Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, California

This one made me laugh

3 years from #MurfreesboroLoves and 6 days until the election, this spoke to me this morning. #endure

Wednesday’s work out.

Pass it on: An important perspective. This week’s brand new blog post explains how today’s religio-political gaslighting works and how to stand firm against it ...in these troubling times: http://assertivespirituality.com//standing-firm-era-publi/ Go team #AssertiveSpirituality! Let’s continue to do what we can where we are with what we can to speak up against the toxic crap toward a healthier world for us all. We can do this thing! Like what we have to offer and want help speaking up and dealing with the conflicts that often accompany that? If you sign up for our weekly email newsletter in the top bar at AssertiveSpirituality.com and confirm your email address, we’ll send you a link to our Assertive Spirituality Guide to Online Trolls in the final welcome email. You can unsubscribe at any time, but we hope you’ll stick around.

It's quite sad that the things Jesus came to teach, to spread the good news, has often been bent to be the instrument that has driven many people away. <3 Mark

So I find it hard to imagine that we have come to Reformation Sunday, the last Sunday in October. Here is the link for today’s worship service on our Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RWweVF_oeE&t=12s... For the prelude Imre Szilas plays A Mighty Fortress is Our God by Johann Pachelbel and Toccata and Fugue in D minor, by J.S. Bach, for the Postlude. The anthem is one of Imre’s own compositions - Glory to God In the Highest. . Following the welcome and prayer, we begin with the first stanza of Great Is Thy Faithfulness - which is based on Lamentations 3:23. Our prayer concerns for this week: Brendan and Grace Sulak are still in NeoNatal ICU but they are gaining weight and should be home within a month. Helen Darsie and everyone at William Carey College at the death of one of her colleagues, Lee, from cancer. Andrew Lee asked for prayers for the Bustamonte family, their 20 year old son Johnny has cancer and has been moved to hospice care. Bill Loesch and Claire Loesch as they recover from eye surgery. Bob Quinn, MegQuinn’s brother, as his bone cancer has returned and now has stage four lung cancer. Since filming we have additional prayer concerns: Samuel Loesch, living in Prague, has been diagnosed with Covid-19. Grace Campbell has been exposed to Covid-19 at her place of work they have all been sent home and are being tested. Our country as it has had the highest number of positive cases of Covid-19 and it is affecting states all over the country. We then share in a Responsive Reading based on the Creeds, Confessions and Catechisms of the Presbyterian Church (USA) before the anthem. I lead us in our Prayer of Illumination then read the scripture lesson - selected verses from Lamentations 3. The sermon is the third in our series on Lamentations. I begin by observing that lament is a common form of prayer in the Psalms and was a prayer in pain that leads to trust and how to pray a lament. A lot of people get stuck complaining and hoping things get better. A Lament is based on the awareness that God is always with us, that even in desperate times and hardships - "the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end The Bible accounts are amazing because they show us we DO NOT HAVE TO SETTLE - that tomorrow doesn’t have to be a repeat of today, that we don’t have to be enslaved to fear or despair that we can change, move, heal and leave behind whatever needs to be left behind so we can step into a better future. The service closes with thanks, followed by the charge and benediction. We are grateful to Robert Smith who continues to film and edit our services.