Worship Connection for March 7, 2021

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.

• Mildred Kaufmann would like to express her appreciation to all who helped her celebrate her 90th Birthday. “Many thanks for your many cards and phone calls!”
• We are looking forward to hosting Easter Egg Hunts this year on March 27 at Pleasant Valley Church of the Brethren. You will have the option of one of two times to bring your child(ren) for a story, activity and Easter Egg Hunt. The two times are 9:30am and 11:00am on March 27. Please Contact Pastor Rebecca for more information and to register.
  • Please consider supporting this event with donations of candy (that can fit in regular sized eggs), or some Jumbo Easter Eggs used for activities. Please drop donations in the Easter basket in the Narthex, or bring them to Pastor Rebecca during the week. Thank you!!
• The BackPack Pals program is in need of Pudding Cups and Ramen noodles. If you would like to make a donation, please leave items in the BackPack Pals bin located in the narthex.
• Despite the current pandemic, Karis is open and very busy. As a result, they are in great need of good used furniture and household items. Now is a good time to bring these items to Karis to consign.
  • To make an appointment to bring in items, contact Karis during store hours at (540) 248-4511. The store hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Consignment hours are Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. by appointment. Karis also provides pick-up services for a minimal fee.
  • Volunteers and customers follow safety protocols by wearing masks and practicing safe distancing. Click here for more information.
• We will be holding a Church Board meeting following service on 3/14
  • The Board will soon be considering plans for moving to outdoor worship. Please be praying for wisdom and clear discernment.
• Shenandoah District Disaster Ministries Coordinator Jerry Ruff said the District is planning a project trip April 11-17. The project will be in Coastal North Carolina. Six volunteers are needed. He said they are employing recommendations for reducing the spread of COVID-19 in ministry activities this year by evaluating upcoming project trip plans. Please contact Jerry at ruffrev2@yahoo.com or the District Office at slong@shencob.org for more information.

Please remember in your prayers the many in and around our congregation who have been fighting illness.

Let the Streams of Justice

CCLI #1699256

Genesis 12:1-9 NRSV

Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages towards the Negeb.

The sermon video will be posted soon.

Guide My Feet

Jesus, cleanser of temples and souls,
on this holy morning, as we pause before you,
look deep within our hearts and our lives,
and clear away all that holds us back.

May our minds, spirits and bodies
be a Temple that is open to Your presence:
and may our words and our actions
be transparent to Your love and truth.

We pray that your church,
will be purified in its life and mission,
so that all that we do in and from here
may reveal your good news to others.

Make us clean,
by your grace and invitation
to repent and follow in your way.

May you love prove in us
that there is room in every life
for your holiness to dwell.
Thank you, Lord. Amen.

Adapted from a prayer by Ann Siddall,   https://stillpointsa.org.au/

God gifts us each with the power to bless and encourage others, through the sharing of forgiveness, acts of generosity and love, through welcoming smiles. May God’s love be present in our living every day. May God’s spirit surround and guide us, and lead us to the places where we are able to share God’s peace.

Leanin’ On You

CCLI License # 1699256

Now, may God’s light inspire your smiles.
May Christ’s word guide you on a path of holy hope.
And may the Holy Spirit fill you with life on the way. Amen.