Every face, all my relatives.
Every race, all my relatives.
Every place, all my relatives
Hear creation sing,
One with everything.

 Where there is hurting,
We share the hurting,
Where there is justice,
We share the justice.
Where there is mercy,
We share the mercy if we believe that God is love…
 
Where there is suffering we share the suffering
Where there is praising, we share the praising
Where there is freedom, we share the freedom if we believe that God is love…”

This song was written by Larry Olson and Karol Baer in 1992.

“This Path We Walk”

“This path we walk through joy and tears,
A living Way of faith and fears,
Through each step’s risk, each sorrows pain,
When walked in love, we’ll rise again.

When life is shared together free
We’ll grow to be all we can be
A circle wide will call us home
When wrapped in love we’re not alone.

These gifts we bring, this light we hold,
Our songs of grace, our stories told,
Remain undone, told just in part,
Til shared in love, and known by heart.

When life is shared, together bound
God’s richest gifts, together found.
Together walk the Spirit’s Way
When love’s the guide, we shall not stray.

Amen.”

The lyrics for this song are by S. Curtis Tufts, a United Church minister in Spruce Grove, Alberta. They were written in 2016, the 30th Anniversary of the United Church of Canada’s apology to First Nations Peoples.
“I was a commissioner from Saskatchewan Conference at the 1986 General Council in Sudbury and have a vivid memory of the evening when the Apology was brought on our behalf by the Moderator to the waiting Elders. The whole council was gathered in an amazing circle dance around a bonfire as the Moderator and Elders met in a tipi nearby. I remember clearly the strong feeling that we were in the midst of a historic turning point kind of moment. I hope that, as a part of our acknowledging the anniversary of that moment, this hymn will remind us of the need to continue faithfully on the journey that was begun then.”

“For the Fruit of Creation” 

For the gift of creation, the gift of your love,
And the gift of the Spirit by which we live,
We thank you and give you the fruit of our hands.
May your grace be proclaimed by the gifts that we give.

Our offering dedication is from the United Methodist Book of Worship (1991) and is especially appropriate during the season of Creation.  The composer, Steve Garnaas-Holmes is a United Methodist pastor in Montana.

“Deep in Our Hearts” (MV #154)

“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.

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 sacred message,
Justice and peace in harmony.

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.

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.”

This song, with words by John Oldham and music by Ron Klusmeier, speaks to the human longing for the divine that is common across time and faith divisions.  It was written in 1996.

See the song, with Ron Klusmeier at the piano at:  https://youtu.be/YnZaO8udMcQ

“We are All One People”  (MV #141)

“We are all one people,
We all come from one Creation way on high.
We are all one nation under one great sky,
You and I.
We are all one people.
We are all one colour in his eyes.”

This song is by Saskatchewan Cree composers Joseph Naytowhow and Cheryl L’Hirondelle. It was written in 2000.  We will be using the first verse of the song as our benediction response.