
Your Word, O Lord
Have mercy on us, Lord.
We confess to you, Lord.
VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS
2 Corinthians 5:20b - 6:12, Page 181, N.T., NRSV
We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION CALL TO WORSHIP–Psalm 50: 1-6
NEW TESTAMENT READING
SILENT PRAYER ASSURANCE OF PARDON- 1 Timothy 1:15-17
O Lamb of God Most Holy! - Hymn No. 82 O Lamb of God most holy! Who on the cross did suffer, And patient still and lowly, Yourself to scorn did offer; Our sins by You were taken, Or hope has us forsaken: Vs 1 & 2: Have mercy on us, Jesus! Vs. 3: Your peace be with us, Jesus!