Welcome to Westminster United Church

Transcription

1 March Welcome to Westminster United Church th Street SE, Medicine Hat, AB T1A 1G7 T: / F: E: reception@westminsteruc.com W: westminsteruc.com Lent5 We acknowledge with respect the history, spirituality and culture of the peoples of the Blackfoot Confederacy in whose traditional territory we worship. We honour also the heritage and gifts of Metis and Cree peoples. May we, as Treaty people, be wise stewards of these lands. Akwe Nia'Tetewá:neren [aw gway-- nyah day day waw-- nay renh] which means All my relations. Prelude: LIFE AND WORK: We are a faith community building relationships with God, all people, and our world. SHARING THE PEACE: (When you see this symbol, please rise in body or spirit, as you are able) One: May the peace of Christ be with you. All: And also with you. PROCESSION OF LENTEN EASTER ROCK CALL TO WORSHIP 1 : Following Jesus requires strength for the journey. If we follow faithfully, we will find ourselves taken into places of shadows and death. It is easy to falter and want to return home. Have courage to step forward. (The fifth rock is placed.) The rock of strength. ALL: May God s spirit journey with us. All Sing: MV 90 Don t be afraid Don t be afraid. My love is stronger, my love is stronger than your fear. Don t be afraid. My love is stronger and I have promised, promised to be always near. One: Today, as we seek courage to journey toward the cross, we remember our roots: where and Who we came from. ALL: And as we move ahead, we trust the One who guides our path. One: Come, let us worship God. JUNIOR CHOIR: A Simple Song of Love OPENING PRAYER: (based on Philippians 3:10) Christ, like the apostle Paul we want to know you and the power of your resurrection. However, also like Paul we realize that the path to this knowledge is through sharing your sufferings by becoming like you in your death. Please help us know your presence with us today as we worship you. Be with us as 1 Written by Jen Dresser. Gathering, Lent/Easter 2016, page 67. Used with permission 3/09/16 1:56 PM Page 1

2 we explore our roots. Give us courage through this communion of saints and your Holy Spirit to be like you, to live like you, to die like you, to rise like you. ~ Amen. CHILDREN S TIME: HYMN: Jesus, We Are Here MV 189 Jesus, we are here; (3X) we are here for you. Repeat PRAYER OF TRANSFORMATION: 2 Holy One, you call us to come and journey with you, but fear makes us hesitate. We do not want to put one foot in front of the other without assurances that all will be well. We want assurances that those we love will journey with us. We have trouble listening to your voice and believing that stepping into the unknown will lead to blessing. Forgive our reluctance and increase our faith. Assure us once again that your way leads to your realm of justice, love and peace, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen. WORDS OF ASSURANCE: 3 We are called by a God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not yet exist. God s love and grace can and will transform us. Turn, let go of your fear and follow. Amen. Lord s Prayer (Choral) VU 960 Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil; For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION 4 : God of the ages: your story was told and retold, first by sermon and word of mouth. Later your story was written down and passed from community to community. Your story can ring true for us just as it has for generations. Open us to this message of hope and help us to trust in your presence. Amen. BIBLICAL NOTES SCRIPTURE: Philippians 3:4b-14 2 Adapted from Dianne Astle. Gathering, Lent/Easter 2016, page 31. Used with permission. 3 Adapted from Dianne Astle. Gathering, Lent/Easter 2016, page 31. Used with permission. 4 Written by Beth W. Johnston. Gathering, Lent/Easter 2016, page 32. Used with permission. 3/09/16 1:56 PM Page 2

3 4 If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. HYMN: Praise with Joy the Worlds Creator VU Praise with joy the world's Creator, God of justice, love, and peace, source and end of human knowledge, God whose grace shall never cease. Celebrate the Maker's glory, power to rescue and release. 2 Praise to Christ who feeds the hungry, frees the captive, finds the lost, heals the sick, upsets religion, fearless both of fate and cost. Celebrate Christ's constant presence: friend and stranger, guest and host. 3 Praise the Spirit sent among us, liberating truth from pride, forging bonds where race or gender, age or nation dare divide. Celebrate the Spirit's treasure: foolishness none dare deride. 4 Praise the Maker, Christ, and Spirit, one God in community, calling Christians to embody oneness and diversity. This the world shall see reflected: God is One and One in Three. SCRIPTURE: Gospel: John 12: Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 3/09/16 1:56 PM Page 3

4 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 Why wasn t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year s wages. 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Leave her alone, Jesus replied. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. Choral Response to Word: Wonder and Stare VU 118 Wonder and stare, fear and beware; heaven and hell are close at hand. God's living word, Jesus the Lord, follows where faith and love demand. MEDITATION: Exploring Our Roots: Congregationalism HYMN: O God of Bethel VU O God of Bethel, by whose hand your people still are fed, who through this earthly pilgrimage have all your servants led: 2 our vows, our prayers, we now present before your throne of grace. God of past ages, be the God of each succeeding race. 3 Through each perplexing path of life our wandering footsteps guide; give us each day our daily bread, and shelter fit provide. 4 O spread your covering wings around, till all our wanderings cease, and at our God's beloved abode our souls arrive in peace. MINUTE FOR MISSION: Romero Remembered Who speaks for those whose voices are silenced? One of our Mission & Service partners, Emmanuel Baptist Church, El Salvador, has been greatly influenced by the words and life of Óscar Romero. Archbishop Óscar Romero was a voice in El Salvador that was heard. He spoke of injustice, disappearances, death threats, torture, and massacres of entire communities. He said that if he were killed he would rise again in the people, and this has proven to be true. Assassinated in 1980, Romero was beatified in San Salvador as a martyr for his faith in May He continues to provide inspiration to justice seekers in El Salvador and around the world. 3/09/16 1:56 PM Page 4

5 Romero s vision and voice can be seen today in the work of Emmanuel Baptist Church as it inspires the people of El Salvador to take charge of their destiny. Several communities in northern El Salvador are opposed to proposed mining operations around the River Lempa, which provides drinking water for about 70 percent of the country. These communities are challenging multinational mining companies, many of them Canadian, that have a record of causing pollution and environmental degradation. As Canadian citizens we can join communities in voicing their concerns and making decisions about the land they live on. Oscar Romero said, The voice of the people must be listened to. Let it be so. We are thankful that, through our Mission & Service gifts, our partners like Emmanuel Baptist Church can continue to provide inspiration to justice-seekers in El Salvador. Please join me in making Mission & Service giving a regular part of your life of faith. Loving God, we are called to be your colours in the world, to walk with each other, to share in love through our gifts for Mission & Service. Guide us to shine brightly in the world. Amen OFFERING/DOXOLOGY: Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery VU 121 Tree of Life and awesome mystery, in your death we are reborn, though you die in all of history, still you rise with every morn, still you rise with every morn. DEDICATION: May our gifts of time, talent and treasure be used to bless the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Holy One, please receive them and transform them for your work among us, in this community and in the world. Please receive us and transform us for your work too. ~Amen. INVITATION TO PRAYER: Me Alone MV 118 One: All: One: ALL: Me alone, me alone in-a the wilderness. Me alone, me alone in-a the wilderness. Forty days and forty nights in-a the wilderness. Forty days and forty nights in-a the wilderness. PRAYERS OF GOD S PEOPLE: South Alberta Presbytery Prayer Request: Westminster Pastoral Charge & Chelsea Masterman & Jan Stevenson Medicine Hat Ministerial Association Prayer Request: Councillor Dwight Kilpatrick, Redcliff; St Barnabas Anglican Church, The Rev Dr Dustin Resch One: God of Love, All: Hear Our Prayer CLOSING HYMN: God, Who Touches Earth with Beauty VU God, who touches earth with beauty, make my heart anew; with your Spirit recreate me pure, and strong, and true. 2 Like your springs and running waters, make me crystal pure; 3/09/16 1:56 PM Page 5

6 like your rocks of towering grandeur, make me strong and sure. 3 Like your dancing waves in sunlight, make me glad and free; like the straightness of the pine trees let me upright be. 4 Like the arching of the heavens lift my thoughts above; turn my dreams to noble action, ministries of love. 5 Like the birds that soar while singing, give my heart a song; may the music of thanksgiving echo clear and strong. 6 God, who touches earth with beauty, make my heart anew; keep me ever by your Spirit pure, and strong, and true. COMMISSIONING/BENEDICTION: Beloved, let us go forth, knowing more about our roots and where we came from Knowing more about where we are going, or at least following the questions that lead us there Let us join with Paul and the early church, straining forward to what lies ahead as we press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. With courage, may we answer the call to live our lives with love, grace and justice. Reaching out to the world in faith, may Christ s hands be our hands, God s love be our love, And the power of the Holy Spirit flow in us, and through us, now and forever. CHORAL AMEN: VU 968 Amen, Amen. SENDING FORTH: Thank you for the Love Thank you for the love that s in this place; Thank you for the joy in every face. Thank you for awakening just begun; Thank you for your steadfast presence, O Holy One. Postlude Assisting with the Service This Morning Elder-in-Charge: Melanie Rattai Scripture Reader: BJ Maddaford Greeters & Ushers: Gary & Launa Watson, Barb Grozell, Clare Crews Coffee Hosts & Stair Glide Operators: Gwen & Dub Henderson, Yvonne Hole Sound System Operator: Pat Evans Counters: Stan Bohnet and Clare White Gathering Lent/Easter 3/09/16 1:56 PM Page 6

7 Announcements/Upcoming Events Please think before you spray! Many people are severely allergic to perfumes, colognes, scented hairspray, etc. Your cooperation in refraining from using these products is greatly appreciated. The Sunday School is doing a fundraising project, selling spring bulbs from Vessey s Bulbs Canada. A great assortment of bulbs, herbs, vegetables, at reasonable prices. If you are interested in adding to your garden this year, please check with one of the Sunday School teachers or parents to look at the catalogue. The Catalogue is also on the Bulletin Board by Memorial Hall. Deadline for placing your order is April 3, The funds that are contributed at coffee time this month are donated to Westminster United Church UCW. The United Church Observer Magazine subscriptions are up for renewal. Cost of the subscription for this year is $ Please contact Jody Davison ( ) or contact the office ( ) before March 20, 2016, to renew or sign on for a subscription to the Observer. Finance & Stewardship Update: Required each month in 2016 for expenses $26, Month of February Offering for Operating Budget $25, Surplus/Shortfall ( $1,135.00) The committee thanks you for your support of our congregation. Winter Study program: The Brain on God series meets Mondays, at 7 pm in the Nursery. If you have missed the previous sessions, but would like to join the rest of the series, you are welcome to borrow the DVD to catch up on the sessions already viewed. Upcoming Meetings and Events: Tuesday, March 15, 2016, 7:00 pm: Board of Elders Meeting in the Lounge. Wednesday March 16, 2016, 7:00 pm. Medicine Hat Ecumenical Lenten Worship at Westminster United Church (101 6th Street SE). Guest preacher is Rev. Jeff Decelle. Sunday, March 20, 12:15 pm: Pastoral Care Visitation Workshop in the Lounge. You are invited to come and learn (or refresh) some skills and strategies for visiting in hospital and care facilities. Our goal is to develop a team of competent and confident pastoral care givers, who will be able to visit our many older and isolated church folks in care facilities and to assist in hosting occasional communion services. Areas of discussion will include Freedom of Information and Privacy Act, Finding your comfort level, Dealing with Dementia, Companionship & Recreation. Bring a bag lunch call to register. Sunday, March 20, 2016, 7:00 pm Celebrate Music IV at Fifth Avenue Memorial Church. The choir of Fifth Avenue Memorial United Church plus an additional 30 voices, 15 musicians, 7 choir directors. Guest artists include Laura Mackay (soprano), Darrel Maier (organ) and Expandable Brass. Tickets $20 available from Stone Furs, choir members, or from the church office. Monday, March 21, 2016 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Wednesday, March 23, 1:30 pm UCW will be serving hot cross buns, tea and coffee in the Lounge. Friday, March 25, 7:00 pm Good Friday Worship Service in the Sanctuary. Sunday, March 27, 10:25 am Easter Sunday Worship Service in the Sanctuary. 3/09/16 1:56 PM Page 7