Bulletin – Sunday, November 8, 2020
Sunday, November 8, 2020
Remembrance Day – Service of Lament and Remembrance
Approach
Lighting the Christ Candle
Call to Worship
God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1
I lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2
This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, God’s mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.
Lamentations 3:21-23
Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8
We meet in the presence of God. Who calls us to share in Christ’s ministry of reconciliation.
In penitence and faith we commit ourselves to pray for God’s kingdom to come and work together with all people of good will toward that justice and peace between nations and peoples which is the hope of our calling.
As we come together in worship, we bring to mind all who in grief, who struggle and are in pain and those who continue to suffer the consequences of fighting, conflict and terror.
We remember, on this day, in this worship, with thanksgiving and sorrow those whose lives, in world wars and conflicts past and present, have been given and taken away.
Hymn – “God! As with Silent Hearts”
God! As with silent hearts we bring to mind
How hate and war diminish humankind,
We pause, and seek in worship to increase
Our knowledge of the things that make for peace.
Hallow our will as humbly we recall
The lives of those who gave and give their all.
We thank you, God, for women, children, men
Who seek to serve in love, today as then.
Give us deep faith the comfort those who mourn,
High hope to share with all the newly born,
Strong love in our pursuit of human worth:
‘Lest we forget’ the future of this earth.
So, Prince of Peace, disarm our trust in power,
Teach us to coax the plant of peace to flower.
May we, impassioned by your living Word,
Remember forward to a world restored.
Prayer of Lament and Confession
O Christ in pain and agony on the cross you bore the brunt of the world’s violence you wore our insults scorched upon your back and in your haunting cry of desolation you utter our grief, our anguish, our loss. Hear the cry of your people.
Response
Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
You alone, O Lord, are holy.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace,
Alleluia.
O God still the chatter, the twisted speech and let your mercy and peace lead us in hope. We hold before you: all the violence done in your name; those maimed by war or scared by hatred, those traumatized by nightmares which years of peace cannot erase. Those crippled in spirit as well as in body; those who cannot or will not forgive. Hear the cry of your people.
Response
Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
You alone, O Lord, are holy.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace,
Alleluia.
We hold before you the tyrants of our age who wreak havoc with the minds and bodies of the young and force them to commit horrendous crimes. We hold before you a world broken by despair where false prophets voice not words of peace but chant a mantra of revenge. Hear the cry of your people.
Response
Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
You alone, O Lord, are holy.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace,
Alleluia.
We hold before you our own complicity with the evils of our age and pray for those who have not forgiven us. Hear the cry of your people.
Response
Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
You alone, O Lord, are holy.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace,
Alleluia.
Words of Assurance
Time for All Ages
Hymn – “Weep for the Dead”
Weep for the dead. Let tears and silence tell
Of blood and battle, horror and renown.
The years diminish, but do not dispel
The pain of lives destroyed, and life laid down.
Silent the dead. Remembering we stand
Silent as they, for words cannot esteem
Causes of war, the love of native land,
All that they were, and all they might have been.
Raising our flag, we stand with muffled drum,
Judged by the colours of God’s love and loss,
Recalling as we pray, “Your kingdom come,”
A purple robe, and blood upon a cross.
Summoned by love that leaves no room for pride,
We pray that every continent and isle,
Wounded by war, war’s hate may lay aside,
And find a way to heal and reconcile.
Weep for the dead, from all the ills of earth.
Stand by the cross that bids all hatred cease.
March to the drums of dignity and worth.
Salute the King of Love, the Prince of Peace.
Last Post and Moment of Silence
The Word
Scripture Reading:
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid
Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful,
for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God
Meditation – “Love in a Dangerous World!”
Anthem – “When Peace Shall Come”
The Response
Statement of Faith
We believe in God, creator of the world and all people; and in Jesus Christ, incarnate among us, who died and rose again; and in the Holy Spirit, present with us to guide, strengthen, and comfort. We believe.
God, help our unbelief.
We rejoice in every sign of God’s kingdom: in the upholding of human dignity and community; in every expression of love, justice, and reconciliation; in each act of self-giving on behalf of others; in the abundance of God’s gifts entrusted to us that all may have enough; in all responsible use of the earth’s resources
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.
We confess our sin, individual and collective, by silence or action: through the violation of human dignity based on race, class, age, orientation, gender, nation, or faith; through the exploitation of people by greed and indifference; through the misuse of power in personal, communal, national, and international life; through the search for security by military and economic forces that threaten human existence: through the abuse of technology which endangers the earth and all life upon it.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
We commit ourselves individually and as a community to the way of Christ; to take up the cross; to seek abundant life for all humanity; to struggle for peace with justice and freedom; to risk ourselves in faith, hope, and love, praying that God’s kingdom may come.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.
(15th World Methodist Council, Nairobi, Kenya, 1986, Uniting in Worship 1: People’s Book: page 133)
Prayer of Remembrance
Let us pray for all who suffer as a result of conflict, and ask that God may give us peace: for the servicemen and women who have died in the violence of war, each one remembered by and known to God; may God give peace.
God give peace.
For those who love them in death as in life, offering the distress of our grief and the sadness of our loss; may God give peace.
God give peace.
For all members of the armed forces who are in danger this day, remembering family, friends and all who pray for their safe return; may God give peace.
God give peace.
For civilian women, children, and men whose lives are disfigured by war or terror, calling to mind in penitence the anger and hatreds of humanity; may God give peace.
God give peace.
For peace-makers and peace-keepers, who seek to keep this world secure and free; may God give peace.
God give peace.
For all military chaplains offering support, encouragement, acceptance, compassion, and understanding wherever and whenever it is needed; may God give peace.
God give peace.
For all who bear the burden and privilege of leadership, political, military, and religious; asking for gifts of wisdom and resolve in the search for reconciliation and peace; may God give peace.
God give peace.
O God of truth and justice, we hold before you those whose memory we cherish, and those whose names we will never know. We raise up to you today the names of those whom we pray will feel your loving presence with them during times of sickness and struggle…may God give peace.
God give peace.
Help us to lift our eyes above the torment of this broken world, and grant us the grace to pray for those who wish us harm. As we honour the past, may we put our faith in your future; for you are the source of life and hope, now and for ever. Amen. Let us now continue to pray in the words that Jesus taught us:
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 those who 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.
Sending Out
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.
We will remember them.
Silence
Every-living God we remember those whom you have gathered from the storm of war into the peace of your presence; may that same peace calm our fears, bring justice to all peoples and establish harmony among the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn – “Let There Be Light”
Let there be light, let there be understanding,
Let all the nations gather, let them be face to face:
Open our lips, open our minds to ponder,
Open the door of concord, opening into grace;
Perish the sword, perish the anger judgement,
Perish the bombs of hunger, Perish the fight for gain;
Hallow our love, hallow the deaths of martyrs;
Hallow their holy freedom, hallowed by your name;
Your kingdom come, your spirit turn to language,
Your people speak together, your spirit never fade;
Let there be light, open our hearts to wonder,
Perish the way of terror, hallow the world God made.
Benediction
Let us commit ourselves to responsible living and faithful service. Will you strive for all that makes for peace?
We will.
Will you seek to heal the wounds of war?
We will.
Will you work for a just future for all humanity?
We will.
Merciful God, we offer to you the fears in us that have not yet been cast out by love: may we go from this place today accepting and living into the hope you have placed in the hearts of all people, and live lives of justice, courage, and mercy; through the one who walks on wounded feet, the one who serves with wounded hands, Jesus Christ Love Incarnate. Amen.
Response
Go now in peace, go now in peace.
May the love of God surround you
Everywhere, everywhere
You may go.
