Bulletin – Sunday, October 1, 2023 – Creation 4 / World Wide Communion Sunday
Sunday, October 1, 2023
Creation 4 / World Wide Communion Sunday
Approach
Welcome
Land Acknowledgement
One: Please join me in the Acknowledgement to the Territory.
All: Indigenous peoples, for thousands of years, have walked on this land. We acknowledge the first peoples and their stewardship throughout the ages. The relationship with the land we worship and live on is part of Treaty 1 and is the center for our lives. Our water comes from Treaty 3 and our hydro from Treaty 5 territories. We acknowledge errors made in the past by those arriving from other lands and we pledge to work towards the right relationships with all First Nations people.
Lighting the Christ Candle
One: When there is darkness all around us.
All: When the way seems impossible to find.
One: When all seems hopeless and without purpose.
All: When all seems hopeless and without purpose.
One: When we throw up our hands in despair.
All: When we are about to give up.
One: There in the midst of it all.
All: Right in the middle of all the mess.
One: We see a light burning so bright, it illuminates the darkness.
All: We see a light the pulls us from despair.
One: We have been given renewed hope.
All: Christ is among, around, and within.
Call to Worship
One: Open and ready to honour the God of all ages.
All: We give ourselves to this moment in time to praise God’s holy name.
One: Our voices ring out and our hearts soar as we remember the work of our Creator.
All: Thanks be to God as we sing songs that glorify and adore.
One: In all aspects of this service let us be mindful of God’s Spirit.
All: We listen as we reflect on the words and music that we hear.
One: Everyone has a part to play in joining the circle.
All: We are one as we gather as God’s people.
Hymn – “Creator God You Gave us Life” (MV #27)
Creator God, you gave us life, your image formed within our souls,
Yet through the mist of time and space, we search for that which makes us whole.
Through hands that paint majestic skies, and voices chanting melody,
With words that reach beyond the page, we comprehend your mystery.
In every flower and every tree, we see your great diversity,
Yet greater still we see your love, expressed in our humanity.
Through hands that paint majestic skies, and voices chanting melody,
With words that reach beyond the page, we comprehend your mystery.
When with our hearts, our hands, our minds, we share our gifts with all the world,
Our spirits soar beyond the veil, to touch the very face of God.
Through hands that paint majestic skies, and voices chanting melody,
With words that reach beyond the page, we comprehend your mystery.
Prayer of Approach and Confession
One: O God, who meets our every need, we know that you are there to listen and acknowledge us. You hear our every breath and are part of every step we take. In your presence today we offer all that we are as we give voice to our limitations. Amen.
All: As we come before you, dear God, we are humbly reminded that we often fall short of your Divine image. We sometimes do not put our trust in You. We complain and we seek other ways to solve our problems. We lose patience and point fingers. Help us to be patient and remember times when Your intervention was all that helped us survive. Forgive us for not believing that You will provide. As we look ahead to days when the solution may not be at our fingertips, we pray that we will be assured by our faith in You. In your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
Words of Assurance
Creation Connection
One: This week is the fourth Sunday in the Season of Creation. Today we are asked to consider where we get our water. Many of us have heard that Winnipeg’s water supply comes from Shoal Lake. We have heard about how the people of Shoal Lake 40 were isolated on a man-made island so that the people of Winnipeg would have clean drinking water, while they were under a boil-water advisory for over 25 years. Today we are asked to think about how we distribute the earth’s resources. Do we share them in the spirit of justice, or do we consume more than our share? Today’s video is “Nature Speaking” – Penelope Cruz is Water,” from Conservation International.
Nature Is Speaking – Penélope Cruz is Water | Conservation International (CI)
One: Let us pray.
All: Creator God, as we enter uncharted territory around global climate change, help us to follow the words of Jesus, to love one another. Through our actions, help us to show our love for the whole of Creation, not just our tiny piece of it. Help us to learn about the systems around us and around the world and let us work toward a sharing of the earth’s resources based on a spirit of just. help us to learn and work together in your name. Amen.
Hymn – “Call by Earth and Sky” (MV #135)
Called by earth and sky, promise of hope held high,
This is our sacred living trust,
Treasure of life sanctified,
Called by earth and sky.
Precious these waters, endless seas,
Deep ocean’s dream,
Waters of healing, rivers of rain,
The wash of love again.
Called by earth and sky, promise of hope held high,
This is our sacred living trust,
Treasure of life sanctified,
Called by earth and sky.
Precious this gift, the air we breath;
Wind born and free.
Breath of the Spirit, blow through this place,
Our gathering and our grace.
Called by earth and sky, promise of hope held high,
This is our sacred living trust,
Treasure of life sanctified,
Called by earth and sky.
Precious these mountains, ancient sands;
Vast fragile land.
Seeds of our wakening rooted and strong,
Creation’s faithful song.
Called by earth and sky, promise of hope held high,
This is our sacred living trust,
Treasure of life sanctified,
Called by earth and sky.
Precious the fire that lights our way,
Bright dawning day.
Fire of passion, sorrows undone,
Our faith and justice one.
Called by earth and sky, promise of hope held high,
This is our sacred living trust,
Treasure of life sanctified,
Called by earth and sky.
The Word
Scripture Reading: Psalm 78:1-4; 12-16
Part 1 (1-4)
One: Give head to my teaching, O my people, turn your ears to the words of my mouth.
All: I will open my mouth in a parable; I will reveal the hidden meaning of things in the past.
One: What we have heard and known, what our parents have told us, we will not hide from their grandchildren,
All: but declare to the next generation the testimony that you gave to Jacob and the law you appointed in Israel, which you commanded them to teach their children,
One: that the next generation might know them, children yet unborn, and these in turn should arise, and tell their children,
All: that they should put their trust in you, and not forget your great deeds, but keep all your commandments.
Part 2 (12-16)
One: Marvelous things you did in the sight of our ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the plain of Zoan.
All: You divided the sea and let them go through, and made the waters stand up like a wall.
One: By day you led with a cloud, and all the night long with a beacon of fire.
All: You split rocks in the wilderness, and give drink in plenty as from the great deep. You brought streams out of the rock, and made water run down like rivers.
Scripture Reading: Exodus 17:1-17
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”
3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah[ and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God!
Meditation – Where God Leads, God Provides
Offering
Offering Response – “For the Gift of Creation” (VU #538)
For the gift of creation, the gift of your love,
And the gift of the Spirit by which we live,
We thank you and give you the fruit of our hands.
May your grace be proclaimed by the gifts that we give.
Offering Prayer
Hymn – “All Who Hunger” (VU #460)
All who hunger, gather gladly; holy manna is our bread.
Come from wilderness and wandering. Here, in truth, we will be fed.
You that yearn for days of fullness, all around us is our food.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.
All who hunger, never strangers; seeker, be a welcome guest.
Come from restlessness and roaming. Here, in joy, we keep the feast.
We that once were lost and scattered in communion’s love have stood.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.
All who hunger, sing together; Jesus Christ is living bread.
Come from loneliness and longing. Here, in peace, we have been led.
Blest are those who from this table live their lives in gratitude.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.
The Response
Communion
One: And so we gather at the table. We come from many places, differing in age, differing in race, differing in orientation, politics and even religion. As we come together around the table we discover that our differences are not something we tolerate but that our differences are indeed a blessing, the more difference we bring, the more fully we experience the presence of the sacred in our midst. So come, children of God, just as you are. Wherever you are on this journey of life, you are welcome here, here in this place, here in this community, here at this table. Come, children of God, come and remember with us.
One: We remember that from the time of creation you have provided for us, Gracious God, calling us to come to join in the banquet of your love. We remember the garden that you created abundant with plants to nourish our bodies. We remember the manna given to a hungry people wandering in the desert. Through mystics and minstrels, prophets and poets you call us to come to your table but we turn away, thinking that we know better. But you continued to call and sent your son to show us the depth and breadth of your love. We remember the stories that Jesus’ friends tell, stories of bread broken and shared, feeding a multitude, stories of being gathered together, enemy and friend, around tables, stories of unlikely guests revealing the face of the sacred.
One: They say that that it was on a night of both celebration and betrayal that he took the bread leftover on the table, blessed it and broke it; reminding them that it is in the breaking that we become whole, in losing our lives that we find them, in serving that we are served. As the grain scattered becomes one in the loaf, when we eat this bread, we become one with one another.
Breaking of the Bread
One: They say that he took the cup also leftover on the table, poured out and sharing, remembering with them, the life-giving breath even now pounding a rhythm through our veins, the breath of life from whence we come the breath that precedes and follows all that we can see As the grapes find life in the vine, when we drink this cup, we become at one with the source of life itself.
One: And so we pray: Come, holy Spirit, come. Bless this bread and bless this fruit of the vine. Bless all of us in our eating and drinking that our eyes might be open, that we might recognize the risen Christ in our midst, indeed in one another. Come, holy Spirit, come.
Pouring of the Wine
(adapted from Patrick Woodbeck)
Prayers of the People
One: When you hear “Lord in your Mercy” please reply with “hear our prayer.”
One: You, God, have been our rock and our salvation on so many occasions. We pray that we will be grateful servants as we travel on our own journeys of discovery and perhaps freedom. Help us to be willing to trust and know that, in your loving way, you will provide. Lord in your Mercy.
All: Hear our prayer.
One: As be begin this fall season, may we be mindful of those who struggle with the shorter days and colder weather. Show them your light and let them know that they are enfolded in your loving arms. Lord in your Mercy.
All: Hear our prayer.
One: We pray for the provincial election that is happening on Tuesday. Guide whoever is elected. May they truly be the voice of the people they serve. Help them to be guided by an agenda that uplifts and provides support for everyone, especially in the health care system. Lord in your Mercy.
All: Hear our prayer.
One: God, we pray for Indigenous people who have suffered, especially those sent to Residential schools. May we take ownership of our ancestors’ part in creating these schools. Help us create right relations that seek a new path forward. Lord in your Mercy.
All: Hear our prayer.
One: We think of those loved ones and church family who need our support and prayers at this time. You are a God of healing who cares for each one of us. We hold these names before you today…Lord in your Mercy.
All: Hear our prayer.
One: Jesus taught us to pray these words. As we say them together, may we listen and make them our own:
All: Our Father / Mother, who are 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, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn – “May We Rise”
May we rise with all Creation as the Spirit gives us strength.
May we heed the inner wisdom that God’s loving knows no length.
May we be a faith filled people, living out compassion’s way.
May we find the heart-felt courage to embrace the dawning day.
May we rise. Let the songs of Love be sung.
May we rise. Sisters, brothers we are one, we are one.
May we walk to meet the shadows of our woundedness and grief.
May we trust the Holy Spirit to bring healing and relief.
May we live with love and justice, bring Your messages of Peace.
May we know the guiding power of Your gift of Grace released.
May we rise. Let the songs of Love be sung.
May we rise. Sisters, brothers we are one, we are one.
May we reach beyond the bound’ries of the walls that do divide.
May we feel the gift of Presence in Life’s circle with no sides.
May we listen for Your calling, hearts be open to Your Way.
May we rise. Let the songs of Love be sung.
May we rise. Sisters, brothers we are one, we are one.
Benediction
One: When things seem impossible and we are at a loss, we sometimes want to just go back where we came from. We want to hide in some corner of Egypt and be slaves to Pharaoh. Anything would be better than this. Guess what? God is listening to us. God has a plan. We are meant to be free, free from worry and wondering whether we will have enough. God will provide.
All: God will indeed provide as we make our way to the Promised Land. Water will pour from the rock and our needs will be met. Each day as we walk with God, the Holy Spirit breathes new life and Christ brings us peace everlasting. Amen.
Response
Jesus, Lord, our true example, you have shown how we must live.
Teach us how to share with others everything we have to give.
Let our days be spent in service: bring us by your grace to know
Healing is the church’s calling, and the path that we must go.
(Sources: Gathering 2014, Gathering 2023)
