Bulletin – Sunday, January 16, 2022 (Second Sunday After Epiphany)

Sunday, January 16, 2022
Second Sunday after Epiphany

Approach

Lighting the Christ Candle

We light this candle, honouring the One who said, “I am the Light.”

Response

Arise, your light is come! The mountains burst in song!
Rise up like eagles on the wing; God’s power will make us strong.

Call to Worship

One:   In this Epiphany time, we will not keep silent, we will not rest.
All:      Our vindication shines out like the new dawn.

One:   Light a path for us, O God, that we may move into new relationships.
All:      We have been called by you into new ways of being.

One:   Your torch has been passed to us, in you our light has come,
All:      We are not forsaken; we are not desolate.

One:   In you, O God, we find our delight.
All:      Let glory be on our lips as we delight in your presence.

One:   Inspire us, God, as we offer our worship.

Hymn – “Lord, Prepare Me to be a Sanctuary”

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for you.

Prayer of Approach and Confession

With open minds and open hearts, we come before you, God. You have shared tremendous news with us: news of the birth of Jesus, news of his baptism, news so incredible that it cannot be contained.

We bring together all our resources, all that we are, all that we have, to share the good news. We are called to be more, we are called to be a community of faith, we are called to be the church.

Be with us now as we discern your calling, as we discern our discipleship as we learn to be your people. Listening God, when we take the time to see and use and understand the incredible gifts you have shared with us, we are in awe.

At the same time, we also realized how we have misused the gifts of your Spirit. When life is happening so fast, we act and speak before we think. We have caused harm by our “off the cuff” remarks. Our actions have led to exclusion. Knowingly and unknowingly we have caused harm.

Forgive us our mistakes, forgive our ignorance, forgive us, forgive when we have stumbled. We ask this in the name of the one who came and walks on wounded feet, Jesus. Amen.

Words of Assurance

Hymn – “Take My Life and Let it Be”

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, all for thee;
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love;
Take my feet, and let them be swift and purposeful for thee.

Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from thee;
Take my intellect, and use every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love: and I will pour at they feet its treasure store;
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee.

Time for All Ages

The Word

Scripture Reading:           Isaiah 62:1-5

¹ For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch.
² The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give.
³ You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴ You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.
⁵ For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Scripture Reading:           John 2:1-11

¹ On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it ⁹ When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God!

Meditation – “Water into Wine!”

Anthem – “Cana Wine”

The Response

Prayers of the People

One:   Wondrous God, who continues to share with us the gifts of the spirit, help us to accept these gifts and use them in your kingdom. Where wisdom is offered, enable us to hear it. Your wisdom is sometimes discerned through unexpected people and in unexpected places. Let wisdom speak on behalf of those struggling to find a voice or where their voices have been stifled in a cacophony of political jargon and rhetoric. Let wisdom burst forth shouting your truth in a chaotic world. Hear us as we pray to you this day.
All:      and in your love answer.

One:   May the gift of knowledge continue to guide us as we move through our days. Let it inform and challenge us to discover a new approach to food for God’s people. May foodstuffs move from being hoarded by a few to being shared equally, that “have not” peoples and families in our own communities be offered nourishment for their bodies and nourishment for their spiritual lives, without regard to faith or denomination. Let knowledge be shared through advocacy. Help us confront barriers that hurt and oppress, that everyone may receive a living wage, enabling a sense of dignity and pride. Hear us as we pray to you this day.
All:      and in your love answer.

One:   With the coronavirus pandemic still in our thoughts, we offer prayers for the gift of healing, O God. May those trained in a wide variety of specialities use their skills to heal where possible, to offer hope where needed, to offer peace freely, to offer comfort for the dying. We offer thanks for those donations that have enabled safe needle exchange sites and medical attention given at street level for those who find themselves homeless. May healing of the mind be as important as healing of the body. Thank you, God, that we continue to learn, to research to develop new ways of offering healing. Hear us as we pray to you this day.
All:      and in your love answer.

One:   We pray for the gift of prophecy, God. Listening to Jeremiah, Ruth, Micah, we learn of you, O God. We learn about your commitment to humanity. We learn of your unconditional love, freely offered to all. Through the prophetic words of Jesus, we hear about the kind of community that you call us to make. Help us, God, to find our own prophetic voices. Empower us to speak out when we see injustice, when we witness oppression, where inequality continues. Guide us, God, as we use our voices to share your story in our time and context. Hear us as we pray to you this day.
All:      and in your love answer.

One:   We pray for this community. We pray that we might live into your calling to be your people in the world. We pray that we might be filled with your spirit that we might speak to a world that so often doesn’t hear. We pray that we might become symbols of your presence in the world and especially for those in this community whom we hope feel your presence with them today and every day…Hear us as we pray to you this day.
All:      and in your love answer.

One:   Be with us Loving God as we continue to pray in the words that Jesus taught us;
All:      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.

Hymn – “I, the Lord of Sea and Sky”

I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in deepest sin my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them;
They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them.
Whom shall I send!?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them;
My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them.
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

Benediction

As we go out into this coming week let us remember that each day we are blessed by many of God’s gifts.

Enable us to use them wisely, sharing them with generous hearts.

God is calling us to be light in our world.

As we leave this place today, let us share the light that never goes out.

Let us be living signs of God’s presence in the world today and every day, knowing that God goes with us. Amen.

Response

O Light of Nations, fill the earth;
Our faith and hope and love renew.
Come, lead the peoples to your peace,
As stars once led the way to you.