Sept. 27th, 2022
of the United Church of Canada.
with Pastor Doug Ferris
Music Director: Jennifer Pearce-Chambers
PRE-SERVICE: WE PREPARE FOR WORSHIP
“Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hoe is in the LORD their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the open and the widow. (Psalm 146:5-9a).
GATHERING AND WELCOME
Welcome! May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Today we honour the Hope of Justice through the process of National Truth and Reconciliation.
Just as light shone in the darkness to proclaim God’s Love we light this candle today to remember that, like Jesus, the light of the Holy Spirit still shines before others to glorify God and proclaim that the Kingdom of God has come near. Amen.
Thanks be to God, Amen.
Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples’ lives and spirituality have been deeply connected to this land. We acknowledge that the land we are worshipping on as the traditional lands of the Anishinabewaki, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat First Nations, a land governed by the Williams Treaties and Treaty No. 20. We give thanks to the indigenous people for their stewardship of this land. May we challenge ourselves to live into the agreements of Truth and Reconciliation in our community of faith and in our daily lives.
One: Welcome in the Name of the Creator, the Liberator, and the Healer.
ALL: God is doing a new thing here, now, in the midst of our daily lives.
One: The Holy One, Creator of Heaven and Earth, shapes us and re-shapes us afresh today.
ALL: Let our spirits rise to greet our Creator, our Liberator,and our Healer.
Source: Celebrate God’s Presence. United Church Publishing House, (2000) p. 25.
One: Facing east: From the East, the direction of the rising sun, we receive peace and light, wisdom and knowledge.
ALL: We are grateful for these gifts, O God. Facing south:
One: From the South comes warmth, guidance, and the beginning and the end of life.
ALL: We are grateful for these gifts, O God. Facing west:
One: From the west comes the rain, purifying waters, to sustain all living things.
ALL: We are grateful for these gifts, O God. Facing north:
One: From the North comes the cold and mighty wind, the white snows, giving us strength and endurance. .
ALL: We are grateful for these gifts, O God. Facing upward:
One: From the heavens we receive darkness and light, the air of your breath, and messages from your winged creatures.
ALL: We are grateful for these gifts, O God. Facing downward:
One: From the earth we come, and to the earth we will return.
ALL: We are grateful for your creation, Mother Earth, O God.
One: As we gather in worship, we remember that Jesus taught us not to be anxious about our lives or about what tomorrow might bring. Are there anxieties that cause us to feel ashamed, anxieties that cause us to feel separated from others, and anxieties that cause us to feel separated from the love of God? Let us bring our anxieties and our shortcomings to God in prayer:
One: Compassionate God, Mother and Father of us all, we adore You: The Source of All Love.
ALL: We, your children, ask your blessing, for your nature is compassion.
One: Loving Parent, we come to you as children seeking your joy, kindness, and peace.
ALL: In the truth of your Word, and the touch of your Spirit we find peace.
One: And yet, Gracious God, we know that our thoughts, words, and actions often fall short.
ALL: We have not loved God with all our heart, soul, and minds.
We have not loved one another as we should.Sometimes we submit to pride, anger, or self-centredness.Forgive us, O God, and direct us to your path of compassion and love. I Christ we pray. Amen.
WORDS FOR THE YOUNG—AND EVERYONE: Presented by Lynda Killens
Readings from “Spirit Bear: Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams”. Source: Blackstock, Cindy and Amaanda Storng. (Armstrong, ©2019).
MUSIC MINISTRY-ANTHEM: “They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love” (Composer Peter Schultz)
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
ALL: THANKS BE TO GOD FOR THE SPIRIT AND THE LIVING WORD. AMEN.
Psalm 91: 1–6, 14–16
1 Timothy 6: 6–19
One: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
ALL: Praise to Christ, the Word.
ALL: Amen.
THE CHURCH RESPONDS TO THE WORD
THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
Minute for Missions, Messages from Ministries, and receiving gifts offered to the work of the ministry:
We Offer our Gifts to the Work of the Spirit
ALL: (Sung Response): “What Can I Do?” More Voices 191
What can I do? What can I bring?/ What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with joy, I’ll say a prayer/ I’ll bring my love, I’ll do my share!
OFFERING PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVING FOR GIFTS TO THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY
One: The Scriptures remind that, ‘the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words’. Therefore, let us pray, and let us do so asking that God will shape us in the image of our prayers. Let us Pray:
ALL: Powerful Christ, we are grateful that you came to us as a child, who grew out of a community that nurtured, supported, and taught you the way of your ancestors. You have asked us to do the same: to treat every child as we would treat you, to love every person as you have loved us. On this Orange Shirt Day, we remember the stolen childhood of all the children forcibly raised by church-run institutions, known as residential schools. We lament how these institutions stole from the Elders the opportunity to share their teachings and wisdom with younger generations; and stole from communities the opportunity to live intergenerationally. We mourn the children who never made it home, the communities that were destroyed, the broken hearts, the stories never share, and the shattered relationships. We ask that your provide comfort to all who are seeking healing and who daily wrestle with the ongoing harmful legacy of these colonial institutions, strength to all who name how colonial powers have harmed us as peoples and as a nation; often at great personal cost, and courage to all who are working toward reconciliation. Christ Child, as you grew, you reminded us to always welcome and care for children. We remember your children today. We lament and acknowledge the sinful ways that colonial powers tried to eradicate Indigenous cultures within Canada, breaking Indigenous families, removing children from their homes while destroying communities. And we pray for healing, so that we who live together in this country can also work together to build a better future where all children are cherished, beloved, and given what they need to thrive. So that we may treat all children as we would treat you, our Beloved. May it be so. Amen.
Source: https://united-church.ca/prayers/and-child-will-lead-us , accessed 2202+09_08)
[All: A moment of quiet reflection or spoken intercession can be shared by the congregation.]
One: God, you have promised that we have two or three are gathered in your name, you are here, in our midst. Fulfill now the desires and petitions of your people as may be best for us, granting us in this world knowledge of your truth,and in the world to come, life everlasting through the Spirit of Christ, that taught us to pray saying:
ALL: O Great Spirit, our Father from above, we honour your name as sacred and holy. Bring your good road to us, where the beauty of your ways in the spirit-world above is reflected in the earth below. Provide for us day by day–the elk, the buffalo, and the salmon. The corn, the squash, and the wild rice. All the things we need for each day. Release us from the things we have done wrong, in the same way we release others for the things done wrong to us. Guide us away from the things that tempt us to stray from your good road and set us free from the evil one and his worthless ways. Aho! May it be so!¹
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, TRUTH, AND CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:
One: With Christians throughout time, we affirm our belief in the Old and New Testaments as primary standards of Christian faith and life. The United Church of Canada also affirms that these timeless truths are expressed for our day in the poetic expression, “A Song of Faith.” Let us declare our faith together.
We sing of God the Spirit, faithful and untameable, who is creatively and redemptively active in the world. The spirit challenges us to celebrate the holy not only in what is familiar, but also in what seems foreign. We sing of the Spirit, who speaks our prayers of deepest longing and enfolds our concerns and confessions, transforming the world.
Divine creation does not create until all things have found wholeness,union and integration with common ground of all being. As children of the Timeless One, our time-bound lives will find completion in the all-embracing Creator. In the meantime, we embrace the present, embodying hope, loving our enemies, caring for the earth, choosing life. Grateful for God’s loving action we cannot keep from singing. Thanks to be to God.
SENDING FORTH INTO THE MINISTRY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
HYMN OF COMMISSIONING: Voices United #684 “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace”
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
And finally, my friends: May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of the Creator, in the light of the Creator’s image, and in the Creator’s great and eternal spirit.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May God’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May God’s countenance look upon you with kindness, and give you peace. Amen.
CHORALE BLESSING (“Go Now in Peace”)
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.
Know He will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there watching from above.
Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.
THE CONCLUSION OF WORSHIP & THE BEGINNING OF MINISTRY FOR ALL IN CHRIST
Works Cited and Sources for Worship Selections:
[1]. ©2022 First Nations Version: New Testament is copyrighted by Rain Ministries, a non-profit 501(c)(3) and an Arizona Corporation. IVP. (http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2022/01/first-nations-version-indigenous.html (Accessed: 2022-09-12)
*What Can I Do? Words and music: Paul Rumbolt and Michele McCarthy; arr. Alan C. Whitmore, 2005. Words and music copyright © by Paul Rumbolt and Michele McCarthy. Arrangement copyright © 2005 Alan C. Whitmore. All Rights reserved. ONE LICENSE, License #A-727078.
*Go Now in Peace. Words by Don Besig and Nancy Price. Music by Don Besig. © Copyright MCMLXXXVIII, Harold Flammer, Inc. All Rights reserved. ONE LICENSE, License #A-727078.
https://northernspiritrc.ca/honouring-the-national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation-2022/ (accessed 2202_09_12)
https://united-church.ca/worship-liturgical-season/creation-time-3, (accessed 2202_09_12)
https://greatlakes.guide/ideas/what-is-a-watershed, (accessed 2202_09_12)
https://united-church.ca/worship-special-days/indigenous-day-prayer (accessed 2022_09_12)
https://united-church.ca/prayers/and-child-will-lead-us (accessed 2202_09_08)
Blackstock, Cindy and Amanda Strong. Spirit Bear: Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams. ©2019 (accessed: 2022_09_12) https://fncaringsociety.com/sites/default/files/spirit_bear_honouring_memories_planting_dreams_ebook.pdf
Kervin, Bill et al. Celebrate God’s Presence, United Church Publishing House, 2000. https://ucrdstore.ca/products/celebrate-gods-presence-a-book-of-services
©2022 First Nations Version: New Testament is copyrighted by Rain Ministries, a non-profit 501(c)(3) and an Arizona Corporation. IVP. (http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2022/01/first-nations-version-indigenous.html (Accessed: 2022-09-12)
Joseph, Bob. Indigenous Relations: Insights, Tips, and Suggestions. Port Coquitlam: Indigenous Relations Press, 2019.
Joseph, Bob. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act. Port Coquitlam: Indigenous Relations Press, 2018.
Hampton United Church 