MORRIS-ROSENFELD ECUMENICAL SHARED MINISTRY

ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2024

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Due to copyright limitations, we are unable to print the words to many of the songs.  However, our musicians have chosen music to fit the scriptures.  We invite you to look up the words in your worship book and ponder them.  If you do not have a worship book, ponder the words of one of your favourite hymns and listen for God’s voice. Those who have the internet may find the songs on YouTube.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

If you only pray when you’re in trouble…you’re in trouble.

~tobymac

Before we worship, we reflect…

Joshua reminds us of the vital connection between lands and gods. Ancient peoples understood this as a particular connection between a certain deity and a particular geography or element of nature, an approach expressed in some Indigenous religions today. Joshua’s prophetic vision lays out a different understanding, not of disconnection between deities and geography but instead that Israel’s God is present in all places. From desert to rain forest, from the comfort of home to the confusion of the unknown, God is present within each environment.

In Joshua the focus is on the gathered people, their common narrative of what God has done and what their faithful response should be. However, our narratives shape our understanding of ourselves, of who God is, and of our relationships with one another. The narratives highlighting God’s action in driving out the peoples of the land before the people of Israel take possession may call to mind the “doctrine of discovery” narrative that we are called to repudiate. The United Church of Canada’s Reconciliation and Justice, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s Indigenous Rights and Relationships, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s Truth and Healing Movement provide resources to work toward a narrative of healing from the harm this doctrine did to Indigenous peoples. These resources can help the church expand its imagination of what a faithful commitment to God looks like.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We acknowledge we gather and worship on Treaty 1 Territory, the original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.

Great God of Compassion, God of Healing, God of Love, we come before you this morning with our hearts full of love and concern for …our community, …the highways, the waters on which we work and recreate, the lands and the woods where we like to explore, find solace, and renew our spirits.

…Forgive our failures; forgive us for the times we have been impatient with others, when we have not listened with openness to other points of view, and for our weakness, our tiredness, our feelings of discouragement, and our lack of courage.

We pray that peace be with our neighbours today, every day and always, and with ourselves and with all those we love. Amen.[1]

CALL TO WORSHIP

Here we are Lord, Your creatures standing before You.

Gathered together to praise You and worship You.

This is Your day, gracious God, and we thank you for giving this day to all of us.

Help us to always remember that each day is a blessing and a gift from You for we are not owed anything from You.

Be with us in our midst and let us feel Your breath upon our faces.

And hold us close to You each day of our lives. Amen.

GATHERING SONG:  VU 686  God Of Grace & God Of Glory

CENTERING PRAYER

Holy God, your word feeds your people with life that is eternal. Direct our choices and preserve us in your truth, that, renouncing what is false and evil, we may live in you, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

MISSION & SERVICE:  Church Offers Unique Ministry in National Park

Canadian churches grace unique places: restaurants, storefronts—even movie theatres. Perhaps the most serene of all settings, though, is a national park.

Waterton United Church is situated in the heart of Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. Although the United Church has had a presence in the park since 1955, the current building was dedicated in 1961. The cathedral window in the sanctuary, designed to frame the mountains, offers a breathtaking view.

“Architect George Watson framed Mount Vimy,” explains Carol Watt, Secretary. “People who aren’t involved in the church but just stop to visit look out captivated by the view of the mountain over the lake. It’s a special thing that happens. It touches something deep within.”

Your gifts through Mission and Service help the church remain open year-round. In the summer, Sunday services take place from late June through September with support from guest ministers. Other services are offered during holy days throughout the year. Youth groups use the building as retreat space, and the chapel is a popular space for weddings. With a small room and kitchenette behind the sanctuary, the church also draws leaders who want to retreat.

“Providing space for spiritual reflection and retreat is an important aspect of the ministry we provide,” says Watt.

A newsletter reads, “Waterton United offers a unique ministry to the wealth of summer visitors who flock happily into the national park and then find this gem of a United Church of Canada.”

Thank you for supporting churches in remote places that witness in a unique way to the majesty and grace of God.

CHILDREN’S CHAT

A number of years ago, I read a book called, Who Moved My Cheese?[2]  The story is about two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two tiny humans, Hem and Haw.  All four live in a maze and all four are on the search for cheese in order to stay alive.  They find a large supply of cheese.  One day, they all wake up and the cheese is gone!  The mice quickly go off into the maze to search for more cheese.  The tiny humans stay behind hoping more cheese will appear.

The story teaches the reader how to accept change.  The only thing in life that does not change is that change happens.   We can either complain about it (which accomplishes nothing), or we can prepare ourselves for it, which means life is less stressful because we know change is coming.

I confess that I love change.  I like the newness of it.  True, some change is not so good, like a serious illness, still, I love change!  I also love that God gives me the strength to deal with all the changes that occur in my life – especially the not so good changes!

Just like change will always happen, I know that death is a part of life, and that one day, I will die.  That will be a huge change!  AND, I know that God will stay with me, in this life, and in my life after my death.  So I don’t need to worry.  I am prepared for death, and I trust in the love of God to walk with me through that journey.  Thank you, God!

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Gracious God, give us humble, teachable, and obedient hearts, that we may receive what you have revealed, and do what you have commanded. Amen.

READINGS AND PSALM

First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

In the Near East, covenant means “agreement” or “alliance.” It describes relationships and is the primary word used to characterize the relationship between God and Israel. By delivering Israel, God has already begun the relationship. Joshua calls upon the people to respond.

¹Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. ^2aAnd Joshua said to all the people, ¹⁴“Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; ¹⁷for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; ¹⁸and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

Psalm 34:15-22

¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and God’s ears are open to their cry.

¹⁶The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to erase the remembrance of them from the earth.
¹⁷The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves those whose spirits are crushed. 

¹⁹Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them from every one.

²⁰God will keep safe all their bones; not one of them shall be broken.

²¹Evil will bring death to the wicked and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

²²O Lord, you redeem the life of your servants, and those who put their trust in you will not be punished. 

Second Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20

Like a general giving a rousing speech to troops before battle, this letter closes by calling on Christians to be equipped for spiritual warfare against evil. The full armor of God includes truth, righteousness, peace, faith, the gift of salvation, and the word of God inspired by the Spirit.

¹⁰Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. ¹⁵As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. ¹⁶With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. ¹⁹Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

Gospel: John 6:56-69

The “hard saying” that offends Jesus’ disciples is his claim that his followers must eat his flesh and drink his blood. The followers who return to their old lives know something about how odd this sounds. Simon Peter, on the other hand, knows something about the scarcity of living, gracious words. He asks the most important question: “To whom shall we go?”

 ⁵⁶“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
⁶⁰When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” ⁶¹But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶²Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? ⁶³It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. ⁶⁵And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”

⁶⁶Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. ⁶⁷So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

HYMN:  VU 238  How Great Thou Art

SERMON – Rev. Peter Wall, Assistant to the National Bishop, Worship

In the sixth chapter of St John’s Gospel, in which we have been immersed these last weeks, Jesus is speaking extensively about who He is and what he wants his followers to do. He uses the image and metaphor of ‘the bread of life’ and (as only John’s Gospel can do) expands the metaphor and deepens the teaching. He responds to the disciples’ comment (or perhaps complaint) that this teaching is difficult and that nobody could accept it by reminding them about the things he has repeatedly said and taught about eternal life and their responsibilities. The images about being ‘food’, about ‘feeding’ (notably in the story of the feeding of the thousands upon the hillside) challenge Jesus’ followers and us. To the point that, at the end of today’s reading, some went away and could no longer stay. And Peter confessed that there was no one else to whom to go— that he and the closest followers of Jesus ‘have come to know and believe’ that Jesus is the Holy One of God.

Like many of those first followers, I think that you and I find some of these teachings difficult, to say the least. Our world in 2024, in these perilous times, is a difficult and disturbing place, and we often find ourselves not knowing what to think, how to react, how to love.

I am writing this from the beautiful province of Saskatchewan, where I have just participated in the 2024 National Worship Conference, a joint ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Anglican Church, which took place at Luther College in Regina. It was a transformative and deeply moving conference, whose title: ‘Stones Cry Out: Praying with the Land’ challenged us all to look at our colonial past and present, our need to remake ourselves and our churches, and at Creator and creation’s high and difficult expectations acting upon each one of us, tending to the land (place, home, soil…) and the living stones which we become in order to build a realm of inclusion, grace, and peace. It was a deeply important time for all who attended and, we hope, planted seeds of new growth in dazzling ways in each of us.

Let’s face it—the teachings of Jesus—this particular teaching in today’s Gospel lesson—to be the heralds and bringers of ‘the bread of life’ and to carry the words of eternal life to the world in which we live—is challenging indeed. The stones do cry out; God’s children suffer in so many ways and in so many places; the history which we share in our country is marked by exclusion, pain, and isolation. The world which we see reflected on our screens and in our news is, at so many levels, an inhuman (and unholy!) display of enmity, violence, and war. Children go unfed; refugees suffer; our indigenous people continue to suffer huge indignities and pain; unkindness and a lack of civility and understanding seem always to hold sway. Into this world, you and I are called to bring light and peace; to be the bearers of the Bread of Life; to be followers and advocates for the One who calls us into new ways of being.

As we gather today—whether here at the Lord’s table, at our cottages and camps, in our tents and trailers, in our backyards and our beaches, on the beauty of a late August Sunday, we are reminded that, by being a community of love, a place of inspiration and serenity, a place where word and sacrament, prayer and praise, bread and wine renew and revive us, we are nourished for the days ahead, and given a glimpse of the new reality that we can build. It takes determination, the confidence of the gift of faith, and the deep joy that comes from knowing that we are deeply loved that empowers and enables us to be the bearers of that good Word and the nourishment for the world that the Bread of Life brings. It is not easy—it will require much from us—it always has. Significant challenges, if seen as eye opening opportunities, always compel us to rise to the occasion. Gathering together—praying together—singing together—being strengthened together is always a joy and a source of inspiration and hope for us all.

As St. Peter says: to whom else, Lord, could we possibly go? We indeed have come to believe and know!

Will you pray with me—Holy and ever gracious One, you come and stand among us this day. Strengthen and comfort us in our communion with you and with each other. Show us your face in the faces of those around us; give us abundant grace and joy in the work you have given us to do; help us to spread serenity and to those we will meet this week. Nourish us in this sacrament that we, being nourished and fed by Your presence among us, may be bread for the hungry and food for the journey.  Give us thankful and joy-filled hearts, in the name of the one whom we follow, your Son, our Saviour and our Friend. Amen.

HYMN:  VU 654  All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Calling on the spirit of Wisdom to guide our hearts and our minds, let us pray for the church, the world, and all in need.

Holy God, you have the words of eternal life. Lead the church to put its trust in Jesus, the living Word. Direct preachers, teachers, writers, and all the baptized in faithful speech and bold witness. Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

Creator God, we and all creation are sustained by your Word. We pray for all who remind us of our interconnectedness with all living things. Prosper the work of conservation organizations, Church advocacy, and local climate justice advocates. Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

God of restoration, bring healing and wholeness to all who cry to you. Where pain is sharp, bring a sense of comfort and relief. Where grief runs deep, bring your tender mercy. Care for those on our hearts. Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

God of new life, protect students and teachers for a new school year. Bring an end to school shootings and cycles of violence. Move us to do all that is necessary to ensure a safe future for our children. Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

God of every generation, we remember with thanksgiving all who have completed their baptismal journeys. Strengthen us in our baptismal callings to serve you faithfully until our journey’s end. Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

We lift up these prayers to you, gracious God. Receive them into your holy keeping.

Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

SENDING SONG: VU 481  Sent Forth By God’s Blessing

BENEDICTION

Sisters and brothers, go into the world with the mind of Christ. Go into the world to be the hands of Christ. Go into the world filled with the love of Christ. Amen.

 

Copyright © 2016 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS011617.

© 2011 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/byncsa/2.5/ca.

 

[1] Taken from:  chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://irp-

cdn.multiscreensite.com/d1264261/files/uploaded/Prayers_for_Indigenous.pdf

[2] Johnson, Spencer (1988). Who Moved My Cheese?. G.P. Putnam’s Sons.