This week the Choristers will open our worship with Blessed, a boisterous song that proclaims “God is for everyone, not just some!” We hope that everyone feels welcome to come and participate in worship at Westminster. The Choristers are also singing a song by Natalie Sleeth based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-7, our scripture for the day. It’s All in the Hands of God features two distinct tunes that fit together in the final verse of the song. This technique, called a partner song, is a great way for young singers to learn to sing in harmony.

The Adults are also participating in worship this week. They are singing an anthem that Westminster commissioned in 2015 with money from our budget and memorial donations from the family of Ruth and John Payne. Christ Has No Body But Yours, by Bob Chilcott, features the well-known text attributed to Saint Teresa of Avila:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world.

The youth have been preparing the music for this Sunday for weeks with hymns and responses chosen by the YAC class, vioin prelude played by Meg Bowen, Horn duets played by Walter Moak and Steve Patek, and guitars and percussion on our final hymn. The musical offerings span the centuries. The Singers choir will sing the anthem, “The Good Shepherd,” by Zebulon Highben, a living composer and professor at Muskingum University in Ohio. During communion the Singers will offer a plainsong chant from the 13th century with words originally written by Thomas Aquinas, translated by James Russell Woodford in 1850!

As the YAC class explored the themes of Transfiguration in the scripture passage Luke 9:28-36 they listened and chose hymns and responses that fit the theme, Guided By God: The Veil Has Been Lifted. We will open worship with There’s a Spirit in the Air. The time for children and youth will conclude with the old favorite Open My Eyes That I May See, and we will conclude with the song Spirit by James Manley.

It is truly a gift to work with our youth at Westminster. They care deeply about worship and their relationship with God and each other. This Sunday you have an opportunity to be led by the Spirit and our young people as they explore what it means to be transformed.

As the outdoor ministry of the Presbytery of the James, Camp Hanover offers Christian camps for elementary, middle and high school youth. Sessions range from short 2- and 3-night programs for younger campers to  1- and 2-week programs for older campers.

Your child will make new friends, develop outdoor living skills, learn about God’s creation and grow in faith. If you live in this presbytery, your child will receive a $30 discount. Located on 600 wooded acres in Mechanicsville, VA, Camp Hanover is an hour and a half drive from Charlottesville. To learn more, visit www.CampHanover.org or call 804-779-2811.

Have you ever wanted to put a face, a name, and a story together to better understand the humanitarian crisis at our border? “Dinner with Maria” is your opportunity to hear about Maria’s personal journey of migration from Guatemala due to threats of violence, detention after crossing the border, making a new life in Virginia, and then facing deportation back to a violent situation.

On Wednesday, March 27, at 6 pm. the first 25 Westminster members who sign up with Irene Townsend at irene.townsend@gmail.com will have a place at the table where Maria is in sanctuary at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church. The cost per person is $25.00, which will cover the meal and support for Maria’s sanctuary fund. Checks may be made to the Sanctuary Fund, Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church. Maria will cook and serve native Guatemalan food for us., and through an interpreter, share her powerful story with us. Contact Irene Townsend or Gene Locke with questions and how you can support those in sanctuary and those seeking asylum in our country.