Finding A Place At The Table

Maundy Thursday at West

The Maundy Thursday Service of Worship will be at 7:00 PM this evening.  We invite you to join us.  The service includes special vocal music sung by the West Church choir and guest vocalist, Kelly Curtin.  Instrumental music will be provided by Doreen Fell (piano) and Beily Street (cello).  The Service of Worship will include the sacrament of the Lord's Supper and lessons focusing on the last day of Jesus' life. 

The church is located at the corner of 8th and Washington Streets in downtown Wilmington. Parking is available in the lot behind the church building. 

Capital Punishment?

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1976 Delaware has executed 14 people, and executed 62 prior to 1976.  There are currently 18 people on death row in delaware (all are males).  As we journey toward holy week and ponder Jesus' execution, we may wish to think about whether the death penalty is consistent with what we believe about God and what we understand in the Bible.

Is it ever justified for one person (or a government) to kill another?  Does the death penalty deter crime?  How do  beliefs about God and understanding of the Bible inform our position on the issue?   People who support the death penalty point to studies which suggest the death penalty reduces violent crime.  Those who oppose it, however, cite other studies that indicate that the death penalty does not reduce violent crime at all.  Those who oppose the death penalty often ponit out that it is arbitrarily applied, that racial and gender bias play a part in who gets the death sentence, and that the quality of legal representation has a significant impact on who is sentenced to die and who is not.

But, what do we believe as Christians?  How does our faith inform our position on this issue?  The Adult Spiritual Formation Class will explore capital punishment on Sunday mornings from February 17 through March 16.  We will use as our discussion guide a DVD based study produced by Living the Quesitons and narrated by Sister Helen Prejean.  Please join us at 9:30 AM on Sunday mornings.

Sister Helen Prejean is a strong advocate for the abolution of the death penalty, has ministered to inmates on death row, and authored two books based on those experiences, Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.

Some places to find more information include Sister Helen Prejean's website,  Amensty International, Death Penalty Discourse Network and Death Penalty Focus.

Intentional Faith and Baptismal Vows

When anyone is baptized in the Presbyterian Church someone affirms their faith and makes a promise.  In the case of an adult, the person being baptized makes their own profession of faith and promises.  When it's an infant, the parents make the vows in the hopes that when the child grows up they will make their own profession.    We don't ask for a series of 20 promises and theological affirmations, but only a few:  Do you profess your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  Do you renounce evil and affirm reliance on God's grace?  Do you intend to actively participate in the worship and mission of the church?  These few affirmations, however, are the foundation and bedrock of our spiritual growth and faith journey.   

Tomorrow we begin the season of Lent.  This season of repentance and preparation is an opportunity for us to reflect on how we are living out the vows and affirmations we made when we were baptized or when we made our own professions of faith.  How are our lives being molded by our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  What difference does this affirmation make in the way we are living our life today?    How are our lives being shaped by our reliance on God's grace?  Are we faithfully living out our promise to actively participate in the worship and mission of the church?  What difference does our baptism and our professions of faith make in the way we live, in how we spend our money, in what we do with our time, in how we relate to others?  Are we intentionally living our lives in ways that are consistent with these promises?  As a time of preparation, the season of Lent is an invitation to consider anew these important vows and how they shape who we are and what we do.

We invite you not only to prayerfully reflect on your baptismal vows in the season of Lent, but to begin Lent with us at West on Wednesday, February 6 at 7:00 PM when we gather for an Ash Wednesday Service of Worship.  Please join us for a quiet, reflective and prayerful time.  The service will include the imposition of ashes for those who desire to receive them as a sign of our repentance.