At the close of each Westminster worship service during Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen’s tenure as Senior Pastor he offered the following charge to the congregation:
Go forth into the world in peace.
Be of good courage.
Hold fast to that which is good.
Render to no person evil for evil.
Strengthen anyone fainthearted.
Support anyone weak.
Heal anyone afflicted.
Honor all people.
Steward the creation.
Love and serve the Lord,
Rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This charge originally was found in the 1928 Church of England Book of Common Prayer, based on a paraphrase of 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, amended with a reference to Genesis 2:15.
The elements of this charge were elaborated in Rev. Hart-Andersen’s final seven sermons before his retirement at the end of this October.[1]
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[1] “The Benediction of Life Together” at Westminster Presbyterian Church, dwkcommentaries.com (Oct. 19, 2023)(9/10/23 sermon); “The Benediction Never Ends” at Westminster Presbyterian Church, dwkcommentaries.com (Oct. 20, 2023)(9/17/23 sermon); ;“World Communion Sunday at Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church Celebrates Its Global Partners (Oct. 11, 2023) (10/1/23 sermon); “We Are the Church: Be of Good Courage. Hold Fast to That Which Is Good” at Westminster Presbyterian Church, dwkcommentaries.com Nov. 2, 2023) (10/8/23 sermon) ; “We Are The Church: Render to no person evil for evil. Strengthen anyone fainthearted. Support anyone weak. Heal anyone afflicted” at Westminster Presbyterian Church, dwkcommentaries.com (Nov. 3, 2023)(10/15/23 sermon); “We Are The Church: Honor all people. Steward the creation” at Westminster Presbyterian Church (10/22/23 sermon) [blog post to follow]; “We Are the Church: Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit (10/29/23 sermon) [blog post to follow].
