Bulletin – Sunday, August 29, 2021 – Pride Sunday

Sunday, August 29, 2021
Pride Sunday

Approach

Lighting the Candle

As we light this candle, we remember Jesus. Jesus who travelled, taught, and lived among those who were marginalized in society. We gather in this light to remember, to remember and in remembering we her God’s call to live lives of love for all, welcome to all, inclusion of all.

Response

There is room for all in the shadow of God’s wing;
There is room for all, sheltered in God’s love,
And I rejoice and sing, “My refuge and my rock, in whom I trust.”
There is room for all,
There is room for all!

Call to Worship

One:   Creating God—God beyond Gender,
All:      who makes no mistakes, who surprises us always, who molded the first person both male and female, who molded the first non-gendered human, who loves all creation.

One:   Help us love the diversity of your creation.
All:      Help us accept all varieties of gender in ourselves and in others.

One:   Help us celebrate those who are different from us
All:      that we may learn to love each other as you love us.

One:   We come together to worship with all in God’s wondrous diversity.
All:      We come to worship in community, in solidarity, in love.

(Used by permission of and adapted from Rev. Cindy Bourgeois)

Lighting the Rainbow Candles

Lighting of the Red Candle

One:   We light the Red Candle, symbolizing life in all its richness. Come, let us worship, learn, and celebrate together.

Response

Deep in our hearts there is a common vision;
Deep in our hearts there is a common song;
Deep in our hearts there is a common story,
Telling creation that we care one.

Lighting of the Orange Candle

One:   We light the Orange Candle, symbolizing healing. As scripture assures, “If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall leave me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.”

Response

Deep in our hearts there is a common purpose;
Deep in our hearts there is a common goal;
Deep in our hearts there is a common a sacred message,
Justice and peace in harmony.

Lighting of the Yellow Candle

One:   We light the Yellow Candle, symbolizing sunlight.

Response

Deep in our hearts there is a common vision;
Deep in our hearts there is a common song;
Deep in our hearts there is a common story,
Telling creation that we care one.

Lighting of the Green Candle

One:   We light the Green Candle, symbolizing nature.

Response

Deep in our hearts there is a common longing;
Deep in our hearts there is a common theme;
Deep in our hearts there is a common current,
Flowing to freedom like a stream.

Lighting of the Blue Candle

One:   We light the Blue Candle, symbolizing harmony.

Response

Deep in our hearts there is a common vision;
Deep in our hearts there is a common song;
Deep in our hearts there is a common story,
Telling Creation that we are one.

Lighting of the Purple Candle

One:   We light the Purple Candle, symbolizing Spirit.

Hymn – “We Are One”

We are one as we come, as we come, joyful to be here,
In the praise on our lips there’s a sense that God is near.
We are one as we sing, as we seek, we are found;
And we come needful of God’s grace as we meet, together in this place.

We are one as we share, as we share brokenness and fear,
In the touch of a hand there’s a sense that God is here.
We are one as we care, as we heal, we are healed;
And we share warmth in God’s embrace as we pray together in this place.

Prayer of Approach

As we have acknowledged that diversity in this amazing world, created in atoms and molecules but with an underlying spirit of mystery, we must also admit that, at times, we have forgotten of the wonders of that diversity. We have longed for things to be familiar and as they have always been.

We know that the great religious traditions have caused harm in the past and continue to cause harm and pain to those who express their being in ways different than the majority. We know, too, that we individually, both intentionally and unintentionally, have rejected and shunned those who are not like us.

For this we are truly sorry and ask your patience as we learn and strive for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate all in this wondrous world. Amen.

Words of Assurance

Hymn – “Teach Me, God, to Wonder”

Teach me, God, to wonder, teach me, God, to see;
Let your world of beauty capture me.
Praise to you be given, love for you be lived,
Life be celebrated, joy you give.

Let me, God, be open, let me loving be;
Let your world of people speak to me.
Praise to you be given, love for you be lived,
Life be celebrated, joy you give.

Let me, God, be ready, let me be awake,
In your world of loving my place take.
Praise to you be given, love for you be lived,
Life be celebrated, joy you give.

Teach me, God, to know you, hear you when you speak,
See you in my neighbour when we meet.
Praise to you be given, love for you be lived,
Life be celebrated, joy you give.

The Word

Scripture Reading:           Acts 15:5-13

⁵ Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. “You have to circumcise the pagan converts,” they said. “You must make them keep the Law of Moses.”

⁶ The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. ⁷ The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: “Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. ⁸ And God, who can’t be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person’s thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. ⁹ He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him.

¹⁰ “So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? ¹¹ Don’t we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?”

¹² There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. ¹³ The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop.

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

Meditation – “To Be Unworthy!”

The Response

Prayer

One:   Gracious and love God, holy mystery, wholly love, we gather our personal reflections and corporate yearnings in these our silent prayers.

One:   Let us lift up to your those in this community for whom we pray for collectively…

One:   Empowering God, may your Spirit guide us in our personal celebrations and concerns, as a body of faith-filled people, may we also be guiding in the celebrations and concerns of the gathered body. We celebrate the Pride stories we hear as Winnipeg moves into Pride Week and are grateful for the movement of your Spirit of love and inclusion both within the United Church and Canadian society. We pray that all people who feel excluded by families, faith communities, and society because of who they are may experience your love in their lives. We pray for peace and respect for all in this community, this country, and this world.

One:   We pray for political leaders at all levels as they struggle to make the world a better place. We pray that the teachings of Jesus and those of other world faiths will work together to meet the challenges of our world today.

One:   And in our own administrative and policy work at Windsor Park United Church, we pray for wisdom and careful consideration of the topics of inclusion and diversity as we consider them and try to embody them together in the days and months ahead.

One:   For those amongst us who have personal challenges, have family members who need support, or anyone who is under stress, we pray that God’s gentle Spirit will bring peace, spiritual and physical healing.

One:   In all of these celebrations and concerns, we are grateful that we can turn to the one who guides us in our lives, saying together…
All:      Our Father and Mother 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 – “Let Us Build A House”

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 dream and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace,
Here the love of Christ shall end division:
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.

Benediction

This morning we have lit candles: Red for life in all its forms, Orange for healing, Yellow for sunlight and all kinds of light, Green for nature in all her diversity, Blue for harmony, and Purple for the Spirit which guides us all.

We are called to practice this rainbow of colours in our lives—in the conversations and interactions in our lives at home, as work, and at play—as we go out into our community and the world to share the message that God’s love is for everyone!

Response

We are one as we hear, as we hear, heart and hand unite;
In the word we receive there’s a sense that God is light.
We are one as we live, as we love, we are loved;
And we seek justice in God’s ways as we move together from this place.

Anthem – “We are a Rainbow”