February 14, 2021 The Transfiguration of the Lord, Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras Sunday Rev. Dr. Twining F. Campbell

Posted on February 14, 2021 @ 3:17 pm
This is a big day! Valentine’s Day, The Transfiguration with Holy Communion and Mardi Gras Sunday all on the same day!
In honor of Valentine’s Day we have created a Renewal of Wedding Vows Service that you can celebrate with today. Here is the link:
Here is the link for our service today:
Pastor Twine welcomes everyone to Westminster and encourages everyone to gather what they will eat and drink when we celebrate The Lord’s Supper together and read from Ecclesiastes for the Call to Worship. Then Dr. Imre Szilas plays the Prelude: “The Church’s One Foundation” by Roger Wilson, followed by the Westminster Chimes.
With Ginger and Bill Loesch’s flower arrangement in the background, Imre Szilas sporting his Mardi Gras beads, Pastor Twine invites everyone to join in singing the the morning hymn: “Open My Eyes That I May See” – stanza 1.
Following a brief musical interlude Pastor Martha shares the morning announcements:
1) Today is our Congregational Meeting on Zoom at 11:00. (The link appears at the end of this email.) We do have an Annual Report that was sent out the last two Wednesdays with This Week at Westminster.
2) February 17th is Ash Wednesday. Sadly, we will not be having a joint service with St. Elizabeth’s but Martha and I are recording an Ash Wednesday Service that you can watch at any time that day. You will need a few things, a couple of pieces of paper and some oil or lotion (olive oil, vaseline, healing balm, anointing oil, even hand lotion – whatever you have in your home will do). Join us for this brief service as we prepare for the season of Lent and the coming of Easter. Here is the link for our Ash Wednesday service:
Pastor Martha shares the prayer concerns then leads everyone in the Prayers of the people.
After a brief musical interlude, Pastor Twine asks everyone to join me in saying our Affirmation of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed.
Pastor Martha leads the community in the Prayer of Illumination and reads the Scripture lesson: Mark 9:2-29
Pastor Twine then presents the sermon on the Transfigurationof Jesus and how the disciples eyes were opened on that mountaintop. We experience similar moments regularly when we suddenly feel at peace, connected, loved – when the Spirit is close to us. What we do with those moments is what makes the difference.
The Anthem this morning is an exciting, toe tapping, Mardi Gras tribute, “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, Jacob’s Ladder.”  Imre Szilas arranged these spirituals and plays them with great energy on the piano.
Pastor Martha invites us all to prepare to celebrate The Lord’s Supper then leads us in prayer and the Lord’s Prayer. We share communion and we conclude joining together in a unison prayer following communion.
The service closes as Pastor Twine issues the Charge and Benediction and Dr. Imre Szilas plays the Valentine’s Day Postlude on the Westminster pipe organ: “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Felix Mendelssohn (an untold number of couples have left our sanctuary to this music at end of their wedding).
We are extremely grateful to Robert Smith who filmed our service today which is available on our webpage (wpcpas.org), and on our Facebook page and YouTube channel: (Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA) .
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