Notes on the Notes – August 31, 2025

This Week’s Music:

“Let Us Build a House (All are Welcome)” (MV #1)

“Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true,
Where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God’s grace;
Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat;
A banquet hall on holy ground, where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space;
As we share in Christ the feast that frees us;
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone
To heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face;
Let us bring an end to fear and danger;
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard
And loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace;
Let this house proclaim from floor to rafter;
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.”

Our opening hymn of welcome and inclusion was written by Marty Haugen in 1994.  Each verse of the hymn shares the dream of what God’s house can be.  What are our dreams for Windsor Park United Church?  Going into the future, what role do we each play in making this a welcoming place?

Hear the hymn at:  https://youtu.be/mTdxFRfEoMs

“Trust These Words”  (TLUS #78)

“Trust these words: you are forgiven!
Through Christ’s mercy, broken hearts can be restored;
Trust these words: you are forgiven! 
Live in peace, beloved, know you are adored;
Trust these words, trust these words, trust these words.

Trust these words: we are forgiven!
Through God’s mercy broken lives can be restored;
Trust these words: we are forgiven1
Live in grace and peace, oh, love and serve the Lord;
Trust these words, trust these words, trust these words.
Trust these words.”

Our response to the Words of Assurance for the month of August was written by Lisa Waites (2021).

“Build a Longer Table” (TLUS #22)

“Build a longer table, not a higher wall,
Feeding those who hunger, making room for all.
Feasting together, stranger turns to friend,
Christ breaks walls to pieces; false divisions end.

Build a safer refuge, not a larger jail;
Where the weak find shelter, mercy will not fail.
For any place where justice is denied,
Christ will breach the jail wall, freeing all inside.

Build a broader doorway, not a longer fence.
Love protects all people, sparing no expense.
When we embrace compassion more than fear,
Christ tears down our fences: all are welcome here.

When we lived as exiles, refugees abroad,
Christ became our doorway to the reign of God.
So must our tables welcome those who roam.
None can be excluded; all must find a home.”

The words for this hymn were written by David Bjorlin.  Through the words, we are encouraged to be more Christ-like in our thinking and interactions with those we meet.  The music is the medieval French carol, NOEL NOUVELET, harmonized by Martin Fallas Shaw (1928).

Hear the hymn at: https://youtu.be/NrstV-4iGw8

“When Jesus Sets the Table” (TLUS #29)

“When Jesus sets the table, all people find a place.
That table is a promise of blessing and of grace.
So set the table fully. Invite the whole world in.
If we would share love’s welcome, in feasting we begin.

Whoever we find troubling and seek to keep outside,
that is the very neighbour who must not be denied.
So set the table fully. Invite the whole world in.
If we would share love’s welcome, in feasting we begin.

No race, no creed, no nation, no love of heart and vow,
No gender is rejected. The table’s waiting now.
So set the table fully. Invite the whole world in.
If we would share love’s welcome, in feasting we begin.”

This week’s anthem was written by Amanda Udis-Kessler, with music by Sally Ann Morris.  “When Jesus sets the table” isn’t a single event but a concept in Christianity, referring to the inclusive, welcoming nature of Jesus’ message and his invitation to all people to share in God’s kingdom, as highlighted in the Parable of the Great Banquet in Luke 14, where the poor and marginalized are invited to a feast.

Hear the song at: https://youtu.be/8A1pl_tcI_o?list=PLcKv8KzQKS1i_C2TBQt2Aj8kk0Xwkkdcc

“There’s Enough for All” (TLUS #60)

“There’s enough for all if we would learn to share it,
There’s enough for all, oh, help us to believe.
There’s enough for all.
Let’s bring our loaves and fishes, and offer them to Jesus. 
There’s more than enough for you and me.”

Our offering response for the month of August was written by Bryan Moyer Suderman (2024).

“They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love”

“We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand.
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand.
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,
We will work with each other, we will work side by side,
And we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

All praise God, Creator, from whom all things come,
And all praise to Christ Jesus, God’s only Son,
And all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

Our closing hymn is the folk hymn, “They’ll Know we are Christians by Our Love,” which was written by Catholic priest Peter Scholtes. Peter wrote the hymn while he was a parish priest at St. Brendan’s on the South Side of Chicago in the 1960s. At the time, he was leading a youth choir out of the church basement and was looking for an appropriate song for a series of ecumenical, interracial events. When he couldn’t find such a song, he wrote the now-famous hymn in a single day. His experiences at St. Brendan’s, and in the Chicago Civil Rights movement, influenced him for the rest of his life.

Hear the hymn by Good Shepherd Lutheran church at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EBShVUTH0U

Hear an instrumental version of the hymn at: https://youtu.be/wiCOvknptT0

“May the Peace of Christ” (TLUS #104)

“May the peace of Christ be with you.
May the love of God dwell deep in your heart.
May the Spirit enlighten your way.
May you walk in the comfort of God’s care.” 

Our benediction response for the month of August was written by Izumi Shiota in Japanese.  The English paraphrase we will be using today is by Lori True.