Bulletin – Sunday, August 8, 2021

Sunday, August 8, 2021

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost/Communion

Hallelujah – Queer Circus

Approach

Lighting the Christ Candle

We light this candle today to remind us that, as we gather, we are gathered in the light of Christ, the incarnation of God’s love. We gather in the midst of this love, this love that supports us, this love that nurtures us, this love that challenges us. It is in this love that we gather. But this candle does not just remind us of God’s love for us it is also a challenge for us to love others as we have been loved. It is a challenge for us to be this same light in the world.

Response – Be a Light

In a time full of war, be peace.
In a time full of doubt, just believe.

Yeah, there ain’t that much difference between you and me.
In a time full of war, be peace.

In a world full of hate, be a light.
When you do somebody wrong, make it right.
Don’t hide in the dark; you were born to shine.
In a world full of hate, be a light.

Call to Worship

One: God calls us in grace.

All: We hear God’s call and answer.

One: God calls us in peace.

All: We hear God’s call and answer.

One: God calls us in forgiveness.

All: We hear God’s call and answer.

One: God calls us in love.

All: We hear God’s call and answer.

One: God calls us to worship

All: We hear God’s call and we worship in grace, peace, forgiveness, and love. We worship God.

Opening Song – “A Voice is Heard”

Come, let us praise our God, come let us sing for joy,
With a heart of thanks we give honour.
You are a mighty God, you are the source of life.
Creator God, we give praise.

From the deepest seas – a voice is heard.
From the highest hills – a voice is heard.
From the rich dark earth – a voice is heard.
All creation sings! God is heard!

Come, let us praise our God, come let us sing for joy,
With a heart of thanks we give honour.
You are a mighty God, you are the source of life.
Creator God, we give praise.

Through the darkest night – a voice is heard.
Through the breaking dawn – a voice is heard.
Through the heart of life – a voice is heard.
All creation sings! God is heard!

Come, let us praise our God, come let us sing for joy,
With a heart of thanks we give honour.
You are a mighty God, you are the source of life.
Creator God, we give praise.

Prayer of Approach

We come to worship this morning to be embraced by your love, oh God. We come together in worship this morning to be embraced by the love of this community. We come together so that we might learn what it truly means to love by following your example. God, you loved this world so much that you sent your own son, Jesus Christ to live and die among us, in order that we might have life. So that we might see how much you truly love us.

Forgive us for keeping that abundant life and love to ourselves, for jealously hoarding your generous gifts, for choosing self-interest over compassion and justice.

Teach us what it means to live as children of the light, to live as children of love, generously sharing your abundance with our brothers and sisters in need.  Amen.

(adapted from Christine Longhurst)

Words of Assurance

Your abundant love overflows. You have given of yourself so that we might know your love, your mercy, your forgiveness. You have given us so many gifts. Even when we turn away you are there for us calling us back, offering, once again, your abundant gifts. So as we have been blessed by all of your gifts, let us share those gifts with the world so that it too might be blessed. Amen.

Song – “My Love Colours Outside the Lines”

My love colours outside the lines,
Exploring paths that few could ever find;
And takes me into places where I’ve never been before,
And opens doors to worlds outside the lines.

My Lord colours outside the lines,
Turns wounds to blessings, water into wine;
And takes me into places where I’ve never been before
And opens doors to worlds outside the lines.

We’ll never walk on water if we’re not prepared to drown,
Body and soul need a soaking from time to time.
And we’ll never move the gravestones if we’re not prepared to die,
And realize there are worlds outside the lines.

My soul longs to colour outside the lines,
Tear back the curtains, sun, come in and shine;
I want to walk beyond the boundaries where I’ve never been before,
Throw open doors to worlds outside the lines

The Word

Scripture

2Samuel 6: 1 – 19

¹David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. ²David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. ³They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart ⁴with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. ⁵David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the LORD with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

⁶When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. ⁷The anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God. ⁸David was angry because the LORD had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day. ⁹David was afraid of the LORD that day; he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come into my care?” ¹⁰So David was unwilling to take the ark of the LORD into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹¹The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

¹²It was told King David, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; ¹³and when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. ¹⁴David danced before the LORD with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. ¹⁵So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷They brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the LORD. ¹⁸When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts, ¹⁹and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

Meditation – Broken Hallelujahs

Praise Team Anthem – “We are a Rainbow”

The Response

Communion

As God calls all people to the table of forgiveness, peace, and loving fellowship, Windsor Park United Church affirms an inclusive and open Communion Table. All persons (all ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations/identities, dis/abilities, religious affiliations, and other distinguishing features) are welcome to partake of this sacrament which affirms that we are all part of God’s family and are to commune together in sacred relationship. Love and peace are the uniting virtues of this spiritual meeting place. Therefore, all who wish to join in this ritual of unity are invited to do so providing that you do so in the spirit of peace and mutual love for one another.

The Purpose of Holy Communion

God seeks to be in communion with us, and wills that we be in communion with one another. Through the Christ in Jesus, God drew closer to us by living among us with all the desires and temptations of being human, and showed us that we each have the power to overcome wrongdoing by the inspiration of our spiritual lives and the discipline of our physical lives; thereby effecting the Christ in us. Jesus represented the individual model of how we each can do this; and in calling to his side the disciples and followers in his way of love and peace, many of whom were ostracized by the wider society, he revealed how to model this in our community here on Earth.

We also know that there continue to be those who are marginalized and ostracized in society. There many who struggle daily under the weight of those institutions of racism that we have built and continue to perpetuate in our world. We are called to be people of love and light in a world of darkness. Let us live into Christ’s calling, not only today but every day. We lift up in prayer all who struggle in our world today, including those we hold close in our hearts……

Reminding us symbolically of this union of body and spirit, Jesus took a loaf of bread, broke it like we are often broken in our relationships with one another, and showed us the way to reconciliation by asking us to share our bread with one another in remembrance of his own example. Through the broken bread, we participate in and become the body of Christ in the world.

In like manner, Jesus took the cup filled with the fruit of the vine, the vine that sustains us and links us to one another, and the fruit that nourishes the spirit of virtue that abides within and between each of us, and asked us to drink of that same spirit of loving-kindness and uniting harmony that was in him. Through the cup of blessing, we participate in and become the new life of Christ in the world.

The bread and fruit we partake nourishes us that we may nourish others. Through this sacrament of Holy Communion, we affirm that we are committed to Christ’s way of love and peace by our motives, thoughts, actions, and practices in this world. We acknowledge that we are one community made by God, and that we must consciously choose, day by day, to be in right relationship with God, each other, and our sacred values. We therefore dedicate ourselves, individually and collectively, to make the Body and Spirit of Christ real in this world, here and now, and throughout our life as a community of the faithful. What we symbolize here in this holy space, we make real by our service when we go forth from this place.

Invitation

Christ invites “all” to the table of reconciliation – those who affirm their intrinsic worth, and those who are yet to do so…those whose hearts and minds are admirable, and those still struggling to make them so…those who are most like us, and those who are least like us. In the spirit of Christ, we at Windsor Park United Church welcome you to share your spiritual journey with us as we share ours with you in a sacrament designed to bridge all differences in a spirit of extravagant welcome, of heartfelt openness, and of mutual loving-kindness. In coming together, let us recognize our responsibility in living in love and peace with one another and all creation so as to be joined together as one Holy Communion of Body and Spirit throughout this good earth.

Partaking of the Bread and Juice

Prayer after Sharing

Go forth with forgiveness, courage, faith, hope, love, peace, justice, kindness, and gentleness. May these virtues, representing the image of God in each one of us as was also manifested in Jesus, strengthen you to reach out in compassion as you nurture and aid others within this worldwide community. May the Spirit and grace of God be with you and among you. Blessings be.

Closing song – “May We Rise”

May we rise with all Creation as the Spirit gives us strength.
May we heed the inner wisdom that God’s loving knows no length.
May we be a faith filled people, living out compassion’s way.
May we find the heart-felt courage to embrace the dawning day.

May we rise. Let the songs of Love be sung.
May we rise. Sisters, brothers we are one, we are one.

May we walk to meet the shadows of our woundedness and grief.
May we trust the Holy Spirit to bring healing and relief.
May we live with Love and justice, bring Your messages of Peace.
May we know the guiding power of Your gift of Grace released.

May we rise. Let the songs of Love be sung.
May we rise. Sisters, brothers we are one, we are one.

May we reach beyond the bound’ries of the walls that do divide.
May we feel the gift of Presence in Life’s circle with no sides.
May we listen for Your calling, hearts be open to Your Way.
May we live as one in Christ. As one people, God we pray.

May we rise. Let the songs of Love be sung.
May we rise. Sisters, brothers we are one, we are one.

Benediction

People of God, as you got into this coming week I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

And know that the forgiving love of God, the creator, goes with you.

That the gentle love of Christ, the redeemer, goes with you

And that the enlivening love of the Holy Spirit, the sustainer, goes with you

Today and every day. Amen.

Sung response:  “Step by Step”

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days.