Looking Into the Lectionary — Worship resources for 4/3

April 3, 2022 Fifth Sunday of Lent Psalm 126 COMMENTARY “Each of us yearns to belong. Within each human body is this deep, raw, aching desire” writes author and psychotherapist Resmaa Menakem in My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies. Menakem calls attention to our vagus nerve — the unifying organ of our entire nervous system; a highly complex and sensitive organ that links the brain with the neck, heart, lungs and abdomen. This “soul nerve,” Menakem writes, does not connect to our thinking brain. Rather, the vagus nerve sends visceral messages through our body that we are safe or unsafe and transmits instinctive impulses to fight, flee or freeze — or relax, settle, and feel at home. “When you feel your heart opening or closing down; when you feel anxious in the pit of your stomach; when you sense that something wonderful or terrible is about to happen; when something feels right or wrong in your gut; when your heart sinks; when your spirit soars … all of these involve your soul nerve.” Our ancestors of faith were unaware of the biomechanics of the soul nerve. Yet they developed and passed on practices like singing, humming, chanting, rocking and dancing that helped their bodies settle and sustained their connection as a community even in the midst of pain, confusion and suffering. Doing these practices together, Menakem reports, are powerfully grounding and soothing, satisfying our bodies’ yearning to connect and belong. You can find the rest of the commentary on our website. An order of worship for April 3, 2022. This liturgy is free to use. The Uniform Lesson for April 3, 2022, by Richard Boyce Justice Advocacy Sunday — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale What My Grandmothers Taught Me — Matthew 1 by Rosalind Banbury IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... First team announces intention to stand for co-moderators of 2022 General Assembly Josefina Ahumada, a commissioned ruling elder from the Presbytery de Cristo, has announced that she plans to stand for co-moderator with Marilyn McKelvey Tucker-Marek, a minister from Flint River Presbytery. Stated Clerk calls on Presbyterians to speak out in support of LGBTQIA+ siblings J. Herbert Nelson responds to the bills being drafted in Florida, Utah, Idaho and South Dakota and beyond that are attacking education, health care, economics and the fundamental rights of its citizens who either happen to be LGBTQIA+ or who support this community in some way. What’s right with Worthington Presbyterian Church? “Brought to you by Jesus … to make a difference” — At Worthington Presbyterian Church (WPC), this nine-word tagline testifies to our congregation’s imperative and focus of our ministry. The Flawed Family of God Katina Sharp reviews Carolyn B. Helsel and Song-Mi Suzie Park's new book. 40 community organizing actions you can practice during Lent "Do not give up." In three weeks, Presbyterians have donated nearly $1 million toward humanitarian relief in Ukraine In the three weeks or so since the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) issued an appeal for help, Presbyterians have donated nearly $1 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Flashes of Grace Lisa D. Kenkeremath reviews Patrick Henry's book.

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