09/08/2026
YES … Wednesday morning HOLY COMMUNION is back at St. Paul's UMC West Deptford!! This is your opportunity to step back from the world and come to the Lord’s Table. To share in the bread and cup.
Yes, we gather before the world’s energy takes the wind out of our sails. We come to worship at 7am … in the morning. The church doors open at 645am and yes, we will be streaming the service here on FACEBOOK.
EVERYONE is ALWAYS WELCOME!!!
Here’s the liturgy for the service on September 9th -
Service of Holy Communion SEPTEMBER 9, 2026
Pastoral Invitation and Welcome – Last Wednesday I was merely sitting in a crowd but before us was the Table of the Lord … only in Virginia Beach. God, does not limit God’s love to any specific church, nation, location nor group of people. God just continues to call us out of love … come and live as my people. Love your neighbors, all of them. And, when you gather remember Jesus … His sacrifice; His peace; and His stance for justice! The Lord’s Table is open to any person of faith. These are moments for prayer, thought and reconnection with God’s love so let us make our confession together. We pause amidst a troubled world and our personal struggles to reconnect with God’s love. You are welcome to share in the bread and cup of Jesus Christ.
Prayer of Confession - Gracious God, We are bold to ask that You search us and show us ourselves in light of You. With the Apostle Paul can we truly say we do not boast of our own achievements? Do we believe that we must be hard and domineering to get ahead in life? Do we depend on our strength, and do things our own way? Do we rush ahead, instead of waiting for you? Forgive us and make us content to count on Your promise: My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. For when we are empowered by You, then we are truly strong, through Christ our Lord, Amen
Silent Prayer of Confession
Words of Assurance
Psalm of the Day Psalm 121: ““I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. God won’t let your foot slip. Your protector won’t fall asleep on the job. No! Israel’s protector never sleeps or rests! The LORD is your protector; the LORD is your shade right beside you. The sun won’t strike you during the day; neither will the moon at night. The LORD will protect you from all evil; God will protect your very life. The LORD will protect you on your journeys— whether going or coming— from now until forever from now.”
GOOD NEWS READING
MATTHEW 21:18-22 - 18 Early in the morning as Jesus was returning to the city, he was hungry. 19 He saw a fig tree along the road, but when he came to it, he found nothing except leaves. Then he said to it, “You’ll never again bear fruit!” The fig tree dried up at once.
20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so fast?” they asked.
21 Jesus responded, “I assure you that if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree. You will even say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the lake.’ And it will happen. 22 If you have faith, you will receive whatever you pray for.”
THE PEACE of the DAY –
The Great Thanksgiving The Lord be with you. And, also with you.
Lift up your hearts and experience the Holy.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Together we give praise and thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
We worship You our God acknowledging that it is right and a good and joyful thing always to honor You God Almighty every day. Jesus taught us that Your love is for ALL of humanity not just those who claim they are solely Yours. We are told to love ALL of humanity like Jesus did. We have no other gods before You, our God.
We come to You, our God, sensing Your love but also Your directives that we run away from evil condemning evil in all its forms. We search for the Light of Christ that has always existed so that we can join with the Holy Spirit walking in Your path doing justice in this life we live. We desperately want to walk humbly in love with You our God.
Jesus came to teach us how to live. He taught us Your expectations that we care for the poor amongst us and that we use all of our resources to bandage the hurting in the world. Jesus demonstrated what it means to love our neighbors and clearly answered those who doubted Him with the clarification we need to remember in our lives.
We come to Your Table in need of Your rescue. We need Your forgiveness and seek Your Salvation. We come knowing our need to worship and obey You as a means of showing our love for You, our God. And, so, with all your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise Your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of Your glory! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!
Jesus came to Jerusalem for the Passover remembering how You rescued Your people from Egypt. He gathered His disciples with Him to share in the Seder meal. At that meal He took bread; and after thanking You, Jesus broke the bread, and shared the bread with his disciples, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. When you gather together eat the bread and remember me.”
After supper he took the cup of wine; and after he had given thanks to You, He shared the cup with those around Him and said, "Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, remember me.”
O God, when we find our quiet places, we pray that You will restore our souls so that we can sense Your love. Allow this meal to give us Your peace as we give ourselves to You our God with thanksgiving. Together we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Loving God pour out Your Holy Spirit into each person worshiping with us this day. Bless us and renew our faith through Your Table and let Your Spirit be our guide in the days to come.
God, no human can limit You and we pray in these moments that You will bless the elements we each hold in front of us with the power of this Your Table. Transform them for us so that we will be the body and blood of Jesus Christ together with those who follow Jesus’ teaching in this world. This is Your meal created out of love for each of us as we pause on our personal holy ground and in this Your holy church.
By Your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. Let Your Spirit shine Christ’s light through our daily life’s example in our words, our social media, and through our actions until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at His heavenly banquet.
Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit on the Holy Ground we each are on, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty God, now and forever.
Amen.
LORD’s PRAYER – Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen"
EATING THE BREAD -
THE SHARING of the CUP –
Dismissal with Blessing
