Bulletin – Sunday, August 28, 2022 – Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, August 28, 2022
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Approach
Lighting the Christ Candle
We light this candle this morning to remember. We light this candle to remember Christ; the Christ that was born in a stable to a young single woman, who would, along with her partner, become a political refugee, the Christ who walked the dusty roads of the ancient world with those whom society deemed as ‘less than,’ the Christ who included women in a world where they were excluded, the Christ who was not satisfied with the status quo and was seen as counter-cultural. As we remember this Christ we are challenged to embody this counter-cultural nature of Christ in all that we do. So let us remember, let us embody, let us change the world. Amen.
Call to Worship
One: We come, for God gathers us here, with that community called faith:
All: when the hungry are served first, where the thirsty drink life’s water.
One: We come, for God welcomes us here into the home called grace:
All: where the naked are clothed in robes of hope; where the stranger is embraced as the long-lost prodigal.
One: We come, for God reunites us here, sisters and brothers in that family called love:
All: where the imprisoned model justice, where the sick are cradled in God’s peace.
One: We come for God has called us:
All: to worship in word, song, prayer, and action.
(adapted from Thom Shuman)
Hymn – “We are Pilgrims”
We are pilgrims on a journey,
Fellow travellers on the road;
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load.
Sister, let me be your servant,
Let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace to
Let you be my servant too.
I will hold the Christ light for you
In the night time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
Speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping,
When you laugh I’ll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow,
Till we’ve seen this journey through.
When we sing to God in heaven,
We shall find such harmony,
Born of all we’ve known together
Of Christ’s love and agony.
Brother, let me be your servant,
Let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace to
Let you be my servant too.
Prayer of Approach and Confession
We come today and we hear God’s promises. They are the promises stretching back into the dim recesses of time, yet as new as this very moment. When we lose our way, God searches for us until we are found. When we hurt others, God brings healing to all. When we sin, God forgives us. Let us hold these promises close to our hearts, as we confess those things we try to hide.
We stock the food pantries but brush aside those who hunger for friendship. We give our hand-me-downs away but overlook those whose hopes have been stripped away. We glad-hand those just like us but turn a deaf ear to our neighbours who are not like us. Forgive us, Hope of the Ages.
You persistently search for us in the side streets of the world, gathering us up and bringing us home, so we may be drenched in the waters of your bottomless pool of forgiveness, watched over by your Child, Jesus Christ. Amen.
(adapted from Thom Shuman)
Words of Assurance
Time for All ages
The Word
Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:34-45
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God!
Video – The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead
Meditation – “Good Works”
The Response
Prayers of the People
One: Creator God, revealed to us in Jesus of Nazareth, present to us now through your Spirit, we hear your call to care for the lost, the last, the little, and the least that even through us your grace may touch their lives.
One: Loving God, friend of outcast and stranger prejudiced in favour of those whom others reject we hear your call to care for those on the margins of our world; Aboriginal sisters and brothers lost in their own land, refugees seeking asylum and new hope, those excluded from our communities. May our ministry offer dignity and respect to each and every person and offer a place at the table for the stranger and the outcast.
One: Gracious God, relating to us as a generous parent offering yourself in love to every person we hear your call to offer hope of renewed relationship where trust and love have been displaced by fear and jealousy, where family has become a place of abuse rather than nurture where hurts, real or imagined, remain unforgiven. May our ministry offer your gifts of grace and reconciliation and hold out the hope of restored and renewed human relationships.
One: Living God known to us in the dance of community we call Trinity mediated to us through the common life of the church we hear your call to offer new communities of meaning and hope to those who live in isolation and emptiness to those whose lives lack purpose and direction to those seeking a safe place to nurture their journey of spirit. May our ministry offer the hope of deep and trusted friendship and a way to find connectedness with those who share the journey of life.
One: Healing God, You are always coming to us offering strength, guidance, love, and hope. We bring before you today those in this community whom we hope will feel your healing presence with them today…
One: God beyond all names whose presence lives in those you call by name whose presence goes before us into the lives of those to whom we minister we hear your call to serve in a variety of places. We pray that each of us as we serve you in our particular ministry may find renewed depth in our relationship with you, may be confirmed in our call to this ministry, may find our gifts and call affirmed as we offer them in service, may become a part of a healthy and life-giving community of faith.
One: Here these, our prayers, as we offer them in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Hymn – “When I Needed a Neighbour”
When I needed a neighbour, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter, were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there, were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter, were you there?
I was cold, I was naked, were you there, were you there?
I was cold, I was naked, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter, were you there?
When I needed a shelter, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a shelter, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter, were you there?
When I needed a healer, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a healer, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter, were you there?
Wherever you travel I’ll be there, I’ll be there,
Wherever you travel I’ll be there.
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter, I’ll be there.
Benediction
Go now, and embrace the hope to which God has called us. Recognize Christ in friend and stranger, and as Christ has been gracious to you, so be gracious to those in need. And may God give you a place of rest; may Christ walk gently with you along the way; and may the Holy Spirit give you wisdom…and reveal to you the fullness of the one whose love truly is beyond measure.
We go in peace to love and serve God. Amen.
