BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
12TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
SUMMER WORSHIP SERVICE
August 23, 2020
The video recording of this service can be found here
You can also dial-in by phone to listen to the audio recording at 613-820-8104
Gathering: Reaching – Carolyn Arends Soloist: Sarah Parker, Violin: Leslie Wade
Welcome & Announcements
Good day everyone! On behalf of Bells Corners United Church, I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, wherever you are, in today’s worship service. Today, we are going to reflect on the words of Ecclesiastes as we search the meaning of life.
During this time when we are not able to worship in the church sanctuary, please know that BCUC offers worship service in a number of ways. Check our website at bcuc.org, for our worship service in audio, video and text formats along with the weekly announcements, online meetings, events and other updates. You can also listen to the service via telephone by dialing 613-820-8104. I also encourage you to show that you care by connecting with each other through emails, phone calls and prayers.
We express our sincerest condolences to Ross Mutton in the passing of Gail on Thursday, August 20th. We remember Gail who was a very strong member and a mover at BCUC for so many years. Please keep Ross in your thoughts and prayers.
Here are some announcements:
As we slowly reopen the building, there is an opportunity to gather in the sanctuary for a modified virtual worship service on Sept. 6th at 10 am. A maximum number of 28 people excluding the staff and ushers are invited to gather. To save a spot, you are required to register online or by calling the office. Full information on procedures and safety measures are posted on our website. We are also in need of ushers beyond September 6. Please call the office if you are interested.
The Book of Memories Volume 2 is completed and copies are now available for purchase. You can order a print copy with a suggested minimum donation of $30 or a Digital copy with a suggested minimum donation of $15. Please contact the office to place an order.
Join us for a spontaneous Prayer Circle every Wednesday at 8 pm. Wherever you are, say a prayer for the world, your community including the congregation, your family, and yourself.
David’s Flowers are back drive-through style and they are available every Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 am. The flowers will be displayed on tables outside the main entrance, and everyone is asked to remain in their car, bring exact change or prepared cheque for donations, and follow instructions of volunteers. Thank you for your support!
Grocery cards are now available for purchase. Please call the office to place your order.
And for those of you who are able to join us via Zoom, there will be zoom fellowship every Sunday at 11 am. Link will be emailed to you or call the office for more information.
Friends, in the quiet of this moment, in the stillness of our hearts, I now invite you to seek the wisdom of God as we gather in worship.
Lighting of the Christ Candle Acolytes: Mandy & Meighen Crow
We light this candle to ask the spirit of Christ to be with us this day.
May this flame of wisdom touch our hearts.
May it stir our minds with the words of life.
May it keep us strong in faith and grounded in truth.
Call to Gather: (inspired by Spacious Faith) Lorrie Lowes, DM
Praise be to God,
Creator of time and space!
Who has set love in the human heart.
Who gives us today
in which we can be happy and do good.
Today, in which we can eat and drink and find satisfaction.
Today, which is a gift from God.
Let us worship the One who makes everything beautiful in its time.
Come, let us gather in worship.
Prayer of Approach: (by Susan Lukey, Gathering 2019)
From the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes,
with spirits reaching out and hearts open wide,
we bring our whole selves to you today, gracious God,
ready to receive blessings
for each of us and for our faith community.
You are more than we can imagine;
you work within us and among us in amazing ways;
From the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes,
with spirits reaching out and hearts open wide,
we bring our gratitude and our love, gracious God. Amen.
Hymn: Come, Let Us Sing - Voices United #222 (Words and Music: Jim Strathdee, 1976)
1. Come, let us sing to the Lord our song:
we have stood silently too long;
surely the Lord deserves our praise,
so joyfully thank God for our days.
2. O thirsty soul, come drink at the well;
God's living waters will never fail.
Surely the Lord will help you to stand,
strengthened and comforted by God's hand.
3. You dwell among us and cause us to pray,
and walk with each other following your way;
our precious brothers and sisters will grow
in the fulfilling love they know.
4. Deserts shall bloom and mountains shall sing, to the desire of all living things.
Come, all you creatures, high and low;
let your praises endlessly flow.
Words & Music © 1977 Jim & Jean Strathdee Desert Flower Music
Song #60010 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Storytime for the Young at Heart Lorrie Lowes, DM
Hi Everyone!
I’ve been thinking this week a bit about starry skies because it’s been an amazing time to be outside at night, especially if you are outside of the city and where there aren’t so many lights and to look up at the sky and see the incredible number of stars. The shooting stars that are happening right now are amazing to see! I was thinking about when I was a kid and we would go to the cottage or when I was little bit older and I would go to Girl Guide camp. We would lie out under the stars at night and just look at those millions and millions of stars up there. It was pretty incredible to think that our universe is so big. Sometimes that made me feel really small.
Do you ever feel that way sometimes when you think about how enormous this universe is and that maybe we are just a little insignificant speck in that? I think the author of Ecclesiastes was feeling that way when they wrote the scripture that we are reading today. It’s kind of a depressing scripture. It talks about how one person is just so small that they can’t make any difference at all. I think sometimes we feel that way too. There are so many worries in the world these days and it’s hard to know how someone as small as me or you could make a difference at all.
We have no control over the big things like the pandemic or war, but we can control the way we face each day. We can start with a positive attitude and notice the great things around us like the beauty of the sky right before a thunderstorm happens or the rainbow that comes when the rain stops… the fun things that we do with our families, or the hug that Mom or dad gives us when we fall and hurt ourselves. We can do things to cheer other people up too. We can help out around the house, even if we haven’t been asked. We could phone or FaceTime our grandparents, or even send them a letter. That would make them really happy! We can sing a song or create a dance. We can draw a picture or make a craft…
Now, thinking about pictures and crafts… that makes me think about glitter! Do you like glitter? Most kids I know love it when we get that out! It really fancies up whatever it is that you’ve created – but have you noticed how that stuff gets everywhere? It sticks to everything, even things you thought were nowhere near it! Well, I think joy is a bit like glitter. Once you open up the bottle, that stuff sticks everywhere. So maybe our happy attitude can be like glitter. Let’s open up the bottle and find out! Open it up and shake that stuff everywhere! I bet you’ll find that it will stick too.
Hymn: This Little Light of Mine (Traditional)
This little light if mine, I’m gonna let is shine (3X)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel, no! I’m gonna let it shine (3X)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine (3X)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
This little light if mine, I’m gonna let is shine (3X)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
Traditional Spiritual
Song #84048 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Prayer for Illumination: (by Sheryl Macleod, Gathering 2019) Reader: Vernon Sulway
God of grace, as we receive these words-
words inspired by you-
may we discover your urgings,
may they stir our thoughts,
may we be empowered to grow,
and may we act in ways that reveal who you are
to all who would notice. Amen.
The Reading: “Reflections of a Royal Philosopher” Ecclesiastes 1: 1-18 (NRSV)
1 The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3 What do people gain from all the toil
at which they toil under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun goes down,
and hurries to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south,
and goes around to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they continue to flow.
8 All things are wearisome;
more than one can express;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
or the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been,
in the ages before us.
11 The people of long ago are not remembered, nor will there be any remembrance of people yet to come by those who come after them.
12 I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem,
13 applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with.
14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind.
18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to all of us! Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “Seize the Day (Carpe Diem)!” Rev. Kim Vidal
This Sunday and the next, as we continue to reflect the meaning of wisdom, we will explore some passages in the book of Ecclesiastes. The first time I was introduced to Ecclesiastes was at a funeral service when the minister preached about a “time to be born and a time to die”. Many Bible enthusiasts find this book depressing, gloomy and exhausting - one that deals with the meaninglessness of life. Skeptics, atheists, non-believers, seekers – all love this book because it doesn’t have a lot of God-talk. Instead it talks about the “transience” of life and the certainty of death. I don’t know about you but before I put this book down and close its pages forever, I would like to explore it first and try to understand what the writer was actually telling us from his own time and place.
Ecclesiastes is a Greek word that means “one who assembles” - the root word of which is “ekklesia” meaning “an assembly”. We still use ekklesia to denote a church assembly or a worship gathering in our current times. In Hebrew, the word for assembly is “kahal” and one who assembles is called a qohelet. Ecclesiastes therefore could possibly mean an assembly leader, a preacher, a gatherer, a teacher or a proclaimer. I’d like to add another descriptor - that of a philosopher - one who loves wisdom and hopes to find it in life.
There are many assumptions about the date and authorship of the book. Because of the verse in chapter 1 that says: “the words of the teacher, son of David, King in Jerusalem”, Rabbinic tradition and other scholars believed that it was King Solomon who penned the book written during his reign around 970-931 BCE. However, looking at the commercial language, cultural references and the style used by the writer I would lean on what Professor Robert Williamson Jr. suggests that it was written during the Persian era - around 538-331 BCE or that of the Greek period around 331-164 BCE. The writer imagines himself to be an affluent person – like a king with lots of wealth, land, achievements, noble friends, success and fame but looks at life differently in a very pessimistic way. He looks at life as “vanity of vanities” and asked these questions: “What do we gain from all the work that we do under the sun? What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? Where do I find value in what I do?”
In other interpretations, the word vanity means pointless, futile or without any purpose. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word used to describe life is hevel which literally means a vapour, a breath, a wind, a smoke or a fog. From hevel comes the idea that life is insubstantial, transitory, and of fleeting value. Life like a vapour is here in a second and gone the next. It is something that you can’t control – something that you can’t grasp - something that you can’t hold onto. It slips through your fingers. It disappears and leaves no trace. Robert Williamson Jr. commented that: “The author of Ecclesiastes insists that you can’t just separate the shiny and happy things in life from the difficult and depressing ones.... It’s the nature of human existence that the two are always mixed up together. Things end. People die. The good old days fade. Nothing lasts forever. To pretend otherwise is to do an injustice to the reality of the human experience.”
Think about it – you get up in the morning, do what you’re supposed to be doing, you rush off to work or go to school, fight for the traffic, you come home, you make supper, binge watch some movies on Netflix until 1 in the morning, go to bed, and the next day, you do exactly the same thing – over and over again. You keep on going, walking, even running all throughout your life with no purpose, no direction except to wait for death to come. Nothing seems to satisfy the deep yearning of your soul What more could be meaningless than this reality?
“Kim, what is your philosophy in life?” The Board of Ordained Ministry interviewer asked me when I first applied as a student at Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines in 1991, few years before I immigrated to Canada. This was in preparation for ordination as a pastor in the United Methodist Church. I thought for a moment and I replied with a quote from a poster that I memorized since high school, whose author I don’t even remember. “Life to live most intensely and completely must be met face to face. Evasion, rationalization and escapism stunt the developing character.” The interviewer looked at me and said, “That is too deep. Please say it in plain language.” I searched for words and said something like this: “Well, I live my life one day at a time. And when opportunities come my way, I make sure that I greet each one with enthusiasm and with wisdom. Yesterday adds to my life history and tomorrow will find me a new person. But today is what matters most. And I need to face each encounter with grace. To evade is to shut down any possibility. To rationalize is to put down other’s thoughts. To escape is just a defeatist’s motto.” The interviewer looked at me one more time and said, “Are you sure you don’t want to be a professor of philosophy instead of becoming a pastor?”
What kind of philosophy would the free-thinking Qohelet might embrace? Is he a proponent of nihilism? The belief that all things are meaningless and no purpose and that nothing can be known or expressed? Is he a follower of existentialism? One that emphasizes the experience of human beings not just thinking subjects but feeling and doing as well? Is he a humanist? Viewing humans as solely responsible for the promotion and development of individuals and society? Might he even be an Epicurean - pursuing pleasure, especially in reference to food, comfort and other luxuries in order to achieve a meaningful way of life? Could he be a little of all the schools of philosophy I mentioned?
The progressive thinker, Lloyd Geering in his book, Such is Life, makes the case for the author of Ecclesiastes being a freethinking humanist who was over 2000 years ahead of his time. Geering comments that: “Ecclesiastes remained a lone individual and found little to relieve his solitariness. He was forced to reflect on what it means to be a human individual living in an unfair and uncaring world. Though he searched for wisdom he found nothing that would stand the test of time. We live in a period that has some similarities to that in which Ecclesiastes was written. Thanks to the Enlightenment all the traditional verities are once again open to question. The words of Ecclesiastes not only manifest the same kind of critical thinking that we engage in today, but they speak to the same basic concerns that challenge us when we do so.”
Even when we think that Ecclesiastes portrays the pointlessness of everything, I strongly believe that he does have several points to make! Qohelet observes that human labour is endless. You do one task, but there is still more to do – like the sun that rises and sets in cyclical motion, or the wind blowing in all directions and the streams that endlessly flow to the sea and yet the sea is never full. Nature repeats itself over and over again. Qohelet also talks about consumption that is never fulfilling. All things are wearisome, he says, life is exhausting! We are never done and the earth is never done. The eye is not satisfied with what it sees and the ear by what it hears. Human beings will not be satisfied. There’s always something new to see or to hear, new places to travel, new music to listen to, high tech gadgets to tinker, cool people to meet, new jobs to accomplish, fast cars to drive, best food to eat, but never enough. And top on the list is the fact that when you die, you will not be remembered. In the end, he sees the pointlessness of it all. So how do you live in a world painted by Ecclesiastes? How do you live a life knowing that you will one day die and the world will go on as though you never existed?
Is there any good news at all in this seemingly depressing text? If we accept that life is pointless, then we are doomed. We – who are advocates of God’s goodness; we - who believe that God is the source of love, justice, peace and truth; we - who are faithful followers of Jesus’s radical way to love others as we love ourselves; we – who are proponents that life is meaningful and offers wonderful opportunities, how should we view this text? If life is like a vapour that dissipates so easily, if the main purpose of living is dying at the end, what do we do with our life in between? I know that these questions may be disturbing to some of us to the point of asking why is this book even in the Bible? Difficult as it may sound, I think you will be surprised how much Ecclesiastes connects to us today especially as it addresses insights into the human condition in a contemporary, secular, pluralistic, post-modern world. If we read closely though, the writer of Ecclesiastes is not saying that life has no meaning but that its meaning is vague and not clear. Like mist, or vapour or breath, life can be confusing and mysterious at times but never meaningless and without purpose.
A preacher once said that instead of seeing life under the sun, why not look at life above the sun? Why not see the brighter, colourful side of life? I take inspiration from the words of the famous football player and track and field athlete John Carlos when he said and I quote: “In life, there's the beginning and the end. The beginning doesn’t matter. The end doesn’t matter. All that matters is what you do in between – whether you're prepared to do what it takes to make change. There has to be physical and material sacrifice. When all the dust settles and we're getting ready to play down for the ninth inning, the greatest reward is to know that you did your job when you were here on the planet.”
If life is like a vapour, that is here today and gone tomorrow, then let’s make the most of the in-between. Let’s make each day productive! Carpe diem! Seize the day! The first known expression of this Latin aphorism is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh but it was the Roman poet Horace in his work Odes that it became famous. Carpe diem literally means to pluck the day – to enjoy life while you can and let tomorrow worry about itself. If there’s one thing that you can control – it is your attitude towards the present moment. Today, stop being anxious of what tomorrow may hold. Today, choose to enjoy a good conversation with a friend. Today, hug your children and enjoy their laughter. Today, take a nature walk and relish the beauty of God’s creation. Today, try and bake a new bread recipe and delight in its taste. Today, go to work with a positive attitude and sip coffee or tea with pleasure. Today, read a book of poetry and memorize a line or two that makes you celebrate the goodness of life. Today, drop off food donations at the food cupboard. Today, enjoy a meal with the people you care about. Today, count your blessings and say a prayer of thanksgiving. Today, play a musical instrument that you enjoy. Today, listen and sing with James Taylor as his croons “shower the people you love with love!” Today, let go and let God. Seize the day! The possibilities are endless. Life is not meaningless at all.
I admit that listening to the words of Ecclesiastes chapter 1 is difficult and depressing and may lead us to some dark places. But I challenge you to read the whole book and you will see for yourself that at the end of the book, the writer doesn’t want us to lose hope. Instead he wants us to be humble – to realize that something or someone out there is far greater than ourselves. The writer challenges us to trust that life has meaning even when we can’t make sense out of it. And we pray that one day, God will clear the hevel that fogs up our seeing and hearing and bring clarity to what life is really about. The reality of death and of endings reminds us to appreciate life while we have it. Live simply, joyfully, lovingly. Seize the day! Carpe diem. Today, God wonders with you! Amen.
Sources used:
Lloyd Geering, Such is Life!, 2010.
Jim Irwin, Is Life Pointless? A Sermon on Ecclesiastes, patheos.org
Robert Williamson Jr., The Forgotten Books of the Bible, 2018.
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer Lorrie Lowes, DM
God of us all,
Sometimes this world seems so vast that we can hardly imagine our place in it…
Sometimes the problems of this world seem so enormous that we feel we can do nothing to help…
Was there ever a time in human history where things did not seem so big, so overwhelming?
We pray for some cosmic intervention to set things on track,
And yet you call us to take the responsibility for healing action.
Help us see how we can possibly be of help from our small, insignificant place in this immense creation.
When things seem to be spiralling out of control on a global scale,
When the answer to every crisis seems to be conflict and often violence.
When frightening things in the news make us want to close our eyes and ears,
We pray that you will intervene on our behalf,
We pray that you will heal the environment…
We pray that you will end racial conflict…
We pray that you will feed the hungry, clothe the poor, heal the sick…
And yet you call us to act.
Help us see where our actions could make any difference.
When our daily lives are impacted by a world-wide pandemic,
When the decisions and the motives of leaders are called into question,
When we can’t even reach out to those we know and love to offer comfort,
We pray that you will find a cure and a vaccine…
We pray that you will endow wisdom on those we have entrusted to take us forward…
We pray that things will return to the comfortable normal…
And yet you call us to be your hands and feet.
Help us see how we can reach above our lamenting to take those first steps.
Empowering God,
In the times we feel most insignificant and helpless against the enormity of the universe,
Help us to see the beauty that still surrounds us…
Help us to recognize that caring people are still finding ways to connect and to provide …
Help us to celebrate the blessings that continue to arrive – new births, new growth, happy milestones, time for families to spend quality time together …
Help us to see the world with an attitude of gratitude rather than despair…
And empower us to reach out in love, to spread joy more than grief, to offer light to our small corner so that our combined glow will overcome the darkness.
These prayers we offer aloud, and the prayers in our hearts, are reflected in the words that Jesus taught his followers and that we now repeat together:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kin-dom 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 kin-dom, the power and the glory,
Forever and ever. Amen.
Invitation to Offer: Rev. Kim Vidal
I now invite you to offer your gifts of time, talents and resources as expressions of your gratitude to God’s blessings. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the slot by the kitchen door of the church or mail them to BCUC. You can also send in your support through e-transfer. Thank you for your continued love and support to BCUC.
Offertory Prayer:
Receive our gifts, O wise God, which we offer in hope and in love.
Bless and multiply these gifts so that they may be used to bring about new possibilities. Amen.
Sending Forth: Rev. Kim Vidal
As we go from this worship service, may we never stop seizing
the many opportunities and blessings that we enjoy each day.
May the music, the words of wisdom, the prayers
lead us to moments of love and compassion.
With the Wise God journeying with us, let us be open to God’s grace,
as we tend to people and places in need of healing.
We go with God’s blessings. Amen.
Hymn: God of the Bible (Fresh as the Morning) More Voices #28
(Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1995; Music: Tony E. Alonso, 2001)
1. God of the Bible, God in the Gospel, hope seen in Jesus, hope yet to come,
you are our center, daylight or darkness, freedom or prison, you are our home.
Refrain (2X)
Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise, God always faithful, you do not change.
2. God in our struggles, God in our hunger, suffering with us, taking our part, still you empow’r us, mothering Spirit, feeding, sustaining, from your own heart. R
3. Those without status, those who are nothing, you have made royal, gifted with rights, chosen as partners, midwives of justice, birthing new systems, lighting new lights.
4. Not by your finger, not by your anger will our world order change in a day,
but by your people, fearless and faithful, small paper lanterns, lighting the way.
5. Hope we must carry, shining and certain through all our turmoil, terror and loss, bonding us gladly one to the other, ‘til our world changes facing the Cross.
Words © 1996 Shirley Erena Murray Hope Pub, Music © 2001 Tony Alonso GIA Song #2882 & 02880 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Departing : Seize the Day – Carolyn Arends Voices: Sarah Parker, Sue TeGrotenhuis
Zoom Fellowship hosted by Lorrie at 11 am. Link has been emailed. See you there!