ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 2022
2nd SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST / INDIGENOUS DAY OF PRAYER
Due to copyright limitations, we are unable to print the words to 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 to one of your favourite hymns and listen for God’s voice. Those who have internet may find the songs on YouTube.
Parts of this service are taken from All God’s Beloved Children Worship Service for Indigenous Day of Prayer 2022, from the United Church of Canada website.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Unity in faith is theocracy; unity in politics is fascism.
~Maajid Nawaz
BEFORE WE WORSHIP, WE REFLECT…
Jesus’ presence brings change to individuals and communities. For the community of the Gerasenes, Jesus altered the social standing of the now-healed man, the community’s relationship to the man, the lives of the people who made a living from the pigs, and others who are not named in the text. The status quo cannot exist in the same space with Jesus’ powerful presence. Embracing the changes that come with Christ’s active presence in our churches and in our lives is the real work of living faithfully.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
We acknowledge that we gather to worship on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people.
Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on what we do and what we can do to make Manitoba a better place for everyone who lives here.
CALL TO WORSHIP:
Our souls long for you, O God. By day, Eternal One, you proclaim steadfast love,
and at night your song sounds within each one of us.
Creator, send out your light and your truth; let them lead us;
let them bring us to your holy dwelling.
We approach your altar, God, to worship you, the author of our joy;
we praise you, O God, our Creator.
(Inspired by verses of Psalms 42 and 43)
CHILDREN’S SONG: WOV 754 Let Us Talents And Tongues Employ
CENTERING PRAYER:
Creator, in love and through love, you have called all things into being. We thank you for mother earth, our home. We thank you for the heavens that watch over us and the starlight that warms and guides us. We thank you for all the plants―for those that are medicine, for those that nourish us, for those that express your delight through their beauty and diversity. We thank you for all of our fellow creatures; may we share this earth with them in respect, with reverence. We thank you for soil, water, fire, air; for forests, plains, and mountains, deserts and tundra and oceans. And now, when so much of the world is threatened with destruction, help us to walk in humility with gratitude among all these sacred gifts from you. Creator, thank you for your truth and wisdom, and for inviting us to travel the healing path with you; we offer you our hearts and minds so that we might embody your grace and share your blessings with all who live upon the earth. Amen.
A NEW CREED
We are not alone; we live in God’s world.
We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
CHILDREN’S CHAT
Take a look at the colour of the cloths on the altar, lectern and pulpit. They were white and now they are green. When you think of the colour green, what comes to mind? Do you think of trees, grass, frogs, crops, plants…? Green makes me think of plants and growth. Not just plants grow, people grow! We grow bigger, we grow older, hopefully, we grow wiser.
Jesus heals a man who was very sick because of demons. The man is grateful to Jesus and wants to follow him, share his story on the road and in other towns. Do you know what Jesus does? Jesus sends the man home. Sometimes, the place we need to hear Jesus’ words and share our faith is – yep, right at home. Families need to be reminded from time to time to treat each other as if the other person was Jesus. When you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. We learn about Jesus from our parents, from worship and Sunday school, from our family and faith family. The place to practice living as Jesus wants us to live is right at home, where we know each other really well and can drive each other crazy! Home is where we learn patience, kindness, love, forgiveness. Home is where we grow.
Green will be the colour in the sanctuary for quite a while. When you look at the colour green, pray to Jesus to help you grow well in love so that you can share that love of Jesus with others, and help them to grow too!
MINUTE FOR MISSION: Keeping Morale Up In Recovery (2020)
Cleaning. Disinfecting. Social Distancing. Protocols if someone falls ill. Online 12-step meetings. Overnight, the normal flow of life has changed at the Jellinek Society’s Recovery House in Edmonton, a Mission & Service‒supported 17-bed residence for men in the early stages of the addiction recovery process.
Ed Fox, Jellinek Society’s Executive Director, is more concerned about those struggling with addiction living outside the residence than those living under its roof.
“The guys who live here are in a safe place with lots of support. They know they are good. Morale is good. It’s the guys living outside of here who drop in for support and meetings that I’m most concerned about; the guys who are out of a job, depressed, and feel that life is going to go down the tubes. These guys would come here for meetings and support and can’t now,” says Fox, adding that he is trying to keep in contact with them.
Fox predicts that COVID-19 is going to escalate alcoholism, drug abuse, and domestic abuse. He expresses mixed feelings about the government’s decision to name liquor stores an essential service, although he thinks that is the right decision.
“I realize that alcohol brings on certain negative behaviours. However, I don’t want to see guys have to dry out when the family is at home. There’s harm reduction in that decision. On the other side of the coin, there’s going to be more of a negative impact because when addicts are bored, they use more. I think we are going to see a spike in overdoses and deaths.”
Still, Fox says it’s important to be positive. He encourages the men living in the house and those on the outside to find aspects of life to be grateful for.
“I’ve been attending 12-step meetings for 30 years. I’ll be 60 in July. I’ve seen a lot in that time. I sound like a broken record with the guys, but we need to focus on gratitude and the promises. Many of us have been through worse. I tell them that we’ll get through this. We’ll lean on each other. We’ll come out stronger.”
Your gifts through Mission & Service mean that those struggling with addictions get the support they need when they need it most through recovery centres like the Jellinek Society. Thank you!
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Gracious God, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from your mouth. Make us hungry for this heavenly food, that it may nourish us today in ways of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen.
Readings and Psalm
First Reading: Isaiah 65:1-9
The prophet announces God’s impatience. The people’s self-absorption is idolatry, and images of practices that displease God fill this reading. Like a vintner who crushes the grape to release the wine, God will use Israel’s exile to establish a new community of the faithful.
1I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.
2I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following
their own devices;
3a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks;
4who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine’s flesh, with broth of
abominable things in their vessels;
5who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
6See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their laps 7their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together, says the Lord; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions.
8Thus says the Lord: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, “Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,” so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.
9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
Psalm 22:19-28
R: In the midst of the assembly I will praise you. (Ps. 22:22)
19But you, O Lord, be not far away; O my help, hasten to my aid.
20Deliver me from the sword, my life from the power of the dog.
21Save me from the lion’s mouth! From the horns of wild bulls you have rescued me.
22I will declare your name to my people; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you. R
23You who fear the Lord, give praise! All you of Jacob’s line, give glory.
Stand in awe of the Lord, all you offspring of Israel.
24For the Lord does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither is the Lord’s face hidden from them; but when they cry out, the Lord hears them.
25From you comes my praise in the great assembly; I will perform my vows in the sight of those who fear the Lord.
26The poor shall eat and be satisfied, Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts live forever! R
27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; all the families of nations shall bow before God.
28For dominion belongs to the Lord, who rules over the nations. R
- Second Reading: Galatians 3:23-29
For Paul, baptism is a powerful bond that unites people not only with God but with other believers. Those who call themselves children of God experience a transformation that removes prejudices of race, social class, or gender in favor of true unity in Christ.
23Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
Gospel: Luke 8:26-39
Jesus’ mission includes foreigners and his authority extends to the casting out of demons. Some who witness Jesus’ work are seized with confusion and fear, but the man who was healed is commissioned to give testimony to God’s mercy and power.
26Then arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”—29for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
32Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
SONG OF THE DAY: VU 308 Many And Great
SERMON: All God’s Beloved Children
1 Kings 19:1–4, (5–7), 8–15a
Galatians 3:23–29
Luke 8:26–39
The Reverend Jan Jorgensen shares ministry with Robert Patton, a Kanien’kehá:ka Congregational Designated Minister and Elder, and the people of Kahnawake United Church.
God’s beloved,
Grateful for the wisdom, humility, and patience of Indigenous siblings who follow the way of Jesus, we turn to contemplate the lessons that we’ve heard today. We prepare for our contemplations with an affirmation of the Creator’s deep and abiding love.
We begin with a practice familiar to many spiritual directors and the people they accompany―namely, an invitation to recognize the false images that affect our lives and relationships. We have inherited and internalized false images of God; often we are afflicted by false images of ourselves.
In reading about Jesus’ healing of the man called Legion, we find a key for exploring the passages from 1 Kings and Paul’s letter to the Galatians. If, in the gospel narrative, we replace the word “demons” with “lies” we would not be far from the truth. For what torments us are the lies that we are not good enough, not lovable enough…or the lies that we are self-made and need no one.
I believe the root of these torments is our inherited images of an angry, aloof, or judgmental Creator. In our New Creed we speak of Jesus, our judge and our hope. Intellectually we might speak gratefully of divine love―but until we repeatedly welcome the reality of Creator’s love into our very cells, the subconscious mind easily replays words or images that speak of condemnation and rejection so that some part of ourselves believes in a jealous, unforgiving God along with Elijah.
Susceptibility to half-truths might make us think that Paul is speaking of cookie-cutter uniformity and not the beauty of Jesus’ reconciling and uniting love. The results of living with false images of God, false images of ourselves, can be disastrously destructive. We find we’ve become a church that fails to embody love that is invitational and accepting of differences.
Let us consider Elijah. He tells God that he has been very zealous for his Lord. He has even murdered those who worshipped another god. I find that Elijah’s self-recognition that he is no better than his ancestors connects with his recognition that he is a murderer. He believes he killed others for the jealous God he served―yet the warrior God he venerates didn’t appear in destructive displays of earthquake, wind, or fire. The God who had repeatedly sheltered and rescued not only Elijah but also others, even “outsiders”―the God who indeed had a remnant of faithful followers―spoke in the silence, a still, small voice.
We are seduced by drama. We see the zealous, if murderous, actions of the great prophet and let it shape our theology almost unconsciously. We nearly miss the lesson that shows us we need to grow quiet enough to receive the actual voice of our Creator. Do we notice that Elijah, so focused on what was wrong, has lost sight of God’s compassion, has lost the joy of being in relationship with God?
Think of the joy of the man who was Legion when he is freed from the lies that controlled him during his exile among the dead. His fear frightened all who saw him except for the One who liberated him with a word of empowering love.
We might not be afflicted with as many false understandings of God and ourselves as the man Jesus healed, but Paul sees us all as imprisoned. He speaks of the law as a tutor that watches over us until we experience liberation through our trusting in the grace that is manifested through Jesus. All that is required of us for liberation is trust. We are invited to trust that we are loved simply because we are God’s delightful creation and not for anything we do. We are loved despite many of the things we do, despite the important things we’ve left undone.
In writing to the church in Galatia, Paul is speaking contrary to the divisions that haunted the early church. He speaks to us today. No one, regardless of differences in ceremony or philosophy, is better than another; no one, regardless of differences in societal status or gender, is less precious than anyone else. In the beauty of our differences, we are one family in Christ Jesus. We are all God’s beloved children.
May we hear Creator speaking in the stillness of our hearts. May we take courage and prayerfully investigate the false images that afflict us. May we go forth to embody the compassion of Jesus. Amen.
HYMN OF THE MONTH: VU 287 Wellspring Of Wisdom
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Holy One, we praise you for your deep and abiding love, which holds each one of us every moment of our lives. We praise you for your generous spirit and your infinite patience as you wait for us to embrace your transforming love and accept your forgiveness. Help us to bring these words of praise from our minds to our hearts so we can live into sharing your gracious compassion and extravagant blessings with all our neighbours, known and unknown. God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Accept, we pray, our sorrow and shame for the times when we have not shown compassion and mercy to those you have created in love and for love. Help us grow in courage and hope so we are no longer bound by the lies that have been spoken to us, free us from the untruths that prevent us from being your faithful partners in the healing of Creation. You have embodied truth and mercy, you have suffered for and with us―accept our faltering words of gratitude; breathe your Spirit upon us once again, and kindle in us the love that would ever reflect your creative joy and peace. God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Thank you, Creator, for inviting us to lay claims upon your heart; we come with these petitions, knowing that ours is a mutual relationship and you ask us to be your heart, and hands, and voice in this world.
We pray for all the war-torn places in this world, especially Ukraine. We pray for the millions of displaced persons sojourning upon this earth, for all who have lost nearly everything. We pray for your precious children who are being murdered, trafficked, and enslaved. Thank you for holding our collective grief.
We pray for the health of the spiritual paths of our recent confirmands: Alexa French, Katie Evenson, Parker Hamilton, Ashton Vermette; all victims of violence; the family of Lawrence Petroni, Robert Collette, Evie and Brian Watt, Tracy Skoglund, Brooke Alexiuk, Joan, Dwayne, Debbie H., Audrey and Larry McCrady, farmers and all recovering from the flooding, all who have and are recovering from Covid. God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for our country; guide us and our leaders into the ways of truth-telling and compassion. We pray especially for the indigenous peoples of Canada. May we live out our reconciliation promises to them to assist the moving forward of a healing relationship. While our truest citizenship is found in being with you, O God, help us to live responsibly and generously among all the people of this land. God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for all your faithful people, that we and all who follow your pathways would embrace your wisdom and humility and embody your compassion. We pray for our communities, especially for those who are lonely or afraid and those who need healing of body, mind, and spirit. We pray for those who are hungry, for those who are unhoused. By the prompting of your Spirit, guide us so that we offer kind words and deeds of love in gratitude for all that we have received from your gracious kindness. God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Holy One, we thank you for all the countless people who have given their lives to ease the suffering that fills this world. Bless them and empower each of us to find our own ways to create justice and peace out of your love. We pray for those we hold closely to our hearts, for all who are grieving deep losses, for all who need mercy, love, healing, entrusting them to your great compassion.
Thank you, Creator. Thank you for your everlasting love. Amen.
~Jan Jorgensen
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SENDING SONG: ELW 843 Praise The One Who Breaks The Darkness
BENEDICTION:
People of God, you are Christ’s body, bringing new life to a suffering world. The holy Trinity, ☩ one God, bless you now and forever.
Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PRAIRIE TO PINE WEEKLY NEWS: prairietopinerc.ca
Weekly News from MNO: mnosynod@elcic.ca
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** PASTOR LESLIE WILL BE AWAY ON HOLIDAY JUNE 30 – AUGUST 6 INCLUSIVE. THERE WILL BE NO WORSHIP SERVICES DURING THIS TIME. WORSHIP WILL RESUME ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 7. If there is an emergency during this time, please call Debbie Swift and she will direct you to the on-call clergy.
** THANK YOU to everyone who brought food to share last Sunday for our picnic and Confirmation. Thanks also to our young people (and older young people) for participating in the games! It was a wonderful day!
** In the interest of maintaining accurate church records, would you please email the church, or call and leave an answering machine message, regarding any changes to your phone numbers, emails, or any other information that has changed, or was not included, in the directory.
** Who does the church contact on your behalf in the event of an emergency? While we may know your family’s names, we don’t necessarily have their contact information. It would be helpful for the office to have the name and number of a contact person(s) with whom to communicate information.
** Starting in the fall, we would like to have families greet, usher and read during the service. We have missed connecting with everyone during Covid. Many hands make light work! Thank you for serving!