The Encounter Worship Series is a mid-week service of  “prayer and presence” taking place in conjunction with West End’s Wednesday evening dinner and programming.  Rev. Erin Racine, Pastor of Hospitality and Congregational Care, leads the service this evening, and Matthew Phelps, West End’s Minister of Music, is the music leader.  In the coming weeks we will be looking at scriptures through various means, and tonight we will use Visio Divina, such that anyone in the service needs to be able to focus on the image at the front.  The scriptures for the evening are the same passages from Genesis that we will be using this Sunday, Genesis 37.1-4, 12-24, the early stories of Joseph and his brothers.  Erin reads the passages and then gives some instruction in using Visio Divina before asking everyone to use that sacred technique to ponder the image before us in conjunction with the scriptures.  Periods of reflection follow and the evening ends with “The Lord’s Prayer” and singing “Amazing Grace.”  (NOTE: Below is a pdf of this evening’s program for viewing and/or downloading.)