St. Paul s United Church

Transcription

1 St. Paul s United Church SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2012 *When you see this sign, please stand as you are able. WE GATHER IN GOD S NAME *PROCESSIONAL HYMN #108 Throughout These Lenten Days and Nights WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) Like Abraham and Sarah, when we follow the world, God turns us towards the promise. When we move towards old age, God moves us towards a new age. When we prepare to settle down, God prepares to unsettle us. When we organize our retirement, God organizes more adventures. When we sort out our pension, God sorts out our travel plans. When we wonder if we get lost in the crowd, God knows each of us by name, so come before God in worship for God is with you on this Lenten journey. LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE As we light this Christ candle, may it remind us that Christ is in us and in Our world. INTROIT: VU # 108 verse 1 Throughout these Lenten days and nights we turn to walk the inward way, where, meeting Christ, our guide and light, we live in hope till Easter Day. OPENING PRAYER (in unison) God of love, as in Jesus Christ you gave yourself to us, so may we give ourselves to you, living according to your holy will. Keep our feet firmly in the way where Christ leads us; help our lips speak the trust that Christ teaches us; fill our bodies with the life that is Christ within us. In his holy name we pray. Amen

2 *HYMN #634 To Abraham and Sarah THEME CONVERSATION Will be led by the Children PRAYER WITH CHILDREN/LORD S PRAYER PRAYER OF CONFESSION (UNISON) God of the journey, we sometimes hesitate to step forward and walk your path of trust. You call us to walk the way less travelled yet we want the easy road. You promise that you will remember even if we forget. We come today seeking insight into your ways and forgiveness when we refuse to follow. Guide us on our Lenten journey. Amen ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS WE HEAR THE WISDOM OF THE WORD PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION (SAID BY ALL) May we hear these ancient scriptures with trusting faith and gentle hope, with creative enthusiasm and honest doubt, rooted in the teachings of Jesus and grounded in your love. May we hear your call in scripture today. Amen Scripture Readings: Genesis 17: 1-7, Mark 8: ANTHEM I Thank the Lord for You! Ken Bible/Hugh Wilson SERMON GIVING OF OUR GOOD AND GIFTS HYMN #149 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross WE RESPOND TO GOD S WORD *DOXOLOGY: #VU 541 Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures high and low; give thanks to God in love made known: Creator, Word and Spirit, One. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE HYMN VU#574 Come, Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love WE GO FORTH TO SERVE

3 *COMMISSIONING/BENEDICTION ** SUNG BLESSING Go in love; have no fear. God will guide you, He is always near. Go in Love; take His hand. God will hear you, He will understand. May His light forever shine upon you. May His peace be always in your heart. Go in love; face each day. God will lead you, He will show the way. Go in love and live in faith. Amen. (Reproduced with permission under license #c607447) POSTLUDE Please allow the choir to recess before leaving the Sanctuary. Ministers: All the People of God with the Rev. Karen Ptolemy-Stam Lay Reader Cliff Rudyk Director of Music Paul Sloan Pre-Service Music Rick Taylor Administrator Judy McConnell Custodian Mary Ellen Petticrew Phone Fax Website: stpaulsmidland.org Office hours Monday thru Friday 9-12, 1-4pm NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS A special welcome to all new friends as we gather to celebrate God s presence in our lives. If you are a guest, visitor or newcomer, please make yourself known to us. If you have any questions, our greeters would be delighted to help you. Please put your name, mailing address and address in our guest book so we may have a record of your visit. Coffee today following the service will be served in the Great Hall, compliments of the M&P Committee. Our Lenten project this year is Karen Refugee Children During Lent this year, the goal of the Outreach Committee is to help some of the thousands of Karen refugee children and orphans who are suffering the consequences of ethnic cleansing and armed conflict in their native country of Burma. These unfortunate children have been driven out of their homes and are currently living in UN refugee camps on the Thailand/Burma border. They are in constant danger, living on the edge of starvation and unable to go to school.

4 Karen Refugee Children s Fundraising Dinner Our Outreach Committee is sponsoring a fundraising dinner on March 19 th at 5:30pm in the Great Hall. This it to raise funds for our Lenten project. Tickets are available for sale from the church office or from any Outreach Committee member. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. This dinner will be a Chinese food extravaganza prepared by Uncle Roy s restaurant. ***Please find an envelope in your bulletin today to use if you would like to make a donation to the Lenten Project. There is also Coin Cards or Coin Boxes on the back window if you wish to make a donation to the Lenten project in this manner. Please make sure your name is on the box or card. If you are unable to attend the children s dinner and wish to make a donation with a cheque payable to St. Paul s United Church and designate that the donation is for Karen refugee children. Thank you for helping these children! Outreach On Sunday March 11 th during our coffee hour after church, Dutch mini crepes will be available for freewill donations (a minimum $2.00 donation per serving is appreciated) as a fundraiser for the Karen refugee children. This special treat is being prepared and donated by Dirk and Marg Alberts to help these refugee children. Please come and enjoy these yummy treats. The Karen Flag KAREN FLAG The colour red was used to speak of heroism and perseverance, white for purity and clarity and blue for honesty and peace. Nine rays of light streaming from the rising sun indicated the nine regions from which the Karen people traced their origins. The frog drum symbolizes unity in traditional Karen culture Fellowship Club meets on Tuesday March 6th 7:00pm. If you are interested in an interesting program, fellowship and food you please join us at our next meeting. Our guest will be Mary Keddy who is a Project Manager for Georgian Village, a facility being built by Simcoe County to replace and greatly expand the senior care facility that is now Georgian Manor. The new facility is built on 20 acres of land on the edge of Penetanguishene. Besides the retirement and permanent care facility there are seventeen life lease garden homes detached and semidetached, forty life lease suites in a three story wing, forty affordable living apartments and forty two assisted living apartments. Cancer Society: The local branch of the Canadian Cancer society needs help to wrap daffodils on Friday March 30 th. If you can give a couple hours of your time to this worthy cause, please join the other volunteers at the Midland Curling Club, King Street, at 8:30am on that day. See posters showing the line-up of talent Brookside music is bringing to the church in March: March 7 Jelena Milojevic Accordian 7:30 pm Tickets $20

5 March 24 Opera Carmen 8:00pm Tickets $40 Students $25 Tickets can be purchased from Johnstone s Musicland. See poster for more information. IN CASE OF A PASTORAL EMERGENCY YOU MAY CALL KAREN AT HOME AT OTHERWISE PLEASE CALL CHURCH AT KAREN NOW HAS HER OWN ADDRESS: MINSPUCMIDLAND@GMAIL.COM. YOU ARE INVITED TO KAREN DIRECTLY AT THIS ADDRESS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM YOUR FAMILY AT ST. PAUL S March 1 Alyce Watson 3 Kay Brown 4 Mu La Eh Dah Soe Bernice Thompson 6 Ed Nichols 9 Gretha van Der Zwan David Walker 11 Ruth Sutherland 14 Cam Bonner 16 Ruth Freund Echo Godsmark Joan Hough 17 Tom Nesbitt Heather Tilson 19 Rick Gerritsen 21 Elizabeth Grieve Barbara Lalonde 22 Don Hough Rachel Leck 24 Jordan Dupuis 26 Hannah Hornsby 29 Allan James 31 Brittany Laurin 31 Rachel Pendlebury It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Bill Heeley, husband of Marg Heeley. Bill s funeral was held on Saturday March 3rd at the Penetanguishene funeral home. Our condolences and prayers go out to Marg and family for their loss. It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Jeanette Mason on February 23 rd a long time member of the Penetanguishene UCW. Our condolences and prayers go out to Jeanette s family for their loss.

6 Please keep the following people in your prayers: Norm Ellis in GBH, George Godsmark at home and doing better, Norma Graham at home, Amara Van der Zwan, Doug Mosley at home, Frank Mustard at home, Joan Doolittle and Evelyn Banks in Hillcrest in your prayers and anyone else who may need our support by prayer at this time. Bible Study is on Wednesday at 11:30am to 1pm in the parlour, come join us! Bring a bag lunch, coffee and tea will be provided, all are welcome! We are going to be studying the book of Genesis Observer: Subscriptions are up for renewal starting April. If you are receiving the Observer and do not wish to continue doing so, please let the church office know. If you would like to start a subscription, please let Judy know in the church office at The cost of a subscription for the year is $ th Midland Scouting is holding its annual spaghetti dinner and silent auction on Thursday April 12th from 5:30 pm to 8:45 pm. This year we will have members of Base Borden's Brass and Reed Band. Tickets are $10 per adult, $5 per child and $25 for a family of four. Tickets will be available at the door. Proceeds from the dinner are being used to help our youth attend a National Scouting Jamboree at Sylvan Lake, Alberta in Thank you for your support. The Easter Newsletter please submit your committee reports, news items, jokes, stories, poems etc. to be included in this issue. Please have your reports etc in to the church office by Monday March 26 th. A DREAM OF LIFE WITHOUT WAR! Story from By Naw Zipporah Sein, the General Secretary of the Karen Women's Organization Thailand/Burma I grew up in Burma, so-called Myanmar, a country ruled by one of the world's cruelest and longest lasting dictatorships. I am Karen, the second largest ethnic nationality in Burma with a population of about 8 to 10 million. Like other ethnic nationalities in Burma, the Karen have been fighting for their rights, freedom, self-determination, and democracy for more than fifty years. The Karen live mostly in the mountainous eastern border region of Burma and the central delta areas. We are simple people, with strong families, who place a high value on hospitality and desire to live peacefully. But we have suffered systematic persecution, torture, exploitation, displacement, and death, including the death of our culture, the most vital part of our daily lives. Our Karen schools have been taken from us, controlled by force and destroyed, and we are not allowed to learn our own language in Burmese schools, because of the national policy of "Burmanisation." The Burmese army is present throughout our land and controls our people though forced labor, forced relocation, rape, torture, killing, looting, and destruction of property. Our fields, crops, and rice barns are burned down and our villages as well. Our villagers are deliberately starved and regularly beaten, and the women raped and killed with impunity. Rape by the Burmese army, or SPDC (State Peace and Development council) officers and troops is such a popular weapon in these violent encounters that, as women,

7 we have become the target of the war. We Karen women have lost all our rights the right to an education, the right to health and food, even the right to live. Our children are born under attack; small babies do not have the right to cry, because they might reveal the whereabouts of their family. I grew up in a rural area, a war zone, and I have never felt secure. All my life I have been an internally displaced person; even now, living in a refugee camp, I still don t feel safe. My family had to move from place to place all the time; we could not settle anywhere for more than two years. We had to keep moving until finally we got to the refugee camp on the Thai Burma border in February My mother was responsible for the survival of her eight children, while my father traveled in the struggle for freedom. My mother is a strong woman. She kept us alive through her knowledge of traditional herbal medicines, because we had no clinic or hospital, health workers, doctors or nurses, even medicines. We were lucky that my mother knew so much, for her skill prevented us from dying; many other children did die. My mother always explained why we had to live a life of terror and fear. She said the day would come when" Peace and Justice" would be achieved and we would live peacefully and happily ever after. We children strongly believed this; we waited for the day when "Peace and Justice" would come to our country. And we are still longing and waiting for it. I was born in the area of the widest and most serious armed conflicts, an area where thousands of women still suffer every day. I was a schoolteacher in this war zone for twenty years. As a schoolteacher, what I found most difficult to talk about with my students was peace and security. It sounded unrealistic to them as well as to me, when war was all we knew. In the middle of almost every academic term, we had to close down the school when the Burmese government sent its troops to attack our areas. My schoolboys had to go to the front lines to defend the women, children, and elderly in the villages. Not only have I witnessed war against civilians, but, as a teacher, I lost many students to it. All these years I have dreamed about a life without war, a life that would be secure and safe. I think this must be very pleasant. I have already tried to bury many wounds inside me and I now look forward only to what may happen next. It is my sincere and heartfelt wish that my people and I will be able to live a life without war, a life of peace and security. I feel we have a long way to go; peace is still a very distant dream for us. Women s definition of peace goes beyond the mere end of war and fighting. We want a genuine peace, a peace with justice, a peace where there is no violence or domestic violence. Even if there is no war, if there is still domestic violence, women cannot be happy with this kind of peace. I believe that unless we can increase the participation of our women in the current political movement at the decision making level, we will not be able to contribute our best capabilities toward our peace building process. Because during all these long years of civil war, we have been vulnerable, we have suffered, and we have never been the cause of war. We women have the skills to work with men for peace and to make plans to bring it about. I personally believe that all parties involved are responsible to bring the terror in to an end through forgiveness. I strongly support the words of Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1984, who said there can be "No future without forgiveness." Power, pride, and hatred will never create a world or a country that lives in peace and justice. We need solidarity from all our sisters in the world; we need support for our women s efforts at co-operation, reconciliation, and peace building.