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Good morning! This page is intended to both serve as a continuing worship option for those participating in our worship service from home, and to serve in place of print resources during our in-person worship. Following the worship service on Sunday, one or more video recordings from the service will be placed on this page, including the sermon. This may take several hours, due to the time needed to process the videos. We will email the congregation when the recordings have been posted. If you would like to be added to our congregational email list, please contact pvcob.alive@gmail.com.
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Our annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held Saturday, April 2nd at 10 am. Open to youth and children 5th grade and under. We are kindly requesting candy donations for the eggs by March 20th. See Debbie May for more info.
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This year, to commemorate Easter, the Discipleship Focus Team invites you to a pedestrian/driver Cross Walk, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 14, 15, and 16 April, respectively. It will consist of seven stations around the exterior of Pleasant Valley, depicting passages of Scripture detailing events preceding and following the crucifixion of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Barring inclement weather the stations will be accessible to everyone throughout the three days from morning until sunset. Greeters will be present at the start of the Cross Walk each of the three days, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2:00-4:00 p.m. You will surely find it a thoughtful, contemplative reminder.
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Brethren Woods is looking for donations for their Spring Festival on Saturday, April 30th. Donations are needed for the yard sale and auction. Item suggestions are: comforter’s/quilts, crafts, theme baskets, collectibles, artwork, wooden items, antiques and baked goods. I will be glad to take small items (that will fit in my car) to Brethren Woods. These donations need to be dropped off in the Church Library by Sunday,April 24th. Plan to come out to bid, buy and take home a treasure. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Emily Ashby at 540-480-1313
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Backpack Pals are accepting donations of Pudding Cups and Ramen Noodles! Pudding cups are especially needed. Please leave any donations in the blue bin located in the Narthex. Thank you!
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You are cordially invited to attend the Big Thank You Dinner being sponsored by the District Leadership Team! The event will take place here at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. If you are interested in learning more about our District’s Disaster Ministry, or would like to know more about being a volunteer, please contact
Brenda Diehl at brendadiehl@shencob.org or call 540-514-1343 to register.
Call to Worship
We believe in God —
who brings life from death, joy from sorrow, blessing out of disaster;
who meets us behind our closed hearts and speaks a word of peace;
who never forgets our name, who feels our pain, who renews our lives from the inside out.
We believe in the risen Christ —
who bears wounds so that we might not hide from our own;
who is present to us in our loneliness, our fear, our doubt;
who embraced the hard questions,
faced death’s door and walks ahead into every experience
so we might know we have a Companion on life’s way.
We believe in the Holy Spirit — who is as close to us as the air we breathe;
who inspires the church to be a beacon of light,
an oasis of peace and a fountain of joy;
who blows free as the wind, touching souls,
chasing away the fear, setting loose an alleluia.
We shall live as a people of God.
-Author unknown, adapted.
Gathering Prayer
God who creates,
who gave birth to creation and who chose also to make us
who sought us out in Jesus
who remind us that we were each created to be a part of your family,
send your spirit freshly among us.
Burn away from us everything that divides us from each other,
everything that compels us to live without compassion
everything that persuades us to neglect the stranger
and forgets those who look our sound different.
Equip us to do the difficult thing:
to see with eyes of your love and mercy alone.
Overwhelm us with love for each other
so that we may be made ready to take up the cross of forgiveness,
so that we may be made ministers of your gospel, and not our own,
so that we may see and know your salvation, alive among us.
Redeem us as children in your family, and receive our praise this morning. Amen.
Matthew 5:21-24 NRSV
‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
Confession
God of Love and Justice,
We long for peace within and peace without.
We long for harmony in our families
for serenity in the midst of struggle
and for commitment to each others growth.
We long for the day when our homes
will be a dwelling place for your love.
Yet we confess that we are often anxious;
we do not trust each other,
and we harbor violence.
We are not willing to take the risks
and make the sacrifices that love requires.
Look upon us with kindness and grace.
Rule in our homes and in all the world;
show us how to walk in your paths,
through the mercy of our savior. Amen.
Hymnal: a Worship Book #696
In Prayer Together
Gracious God,
In love You created us,
and in love You sustain us, day after day.
So it is with confidence that we bring our prayers to You,
knowing that You hear us, and will respond.
We offer our prayers for the world around us.
We pray for those who find themselves in bondage:
those forced into slavery or captivity,
those oppressed by injustice and greed,
those enslaved by personal addictions.
Deliver us all to your new day.
We pray for those who struggle to raise their children
in the midst of violence or poverty;
those who can only stand by and watch as their sons or daughters die
from violence and illness.
Build a new compassion within us, that protects all your children.
We pray for all who suffer this day,
whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
May Your presence surround and sustain each one,
so that they may know your love and live.
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Finally, God, we pray for ourselves—members of Your Body here on earth.
Break down the barriers that divide us from one another.
Unite us in our common allegiance to You as Lord and Saviour.
Grant us compassion and humility in our relationships.
Release the gifts You have given to each one,
so that in us and through us,
Your kingdom might come and Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Gracious God, hear our prayer,
and in Your love, answer. Amen.
-adapted from re-worship.blogspot.com
God of life
God of hope
God of all
Lift us
on your love
like eagle’s wings
Sustain us
Guide us
Heal us
Then send us
forth into
the world
That we
may love
as you love.
Amen.
-http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.ca/